The environment in the news friday, 20 April 2007 unep and the Executive Director in the News
Bird Life International: New agreement gives boost to Africa's migratory waterbirds
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- BBS News: Polluted Sites in Iraq Causing Serious Health Hazards
Bird Life International: New agreement gives boost to Africa's migratory waterbirds19-04-2007 Efforts to conserve Africa’s waterbirds have been given a significant boost with the launch of an innovative partnership aimed at conserving the critical areas used by migratory birds throughout Africa and Eurasia. Today’s agreement between BirdLife International and Kenya Wildlife Service unites the organisations’ efforts in flyway-scale monitoring and conservation in eastern and southern Africa, and will strengthen capacity and increase knowledge on migratory waterbirds within the region. “We are delighted to announce the signing of this agreement which reaffirms our working relationship between Kenya Wildlife Service and the BirdLife Africa Partnership.” said Hazell Shokellu Thompson, Head of BirdLife’s Africa Partnership Secretariat. The agreement will become a basis for regional work on the Wings Over Wetlands (WOW) Project, the largest international wetland and waterbird conservation initiative ever to take place in the African-Eurasian region. WOW is unique in combining a flyway-level perspective with an emphasis on practical conservation at the site and regional level. "Today’s agreement lays the groundwork for developing capacity within Eastern and Southern Africa..." —Hazell Shokellu Thompson,, Head of BirdLife’s Africa Partnership Secretariat The project will help foster international collaboration along the entire flyways, build professional capacity, and demonstrate best practice in the conservation and wise use of wetlands in twelve selected countries. “Today’s agreement lays the groundwork for developing capacity within Eastern and Southern Africa to combine a flyway-level perspectives with practical conservation at site and national levels within eastern and southern Africa.” said Thompson. BirdLife International’s Africa Secretariat in Nairobi (hosted by Nature Kenya, BirdLife in Kenya) will act as a sub-regional coordinating hub for the project. KWS will collaborate with the BirdLife Partnership in Africa in implementing the “capacity development component” of the project. The WOW Project is sponsored by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the Secretariat of the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (UNEP/AEWA Secretariat) and several other donors.
Friday, April 20 2007 "The situation is very serious. These sites have to be cleaned as soon as possible to guarantee that the Iraqi people don't face health hazards because of them," said Fua'ad Abdel-Sattar, an environmental researcher at the Ministry of the Environment, adding that his ministry does not have the money or manpower to undertake the task. As most of these sites contain hazardous chemical materials, including depleted uranium, and are near communities, there is a risk of an outbreak of diseases, he said. Polluted sites are not the only threat to the health of the population. "In addition to hundreds of polluted sites, we also have high pollution in our rivers, lakes and potable water systems. But with electricity shortages in most key areas, it is impossible to pump out dirty water and treat these systems," Abdel-Sattar said. Insecurity Those involved in identifying and cleansing contaminated areas face the risk of being targeted by armed groups. Abdel-Sattar said that ministry workers lack protection and are frequently threatened and attacked when out in the field. "I have been a victim of such threats many times," Ahmed Salim, a senior official and soil analyst at the Ministry of Environment, said. "Once, I was taking samples from the soil [to identify dangerous chemicals] and an armed group stopped me from doing so, alleging that I was going to use the material I was collecting to help the US develop new potent guns. I tried to explain but in the end I was forced to leave the place without the sample. "Some areas, which need urgent cleansing, are hard to reach due to violence. For example, the Khan Dhari petrochemicals site west of Baghdad; one of the world's biggest sulphur mines in al-Mishraq, south of Mosul; and the Ouireej military scrap yard on the outskirts of Baghdad, which is full of unexploded bombs and parts of destroyed tanks," Salim added. While work is being done to clear contaminated sites, it is too slow and too little, specialists say. According to Abdel-Sattar, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in cooperation with the government, has cleansed two dangerous sites: al-Qadissiya metal plating facility and al-Suwaira pesticides warehouse, both on the outskirts of Baghdad. "But there are still about 30 other sites dangerously exposed and we are trying to study them. Unfortunately, because of lack of funds and insecurity, it might take longer than envisaged," Abdel-Sattar said, adding that there are up to 400 polluted sites in Iraq in need of immediate cleansing. Health consequences According to specialists, the number of cancer cases has increased dramatically over the past five years, partly as a result of exposure to polluted materials during wars over the past 25 years. "We see more than six new cases of cancer in our hospital per week. Years ago, we were treating about 4,000 patients per year but in the past three years, the number has jumped to more than 9,000 cases a year," Bassima Jua'ad, oncologist at the Cancer Radiation Hospital in the capital, said. "The most worrying thing is that dozens of those patients have been exposed to radiation in different forms. Some were living near polluted sites, others were children during the last wars who played near dangerous sites and now the effects are appearing on them or in their children," she added. According to the Ministry of Health, about 52 percent of all cancer patients in Iraq are children under 5 years of age. In general, it takes more than 20 years for people to develop radiation-related diseases after they have been exposed to radiation but Dr Salah Bahiri, an environmentalist and oncologist, said that such diseases can develop more quickly if exposure is higher. "Cases of leukaemia, especially among children, have risen without control. This type of cancer is very common among people who had been exposed to polluted sites," Bahiri said. In Tuwaitha, 18 km south of Baghdad, where nuclear research has been going on for years, many residents appear to have suffered some ill effects, according to Bahiri. "Tests developed at the Radiation Studies Centre (RSC) showed that of 4,000 residents who had their blood tested in five villages surrounding Tuwaitha, about half were found to have higher than normal white blood cell counts, showing a higher capacity of development of cancer than other communities," Bahiri added. ###
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