The environment in the news wednesday, 15 August 2007 unep and the Executive Director in the News
Reuters : China river pollution kills 40,000 kg of fish
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- The Daily Star, Bangladesh : Make master plan to protect bio-diversity in coastal areas
- Daily Yomiuri Online : New Zealand environment agency OKs continued use of 1080 pesticide
Reuters : China river pollution kills 40,000 kg of fishTue Aug 14, 2007 BEIJING (Reuters) - Waste water dumped by factories into a river in southwest China has poisoned and killed about 40,000 kg (88,180 lb) of fish, media said on Tuesday. Eighty government officials went door to door in Chongan town, Guizhou province, to warn villagers not to eat, sell or transport the fish, state radio and news portal www.sina.com.cn reported. Dead fish were found floating on a 5-km (3-mile) stretch of the murky and foul-smelling river on Aug. 10, the media said, adding it would take another four to five days to clear them away. Officials blamed the deaths on upstream factories dumping excessive levels of fluorine, phosphate and arsenium into the river, the media reports said. The government has been struggling to curb pollution from factories and mines that have driven frantic economic growth. Last month the nation's top environmental protection official warned public anger with worsening pollution was fuelling increasing protests. He also criticised local governments for turning a blind eye to factories transforming rivers into "sticky glue". http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-28980320070814 …………………………………….. The Daily Star, Bangladesh : Make master plan to protect bio-diversity in coastal areasSatkhira workshop on global warming, climate change urges govt Our Correspondent, Satkhira Speakers at a workshop yesterday urged the government to prepare a master plan to protect the bio-diversity in 39 coastal upazilas in south-western region and the Sundarabans from natural disasters caused by climate change due to global warming. They also urged the government to demand compensation from industrialised countries in the West responsible for global warming. Records show natural disasters like storm and tidal surge have increased manifold in last 30 years, affecting the costal areas of Bangladesh. This is due to global warming and rise in the sea level, they said at the workshop held at Shyamnagar. It was organised jointly by the ministry of environment and a local NGOleaders. Mirza Shawkat Ali, deputy director the Department of Environment was the chief guest at the discussion, presided over by Shyamnagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Dilip Kumar Banik. The speakers included academics, journalists, Union Parishad leaders from different upazilas, officials and lawyers. Gharami. Leaders' Executive Director Mohon Kumar Mondal presented the keynote paper. Salinity now affects more areas in the mainland than before due to rise in the sea level and if this trend continues, millions of people will be bereft of their means of livelihood in coastal regions and the Sundarbans, a World Heritage Site, will be lost to the sea, they said. Croplands will turn barren, fisheries will be destroyed and forests will disappear, they said. The speakers said about one third area of the coastal belt with about 710 km coastline in 39 upazilas in 13 coastal districts will be worst hit by sea level rise and other impacts of climate changes if precautionary steps are not taken now. The ecology and livestock in the areas are already facing risks due to change in weather and climate. As an immediate step, the government in cooperation with local NGOs and stake holders can launch a massive afforestation programme in coastal areas, build and reconstruct dams, train rivers and stop erosion. Cyclonic-resistant trees like coconut, palm and bamboos should be planted, they suggested. The government will get spontaneous cooperation of all sections of people in the areas in any such programme, they said. The speakers also called upon all local NGOs and socio-cultural organisations to launch a massive campaign to create public awareness in the coastal areas. Though Bangladesh is committed to preserving the Sundarbans, it's bio-diversity is now at great risk due to climate change and rise of the sea level", Mondal said. He said 10 to 17 per cent of the coastal land may be inundated in several years due to rise in the sea level, which will also increase salinity in the mainland. This will have a catastrophic effect, turning several million people into 'climate refugees', he said. The government and environmentalists should launch a worldwide campaign to seek help to protect the Sundarbans and urge industrialised countries to compensate the environmental effects caused by global warming caused by them, Mondol said. He said climate also causes drought in Bangladesh affecting agriculture. Bangladesh has already started experiencing effects of global warming which will be a threat to its people within 15 to 20 years, he said. Unless a comprehensive plan is launched now, the climate change and rise of the sea level will create havoc in coastal areas in the country, the speakers said. They also urged environmentalists to help create awareness about the problems. http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=100 …………………………………. Daily Yomiuri Online : New Zealand environment agency OKs continued use of 1080 pesticideWELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- With up to 70 million possums munching trees and spreading bovine tuberculosis through New Zealand's farms, the country has no option but to continue using the pesticide 1080 to eradicate the problem, the nation's environmental control agency said Monday. The Environmental Risk Management Authority said it reviewed the use of 1080 - sodium fluoroacetate - in New Zealand because of decades-old concerns that environmental damage from using the poison outweighs the benefits to the farming community. The authority said it decided to allow the continued use of 1080, because without it possums would cost New Zealand farmers at least 5 billion New Zealand dollars (US$3.7 billion; €2.7 billion) within 10 years by spreading bovine TB through cattle and deer herds. Opponents of 1080 say the poison - usually dropped from light aircraft - can contaminate ground water and kill native birds, insects, frogs and other wild animals, as well as farm dogs. "There is no practical alternative to the continued use of 1080 in areas where the preservation of our natural bush and agricultural production would otherwise be at serious risk," the authority's chairman, Neil Walter, said in a statement. "Pests like possums, rabbits, rats and stoats pose a major threat to New Zealand's environment and economy," he said. "On the other hand, 1080 is seen by many to pose unacceptable risks, particularly when it comes to aerial drops." People planning to use 1080 must now be trained and licensed, and must notify all local residents that the poison is to be dropped in their area. The authority will monitor the impact of 1080 use and research alternative pest control, it said. The decision to continue its use "does not give the aerial application of 1080 a green light so much as a flashing amber light - proceed, but with caution," the agency said in its report. The poison can be fatal for humans in large doses - 1 milliliter diluted with 4 milliliters of water is enough to kill - and there is no known antidote. But the environmental agency stressed that such quantities are rarely found in ground water and that the pesticide poses little threat to humans. "Few harmful effects on human health have been identified from accidental exposure to 1080," the authority said, while urging those who use it to handle the poison with care. New Zealand uses 80 percent of the 1080 pesticide produced worldwide, the environmental agency said. Possums were brought to New Zealand from Australia for their fur, but a lack of natural predators means they now pose a major threat to the environment. Up to 70 million possums devour some 7 million tons (7.7 million short tons) of vegetation in New Zealand's forests each year. The pest is protected in its native Australia. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_GEN_NEW_ZEALAND_PESTICIDE_USE_ASOL-?SITE=YOMIURI&SECTION=HOSTED_ASIA&TEMPLATE=ap_features_science.html …………………………………………. 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