The environment in the news friday, 22 April 2005
ROA Media Update 22 April 2005
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ROA Media Update 22 April 2005General Environment News As Drought Takes Hold, Zambia's Door Stays Shut to GMOs SciDev.Net (London): Hunger is a perennial challenge facing African countries, and Zambia is no exception. But while some nations are prepared to boost supplies by importing food containing genetically modified (GM) organisms, Zambia is sticking to its guns and saying no. Once an exporter of food, Zambia is in the grip of its third severe drought since 2000. The lack of rain is threatening Zambia's food security -- it needs at least 200,000 tones of maize to avert a crisis -- which has led the United States to increase pressure on the country to legalize imports of GM food. But Zambia's agriculture minister Mundia Sikatana says the government is staying firm on plans to develop legislation on GM products, and is reaffirming its ban on their entry into the country until it is satisfied they pose no threat to health or the environment. In a 15 March interview to mark World Consumer Rights Day, Sikatana said Zambia would soon set up facilities for identifying GM products at all points of entry to the country to enable it to enforce the ban. Zambia's position on GM food was made clear in 2002, when president Levy Mwanawasa rejected food aid from the United States during that year's drought and subsequent food crisis because the aid could not be confirmed to be GM free (see Famine-stricken countries reject GM maize). In August 2002, the Zambian government banned imports, sale and use of GM products, citing health, environmental and trade concerns. The decision was based on the recommendations of a team of Zambian scientists and economists that had conducted a fact-finding mission to South Africa, Europe and the United States. In March 2005, the government produced draft biosafety legislation that, if approved by the cabinet, will be presented to parliament for debate. The government should not drag its feet in getting the law approved by parliament, says Muyunda Ililonga, executive secretary of the Zambia Consumers Association (ZACA). The association is worried that GM-derived products could enter Zambia illegally because some countries in southern Africa accept or, in the case of South Africa, grow GM crops. Ililonga says Zambia needs to be able to check whether food coming in is GM or not. "We still feel that the government is not moving fast enough," he adds. ZACA was among the civil society groups that helped launch the idea of a biosafety law. To draft the law, the government consulted with stakeholders including farmers, women's groups, church leaders, politicians, scientists and non-governmental organizations. Ililonga feels that this diversity was representative enough for the government to make a decision that reflects public opinion. http://allafrica.com/stories/200504210715.html New Uranium Mine Causes Scare New Era (Windhoek): ENVIRONMENTALISTS are up in arms against the mining of uranium at the Lange Heinrich mine in the Namibia Naukluft Park, near Swakopmund. Production of the mine, expected to generate export revenues of approximately N$360 million annually, is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2006. Earthlife, a Namibian environmental organization, yesterday appealed to government, politicians and all Namibian political parties to stop mining operations at Langer Heinrich. The organization's chairperson, Bertchen Kohrs, said in a press release yesterday that mining uranium in the park not only poses health hazards but also environmental concerns such as water contamination. Inhalation of uranium increases one's risk of lung and bone cancer. An Australian company, Paladin Resources, acquired 100 percent of Langer Heinrich Uranium Project, the Namibian company that holds the mineral rights. Earthlife warned that possible water contamination was one of the serious issues that have not been addressed properly, and it fears that big amounts of uranium oxide would be left in wastewater. Kohrs also said European countries were abandoning nuclear technology and Namibia should avoid doing anything instrumental for the proliferation of the "dangerous technology". The project envisages creating jobs, but Earthlife said the creation of just 100 new jobs could never outweigh the serious threats to the environment. Apart from the environmental concerns, the organization said, the mine intended to take water from Swakopmund's terminal reservoir and build pipelines which run above the ground. This would however be another drawback of the whole scheme because of the already scarce water resources. http://allafrica.com/stories/200504210676.html ERA Urges Govt to Declare Niger Delta Disaster Zone This Day (Lagos): The Federal Government has been urged to declare the Niger Delta region a disaster zone, following recent research, which confirmed the presence of carcinogens in water samples taken from across the region. An emergency water supply network was also asked to be deployed immediately, to cater for its population, the Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth International (ERA/FoEI) said yesterday. Besides, the environmental group, in a statement issued in Lagos, urged the government to order oil corporations to halt discharge of toxic wastes into Niger Delta waters. ERA also wants government to direct the corporations to commence detoxification of the whole Niger Delta waters, while compensation is worked out for the years of pains that the pollutants have inflicted on the local communities. A research, conducted by the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lagos (UNILAG), found a chemical, benzo (a) pyrene, an alternant polynuclear hydrocarbon, in water samples taken from 18 different sites in the Niger Delta. The chemical, according to the researchers, in a report published in the Nigerian Quarterly Journal of Medicine, Vol. 14, July-December, 2004, threatens the lives of the people through exposure to skin, lung, breast and abdominal cancer. "For several years, there has been criminal cover-up of the extent of the pollution. This is the first time a scientific conclusion that the oil companies have poisoned the Niger Delta waters and marine foods is being made public. Government can no longer look the other way or feign ignorance," ERA Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey said. The water samples taken from boreholes, wells, lagoons and beaches, showed a high concentration ranging from 0.43 to 4ug, far above the stipulated 0.7ug/1 for benzo(a) pyrene in drinking water by the World Health Organization (WHO) http://allafrica.com/stories/200504210459.html ____________________________________________________________________________ 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 208.46 Kb. Share with your friends:
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