The environment in the news friday, 20 April 2007 unep and the Executive Director in the News
General Environment News Cosmos Online : Australian drought hits farming
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General Environment NewsCosmos Online : Australian drought hits farmingFriday, 20 April 2007John Pickrell SYDNEY: Australia's crippling drought may cause the country's top farmland to have its irrigation cut unless heavy rains come soon. Many see the drought as a direct effect of global warming. Australian Prime Minister John Howard said water to farms in the Murray-Darling river basin in southeast Australia – which grows 40 per cent of the nation's agricultural produce – would be shut off unless the drought breaks in the next month, with potentially catastrophic effect for farmers. Rural Australia faces an "unprecedentedly dangerous" crisis, Howard told reporters yesterday. The Murray-Darling basin covers more than one million square kilometres, including most of New South Wales state and large parts of Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. It contains 72 per cent of Australia's irrigated crops and pastures and much of the nation's grape crop, and is regarded as the country's food basket. Despite the Australian government's refusal to sign up to the Kyoto Protocol, scientists have warned that the already-parched nation could experience temperature rises of 1.5°C to 2°C within the next 50 to 100 years. Many here see the drought – the nation's worst in over a century – as a direct effect of climate change and scientists are warning that better plans must be made now to manage future warming. All of the Australian state capitals, aside from tropical Darwin, are experiencing a water crisis, with their reservoirs at less than 50 per cent of capacity. "It's a grim situation and there's no point in pretending to the Australian public otherwise," said Howard. "Based on the need to provide a critical minimum supply of water to urban communities within the basin, there is unlikely to be any water available for irrigation purposes in the upcoming water year." Howard acknowledged that the decision could have a critical effect on the fruit, wine and dairy industries, and added that the drought has already knocked 3 per cent off growth of the Australian economy. "Australia has the lowest annual average rainfall and lowest runoff per unit area of any inhabited continent. [Howard's decision] reflects global climate change threats to the viability of irrigated agriculture and food production," said Shahbaz Khan professor of water hydrology at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. "More than anywhere else in the world - Australia needs a national framework linking short and long term climate forecasts to manage water resources vigilantly and smartly." "We are in a crisis situation, however, we need to be thinking now about what happens when the water starts to flow again," added Kathleen Bowmer an expert on water policy at both Australian government research body CSIRO and Charles Sturt University. "We do need to build resources again by filling the dams however we also have to be careful not to snap up the first flush of water down the tributaries. This water has all the little seeds and organisms and they should be protected for the environment," she said. The Winemakers Federation of Australia, based in Adelaide, said 60 per cent of the grapes used in the multi-billion dollar wine industry came from the Murray-Darling basin and Howard's announcement had realised its "worst case scenario". The federation's chief executive, Stephen Strachen, said the drought had already reduced production of the current vintage by 40 per cent and the impact was now likely to be even more dramatic next year. The Australian National Farmers' Federation, in Canberra, said the move to cut off water was unprecedented and it would seek urgent talks with the government. http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1244 …………………………….. The Jakarta Post : Environment minister hints at ban on new carsAdianto P. Simamora A moratorium on the sale of new cars in Indonesia was threatened Wednesday by State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar, as part of a national program to start reducing air pollution in the country's ever-growing urban areas. Data from the Jakarta administration shows today more than 2.5 million private cars and 3.8 million motorcycles in the city -- with just 255,000 public transportation vehicles. The data also shows private car ownership will rise by at least 11 percent per year. The minister's new pollution program will rank cities based on air quality and Rachmat said, "If there is no progress in restoring air quality, we will (stop car sales completely)." "It is a bitter pill to take, but it is for the sake of public health." Rachmat said Indonesia had introduced emission standards based on the 1995-released Euro2 guidelines, but also said "if we don't take further action, the numbers of cars and motorcycles will exceed our country's population". "It is a very dangerous trend." Indonesia has no policy regulating the maximum age of cars allowed on the road nor does it show any signs of implementing sustainable transportation in cities, the minister said. Ofyar Tamin, a transportation expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology, said most cities in Indonesia set aside less than 5 percent of their total area for roads and transportation -- in comparison to 28 percent set aside by Washington D.C. "It is this that makes our traffic congestion chronic and this in turn produces higher toxic air pollution." Jakarta is the only city that allocates 9 percent of its area for street facilities and the city is one of the main targets for the minister's new program. But Tamin said, "Cities with more than 1 million residents must allocate up to 30 percent of their area for street facilities to help reduce traffic." Jakarta suffers economic losses of up to Rp 5 trillion every year because of air pollution-caused illnesses. Vehicles produce various types of pollutants including carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide. Colorless carbon monoxide can cause dizziness, headaches, loss of coordination and eventually death. The minister admitted the social impacts associated with a potential moratorium on new car sales would include thousands of Indonesians losing their jobs. But he said pollution from transportation was doing more damage in terms of global warming than emissions from Indonesian factories. The minister's program to grade Indonesian cities based on their air pollution will see the dirtiest and cleanest cities announced in September. "As part of a global community now fighting to resolve global warming, our local administrations must clean their air." The program will see Jakarta's local authorities encouraged to promote public transportation. http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20070419.A03&irec=2 REGIONAL OFFICE FOR AFRICA - NEWS UPDATE 20 April 2007 ==================================================================== General Environment News East Africa: Lake Victoria Region At Risk of Environmental Degradation UN Integrated Regional Information Networks : The lives of 30 million people living and dependent on Lake Victoria are in danger as a result of uncontrolled municipal and industrial waste, urbanisation and slum overpopulation, a senior United Nations official said on Thursday. "Lake Victoria is a fragile ecosystem and the international community must now come to its aid since urbanisation, pollution and overpopulation in towns surrounding it continue to degrade it, contributing to its slow death," said Anna Tibaijuka, the executive director of UN-Habitat. Tibaijuka, speaking at the launch of phase three of the lake's City Development Strategies (CDS) in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, said the CDS aims to enable municipal authorities to address local environmental issues and urban poverty to achieve sustainable urbanisation by providing improved environmental planning and management policies. http://allafrica.com/stories/200704190388.html Uganda: Water Ministry Warns Against High Water Charges The Monitor (Kampala): The Water and Environment Ministry will take legal action against people who charge more than Shs50 per jerry can of water. State Minister for Water Jeniffer Namuyangu Byakatonda said she had received several complaints, especially from Kampala residents that there are people charging as high as Shs200 per jerry can. Ms Namuyangu told Daily Monitor last week that she had instructed National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NW&SC) to investigate the matter and identify the culprits. She said the culprits would either face the law or have their operation permits withdrawn. http://allafrica.com/stories/200704190161.html Uganda: Kampala CHOGM to Be Carbon Neutral The Monitor (Kampala): Uganda is set to hit world records by being the first country among the common wealth countries to host a carbon neutral CHOGM. The Daily Monitor has reliably learnt that the Common wealth secretariat in London has proposed that the 2007 CHOGM meeting in November be carbon neutral. The idea of making CHOGM carbon neutral comes with the notion that all preparations for CHOGM, like grading of roads and transportation of delegates, either by air or roads, to all places including Tourist destinations, will produce green house gasses, like carbondioxide, methane, nitrous oxide which cause global warming. http://allafrica.com/stories/200704190179.html Uganda: How Museveni Begged MPs for Mabira Forest The Monitor (Kampala): President Museveni had already decided to allocate a chunk of Mabira forest to the Mehta Group as early as last December, after the sugar producers gave him a proposal he supported "without hesitation", it has emerged. In a previously well-kept letter the head of state wrote to NRM MPs, having already taken the unilateral decision to give away 7,100 hectares of the forest to the Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (Scoul), Mr Museveni appears to be begging the MPs for support. http://allafrica.com/stories/200704190181.html Uganda: Why I Support Mabira Give-Away - Museveni New Vision (Kampala): President Yoweri Museveni has for the first time explained why he is in favour of giving 7,100 hectares of Mabira Forest to the Mehta Group for sugarcane production. In a letter to the NRM MPs, of December 8, 2006, the President argues that his main motive for giving land to investors was job creation. Apart from job creation, manufacturers bring in added value, export earnings from processed goods and taxes on the manufactured goods as well as on wages. http://allafrica.com/stories/200704190246.html South Africa: Biowatch Heads Back to Court Over Monsanto Cape Argus (Cape Town): Environmental groups around the country will have their eyes fixed firmly on a full bench in the Pretoria High Court on Monday when it hears an appeal that could have a significant influence on how they operate in the future. The court is to hear an appeal by Biowatch South Africa - a lobby group opposed to the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into local agriculture and the environment - against a court order that it pays the legal costs of the South African component of transnational seed and chemical giant Monsanto. The costs order, which raised legal eyebrows, was made against Biowatch during its successful application for a high court order compelling the Department of Agriculture to provide access to information that would shed light on the basis for the department's decisions about permitting GMO crops in South Africa. http://allafrica.com/stories/200704190442.html Mozambique: Resistance Forms to Illegal Logging UN Integrated Regional Information Networks : As reports warning of the scope of illegal logging in Mozambique grow more serious, local environmental groups are attempting to raise public consciousness of the issue and pressure the government to act, but this will be no easy task in a country where poverty reduction and HIV/AIDS usually take centre stage. A newly formed coalition, called Amigos da Floresta (Friends of the Forest), has organised a march through downtown n Maputo, the capital, this Saturday, the country's first public demonstration related to deforestation. http://allafrica.com/stories/200704190404.html ==================================================================== UN DAILY NEWS from the UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE 19 April, 2007 ==================================================================== TOP UN OFFICIALS EXPRESS OUTRAGE AT DEADLY STRING OF BAGHDAD ATTACKS
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The Sudanese Government has announced it will streamline some passport and customs procedures to allow the United Nations to better support the existing African Union peacekeeping mission in the war-torn Darfur region. The move comes as the Tripartite Mechanism, which oversees the implementation of UN support to the AU mission, yesterday welcomed Sudan’s confirmation that it accepts the UN “heavy support package” to the mission, known as AMIS. The mechanism, comprising representatives of the UN, the AU and Sudan, held its 10th regular meeting at AMIS headquarters in the capital, Khartoum. Sudanese officials informed the meeting that their country’s mission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has been instructed to expedite the issuing of travel visas to AMIS staff and associated personnel, without referral to authorities in Khartoum. Sudanese customs officials have also been approached about the release of pharmaceutical products brought by the UN as part of its “light support package” to AMIS, and those officials have now requested the UN to present customs with certain forms to expedite the clearance of the items. On Monday, Sudan informed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council that it accepted the heavy support package, the second phase of a three-step plan that is supposed to culminate in a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force of approximately 17,000 troops and 3,000 police officers. This force is to be staffed mainly by Africans. Under the heavy support package, which is expected to cost $300 million over its first six months, the UN will supply more than 2,200 troops, 350 police and 1,100 civilian staff to the AU mission, known as AMIS. Helicopters will also be deployed. The UN is already providing a $21 million light support package to AMIS which includes police advisers, civilian staff, technical support and other resources. Since 2003 more than 200,000 people have been killed in Darfur and at least 2 million others forced to leave their homes to escape fighting between Government forces, allied Janjaweed militias and rebel groups. Entire villages have been burned down during the clashes. Concern has mounted recently that the conflict may spill into neighbouring Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), and earlier this year Mr. Ban described Darfur as the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The next meeting of the Tripartite Mechanism is slated for 2 May in Khartoum. * * * BAN KI-MOON LAUDS ARAB LEAGUE’S COMMITMENT TO REVITALIZE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PLAN United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the statement by a committee of League of Arab States regarding the resuscitation of the Arab Peace Initiative, which in the past he has called one of the pillars of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Yesterday’s announcement by the Arab Ministerial Committee for the Arab Peace Initiative “indicates increased engagement of the League of Arab States to reinvigorate the peace process,” according to a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson. The Initiative, adopted during the Beirut Arab Summit in March 2002, is based on the principle of land for peace. The plan calls for Israeli withdrawal from all Arab lands occupied since 1967, recognition of an independent Palestinian State and provision of a just solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees. In return, Arab countries would recognize Israel, end their conflict and normalize relations. Mr. Ban also “looks forward to meeting with” the Initiative’s Ministerial Committee, which was created by the League to promote the peace process. In his opening address at the League of Arab States summit last month, Mr. Ban said that the Initiative “suggests a new way forward for the region” after decades of division over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. * * *
The senior United Nations law and order official in Timor-Leste today travelled outside the capital to meet with police as part of efforts to consolidate stability in the wake of elections and ahead of the next round of polls. “Smooth elections do not come naturally or accidentally but because of your hard work,” said Eric Tank, the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Security Sector Support and Rule of Law, addressing representatives from the UN Police and their Timorese counterparts in Liquica district. “We depend on your continued assistance to ensure that the upcoming elections remain free of violence,” Mr. Tan said. Earlier this month, Timor-Leste held its first elections since gaining independence from Indonesia in 2002, and a run-off between the two leading presidential candidates is scheduled for 9 May. Mr. Tan urged officers to be on the alert for incidents of intimidation ahead of the polls. “Voting is the right of every individual,” he said, adding, “intimidation is an offence that could lead to arrest.” Above all, he said the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) must ensure that no such incidents occur within their ranks. In addition to the 9 May presidential run-off, parliamentary elections are scheduled for later this year. * * *
Road traffic crashes have become the leading cause of death among young people, with nearly 400,000 people between the ages of 10 and 24 killed around the world each year and millions of others disabled or injured, usually in crashes that are entirely preventable, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) warns in a new report. The report, released on Tuesday in Geneva, shows that the overwhelming majority of deaths and injuries occur in low- and middle-income countries, with Africa and the Middle East the worst-affected regions. Males are at much greater risk than females and people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are also more likely to be injured or killed. The number of deaths and injuries will rise significantly unless more comprehensive action is taken around the world, WHO warned, with traffic accidents already estimated to cost $518 billion in material, health and other costs. The report, Youth and Road Safety, projects that for some poorer countries, the cost of road crashes is equivalent to 1-1.5 per cent of gross national product (GNP) – or more than the total amount they receive annually in development aid. WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said the lack of road safety has been an “important obstacle” to child health and development. “Our children and young adults are among the most vulnerable,” Dr. Chan said. “Road traffic crashes are not ‘accidents.’ We need to challenge the notion that they are unavoidable and make room for a proactive, preventive approach.” Most crashes are predictable and preventable, often involving a child playing on the street, an inexperienced motorcyclist or a young passenger on public transport. Many countries have been able to cut their death tolls in recent years, the report notes, by introducing measures such as the compulsory use of seat belts, motorcycle helmets and child restraints, and by restricting the blood alcohol limits for young drivers and creating safe areas for children to play away from roadways. The report has been launched of the first UN Global Road Safety Week, which kicks off on Monday to promote greater awareness of the dangers on roads. A two-day World Youth Assembly involving more than 100 delegates will be staged in Geneva so that young people can share experiences and plan projects to encourage more awareness about the issue. * * *
A small town in Côte d’Ivoire today received the keys to a renovated maternity hospital from representatives from the United Nations peacekeeping operation, known as UNOCI, in the West African country. Thanks to the efforts of UNOCI and the non-governmental organization (NGO) Femmes Côte d’Ivoire Experiences, the town’s three-room unit – comprising a consulting room, a birthing room and a recovery room – was refurbished. The town of Raviart, located in the former so-called Zone of Confidence separating the Government-ruled south and rebel-held north, will benefit from the work since it will give “the area a modern maternity hospital to allow women to give birth in proper conditions,” said Abdourahmane Ganda, from UNOCI’s civil affairs coordination division. UNOCI representatives based in the Abidjan and several offices in the western and eastern zones attended the festive handover. Praising the Mission for its contributions to bringing peace to the country whose civil war officially ended in January 2004, local representatives called on UNOCI to assist in other projects geared towards developing infrastructure. UNOCI has nearly 9,000 total uniformed personnel in the country with a mandate to monitor the cessation of hostilities and movements of armed groups, help in disarmament and dismantling of militias and contribute to the security of the operation of identifying the population and registering voters. * * *
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is partnering with basketball star Yao Ming, Chinese actor Pu Cunxin, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the non-governmental organization (NGO) Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center to minimize the stigma attached to those living with HIV/AIDS in China. The groundbreaking campaign aims to reduce the stigma associated with the disease and also targets the inclusion of family members, neighbours, co-workers and friends living with HIV/AIDS into our lives. A new poster shows Mr. Yao and Mr. Pu together with young people from AIDS-impacted communities, with the message, “We have the same feelings, the same dreams, the same life. HIV/AIDS will not affect our friendship. We are friends!” Over 200,000 of these posters, which were designed by people living with HIV, university students and NGOs, will be distributed nationwide, including in maternal health centres and community clinics. The posters will also be translated into three minority languages, Tibetan, Uygur and Jinbo (Yunnan), and will be distributed in ethnic minority areas such as schools and festival events. “We trust this campaign will help disseminate our common stand for positive action, care and full integration of people living with HIV and AIDS in our global society,” said Alessandra Tisot, UNDP’s Senior Deputy Resident Representative in China. The new campaign – in collaboration with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Chinese Government organizations and NGOs – also developed educational materials such as discussion guides and mini-documentaries. It also draws on a previous effort to dispel misconceptions about the spread of HIV/AIDS, including a poster campaign featuring Mr. Yao and legendary NBA player Magic Johnson. “Important partnerships like these give the NBA an opportunity to use the international power of our brand and the celebrity of our players to have a direct impact on the critical issues facing communities all over the world,” said NBA Senior Vice President Kathy Behrens. In another development, a new report on HIV/AIDS by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paints a mixed picture of progress in reaching the global Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as they relate to the disease. It cites progress on providing universal access to treatment, but warns that “far greater action will be required to fulfil international commitments on AIDS.” An estimated $10 billion – an increase over the $8.9 billion available in 2006 – will be available for HIV-related programmes in low- and middle-income countries in 2007, but this is just slightly more than half of what is needed. “With the passage of the epidemic’s first 25 years, it has become clearer than ever that the global response must move from an emergency footing to a longer-term effort that lays the groundwork for sustainable progress,” writes Mr. Ban. * * *
Israeli restrictions on where Palestinian fishermen can work in the waters off the Gaza Strip are hurting more than 40,000 people who depend on the industry as their main source of income, the United Nations humanitarian arm warned today. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called for an immediate easing of the restrictions given that April is the start of the annual high season, when fish migrate from the Nile Delta region in Egypt to Turkish waters across the Mediterranean Sea. Under current restrictions, Palestinians are allowed to fish only up to six nautical miles off the Gaza coast, whereas a deal in 2002 between the UN and Israel allowed for fishing up to 12 miles off the coast and the Oslo Accords of 1993 gave fishing rights for up to 20 miles. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have said the restrictions are necessary to prevent Palestinians smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip. Margareta Wahlström, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, described the relaxation of restrictions as critical. “Being confined so close to shore has meant poor catches for Gazan fishermen in terms of fish size, value and quantity,” she said, adding that fish stocks have depleted because many natural breeding grounds are close to shore. Many of the Israeli restrictions seem to be imposed arbitrarily, OCHA said in a press release, with fishing allowed in some locations but not others, and on some days but not others. It called for a means of communication between Israeli naval boats and Palestinian fishermen to reduce the hazards. OCHA also said that many Gaza residents now buy fish imported from Israel at a much higher price because of the restrictions, placing the commodity out of reach of many people. For the families of the fishermen, the reduced income means they have become progressively impoverished over the past six years, and now depend on aid and jobs from the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and other humanitarian agencies. * * *
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today announced plans to provide emergency relief for more than 42,000 people displaced from their homes on the troubled island of Jolo in the southern Philippines, where there have been deadly clashes over the past week between Government forces and the Moro National Liberation Front. In cooperation with the Philippine Government, WFP will distribute 85 metric tons of rice to the displaced on Jolo following a request from the Governor of Sulu province, where the island is located. WFP Country Director Valerie Guarnieri described the province – where at least 12 people were killed in this week’s clashes – as one of the most conflict-affected areas of the south. “We hope this support for hungry families will help stabilize the situation in Sulu,” Ms. Guarnieri said. Last month the agency provided 25 tons of rice to 6,000 people in Sulu displaced by earlier unrest, but those people have since returned to their homes. Although the Government signed a peace accord with the Moro National Liberation Front in 1996, fighting between the two sides has erupted periodically since then. WFP’s activities in the southern Philippines include not only the direct distribution of free food to needy families, but the use of food to encourage better school attendance, provide nutritional support for mothers and to repair damaged infrastructure. * * *
The United Nations envoy in Liberia this week accompanied national and UN Police officers on a special night patrol to some of the most crime-prone areas of the capital, Monrovia, as part of the world body’s ongoing efforts to reassure the community and improve law and order throughout the country. “We are very much concerned with the safety of Monrovia’s citizens,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Liberia, Alan Doss, as he met with members of the public during the patrol, which marked the end of “Operation Sweeping Wave II” aimed at curbing criminal activities. Mr. Doss noted that Liberia’s National Police (LNP) is working under difficult conditions, but he said new uniforms had been obtained from the United States and equipment and vehicles had also been ordered through the UN. UN Police Commissioner Mohammed Alhassan, LNP Inspector-General Beatrice Munah Sieh and other officials also took part in the two-hour patrol, during which Ms. Sieh stressed the importance of the police interacting with the public and urged people to provide the officers with information on crime. “Everywhere we went, community leaders came out to see us. It shows that the community is now accepting the police. In the past, they were running away from the police,” she said, adding that the police need logistical support to be more effective. Mr. Doss, who heads the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), also visited the Zone 1 Police Station on Bushrod Island as part of the patrol. This station was the first police facility to be rehabilitated through UNMIL’s Quick Impact Project programme, which has now helped construct and rehabilitate 25 police stations throughout the country. UNMIL was established in 2003 to support Liberia’s ceasefire and peace process, and currently has over 15,200 uniformed personnel, along with around 500 international civilian personnel, almost 1,000 local staff and 220 UN Volunteers. Late last month, the Security Council extended UNMIL’s mandate and, citing progress in a number of areas including the re-integration of former fighters, asked the Secretary-General to report on plans to draw down the level of blue helmets in Liberia. * * *
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon confirmed today in Italy that he soon plans to appoint a High Representative to promote dialogue between cultures, religions and ethnic groups, building on the work done by the Alliance of Civilizations, the international initiative set up to encourage reconciliation. Speaking to journalists in Rome after a meeting with the city’s mayor, Walter Veltroni, Mr. Ban said the two had discussed “the urgency and the importance of intra-religious dialogue.” Last year the High-Level Group of the Alliance of Civilizations, which was launched by Mr. Ban’s predecessor Kofi Annan following a proposal by the Prime Ministers of Spain and Turkey, issued a report calling for a series of measures, legal and otherwise, in education, media, youth and migration to build bridges between different communities and promote a culture of respect. The report also recommended the creation of a High Representative post to assist the UN Secretary-General to try to defuse crises that arise at the intersection of culture and politics, along with measures aimed at restarting the Middle East peace process and encouraging political pluralism in Muslim countries. Mr. Ban said today he hoped that, with the aid of the High Representative, “we will promote a much better and secure world at this time.” His remarks came on the final stage of the Italian leg of his four-nation official tour that will take in stops in Switzerland, Qatar and Syria as well. Earlier today he visited the UN Logistics Base in Brindisi, observing the main facility used by the world body to support its field operations around the world. Mr. Ban toured warehouses that stock tents, blankets and high-protein biscuits, which can all be sent in rapid response to a humanitarian emergency. He also spoke with staff about the challenges they face in setting up communications equipment in peacekeeping locations, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told journalists. Mr. Ban is now in the Swiss capital, Bern, for talks with that country’s President Micheline Calmy-Rey, and then a working dinner before heading to Geneva later tonight. Tomorrow the Secretary-General is slated to chair a meeting of the Chief Executives Board, which brings together top officials from across the UN system. He is then scheduled to speak before the Forum on Democracy, Development and Free Trade in Doha, Qatar, before heading to the Syrian capital, Damascus, where meetings with senior Government officials, including President Bashar Assad, are expected. * * *
The United Nations Legal Counsel Nicolas Michel has held talks with Lebanon’s key Government and parliamentary leaders as he continues his visit to try to help the country’s political forces end their impasse and establish a tribunal to try the alleged killers of former prime minister Rafik Hariri. Mr. Michel has met Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, President Emile Lahoud and Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, as well as other parliamentarians and political figures since arriving in Beirut on Tuesday, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters today. All of Mr. Michel’s interlocutors have expressed their support for the tribunal’s establishment, Ms. Montas said, adding that the Legal Counsel has stressed in the meetings that it is in the interest of all to have the tribunal set up within Lebanon’s constitutional process. Mr. Michel was dispatched to Beirut by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to offer legal assistance to the Lebanese as they work towards parliamentary ratification of the agreement on setting up the tribunal. Such ratification is necessary for the tribunal to enter into force. Mr. Ban said last week that he hoped Mr. Michel’s trip would help to “clarify all concerns or apprehensions” that might exist about the tribunal. Lebanon’s parliamentary forces have been deadlocked on the issue and there has been no vote yet on ratification. Mr. Michel, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, is scheduled to hold further meetings in Beirut tomorrow. The planned tribunal will be of “an international character” to deal with the assassination of Mr. Hariri, who was killed along with 22 others in a massive car bombing in downtown Beirut in February 2005. Once it is formally established, it will be up to the tribunal to determine whether other political killings in Lebanon since October 2004 were connected to Mr. Hariri’s assassination and could therefore be dealt with by the tribunal. In April 2005 the Security Council set up the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) after an earlier UN mission found that Lebanon’s own inquiry into the Hariri assassination was seriously flawed and that Syria was primarily responsible for the political tensions that preceded the attack. Its mandate runs out next year. Serge Brammertz, the current head of the IIIC, told the Council last September that evidence obtained so far suggests that a young, male suicide bomber, probably non-Lebanese, detonated up to 1,800 kilograms of explosives inside a van to assassinate Mr. Hariri. * * *
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) ambassador and current marathon world record holder Paul Tergat is dedicating his participation in Sunday’s race in London to the plight of the world’s 400 million hungry children. Mr. Tergat, who is an Ambassador Against Hunger for the WFP, received food aid from the organization when he was a child growing up in rural Kenya, but despite such challenges he is now part of an elite group of world class marathon runners and is among the favourites to win the Flora London Marathon on 22 April. “I grew up knowing the pain of hunger and poverty, but I was lucky enough to find a way out,” he said on arriving in Britain to participate in the event. The world record he set at the Berlin marathon in 2003 still stands. “The World Food Programme helped me as a hungry child at school in Kenya and now I am returning the favour by dedicating this race to the millions of hungry schoolchildren that WFP continues to feed in some of the poorest and least developed parts of the world.” At a time when 400 million children around the world know what it is like to go hungry, WFP’s school feeding programmes provide a simple and effective way of improving child nutrition, increasing enrolment rates at schools in developing countries and giving poor children a better chance to realise their full intellectual and physical potential. “Paul has carried the true dedication and commitment he has shown as an athlete to his role as a hunger ambassador for WFP,” said Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the organization. It costs around 19 cents a day to feed a child as part of the school feeding programmes. * * *
The United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today received the Justice in the World Award from the Madrid-based foundation of the same name in honour of its work, especially for its independence in carrying out its mandate. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) President Fausto Pocar received the award at a ceremony attended by Spain’s judicial authorities, several ICTY judges and the Tribunal’s Registrar Hans Holthuis, according to a statement released by the ICTY in The Hague. Fundación Justicia en el Mundo (Justice in the World Foundation) is comprised of Spanish judges and is affiliated with the International Association of Judges (IAJ). * * *
Children are bearing the brunt of the armed conflict in the Middle East, a senior United Nations official said today as she concluded a two-week mission to Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel. Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, interacted with children across the region, describing them as playful and resilient but plagued by fear, anxiety, anger and feelings of revenge coupled with hopelessness. “It is imperative that peace come to the Middle East for the sake of the children,” she declared in a statement released in Jerusalem. According to official sources, approximately 400 children were killed in Lebanon in the recent hostilities. In the occupied Palestinian territory, 124 were killed in 2006 and today, almost 400 are still in detention. In addition, 8 children were killed or injured on the Israeli side. “Researchers are pointing to the fact that many children in the conflict areas need psycho-social care,” the envoy said, noting that about a third of all children in Northern Israel suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, while many Palestinian children also showed visible signs of being affected by the war. Ms. Coomaraswamy, who met with Israel’s Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livini, and other officials, recognized the country’s “very real security concerns.” At the same time, she voiced concern over the barrier erected to separate Palestinian territory from Israel and raised its humanitarian consequences on children’s health, education and right to freedom of movement. “The present route and procedures associated with the barrier are unconscionable,” she said, urging the Israeli authorities to appoint an independent civilian committee to look into the humanitarian consequences of the barrier. Ms. Coomaraswamy also called upon the Israeli Government to release the customs and taxes revenues due to the Palestinian Authority for health and education expenditures. With 398 Palestinian children in detention, the Special Representative said this was only feeding the cycle of violence and urged a different approach to children who engage in minor offences. The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) must establish transparent, credible and independent mechanisms to provide for accountability and to ensure effective redress to victims of killings and violence against children, she said, calling also for settler populations to be held accountable for acts of violence and harassment against Palestinian children. During meetings with senior Palestinian officials, including President Abbas, the Special Representative raised concerns about the use of minors for political and armed violence. Ms. Coomaraswamy, who had listened to many children speak about being engaged in this violence, welcomed the Palestinian officials’ pledge to revive the code of conduct among Palestinian groups not to involve children in political violence and to work with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to prevent this. She also noted the importance of ensuring security for children both in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel as well as the need to stop rockets being fired indiscriminately into civilian areas from Gaza. The envoy welcomed steps by both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli Government to review school curricula to prevent incitement to violence and to take further steps in this area, including the integration of peace education. Also during her trip, Ms. Coomaraswamy requested the Israeli Government to hand over to UN demining experts details on the cluster munitions dropped on Lebanon during the 2006 war. The Special Representative is expected to report her findings to the Security Council, General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. * * *
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has recognized seven winners of its ‘Champions of the Earth Award’ at a ceremony in Singapore where the agency’s chief praised the activists’ efforts to fight for change. “If we are to shape a new partnership between human-kind and the natural environment upon which all life ultimately depends then we need leaders, we need champions – champions in public life, champions in business and champions in our communities,” said UNEP chief Achim Steiner, who presented the awards on Wednesday evening along with Shn Juay Shi Yan, the current ‘Miss Earth Singapore.’ “The seven winners honoured this evening are from different corners of the planet and drawn from different backgrounds and experiences. But they share a common sense of purpose and of values: namely, to reject the status quo, to persist when others may have failed and faltered and to deliberately seize the opportunities to promote more intelligent ways of managing development,” he said. Actress and environmental campaigner Daryl Hannah, famous for films like “Splash” and her support for renewable energies, received the regional North America Champions prize on behalf of Al Gore, the former United States Vice-President and climate change campaigner. Awards also went to Cherif Rahmani of Algeria, for his work on deserts and desertification; Elisea ‘Bebet’ Gillera Gozun of the Philippines for pushing forward the environmental agenda; Viveka Bohn of Sweden for leadership in chemical safety; Marina Silva of Brazil for protecting the rainforest; His Royal Highness Prince Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan for transboundary cooperation on environmental issues; and Jacques Rogge and the International Olympic Committee for introducing stringent environmental requirements for cities bidding to host the Games. * * *
Political leaders and scientists as well as representatives of banks, foundations and a number of leading pharmaceutical companies are gathered in Geneva today for a meeting organized by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) in a bid to galvanize action to combat ‘forgotten’ tropical diseases, which afflict some 1 billion people annually. “This event marks a turning point in the long and notorious history of some of humanity’s oldest diseases,” WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan told participants. “The burden imposed by these diseases, measured in terms of human misery alone, is unacceptable. We are committed to take action.” Most of the neglected diseases are caused by parasites that thrive in impoverished settings, where water supply, sanitation and housing are poor, according to WHO, and they permanently deform and disable large numbers of poor people, trapping them in poverty. Worldwide, an estimated 1 billion people – one sixth of the world’s population – are affected by one or more of these diseases. But the agency voiced hope that immediate action can now be taken, for the first time in history, thanks to the availability of safe and effective drugs in large quantities. A “decisive” factor in turning the tide has been the decision by industry to supply drugs for prevention or treatment at low or no cost, WHO said. At today’s meeting, for example, Dr. Chan and Merck KGaA’s Executive Board Member Elmar Schnee signed an agreement aimed at fighting schistosomiasis. Under the initiative, a donation of 200 million tablets of the drug praziquantel – worth $80 million – will be given to WHO, potentially protecting millions of children from the parasitic worm disease. Substantial progress has already been made in the fight to control and eliminate many neglected tropical diseases. The number of leprosy cases has decreased from 5.2 million in 1985 to less than 220,000 today, and 14.5 million people have been cured of this disease. Guinea worm disease is set for eradication. Previously, only one disease – smallpox – had ever been eradicated. * * *
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is sending a mission next week to the Incan archaeological ruin of Machu Picchu in Peru amid mounting concern about the conservation of the World Heritage Site as tourist numbers increase and urban development encroaches. Starting Monday, the UNESCO mission will spend eight days visiting Machu Picchu and holding talks with Peruvian Government officials, local community representatives and others to discuss the implementation of the master plan for the site. Mission members will hold workshops with representatives of civil society and local, regional and national institutions to promote the greater participation of local communities in the management of Machu Picchu, which was inscribed as a mixed natural and cultural site on the World Heritage List in 1983. They will also focus on “the uncontrolled urban development” of Aguas Calientes, a town at the foot of Machu Picchu, the impact of a new bridge to the site and plans to develop tourist infrastructure within the protected area, UNESCO said in a press release issued today from its headquarters in Paris. Machu Picchu has become prone to mudslides and fires in recent years, and UNESCO said the mission would monitor the effect on flora and fauna and assess the site’s risk preparedness plan. * * * DAMAVAND MINERAL WATER COMPANY AND UNICEF TEAM UP FOR IRAN’S SCHOOLGIRLS The Iranian mineral water company Damavand and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have launched a new partnership to benefit thousands of schoolgirls in Iran. Under the initiative, announced on Wednesday in Tehran, Damavand will donate a portion of the revenues of its water bottle sales to UNICEF Iran to help finance girls’ education projects. This is the first time in Iran that a share of the sales of a product will benefit a charitable cause, UNICEF said in a news release. Under the one-year partnership, Damavand mineral water bottles now feature the UNICEF logo and describe how this partnership benefits Iranian children. Some 4,500 children will benefit from activities to include community-based school management and quality education. “This is a win-win situation,” said Jan-Pieter Kleijburg, Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Iran. “It is good for UNICEF, as it helps us to expand important activities without relying too much on funds from abroad. It is good for Damavand Mineral Water Company, as it provides a channel for the company to fulfil its corporate social responsibilities. Above all, he added, “It is good for the children in remote parts of the country, who will benefit from quality education and a better chance to have a good future.” * * * UGANDA: CONCERNED BY MOUNTING VIOLENCE AGAINST CIVILIANS, UN OFFICIAL URGES PROTECTION In a report released today, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour urged the Government of Uganda to curb violence and human rights abuses voiced concern over escalating violence against civilians in Karamoja in the north-east of the country, where almost 70 people have been killed since last November. Between 16 November 2006 and 31 March 2007, “the indiscriminate and excessive use of force” by Government forces, known as UPDF, has lead to the deaths of at least 69 civilians, including women and children, as well as 10 cases of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, the High Commissioner's office (OHCHR) said in a statement released in Geneva. Additionally, 400 cattle and many traditional homesteads, or manyattas, have been destroyed in Karamoja. The High Commissioner also expressed serious concern over a “climate of fear and insecurity” in the area where armed Karimojong have reportedly killed seven UPDF soldiers, eight civilians and almost 300 cattle. Ms. Arbour, who issued a report last November calling on Uganda to end a forced disarmament exercise, deplored the failure of the Government to implement her previous recommendations. Allegations of human rights violations and criminal acts have persisted since the strategy was launched last May. “I call on the Government of Uganda to respect its obligations to protect the human rights of all individuals under its jurisdiction at all times,” Ms. Arbour said, appealing for an end to the indiscriminate and excessive use of force against men, women and children. The High Commissioner added that the country must also “take all necessary measures, including reviewing the ongoing disarmament process, to prevent any further human rights violations in Karamoja,” as well as implementing sustainable development initiatives to bring stability to the region. She also stressed that instead of pursuing a solely military response, the Government should create civilian mechanisms for the legal arrest, detention, prosecution and punishment of armed Karimojong who commit crimes. * * * ==================================================================== 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 423.36 Kb. Share with your friends:
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