AFP: New limits to Antarctic tourism

AFP: New limits to Antarctic tourism

Fri Apr 17, 7:16 pm ET

US proposals for binding restrictions on Antarctic tourism have been adopted by countries with ties to the region, in a bid to protect the continent's fragile ecosystem, officials said Friday.

Signatories of the Antarctic Treaty, launched in Washington 50 years ago, capped 11 days of talks in Baltimore, Maryland by agreeing to impose mandatory limits on the size of cruise ships landing in Antarctica and how many passengers they can bring ashore.

Another resolution placed a mandatory shipping code on vessels in Antarctica, boosting shipping safety efforts underway at the International Maritime Organization, while a third enhanced environmental protection for the entire Antarctic ecosystem.

"We are happy with the results," said Evan Bloom, who led the US delegation at the summit, noting that the measures were largely in line with needs emphasized by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Although the measures were adopted by consensus without opposition, they were all subject to negotiation and will become legally binding once ratified by each of the 28 countries that have signed the Antarctic Treaty, he told reporters in a teleconference.

Although no specific mechanism was detailed to enforce the restrictions, signatories would be required to prevent ships with more than 500 passengers from reaching landing sites in Antarctica and allow up to 100 passengers on shore at any given time.

Nearly 400 diplomats, experts and polar scientists from 47 countries attended the meeting, which tackled environmental and territorial issues affecting the Antarctic.

The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) also focused on promoting scientific research in the Antarctic, said its chair Tucker Scully.

He said there was "a major emphasis" on ensuring that the parties cooperated to support scientific research "to understand what is in fact happening to our planet with respect to climate."

In opening the first joint session of the ATCM and the Arctic Council on April 6, Clinton said Washington would work with other countries surrounding the region "to strengthen peace and security and support economic development and protect the environment."

The diplomatic chief said she and President Barack Obama were "committed" to having the US Congress ratify the Law of the Sea Convention, a United Nations text on maritime rights drafted in 1982.

The United States signed the convention in 1994, after securing changes to certain provisions deemed against US interests. But Congress never ratified the treaty, despite a lobbying effort by former president George W. Bush in 2007.

Clinton said Obama had provided the US Congress with an annex to the treaty for ratification. The annex set the obligations of signatories in case of an environmental catastrophe in the South Pole region.

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AP: Indigenous groups hold climate summit in Alaska

Sun Apr 19, 6:54 pm ET

Indigenous people from around the world are gathering in Anchorage this week for a conference on climate change, a subject participants say disproportionately affects them though they share relatively little responsibility for it.

Patricia Cochran, chairwoman of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, said the United Nations-affiliated conference intends to provide "a unified voice, to be able to have more influence over the political and other decisions that are being made that impact our communities."

About 400 people from 80 nations were expected to attend the Indigenous Peoples' Global Summit on Climate Change, where organizers will create a plan and demand that countries around the world include indigenous people as they respond to climate change.

Indigenous people who "have contributed the least to the global problem of climate change" are often "on the front lines" of the problem, said Cochran, whose group was hosting the summit. The council represents about 150,000 Inuit in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka in Russia.

Conference recommendations will be presented in December to the Conference of Parties at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen.

Organizers of the five-day summit said problems of climate change are threatening those who have lived on the same land for generations.

Stanley Tom, a conference delegate, said a river in his Alaskan hometown of Newtok has been eroding the earth under homes and has turned the tiny village into an island, and that other Alaskan villages were also facing erosion and flooding.

"The global warming is really strong," Tom said. "The whole village is sinking right now."

Summit co-sponsor Sam Johnston of Tokyo-based United Nations University said those living in Australia's Torres Strait Islands have similar problems because of rising sea levels, while southern Australia was experiencing the worst drought on record.

He said the drought was in an area of the country where much of Austalia's fruit, vegetables and grains are grown, and it was "having a dramatic impact on everybody, including the indigenous people."

Organizers said indigenous groups can offer ways to reduce the effects of climate change because they have centuries of experience when it comes to adapting to harsh environments.

Johnston said Aborigines in northern Australia use traditional fire practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which has allowed them to sell $17 million worth of carbon credits to industries.

"Their traditional knowledge is very important," he said.

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AFP: Palestinians face dire water shortage: World Bank

Sun Apr 19, 10:09 pm ET

Palestinians face dire water shortages because of both bad Palestinian management and Israeli restrictions, the World Bank said in a report on Monday.

The report, the first of its kind, noted the "complete dependence" of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip "on scarce water resources shared and largely controlled by Israel."

It also underlined that "the joint governance rules and water allocations established under the 1995 Oslo interim agreement, still in effect today, fall short of the needs of the Palestinian people."

The report, entitled "Assessment of Restrictions on Palestinian Water Sector Development," said that "limited access to natural resources" impedes Palestinian economic development.

"Because of asymmetries in power, capacity and information between parties, interim governance rules and practices have resulted in systematic and severe constraints on Palestinian development of water resources, water uses, and wastewater management," it said.

"Furthermore, since 2000, the movement and access restrictions, consisting of physical impediments... have further impaired Palestinian access to water resources, infrastructure development and utility operations."

The report blamed both the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel.

"Even though the PA and many donors have invested in establishing a sustainable and equitable water sector, access to water resources, water infrastructure and institutions remain inadequate."

"The sector continues to operate in a very inefficient emergency mode, with far reaching economic, social and environmental consequences," it said.

As a result, the World Bank said, "water-related humanitarian crises are in fact chronic in Gaza and in parts of the West Bank."

The World Bank also noted the "highly disparate availability of water resources" between Israel and the Palestinian territories.

"Fresh water per capita in Israel (is) approximately four times that of the West Bank and Gaza," it said.

Israel, according to the World Bank, "has established efficient water infrastructure and management" while the PA "is struggling to attain the basic level of infrastructure and service of a low-income country."

The World Bank recommended adopting an agenda to address "shortcomings in water resource development and management, a low and declining investment rate, and weak management of water services."

The study was carried out by international and local experts at the request of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas between September 2008 and February 2009.

Abbas accused Israel of forcing Palestinians to live in a state of chronic water scarcity in a statement read in March at the Istanbul World Water Forum, and said that a "rightful share" of water should not be tied to a peace deal.