Report guardian (UK): Smart businesses will act now to reduce their environmental impact
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- Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ BBC News (UK): Fukushima nuclear plant: Toxic isotope found in groundwater
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- Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Star (Kenya): The Nile Basin States Are Gifts of the River
- Back to Menu ============================================================= Environmental News from the UNEP Regions
- Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Reuters AlertNet: Kenya looks to geothermal energy to boost power supply
- Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Star (Kenya): Schools deplete 60 trees a day - expert
- Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Tanzania Daily News (Tanzania): Harmful species invade dar
- Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Daily Observer (Gambia): Gambia launches €2m water sector reform project
- Back to Menu ============================================================= ROAP MEDIA UPDATE THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWS
Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Guardian (UK): Tasmania's old growth forests win environmental protection 24 June 2013 Almost 200,000 hectares of Tasmania’s old growth forest have been world heritage listed, bringing hope that a three-decade fight between environmentalists, politicians and loggers is over. The World Heritage Committee has extended the heritage listed boundary of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area by more than 170,000 hectares after accepting a proposal from the Australian government which will give the areas the highest level of environmental protection in the world. The old growth forest areas now added to the heritage listing are in the Upper Florentine as well as within the Styx, Huon, Picton and Counsel River Valley. Logging will continue in the forest in areas Environment Minister Tony Burke described as “less contentious”. The proposal the government put to the World Heritage Committee was the work of people within the forestry industry as well as environmentalists, including Miranda Gibson who famously spent 457 days living in a tree in the old growth forest in a campaign for extended environmental protection. Speaking from Hobart where she had watched a livestream of the World Heritage Committee handing down the decision, Gibson said she was thrilled and had contemplated returning to the tree if she was unhappy with the decision. “It’s good to know I don’t have to go back to the tree unless I want to visit,” she said. “The hardest part [of living in the tree] was not knowing how long I would be up there or if the loggers would come and log around me. “It was obviously also very isolating.” Gibson started living at the top of the 60 metre eucalypt tree in December 2011 and was driven out by bushfires in March this year. By then the proposed extended areas for world heritage listing had been granted temporary protection. She decided to campaign from the ground until the committee handed down their official decision. Environmentalists have been fighting for protection of more of the old growth forests in Tasmania for years, while the forestry industry argued it was vital for jobs in the state that logging of some parts be allowed “Today is the result of decades of people standing up for the forest,” Gibson said. “It is testament to the strength of the community we have been able to achieve this. “If it was not for individuals standing up over the past few decades there would be many parts of the forest that would already be gone.” While the natural values of the forest have been listed there is still a fight for the cultural values to be recognised. Burke said the government would continue to consult with Indigenous communities in Tasmania to have the cultural values considered by the World Heritage Committee. “For the first time it’s [an environmental agreement] been done, not through a political process, but through a genuine community process where industry and environment groups came up together with a package that they thought would deliver what each of them wanted most,” he said in a statement. “We have the conservation groups saying the high conservation areas are being protected and for the people who look at it from an industry perspective this is part of that entire package that has resulted in 30 years of conflict in Tasmanian forestry being resolved through an extraordinary agreement that made it through the stakeholders made it through the parliament and now has been endorsed by the WH committee as being a conservation outcome of international importance.” The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area is home to tall eucalypt forests, glacial landforms and alpine and sub-alpine environments. The Styx-Tyenna area has the highest concentration of tall eucalypt forest in the world. The area is also important habitat for rare and threatened species such as the endangered wedge-tailed eagle and the Tasmanian Devil. Greens Leader Christine Milne tried with former leader Bob Brown to have the areas of the forest world heritage listed in 1989 but the pair’s efforts were thwarted by then-Premier Michael Field who drew up conservation boundaries environmentalists have long criticised. “It’s fantastic that after so many years of campaigning conservationists around Tasmania, and indeed the world, can celebrate the protection of these magnificent wild forests that contain the tallest flowering plants on earth and an array of wonderful wildlife,” Milne said. “In recognising the decades of work of conservationists I want to pay tribute to the late Helen Gee who was involved for 40-plus years and whose book For the Forests is a wealth of information on all those people who, in many cases, put their bodies in front of the bulldozers. “We can all smile broadly knowing that at last Tasmania’s forests of outstanding universal value are now protected for all time.” Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ BBC News (UK): Fukushima nuclear plant: Toxic isotope found in groundwater 19 June 2013 High levels of a toxic radioactive isotope have been found in groundwater at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, its operator says. Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said tests showed Strontium-90 was present at 30 times the legal rate. The radioactive isotope tritium has also been detected at elevated levels. The plant, crippled by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, has recently seen a series of water leaks and power failures. The tsunami knocked out cooling systems to the reactors, which melted down. Water is now being pumped in to the reactors to cool them but this has left Tepco with the problem of how to safely store the contaminated water. There have been several reports of leaks from storage tanks or pipes. Detecting increasing levels of the highly radioactive substance Strontium-90 indicates that Tepco is still struggling to contain the Fukushima reactors. Water continues to be a massive problem as the company is running out of storage space for the large amounts of the liquid they use every day as to cool the plant. On top of that around 400 tonnes of groundwater flow into the reactor buildings every day. They have even dug up 12 relief wells near the site in an effort to halt the ingress. As to the high levels of Strontium-90 detected, it has a half life of 29 years. This means that in humans it can continue to irradiate them for many years. It can be ingested from food or water and tends to concentrate in the bones and is believed to cause cancer there. In animal studies, exposure to Strontium-90 also caused harmful reproductive effects. These effects happened when animals were exposed to doses more than a million times higher than typical exposure levels for humans. Sea samples Strontium-90 is formed as a by-product of nuclear fission. Tests showed that levels of strontium in groundwater at the Fukushima plant had increased 100-fold since the end of last year, Toshihiko Fukuda, a Tepco official, told media. Mr Fukuda said Tepco believed the elevated levels originated from a leak of contaminated water in April 2011 from one of the reactors. "As it's near where the leak from reactor number two happened and taking into account the situation at the time, we believe that water left over from that time is the highest possibility," he said. Tritium, used in glow-in-the-dark watches, was found at eight times the allowable level. Mr Fukuda said that samples from the sea showed no rise in either substance and the company believed the groundwater was being contained by concrete foundations. "When we look at the impact that is having on the ocean, the levels seem to be within past trends and so we don't believe it's having an effect." But the discovery is another setback for Tepco's plan to pump groundwater from the plant into the sea, correspondents say. Nuclear chemist Michiaki Furukawa told Reuters news agency that Tepco should not release contaminated water into the ocean. "They have to keep it somewhere so that it can't escape outside the plant," he said. "Tepco needs to carry out more regular testing in specific areas and disclose everything they find." The Fukushima power plant has faced a series of problems this year. Early this month, radioactive water was found leaking from a storage tank. The plant also suffered three power failures in five weeks earlier this year. A leak of radioactive water from one of the plant's underground storage pools was also detected in April. Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Phil Star (Philippines): Palace mulls moving oil depot out of Manila 24 June 2013 Malacañang is studying a plan to move the Pandacan oil depot from the nation's capital after a warehouse in Sta. Ana district allegedly leaked oil and other fuel products into the Pasig river over the weekend. Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said on Monday that the Office of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa is undertaking the study after the issue was elevated to the Office of the President. “Pinag-aaralan po yan ng Office of the Executive Secretary and we will let you know kung ano ang magiging resulta ng pag-aaral na yun,” Lacierda said at a a press briefing. An approximately 100 liters of bunker oil was discovered at around 2:00 a.m. on Sunday at the Sta. Ana and Pandacan side of the Pasig River in Manila after residents in nearby area complained about the foul odor late Saturday night, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. The oil spill caused foul odor reaching as far as Malacañang, with residents around the affected areas complaining of breathing difficulties. Authorities contained the oil spill was contained on Sunday. The Philippine Coast Guard said its Marine Environmental Protection Unit is now conducting investigation into the incident and was directed to get samples of oil. Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Star (Kenya): The Nile Basin States Are Gifts of the River 25 June 2013 "Egypt is the gift of the Nile." This Fifth Century BC pronouncement of Greek Historian Herodotus was reaffirmed when Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi declared that his country is keen not to risk losing a "single drop of Nile water" on which their civilisation is based. Speaking to supporters, President Mursi declared that Egypt had no intentions to wage war against Ethiopia but vowed to keep all options open. According to Ayman Shabaana, political science professor at Cairo University, the Nile is the state and a threat to the river constitutes a threat to national security. President Mursi's remarks came following a move a by Ethiopian authorities to divert the waters of the Blue Nile to in advance of its planned $4.7 billion (Sh403.4 billion) dollar Grand Renaissance Dam. This will be Africa's largest hydropower plant, producing 6,000 megawatts of electricity and creating a reservoir with a capacity of 63 billion cubic metres. A report of a tripartite technical committee comprising Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan has announced that its findings are inconclusive on the planned dam's effects on Egypt and Sudan. However, it is estimated that Egypt could lose up to 20 per cent of its "water share" over the three-five years needed to fill the dam. Over the last couple of weeks, bellicose rhetoric, including talk of hostile acts to force Ethiopia to halt the dam has raised concerns of conflict over the waters of the Nile. With an annual discharge of 2,830 cubic metres per second, just six per cent of the mighty Congo River, the Nile basin is worryingly water constrained. The population of its upstream neighbours are growing rapidly, fueling increased demand for more water and food. Projections by the UN show that the combined population of the Nile Basin countries will grow to circa 340 million by 2030. The enduring ghosts of the colonial agreements, which preclude inclusive upstream cooperation, aggravate this grim reality. The agreements are absurd. For example, Ethiopia, the source of the Blue Nile, which contributes an estimated 85 per cent of the Nile River, has no rights over the water to the extent that it infringes the natural and historical rights of Egypt in the waters of the Nile. A 1929 agreement with Britain-representing East African colonies-gave Egypt the right to veto upstream projects that would affect its "water share". With the posturing in Cairo, Egypt is essentially defending its unbridled historic rights over the Nile waters. The enduring binding nature of the treaty beyond the British colonial rule is largely because of the compulsory transmission of all the rights and obligations of the predecessor upstream colonial state to their independent successor. Egypt's natural and historical rights over the Nile waters was challenged in 2010 when a new water-sharing agreement, Nile Cooperative Framework Agreement, was signed among six upstream states, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. Congo and South Sudan have signaled that they will sign the CFA. Last week, Ethiopia's Parliament ratified the Nile Cooperative Framework Agreement; an agreement intended to replace colonial-era agreements that gave Egypt and Sudan the biggest share of the Nile waters. Buoyed by this ratification, Ethiopia has indicated that it is happy to talk with the Egyptians but such talks would not entertain any consideration to halt or delay the construction of the dam. Unanimous agreement and ratification of the CFA has not been achieved largely because of unhelpful inclusion of the nebulous notion of "water security" and the insistence by Egypt and Sudan that Article 14 (b) should obligate upstream states not to adversely affect their water security and current uses and rights. Egypt and Sudan are also unyielding in their demand for early notification mechanism before upstream countries undertake any irrigation or hydropower projects. Egypt wants the CFA to guarantee its access to the historical 55.5 billion cubic metres based on the 1959 agreement with Sudan. Given the enduring colonial legacy, the Nile is the only major river basin without a permanent legal and institutional framework for its use and management. Herodotus was wrong. All the Nile basin states are the gift of the Nile. Egypt and Sudan must return to the negotiating table. They must work cooperatively with the upstream Nile basin states on inclusive binding rights and responsibilities, beyond distracting and unattainable delusions such as water security. Relinquishing exclusive rights over the waters of the Nile is the bitter but necessary pill Egypt and Sudan must swallow. Back to Menu ============================================================= Environmental News from the UNEP Regions ROA MEDIA UPDATE THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWS Tuesday, June 25, 2013 Los Angeles Times (US): Biofuel project in Kenya ignites land, environmental disputes Foreign firms seeking land in Africa for biofuel crops run into opposition from communities and environmental activists despite promising jobs and development. DIDA ADE, Kenya — With its leaf-thatched mud huts, bad roads, chronic unemployment, crushing poverty and vast tracts of "underutilized" land, the Tana River Delta in eastern Kenya seemed the perfect place for a foreign businessman looking to grow crops that could be turned into biofuel. Canadian David McClure believed the project, which involved leasing more than 600 square miles at a minuscule cost, would be both profitable and humanitarian. But McClure underestimated local resistance and deep sensitivity about land in a region where ethnic violence linked to land use has flared repeatedly. Four years after launching the project, his company pulled out, leaving McClure bitter and defeated, accusing the Kenyan government of betraying Kenyans by frustrating his plans. He was not alone in seeing Africa as an exciting new frontier for biofuel production, with cheap land that, to an outside eye, looks wasted. Millions of acres have been snapped up across the continent by foreigners for farming biofuel plants, such as the oil-producing jatropha, which McClure wanted to grow. These projects are usually pitched by companies as being good for the environment and good for poor Africans. But biofuel crop projects have been attacked by environmental and humanitarian activists as doing more harm than good, often replacing food crops that are badly needed in poor countries or destroying natural habitat like forests. Demand for biofuel is driven by European Union regulations requiring that 10% of energy consumption in member states come from renewable sources by 2020. A British humanitarian organization, Action Aid, reported last year that more than 193,000 square miles had been planted with biofuel plants globally, much of it in Africa. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-kenya-biofuel-20130622,0,7673575.story or robyn.dixon@latimes.com> Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Reuters AlertNet: Kenya looks to geothermal energy to boost power supply About ten kilometres north of the Kenya's Rift Valley town of Nakuru lies a massive shield volcano with one of the biggest calderas in the world. Standing at about 7,474 feet above sea level with a sheer cliff, locals describe it as an easy suicide zone. Perhaps, this is how the crater earned its name 'Menengai' - Maasai dialect for 'Corpse'. Now, with funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank's Climate Investment Fund (CIF), the government of Kenya is taking advantage of this volcanic opening to generate electricity using hot steam from the earth's crust to run turbines. "This is a move in a positive direction because with shifting climatic conditions we need more sources of energy that are not affected by the prevailing climatic conditions," said John Kioli, the chief executive officer of the Green Africa Foundation , a local nongovernmental organisation that champions a greener future. In recent years, Kenya - which gets much of its energy from hydropower - has faced power rationing, largely because of reduced water levels at hydroelectric generating plants. The worst experience was in 2006, when the national grid ran short of 90 megawatts after rains were delayed. The shortages affected major businesses, as well as schools, hospitals, military camps and homes. For more details check: http://allafrica.com/stories/201306220197.html?aa_source=acrdn-f0 Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Star (Kenya): Schools deplete 60 trees a day - expert Green Africa Foundation chairman Isaac Kalua has asked schools to find alternative sources of energy like biogas. Addressing school heads in Mombasa on Saturday, Kalua, who is an environment expert, said schools depend too much on wood fuel. He was speaking at the just-concluded conference for school heads. He said schools use an average of 60 trees daily. "If we do not conserve our environment, our country is headed for doom," Kalua said. He said the depletion of water towers in the country is "mind boggling".Kalua said out of 8.7 million houses in the country, 5.6 million depend entirely on firewood for energy. For more details please check: http://allafrica.com/stories/201306240065.html
TANZANIA has more than 120 invasive species whose impact can be harmful to the country's economy, the environment and human health. Speaking exclusively to the 'Daily News', Ms Hulda Gideon, of Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) said that the introduction of such species causes harm to the economy, environment and human health. "They are characteristically adaptable, aggressive and have a high reproductive capacity. Their vigor combined with a lack of natural enemies often leads to population outbreaks." A study and documentation of invasive species launched in 2010, showed that the country had 60 such species, but recent documentation of the invasive species shows that there are more than 120 at the moment. COSTECH, in collaboration with other research institutions and other stakeholders, agreed to establish the Tanzania Biodiversity Information Facility (TanBIF). For more details please check: http://allafrica.com/stories/201306240464.html Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Daily Observer (Gambia): Gambia launches €2m water sector reform project The government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources has secured a 2 million euros [approximately D89M] water sector reform project from the African Development Bank (AfDB) through its Africa Water Facility. The amount includes Gambia government's 5% counterpart contribution. The African Water Facility (AWF) is an initiative of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW). It is hosted and managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), with the overall purpose of assisting African countries to mobilise and apply resources for the Water and Sanitation sector to help enable them to successfully implement the Africa Water Vision (2025) and meet the MDGs (2015). The AWF began its operations in 2006. For more details please check: http://allafrica.com/stories/201306240472.html Back to Menu ============================================================= ROAP MEDIA UPDATE THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWS Tuesday, June 25, 2013 UN News centre: Sustainable management of natural resources can bring peace to Afghanistan – UN report 24 June 2013 Sustainable and equitable management of Afghanistan’s natural resources such as land, water, forests and minerals can contribute to peacebuilding in the country, according to a United Nations report released today. The report, Natural Resource Management and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan, describes how the UN and the international community can assist the Afghan Government to improve the management of natural resources in a way that contributes to peace and development on a national scale. “Effective management of natural resources will help build peace in Afghanistan, and therefore development work and investment in all natural resource sectors must be managed carefully,” said the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Mark Bowden. “Disputes in Afghanistan over natural resources can aggravate existing ethnic, political and regional divisions,” he added. The study, which was funded by the European Union (EU), also aims to encourage international organizations to introduce mechanisms into their projects to ensure that they do not inadvertently exacerbate conflict over natural resources. Up to 80 per cent of Afghans are directly dependent on natural resources for income and sustenance, and 60 per cent of the population obtain their livelihoods from agriculture, making equitable management of these resources particularly relevant in the country. Natural resources contribute to underlying tension and conflict in Afghanistan as powerful groups try to gain control over access to irrigation water for downstream provinces, communities compete over land, illegal trade of forest timber and gemstones is widespread, and corruption is rampant. “The issue in post-conflict countries is how to make natural resources a blessing that reinforces stability and not a curse that drives conflict,” said Nicholas Haysom, a Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Afghanistan. The report notes that the international community can help improve the management of natural resources in Afghanistan by building capacity to help implement management structures and laws relating to natural resources, supporting community-level dispute resolution processes, improving data collection to enable early warning alerts when risks are detected, providing funding for conflict resolution that takes an environmental approach, and making environmental assessments a standard component of all development projects. Led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the report was developed in close collaboration with the Natural Resources Contact Group of the UN in Afghanistan and produced at the request of the UN Country Team, in partnership with the EU-UN Global Partnership on Land, Natural Resources and Conflict. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45258&Cr=afghan&Cr1= Back to Menu Directory: cpi -> briefs briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news Download 0.62 Mb. Share with your friends:
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