ROLAC Media Update 21 April 2005
http://www.univision.com/
ONU premia proyecto boliviano "Agua para todos"
El proyecto boliviano "Agua para todos" recibirá hoy el Premio Semilla 2005, que concede la ONU a las iniciativas más prometedoras e innovadoras en el campo del desarrollo sostenible y el medio ambiente.
Esta es la primera vez que se concede este galardón, creado por el Programa de la ONU para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA), el Programa para el Desarrollo (PNUD) y la Unión Mundial para la Conservación, y que será entregado hoy en una ceremonia en la sede de la ONU en Nueva York.
Más de 260 proyectos de 66 países que representan a 1.200 organizaciones han concurrido al certamen, que a partir de esta edición tendrá carácter bianual.
La iniciativa "Agua para todos" de Bolivia ha sido premiada por "haber resuelto un problema muy común de cómo pagar las redes secundarias de agua", según los organizadores.
Este proyecto, llevado a cabo por el consorcio privado Agua Tuya, la compañía municipal de Aguas de la ciudad de Cochabamba (SEMAPA), la organización no gubernamental Pro Habit y movimientos comunitarios locales, permite a los habitantes de áreas suburbanas pobres tener acceso a agua potable a bajos costos.
Cada sistema de distribución de agua permite conectar entre 100 y 500 viviendas en área deprimidas, y el costo es sufragado por microcréditos comunitarios que se pueden pagar en el plazo de un año.
Hasta el momento, existen cinco proyectos pilotos de distribución, que permiten reducir a la mitad el costo del agua a 3.000 habitantes en Cochabamba, aunque los planes son abastecer a 85.000 personas en los próximos cinco años.
"Ha llegado el momento de dejar de hablar y pasar a la acción", dijo Klaus Toepfer, director ejecutivo del PNUMA.
Agregó que para promover el desarrollo sostenible, cumplir con los Objetivos del Milenio para el 2015 y erradicar la pobreza, "necesitamos asociaciones entre la gente, las organizaciones no gubernamentales, las empresas privadas, las autoridades locales, los gobiernos y la ONU".
Por su parte, el administrador adjunto del PNUD, Shojil Nishimoto, indicó que "los premios Semilla demuestran que la de las iniciativas locales y la creatividad no sólo permiten impulsar el desarrollo sostenible, sino también generar ingresos y promover el crecimiento económico".
Junto con Bolivia, también recibirán el premio Semilla 2005 otros cuatro proyectos independientes que se están desarrollando en Estados Unidos, Tibet, Madagascar y Nigeria.
El proyecto estadounidense propone una iniciativa para ahorrar agua en los sistemas de producción del arroz, mientras que Tibet se llevará el galardón por un proyecto para reducir los efectos del monzón en los cultivos.
Por su parte, el proyecto de Madagascar premiado tiene como objetivo equilibrar la necesidad de supervivencia de los pescadores con la protección del ecosistema marino.
La iniciativa galardonada en Nigeria es un plan que transforma las aguas residuales en energía y que permite generar ingresos en las comunidades pobres y reducir los gases contaminantes responsables del cambio climático.
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UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE DAILY NEWS
21 April, 2005
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IN INDONESIA, ANNAN KEEPS FOCUS ON UN REFORM
Ahead of an historic Asia-Africa summit this weekend in Indonesia,
Secretary-General Kofi Annan today briefed top delegates for nearly three
hours, spotlighting his sweeping proposals for United Nations reform and
calling for new commitments across a broad range of development challenges.
Saying that the world was not paying enough attention to the challenges of
development and that the multilateral system was falling short on
delivering results – particularly for the developing world, the
Secretary-General outlined key features of the proposals contained in his
report, "In Larger Freedom," which he expects political leaders to act on
at the General Assembly's mid-term millennium review summit in September.
Mr. Annan is in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta to attend the Asia-Africa
Summit, which opens tomorrow and where political leaders from both regions
are expected to forge new partnerships for development cooperation. The
occasion also marks the fiftieth anniversary of the 1955 Asian-African
Conference in Bandung, Indonesia. General Assembly President Jean Ping of
Gabon joined Mr. Annan on the podium and briefed on how the report was
being discussed by Member States at UN Headquarters in New York.
According to the text of his remarks at the briefing, Mr. Annan noted that
every day, people were dying from poverty, hunger and disease, "but we
aren't seeing enough action to meet key commitments to boost resources for
development – even though we have in place an agreed development
framework." At the same time, just as the human rights, peacekeeping and
peace-building machinery of the UN faced "major strains," the global
community had lost sight of vitally important issues, such as when to use
force and who should authorize it.
He emphasized that a functioning, effective UN was important for everyone –
but perhaps it was most important for the developing world, whose countries
suffered most from violations of their social, cultural, economic and
political rights. And while the UN's contribution to human rights remained
important, it had become "uneven, and is often politicized and does not
focus on all human rights in all countries," he added.
"I think the time has come for a major overhaul of institutions," Mr. Annan
said, stressing that more voices needed to be heard – and listened to – to
ensure the UN reflected 2005, not 1945. Along with this, all States should
realize that modern challenges, from poverty to terrorism, were
interconnected. "We cannot have security without development; we cannot
have development without security; and we cannot have either without
respect for human rights," he said.
Saying that his reform proposals set out a "development-heavy agenda," he
stressed the importance for concrete commitments to meet the target for
official development assistance (ODA) amounting to 0.7 percent of gross
national income by 2015. He had also called for renewed negotiations on
duty-free and quota-free market access for all exports from developed
countries, as well as a "big boost" in resources to fight against HIV/AIDS,
an issue of deep importance for Africa and Asia as well as the world.
"I hope you will see [the agenda] as a chance to secure progress for your
peoples on all these points," he said.
* * *
ISRAEL AND PALESTINIANS MUST DO MORE TO SUSTAIN PEACE HOPES, SECURITY COUNCIL TOLD
The Palestinians must do more to reorganize their security forces to
prevent violence and Israel must halt all settlement activity if recent
hopes for resolving the Middle East conflict are to be sustained, the top
United Nations political officer told the Security Council today.
"Recent events in the Middle East continue to confirm the potential for
peace, but warn us as well that this new process is still fragile,"
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast said in
his latest monthly briefing, citing "a degree of edginess and renewed
suspicion" about Israeli intentions and Palestinian resolve and
capabilities.
He welcomed the public reiteration by both sides of their willingness to
coordinate Israel's planned withdrawal of its settlements in the Gaza Strip
this summer, but voiced concern "at reports that this announced readiness
to coordinate has not yet been sufficiently translated into practice.
"Direct dialogue and communication are essential first steps towards
ensuring that the disengagement is as smooth and non-violent as possible,"
he added.
"The pressing challenge for the parties and the international community is
to take all possible actions to ensure that disengagement happens, that it
happens in a coordinated way, and that it does not become a dead end, but
contributes to the momentum for peace," he said, referring to the Road Map
peace plan sponsored by the Middle East diplomatic Quartet – the UN,
European Union, Russia and the United States.
The plan calls for parallel and reciprocal steps by both sides leading to
two States living in peace and security, originally by the end of this
year.
"There is no 'quick fix' to this conflict. We can and should however
reiterate the need for the parties to implement their commitments under the
Road Map, and more recently at Sharm el-Sheikh," Mr. Prendergast said,
referring to an accord reached in February at the Egyptian resort for the
Palestinians to stop acts of violence and Israel to cease military
activities.
He noted moves by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to reorganize the
security forces, but added: "These actions and announcements are positive
and welcome, but they are clearly not enough. Security reform and a visible
and sustained effort to stop all violent activity is a basic requirement of
the Road Map. As such, they cannot be a matter for compromise. The will to
act must come from the Palestinian Authority."
On the other hand Israel could do much to support rather than hinder Mr.
Abbas' ability to take difficult steps, he said, noting that one of its
primary obligations under the Road Map is a halt to all settlement
activity, including natural growth.
"We have therefore noted with great concern that, despite strong
international objections, (Israeli) Prime Minister (Ariel) Sharon has
publicly reiterated his commitment to the eventual implementation of the E1
plan aiming at connecting Jerusalem with the largest West Bank settlement,
Maale Adumim," he declared.
"In addition, the Israeli Lands Authority announced on 18 April that it was
inviting bids for the construction of 50 housing units in the West Bank
settlement of Elkana."
Recalling US President George W. Bush's statement that Israel should not
undertake any activity contravening the Road Map or prejudicing final
status negotiations and should meet its obligations regarding settlements,
he said: "I believe that this very much represents the position of all four
members of the Quartet."
* * *
IMPROVED POLITICAL CLIMATE HAS NOT ENDED WESTERN SAHARA STALEMATE – UN REPORT
The overall improved political climate in Western Sahara has not ended the
stalemate between the parties on the core issue of how the people of the
territory can exercise their right of self-determination, Secretary-General
Kofi Annan says in a new report recommending a six-month extension of the
United Nations mission there to maintain stability.
Despite the encouraging recent reduction in negative rhetoric and increase
in high-level contacts in the region, "the stalemate in this long-standing
conflict has left tens of thousands of Saharan refugees living in
deplorable conditions, relying for their survival on the generosity of the
international community," Mr. Annan says in a report to the Security
Council.
He expresses the hope that all concerned will show the political will
necessary to break the current deadlock, thus enabling the UN to resume
efforts to assist the parties in reaching a mutually acceptable political
solution. In the meantime he urges both sides to refrain from inflammatory
statements or taking actions – legal, political or military – which would
complicate matters further or cause friction.
While he is pleased there have been no indications that either side plans
to resume hostilities, which were formally suspended when the UN Mission
for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) began operations in
September 1991, Mr. Annan is concerned by the violations of a military
agreement between Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO (Popular Front for the
Liberation of the Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro), which, among other
things, prohibits tactical reinforcements and the redeployment or movement
of troops in restricted areas.
Flagging a related matter, Mr. Annan expresses concern at the potential
dangers for civilians who enter the heavily mined buffer strip and
restricted areas. In this regard, he notes that illegal migrants are
particularly vulnerable, as are civilian demonstrators. He also again calls
on the POLISARIO to release all Moroccan prisoners of war without delay. He
appealed to Morocco and the POLISARIO to cooperate fully with the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in accounting for the
missing.
On the Security Council's request that he examine the possibility of
reducing the size of the Mission, Mr. Annan says that he remains convinced
that this would not be advisable at this stage. Given the situation on the
ground, MINURSO should be in the position to provide adequate and effective
monitoring of the ceasefire, and, at a minimum, be maintained at its
current strength through 31 October.
* * *
EXPERT TEAM COMPLETES NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF EXPANDED UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE IN NEPAL
A United Nations human rights expert team has wrapped up a fact-finding
mission on the needs of an expanded UN rights office in Nepal.
The group, headed by Walter Kalin, the Secretary-General's Special
Representative for the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, and
Dennis McNamara, Director of the UN's Internal Displacement Division, left
the Himalayan kingdom yesterday.
The experts' trip follows the signing last week of an agreement by the UN's
Geneva-based human rights office and the Government to set up a regional
monitoring operation to help establish accountability for rights abuses and
prevent further violations by all sides in the nine-year-old armed conflict
with Maoist rebels.
The UN's goal is to set up regional field offices to ensure rapid responses
to violations reports, and to have an advance team of human rights monitors
in Nepal by early May.
Under the agreement, the office will "engage all relevant actors, including
non-state actors, for the purpose of ensuring the observance of relevant
international human rights and humanitarian law." Monitors will seek the
cooperation of both the security forces and the Maoists to ensure that all
human rights violations, wherever they occur, are investigated and reported
on.
* * *
AID WORKERS UNABLE TO REACH 25,000 DISPLACED IN DR OF CONGO CAMP, UN SAYS
With aid workers unable to reach about 25,000 displaced people in a camp in
eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a cholera outbreak,
the situation is likely to worsen not only for the infected, but also for
those who need basic supplies of food and water, the United Nations
emergency coordination office said today.
"In addition to the cholera epidemic, which is likely to get out of hand in
the absence of a continuous follow-up in Tché, the IDPs (internally
displaced persons) will soon run out of food, water and medical supplies,
making their situation even more complex in the face of an already volatile
humanitarian situation," said Modibo Traoré, the head of the UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Bunia.
Some 165 cases of cholera, with four deaths, were counted in Tché camp
before the area became inaccessible, OCHA said. About 1,420 people in Tché,
Tchomia and Kafé have been infected since the start of the outbreak on 26
March and another 20 new cases of the disease have been detected daily, it
added.
Tché is about 61 kilometres north of Bunia, in an area where UN
peacekeepers and DRC national troops have been disarming fighters,
especially along the Iga Barrière-Katoto road, OCHA said.
The fighters have been attacking civilians in Djugu territory despite a 1
April deadline, imposed by the peacekeeping UN Organization Mission in the
DRC (MONUC), to have handed up their weapons.
MONUC has proposed establishing a mechanism to give humanitarian aid
workers safe passage to and from the area, OCHA said.
* * *
WITHDRAWAL OF HEAVY WEAPONS BEGINS IN CôTE D'IVOIRE, UN MISSION SAYS
Côte d'Ivoire Government troops and the fighters from the West African
country's major rebel force started their four-day withdrawal of heavy
weaponry from the frontline today and it has been proceeding without a
major hitch, the United Nations peacekeeping mission said.
Côte d'Ivoire, long the world's leading cocoa producer, has been split
between the north, held by the rebel Forces Nouvelles, and the south, under
the control of the Government's Defence and Security Forces of Côte
d'Ivoire, since a coup attempt against President Laurent Gbagbo failed in
2002 and was turned into an insurgency.
The area between them is held by peacekeepers of the UN Operation in Côte
d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and UN-authorized French Licorne forces.
UNOCI has been seeking to ensure that both sides abide by a peace agreement
signed in January 2003 in Linas-Marcoussis, France, an accord on unresolved
issues (Accra III) reached last July in Accra, Ghana, and further
arrangements brokered recently by South African President Thabo Mbeki on
behalf of the African Union (AU) and known as the Pretoria Agreement.
Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the
country and the head of UNOCI, Pierre Schori, yesterday urged all political
parties to ensure full and unconditional implementation of the Pretoria
Agreement and he got a pledge of cooperation, the mission said.
Mr. Schori, who took up his position on 11 April, made the call after
meeting separately with representatives of seven allied opposition groups,
known as the Group of Seven and led by Alphonse Djédjé Mady, and the
presidential party, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), led by Affi N'Guessan.
* * *
UN ENVOY RESUMES BROAD-SPECTRUM TALKS ON IRAQI POLITICAL TRANSITION
Fresh from consultations at Headquarters in New York, the senior United
Nations envoy for Iraq is back in Baghdad, re-immersing himself in efforts
to ensure that all sectors of society take part in the political
transition, especially with the task of writing a new constitution.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative Ashraf Qazi yesterday
met with new Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, as well as with a
senior Sunni Arab representative in a country in which Shiite Arabs form
the majority. The talks focused on the quick formation of a new Government
and the constitution.
Mr. Talabani was elected president earlier this month by the new
Transitional National Assembly, itself chosen in elections in January, when
Sunni Arabs largely absented themselves, thus securing little
representation in the body that is to draft the new constitution.
Ever since, Mr. Qazi has been stressing the imperative of full
participation by all sectors in the process. Shiite Arabs, who voted
enthusiastically, represent about 60 per cent of the population, while
mainly Sunni Kurds, who also turned out en masse, and Sunni Arabs, the
dominant political force in the regime of ousted Saddam Hussein, represent
about 20 per cent each.
Mr. Qazi briefed Mr. Talabani on his discussions at UN Headquarters last
week and his meetings with senior officials in the region, Europe and the
United States, and reviewed recent political developments with Harith
Al-Dhari, Secretary-General of the Association of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni
group.
In a meeting with the Iraqi Bar Association, he discussed their concerns on
the constitutional process and reiterated the UN's readiness to assist if
so invited. The Bar Association welcomed a UN role.
* * *
DROUGHT, LOCUSTS LEAVE THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN IN NIGER FACING MALNUTRITION, UN SAYS
Extrapolating from a survey conducted in two areas of Niger hard hit by
locust infestation and scanty rains, a United Nations agency estimates that
nearly 350,000 children younger than 5 could be suffering from
malnutrition, with the risk of stunted growth.
The study in the Zinder and Maradi regions of the West African nation
suggests that 346,000 children could suffer from malnutrition this year,
with 63,000 of them suffering severely, the World Food Programme (WFP) said
in the capital, Niamey.
"Following a season of poor rains, coupled with the impact of the worst
locust invasion in 15 years, the situation is likely to get worse before it
gets better. Niger is facing a food deficit of nearly a quarter of a
million metric tons this year," it said.
As a result, an unusually large number of people have abandoned the
countryside and migrated to urban centres in search of work, while others
have moved their livestock into agricultural areas where the animals could
destroy crops and bring on conflict, WFP said. Still others are selling
livestock to buy food, or felling trees to make charcoal for sale.
"WFP's emergency operation in Niger to combat the impact of the drought and
locust invasion, which runs until the end of August, currently has a
shortfall of $2.5 million. The only donation to date is a gift of $500,000
from Sweden," it said.
* * *
UN EFFORT TO HELP RESTORE IRAQ’S ‘GARDEN OF EDEN’ MARSHES MOVES STEP CLOSER
United Nations efforts to help restore the marshlands of southern Iraq,
considered by some to be the site of the Biblical Garden of Eden, after
they were massively damaged by the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein, have
moved a step closer with the identification of six pilot project sites.
At all six sites environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) will be used to
see how they perform in restoring the environment and providing clean water
and sanitation to 85,000 people living there, UN Environment Programme (
UNEP) official Monique Barbut told a meeting yesterday held on the margins
of the thirteenth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (
CSD) in New York.
The $11-million project, funded by the Government of Japan, aims to bring
wetland management skills to local people and communities, heirs to the
5,000-year-old civilization of the Babylonians and Sumerians, with “low
tech” less polluting ESTs which include restoration of reed beds and other
marshland habitats that act as natural, water-filtration systems.
In 2001, UNEP released satellite images showing that 90 per cent of these
fabled wetlands, home to rare and unique species like the Sacred ibis and
African darter, and a spawning ground for fisheries, had been lost to dams
on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and a vast drainage operation carried
out by Saddam Hussein after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Further studies released in 2003 showed that an additional 3 per cent, or
325 square kilometres, had gone. Experts feared the entire wetlands could
disappear by 2008.
With the collapse of the former regime in mid-2003, local residents began
opening floodgates and breaching embankments to bring water back and
satellite images indicated that by April 2004 around a fifth, or 3,000
square kilometres, had been re-flooded. The challenge now is to restore the
environment and provide clean water and sanitation services.
* * *
WORLD’S YOUNGEST COUNTRY BECOMES NEWEST APPLICANT TO JOIN UN TOURISM AGENCY
Timor-Leste, the world’s youngest country, has become the newest applicant
for membership of the United Nations tourism agency, a global forum that
plays a decisive role in promoting the development of responsible,
sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
The South-east Asian country’s request, together with those of Papua New
Guinea, the United Kingdom and Belarus, which announced their intention to
join earlier this year, will be submitted in November to the World Tourism
Organization’s (WTO) General Assembly in Senegal.
Tourism potential in Timor-Leste, which only became independent three years
ago, includes snorkelling and scuba-diving in the clear ocean waters of the
Timor Sea, dolphin and whale watching, bird watching, trekking and
mountaineering and exploring cultural treasures from the Portuguese
colonial times in Dili, the capital, and other towns.
With the new members WTO will comprise 148 Member States, seven territories
and over 300 Affiliate Members representing the private sector,
destinations and education, serving as a forum for tourism policy issues
and a practical source of tourism know-how.
Headquartered in Madrid, the agency plays a major role in stimulating
public-private sector partnerships and encouraging the implementation of
the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism to ensure that member countries,
tourist destinations and businesses maximize the positive economic, social
and cultural effects of tourism and fully reap its benefits, while
minimizing its negative social and environmental impacts.
* * *
VISITING DESPERATE REFUGEES IN DARFUR, UN OFFICIAL APPEALS FOR MORE GLOBAL AID
On a visit to desperate widows and small children living under trees in a
dry river bed and to families huddled in miserable tiny twig shelters in
squalid villages in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, the top United
Nations refugee official has called on the international community to
contribute more money for humanitarian relief.
“These people desperately, desperately need the kind of assistance we
provide,” Acting UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Wendy Chamberlin
said yesterday on the third day of a five-day visit to the region. “UN
agencies simply do not have the funding to provide them the assistance they
desperately need to survive.”
The group in the river bed and the villagers had been refugees in
neighbouring Chad, which Ms. Chamberlin is to visit today and tomorrow, and
mobile teams from UNHCR are fanning out into the countryside and the desert
looking for displaced people and refugees who have returned to the country
but are scared to go to their destroyed villages.
“We visited two villages, one Arab and one attacked by Arabs, but in both
villages families had started to come back,” she said at the end of a
gruelling day in the sweltering heat of Darfur, an area the size of France
and where a rebellion that began two years ago, partly in protest at the
distribution of economic resources, has been compounded by armed militia
attacks on villages, uprooting more than 2 million people. Some 200,000 of
these fled into Chad.
“They came back from Chad for a variety of reasons – because conditions
were worse along the border there, because the Sudanese Government told
them to come back to receive UN aid, because they wanted to be close to
their land,” Ms. Chamberlin said. “Whatever the reason, they are desperate
and they have no aid and we, as the UN refugee agency, have a duty to
assist returned refugees.”
She added that she was haunted by the tales she heard. Zaina Abakar, a
35-year-old widow with three children, told her that she and others living
in the river bed have to eat seeds they find on the ground, seeds that are
so tough they have to be boiled for three days.
Ms. Abakar said all the women and their children live in fear and were
frightened even by the arrival of Ms. Chamberlin’s helicopter. “We are
living here, yes, but we are scared,” Zaina stressed, cuddling her year-old
baby boy Mohammed. “We are scared of everything. When we saw your plane
(helicopter), we thought of running away. Whenever anything happens we
think of running.” She begged the UN to bring food, water, and above all,
security.
Ms. Chamberlin cautioned against hopes of any quick end to the Darfur
crisis. UNHCR and other aid organizations “are here for the long term.
People we have seen are terrified to go back to their villages.
“There was still a great deal of fear in their faces because of the things
they have been through. Clearly they want and need more protection from the
African Union troops, from the UN and particularly the protection the UN
refugee agency is best capable of providing,” she added.
* * *
UN-BACKED PROJECT HELPS DPR OF KOREA REVERSE VICIOUS CYCLE OF LAND
DEGRADATION
Seeking to reverse the agricultural devastation caused by floods and
droughts in recent years and the soil erosion stemming from extensive
deforestation, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is
expanding a United Nations-sponsored pilot project of watershed management
to increase the country’s output.
“Applying watershed management throughout the country, planting trees in
the uplands and developing integrated approaches to the use of natural
resources, will help diminish soil degradation and the dangers of floods
and downstream sedimentation,” UN Food and Agriculture (FAO) forestry
expert Thomas Hofer said today.
Trees help retain water in the soil, preventing water from flowing
downstream all at once during heavy rains and keeping moisture in the soil
during low rainfall. Their roots also cling unto the soil, making it more
difficult for soil to erode.
Soil erosion and sedimentation from floods and droughts between 1994 and
2000 have caused massive destruction and reduced the DPRK’s agricultural
output in the last decade. In 1995 and 1996 alone, 16 per cent of arable
land was damaged by floods, which also destroyed irrigation infrastructure
as well as 30 out of 90 tree nurseries.
To compensate, forests have been extensively exploited and converted into
agricultural land on steep slopes of marginal lands, which are vulnerable
to soil erosion. Forests were also felled for fuelwood and to earn foreign
currency. As a consequence, one quarter of the country’s non-agricultural
land on hills and mountains is bare today.
At the Government’s request, FAO launched a watershed management project in
2001 to reverse this vicious cycle and offset diminishing forest quality
and agricultural output, in part by rehabilitating damaged tree nurseries
and establishing new ones. Two small-scale pilot sites have been
established and rural people have been trained to apply their newly-gained
knowledge sites for replication elsewhere.
Based on the project, DPRK is now developing a watershed management plan
for the Taedong River, which flows through the capital, Pyongyang.
“By applying elsewhere what we have learned from the pilot sites, we hope
to see sustainable use of natural resources and greater agricultural output
in the country,” Mr. Hofer said.
* * *
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