The environment in the news friday, 23 June 2006
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- China to Phase out Organic Pollutants in 10 Years
- UN Gives Emergency Food Aid to Drought-Hit Nepal
- General Environment News FLOODS, MUDSLIDES / TAKING PRECAUTIONS
- Limited by nature
- Road to nowhere
ROAP MEDIA UPDATE22 – 23 JUNE 2006 UN or UNEP in the news China to spend 34b yuan to phase out pollutants EastDay.com, China - 22 June 2006 - China will spend at least 34 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion) to phase out persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in 10 years, a Chinese environmental official said yesterday. "This is only a preliminary calculation, and does not include the funds needed to treat the places contaminated by POPs," said Zhuang Guotai, deputy director of the office for Stockholm Convention Implementation under the State Environmental Protection Administration. He said that the funds needed to treat the polluted areas "could be very huge" and difficult to estimate as there is still insufficient information about how many areas have been contaminated and how seriously they have been affected. China has drafted a plan to phase out the world's most toxic chemicals as required by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, he said. According to the plan, China will stop the production and use of chlordane, mirex and DDT used in anti-dirt paint by 2010, and safely dispose of electric appliances containing POPs by 2015. By 2015, China will also stop the production and use of POPs in pesticides. The plan will be submitted to the State Council for approval in July, he said. Under the Stockholm Convention, China will have to submit its national implementation plan to the convention's secretariat by November 11.
The Italian government has pledged to provide 7 million U.S. dollars in aid, the biggest sum pledged by a foreign government so far. The fifth meeting to discuss China's implementation of the Stockholm Convention was held on Wednesday, with the attendance of more than 100 government officials and representatives from China, European countries, UN organizations and Italia, Germany, Norway, Japan and Finland. "The Stockholm Convention can be successful only if it succeeds in China as the country is very influential in combating POPs," said Zoltan Csizer, a senior adviser of the UN Industrial Development Organization, at the meeting. Of all the pollutants released into the environment every year by human activity, POPs are among the most dangerous. They are linked with cancer, allergies and hypersensitivity, and damage the central and peripheral nervous systems, which also cause reproductive disorders and disruption of the immune system. According to the United Nations Environment Program, every person in the world carries traces of POPs in his or her body. POPs are highly stable compounds that can last for years or decades before breaking down. http://english.eastday.com/eastday/englishedition/node20676/userobject1ai2123631.html China to Phase out Organic Pollutants in 10 Years CRI, China – 21 June 2006 - China will spend at least 34 billion yuan (4.3 billion U.S. dollars) to phase out persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in 10 years, a Chinese environmental official said on Wednesday. "This is only a preliminary calculation, and does not include the funds needed to treat the places contaminated by POPs," said Zhuang Guotai, deputy director of the office for Stockholm Convention Implementation under the State Environmental Protection Administration. He said that the funds needed to treat the polluted areas "could be very huge" and difficult to estimate as there is still insufficient information about how many areas have been contaminated and how seriously they have been affected. China has drafted a plan to phase out the world's most toxic chemicals as required by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, he said. According to the plan, China will stop the production and use of chlordane, mirex and DDT used in anti-dirt paint by 2010, and safely dispose of electric appliances containing POPs by 2015. By 2015, China will also stop the production and use of POPs in pesticides. The plan will be submitted to the State Council for approval in July, he said. Under the Stockholm Convention, China will have to submit its national implementation plan to the convention's secretariat by November 11. China signed the Stockholm Convention in May 2001 and it came into effect in China in November 2004. Funding to control POPs will come from the central government, local governments and domestic companies as well as international organizations and foreign governments. The Italian government has pledged to provide 7 million U.S. dollars in aid, the biggest sum pledged by a foreign government so far. The fifth meeting to discuss China's implementation of the Stockholm Convention was held on Wednesday, with the attendance of more than 100 government officials and representatives from China,European countries, UN organizations and Italia, Germany, Norway, Japan and Finland. "The Stockholm Convention can be successful only if it succeeds in China as the country is very influential in combating POPs," said Zoltan Csizer, a senior adviser of the UN Industrial Development Organization, at the meeting. Of all the pollutants released into the environment every year by human activity, POPs are among the most dangerous. They are linked with cancer, allergies and hypersensitivity, and damage the central and peripheral nervous systems, which also cause reproductive disorders and disruption of the immune system. According to the United Nations Environment Program, every person in the world carries traces of POPs in his or her body. POPs are highly stable compounds that can last for years or decades before breaking down. http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/2946/2006/06/21/701@105301.htm UN Gives Emergency Food Aid to Drought-Hit Nepal KATHMANDU - The United Nations World Food Programme has started distributing emergency food to more than 225,000 people in central and western Nepal hit by the worst drought in decades. The agency plans to distribute 800 tonnes of foodgrains in 10 of the impoverished country's 75 districts over the next three months, an official said late on Tuesday. "Food insecurity is already a fact of life in these districts, and we are very concerned that effects of the drought will exacerbate what is already a precarious situation," Richard Ragan, country director, said in a statement. A bloody Maoist insurgency aimed at toppling the monarchy has raged in the Himalayan region since 1996. Last week, the rebels signed a landmark deal with the government which agreed to take them into an interim cabinet after King Gyanendra ended his absolute rule, bowing to relentless street protests. Nepal is one of the world's 10 poorest countries and receives more than 60 percent of the cost of its economic development in international aid, including from the UN Many of Nepal's villages are located in remote mountains and foodgrains would have to be flown in, the WFP's Ragan said.
More than 13,000 people have died in the Maoist conflict that has wrecked Nepal's economy which is largely dependent on tourism. Story Date: 22/6/2006
Bangkok Post, 22 June 2006 - Early warning systems are expected to be installed within three years in areas in 51 provinces vulnerable to flash floods and mudslides. Siripong Hangsapruk, director-general of the Water Resources Department, said satellite data showed about 30 million rai of land was damaged by flash floods and mudslides between 1989 and 2001. A total of 2,370 villages in 51 provinces were badly affected. The floods also caused economic losses of about 69 billion baht. To mitigate the effects of such natural disasters, the department will speed up the installation of warning systems in those high-risk villages. It aims to complete the installations within three years. Warning systems have already been installed in 321 villages, mostly in the North, which are prone to mudslides. The Meteorological Department has predicted that Thailand could take a direct hit from two or three typhoons in the coming rainy season. The typhoons could trigger flash floods in the upper northern region during August and September and in the South during October and November, said the department. In Tak, the provincial governor has instructed emergency relief officials to brace for possible flash floods in tambons Sam Muen and Kanae of Mae Ramat district, and to be ready to evacuate residents if necessary. Mr Siripong said the department also plans to set up water resource centres in all provinces to check the quality of water. He said the water quality of the country's four major freshwater sources _ the Chao Phraya river, particularly the lower part, the Tha Chin and Lam Takhong rivers, and Songkhla lake _ has deteriorated. The water in these four sources was found to have been contaminated with chemical substances and some dangerous bacteria. The pollution was caused by the discharge of untreated waste from households and animal farms. Mr Siripong said water consumption in Thailand was as high as 67,232 million cubic metres a year, but the existing water supplies could not meet demand. The country faces an annual shortage of around 17,000 million cubic metres of water a year, he said. http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/22Jun2006_news11.php ENVIRONMENT / WATER SALINITY ERRATIC Lake’s aquatic species under threat Bangkok Post, 22 June 2006 - ONNUCHA HUTASINGH & ASSAWIN PAKKAWAN A decrease in the volume of brackish groundwater in Songkhla lake leading to a swing of extremes of salty and fresh water is posing a new threat to many aquatic species in the country's largest natural lake, an environmental expert said yesterday. The phenomenon was among factors that could add too much salty or fresh water to the lake's usually brackish stock, according to Penjai Sompongchaikul, deputy dean of the environmental management faculty of Prince of Songkla University. The 1,046-square-kilometre lagoon, with an opening to the sea, straddles three southern provinces _ Songkhla, Phatthalung and Nakhon Si Thammarat. The salinity of its water fluctuates in relation to changes in the quantity of its fresh water supply from rainfall and inland rivers, as well as sea water from the Pacific Ocean. The inland groundwater, that runs into the lake, is made brackish by salinity. A certain amount of brackish water is held in the waterbed soil and is periodically released into the lake. However, experts found the lake had experienced extreme swings in recent years and the decrease in brackish groundwater was a contributing factor, Ms Penjai said. The decrease resulted from a drop in the quantity of inland groundwater. Soil around the watershed absorbed less water while people living along rivers appeared to have drawn a greater amount of groundwater, she said. The Water Resources Department says Thailand uses 3,500 million cubic metres of groundwater a year, largely for household consumption. The La Nina phenomenon, which brings heavy rainfall to Thailand, has also added a large volume of fresh water to the lake. Supol Tansuwan, director of the state research institute for coastal aquaculture, said the freshwater area has already expanded to cover 90% of the lake. Usually, about 70% of the lake consists of salt water. The change has adversely affected black tiger prawn farms, which rely on brackish water, but benefited raisers of freshwater fish, he said. http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/22Jun2006_news17.php Limited by nature On Line opinion, Australia - By Aila Keto -Posted Thursday, 22 June 2006 There were two billion people alive when I was born; there are six billion now; and there may be another three billion before my son dies. That will require 80 per cent more food, water and other resources: way beyond our earth’s already overstretched capacity. No species can increase its numbers like that indefinitely without serious risk of systemic collapse. Fundamentally, there can be no prospect of a sustainable society unless we can stabilise our numbers and live within the earth’s means.
The abrupt collapse of the Saharan rainforests to desert is an example of ancient regime shift. The collapse of Caribbean coral reefs and the Nova Scotian cod fisheries are recent cases that no one predicted. A simple equation determines the earth’s fate and ours: the number of people multiplied by how much they consume and dump. The optimists have unshakeable faith in economic miracles, claiming, “We’ll fix the problems when we can afford it but only growth will produce the extra cash and technological innovation to do so”. It is true that for many, but not all, quality of life has improved dramatically. There is enough food. We live longer and better and can replace bits of ourselves that wear out, thanks to remarkable scientific achievements. We can be thankful for many positive changes. But this economic wealth is fuelled at huge ecological cost by more consumption, more than we really need or want. The food, water, fibres and fuels to feed, clothe, shelter, coddle and move us around comes from land and energy we take from the other 500,000 or so species vital to this earth. We have already seized more than half their share. To sustain our food lifeline we now fix more nitrogen synthetically (in fertilisers) than do all terrestrial ecosystems naturally. Whole seas, lakes and rivers are being starved of oxygen and dying as a result. Water use, largely for agriculture, is surging and reducing rivers to bare trickles. We are acidifying our oceans more than at any time in the past 300 million years. More species are becoming extinct than at any other time in the last 60 million years. The fossil record tells us that recovery from these mass exterminations takes 20 million years or more. There is no quick fix. Some think it too late already, that all life on earth is doomed. I don’t. Assuming we get our population policy right can we harness smart technologies now to spare and heal the land? Can we sustain reasonable quality in our lives with less land, less water, less waste and fewer new resources? Remote technologies (Landsat, Modis satellites) show the state of our land in broad terms, but often too late, when the damage is already done and it is too slow and costly to reverse. We need in situ data, in real time and at the right scale, to see the trends and guide day-to-day decisions. For each farmer, each grazier and each paddock - how much and what to plant, where and when; how many stock and for how long. We need to know in which paddock, when to water and how much, in order to maintain land and stock in good condition, yet remain profitable, productive, efficient and sustainable. Our rivers and reefs would become free of silt and sludge. Wireless sensor network (WSN) technology has the required capacity to revolutionise agriculture and grazing - by doing more with less, and environmental monitoring. It involves thumb-size computers (“motes”, “flecks” or nodes) combining microprocessors, memory, radio transceivers, onboard power supplies and a host of sensors that can measure moisture, heat, pressure, temperature, pH, turbidity, chemicals, sounds, light, images, electro-magnetic fields, vibrations and much more. These will eventually be inexpensive enough to deploy in the thousands on farms, forests, reefs, lakes and streams: collecting data at spatial and temporal scales previously inconceivable and unaffordable. Each node is linked wirelessly to others in grids or clusters to collect and analyse data from sensors before transmission potentially around the world. This means we can immediately detect or even pre-empt the first outbreak of pests, infections or disease in crops and pastures, applying just the right amount of chemicals in just the right place, with savings in costs and pollution, and increased production. One could automate delivery of fertilisers precisely to meet the spatially variable needs of soils across each farm or paddock, at a fraction of today’s usage and costs. To restore even 1 per cent of habitat needed for viability and ongoing evolution of Queensland’s unique flora and fauna would cost between $25 and $100 billion by traditional means. This is clearly prohibitive. The hundreds of millions already spent, if on wrong species mixes, may impede long-term recovery. If one thinks in ecological timeframes, WSN could help us learn from and assist nature to recover, affordably, on a scale that matters. I can think of no other single technology with such powerful and diverse applications. This technology can achieve a more secure and sustainable “natural” environment for biodiversity and can reduce ecological footprints while improving the profitability, productivity, efficiency and sustainability of those industries that succour us, but threaten biodiversity the most. But in the end, WSN is just a technology: respect for the earth and a passion to heal it is fundamental. Professor Aila Keto is an Adjunct Professor of the University of Queensland’s School of Agronomy and Horticulture, and has a long history of published work and service to agencies and conservation councils. Professor Keto is the ‘Land Champion’ ambassador to Earth Dialogues Brisbane July 21-24. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=4595 Road to nowhere Frontline, India, 20 June 2006 -RAVI SHARMA Land acquisition controversies stall the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project. IT began more than 20 years ago as an expressway that would speed up travel between Bangalore and Mysore and graduated 10 years later into an infrastructure corridor that would also decongest Bangalore. But since then it has been a bumpy ride, in the courts and on the ground, for the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP), following controversies over land acquisition. Now the Karnataka government is contemplating bringing legislation during the coming Assembly session aimed at taking over the project "in public good" from the private company that is executing it. Arbitrariness in land acquisition for the project is a widely acknowledged fact. The Framework Agreement (FWA) signed in April 1997 between the Karnataka government and Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Limited (NICE) put the entitlement of land at 20,193 acres (1 acre is 0.4 hectare). But the extent of land notified is 29,258 acres (one acre is 0.4 hectare). In fact, the FWA-specified entitlement is itself the result of an arbitrary increase made by the then Secretary of the Public Works Department, from the 18,313 acres specified in a 1995 State government order (G.O.), which is also the figure stated in the project's original technical report. Naturally, affected landowners and farmers along the proposed corridor, which goes through at least 178 villages, including 44 in the rice-bowl taluks of Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna, have labelled it a real estate scam. They were served preliminary land acquisition notices "years ago" but are not sure whether the project will ever reach them. If and when it reaches them, they ask, will the compensation be the "fair market value" specified in the FWA? G.S. Puttaraju, who grows ginger, mangoes and coconuts on his 14-acre family holding in Gonipura (Bangalore South taluk), says the compensation that NICE is offering is a pittance. "We will resist moves to take over our land," he said. There are numerous similar voices, especially in the wetlands of Mandya and Mysore districts, and a number of them are beginning to organise themselves through their panchayats in a bid to thwart the project. Some affected people even dug up a portion of the completed peripheral ring road near Bangalore. But not all are averse to giving up their land if the price is right because bad monsoons, a falling water table and inadequate compensation for produce are making agriculture less and less profitable. For most, however, it is a fait accompli. "What can we do? We can't fight the government and even the Supreme Court has upheld the project," they say. In April 2006, the Supreme Court upheld two Karnataka High Court rulings, of September 1998 and May 2005, that the project be implemented in the "letter and spirit" of the FWA. The court came down heavily on the flip-flops of the State government and fined it Rs. 5 lakhs. The apex court agreed with the Karnataka High Court that the BMICP was "an integrated project intended for public purpose and irrespective of where the land was situated, so long as it arose from the terms of the FWA there was no question of characterising it as unconnected with public purpose". But questions on logistics still remain. In November 1997, H.T. Somashekar Reddy, a retired Public Works Department (PWD) chief engineer, contended in a petition under public interest litigation (PIL) in the Karnataka High Court that the project was opposed to public policy; that the construction of a 162-km road, including the 111 km expressway between Bangalore and Mysore, would need only 2,775 acres of land; that the construction of five townships was not an obligatory function of the state and could never be for the public good within the meaning of the Land Acquisition Act; and that the government had bound itself to pass certain enactments or effect amendments which are opposed to public policy in the existing Acts. Both the State government and NICE refuted these arguments and the court ruled in favour of NICE on its need for 6,999 acres and on the construction of five townships which would make the project financially viable. The court also ruled that clauses in the FWA "cannot be construed to have the effect of binding the legislature which can reject the proposal of the executive to enact any law as agreed to by the government". The High Court ruling of May 2005, by a Division Bench, came on a batch of almost 100 petitions and it upheld the Somashekar Reddy judgment, holding that the BMICP was an integrated project intended for the public good. Though the FWA specifies that 13,237 acres of private land should be notified, the number kept growing exponentially. The first major violation of the FWA was in October 1998 when Shankaralinga Gowda, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB), which is the nodal agency to notify and acquire land for the BMICP, entered into an agreement with NICE to "make available about 21,000 acres [of private] land" and notifications subsequently followed. By March 2004, the total land under notification, as indicated by Anees Siraj, the KIADB's Special Deputy Commissioner for the BMICP, was 29,258 acres. As a letter from Siraj indicates, "land acquisition notifications were issued on the requirement indicated by the promoter company... and not on the basis of any technical drawings as approved by the government or a project report." Ashok Kheny, managing director, NICE, said the excess acquisition was because no one was sure until the final notification "how much land would actually be required", and also since in many instances the entire land under a survey number was mentioned when only a portion of it was actually going to be acquired. But experts say that even if the entire land under a survey number was taken it would not amount to an excess acquisition of over 9,000 acres. There was also the question why entire villages were notified when they were not in the FWA. The excess acquisition is even more surprising since the alignment had been scientifically identified in 1998 and there was little room for excess acquisition. This alignment was approved by the State Cabinet and subsequently by the 12-member Empowered Committee (EPC) and even submitted to the Supreme Court. The EPC, set up under the terms of the FWA with the Chief Secretary as its chairman and key Secretaries as members, had to facilitate and expedite the project and ensure that the government and its instrumentalities, and NICE comply with the provisions and obligations of the FWA. According to informed sources, the reasons for the KIADB to notify lands that were not in the project's alignment were simple enough: notify lands far in excess of what was required with the hope that the project's requirement could surreptitiously and periodically be increased and a window of opportunity opened to a few politicians and officials to make a fast buck by denotifying lands for a fee. In February 2004, NICE indicated to Siraj's office that 2,728 acres of the 29,258 acres were not needed. Though the denotification process was initiated, no government order has been issued so far. But the sources say NICE's request was strategic: most of the denotified land is away from Bangalore, the company preferring to have most of its entitled 20,193 acres as close to Bangalore as possible, where land costs can go up to even around Rs.2 crores an acre. 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 292.69 Kb. Share with your friends:
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