The environment in the news

During the Southern Hemisphere summer and fall, binocular-equipped spotters in Melinka seek out blue whales' signature spouts, which sometimes send spray jetting 30 feet into the air. The hilltop lookouts radio word to waiting Blue Whale Center researchers, who board boats to rendezvous with the goliaths.

Offshore, the surprisingly sleek blue whales -- their skin seems closer to a leaden gray-black -- undulate through the water like enormous snakes, their booming respiration like rhythmic bellows in the salt air. The whales survive on krill, a tiny crustacean that, in a paradox of nature, sustains the world's largest creature. Some studies have suggested that global warming could be reducing krill populations, threatening whales.

More than 1,000 miles to the south, near the tip of the continent, biologist Juan Capella carries on his mostly solitary research in a far-flung corner of the Strait of Magellan, known for its gale-force winds and mountainous swells.

The treacherous channels between the Atlantic and Pacific have long attracted adventurers, from the passage's Portuguese namesake (Ferdinand Magellan) to Sir Francis Drake to Charles Darwin, who, near Tierra del Fuego, described a pair of sperm whales "jumping upright quite out of the water," then falling back with a noisy splash "like a distant broadside."

In summer months, the waters of tiny Carlos III Island hold a profusion of marine life: sea lions frolicking in the water and lounging on the rocks, curious dolphins and a riotous mass of seabirds -- cormorants, skuas, giant petrels, albatross and penguins, which stand guard over nests in the roots of gnarly, wind-bent trees. Condors coast on the thermals.

And the star attraction: humpback whales. Unlike the krill-devouring blue whales, the humpbacks here feed on plentiful sardines. They sometimes work in groups, herding the fish against forests of kelp, drawing sea lions and birds eager for a treat.

"A juvenile," Capella says of a humpback that has suddenly and startlingly leaped out of the water, like a submarine-launched missile. "He's here with his mother. It's good to see her back."

For more than a decade, Capella has studied the resident whale population, identifying most by characteristic tail marks. He has tracked their migration more than 4,000 miles north, to breeding grounds off the Colombian coast.

"The whale has generated legends since antiquity, like the story of Jonah," Capella says. "It was the base of an industry that generated wealth for hundreds of years. But we know very little about the whale. Here we have a natural laboratory."
Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-whales28apr28,0,6552812.story

6- Honduras - Local Governments Protect Environment
TEGUCIGALA, Apr 28 (Tierramérica).- In Honduras, 102 of the country's 298 municipalities have joined an initiative for watershed preservation, reforestation and environmental education, say official sources.

The National Program for Sustainable Development, under the Agriculture Secretariat, is carrying out the effort, and aims to protect some 6,700 square kilometers of forest in designated reserves.

Gilberto Guifarro, coordinator of the project, told Tierramérica that the initiative, begun two years ago, is to benefit around 213,000 people, whose local governments will launch educational and technical campaigns for forestry management and reforestation.

The Honduran national territory, covering 112,088 square kilometers, loses some 800 square kilometers of forested area per year, mostly pine and broad-leaf trees.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has outlined several measures aimed at reducing the country's high energy bill.

In his maiden budget speech as prime minister last week Tuesday, Golding stressed that the cost of energy was the most immediate challenge facing the economy.

"It affects virtually everything - the cost of production, transportation, the cost of living. It is the biggest drain on our foreign exchange," Golding emphasized.

'Play your part'

He told the country that everyone must play their part to reduce the country's energy bills. The prime minster said that households have been reducing their energy consumption (end) from an average of 200 kWh per month to 175 kWh in the last 5 years.

"But we must do more. We must each make a conscious effort to turn off lights and appliances when they are not needed, carpooling instead of driving separate vehicles in the same direction".

Golding said that government would lead by example. "We have established an Energy Conser-vation Unit in the Cabinet Office to coordinate an effort across all ministries and agencies to reduce our energy consumption by 15 per cent this year," the prime minister said.

Energy coordinator

"I have instructed permanent secretaries to ensure that an energy coordinator is identified in every ministry, department and agency to be responsible for energy conservation and to ensure that we achieve the target.

Golding said that Energy Minister Clive Mullings would be undertaking a review of the tax regime as it applies to energy-conservation devices.

"We intend to reduce the duties on energy-efficient devices and penalise those that are energy-inefficient. Duties on solar and photovoltaic devices have already been reduced, but there are parts and accessories that were omitted. We intend to reduce them as well," he outlined.

Golding said that it was the intention of the government to introduce several tax exemptions, and tax credits, as well as, accelerated depreciation allowances to businesses and households that invest in energy-saving installations.

Source: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080428/news/news5.html

During the conclusions of a meeting held at the initiative of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, the officials approved a text warning of the negative effects of biofuels in the accessibility of foods for the peoples.

The ministers agreed agricultural and livestock production must satisfy the people's right to food, through integral policies supporting national producers.

They also stressed the non-fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals, such as the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, worsens due to the current substantial rise in food prices.

It is indispensable to unite efforts to cope with the crisis, and guarantee sustainable food production and safety, using the resources in Latin America and the Caribbean, the text highlights.

The agreed statements will be analyzed in a presidential meeting in Managua on May 7.

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28 April 2008

At a panel in Vienna last Friday, the Secretary-General stressed the urgency of tackling the food issue, noting that it is “very closely interlinked with development issues, climate change, food prices, our fight against disease and other equally important areas.”

“This has been a global challenge, so we need to address it in a collective way – globally,” Mr. Ban said in his remarks to a forum entitled “The United Nations and the European Union: Joining Forces for the Challenges of the 21st Century.”

Also participating in the events were Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik of Austria and Dimitrij Rupel, Foreign Minister of Slovenia, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
Speaking to reporters in Vienna, the Secretary-General said that as a short-run response to the food crises, all humanitarian crises must be addressed.

“In the longer term, the international community, particularly the leaders of the international community, should sit down together on an urgent basis and address how we can, first of all, improve these economic systems, distributions systems, as well as how we can promote the improved production of agricultural products,” he added.

Later today, Mr. Ban is scheduled to meet with Pascal Couchepin, the President of Switzerland.

UN to assist African farmers threatened by climate change
28 April - Some 10,000 farmers in five African countries, where crops are expected to be badly affected by climate change, are to receive help from the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in the form of low-cost rain gauge equipment and roving seminars provided by agricultural experts.

With the help of Spain, WMO will distribute the rain gauges to volunteer farmers in Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal, and train them in using rainfall data to plan sowing, fertilizer application and harvesting. The goal of the roving seminars is to support farmers’ self-reliance by supplying them with information on weather and climate risk management.