News
Disaster risk reduction forum held, against backdrop of Shanghai Expo
UNISDR News archive
31.08.2010
150 participants from local governments around the world, national representatives, academia, civil society and private sector exhibitors met in the “Forum on Disaster Risk Reduction”, held in Shanghai from 28-31 July 2010. The Forum was held within the context of the global campaign “Making Cities Resilient - My city is getting ready!” and the Shanghai EXPO 2010 “Better city - better life”. An exciting program, with plenary presentations, working groups and visit to the Shanghai EXPO 2010 permitted participants to learn, exchange experience and design ways forward to improve disaster resilience in urban areas. For more information on the specific outcomes of the forum and the recommendations emerging from the working groups, please refer to the Forum Summary.
UN-backed climate body says independent review will strengthen its work
UN News Centre
30.08.2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the head of the United Nations-backed panel tasked with preparing scientific reports on the impact of climate change today welcomed the findings of an independent review which called for major changes in management and procedures to enable the group to strengthen the quality of its assessments.
In March Mr. Ban and Rajendra Pachauri, the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), requested the review amid intense public debate about the science of climate change, as well as questions over the accuracy of the panel's reports.
"The report we are releasing today identifies and recommends fundamental reforms to IPCC's management structure," Robbert Dijkgraaf, co-chair of the InterAcademy Council (IAC) and head of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science, told a news conference at UN Headquarters in New York.
"The IPCC needs to strengthen its procedures to handle ever-larger and increasingly complex climate assessments as well as the more intense public scrutiny coming from a world grappling with how best to respond to climate change," he added.
In 2007, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning IPCC issued its landmark Fourth Assessment Report, which found the warming of the climate is outpacing natural variability, driven largely by human activity. The panel's credibility came into question after revelations that the report contained some mistakes, including over the rate of Himalayan glacier melt.
The IAC, a scientific organization bringing together experts from around the world, makes a number of recommendations to strengthen the IPCC's management structure, including establishing an executive committee to act on the panel's behalf and ensure that an ongoing decision-making capability is maintained.
To enhance its credibility and independence, the executive committee should include individuals from outside the IPCC or even outside the climate science community. The IPCC should also appoint an executive director to lead the Secretariat, handle day-to-day operations, and speak on behalf of the panel, the IAC stated.
In addition, it recommended that the IPCC chair and the proposed executive director be limited to the term of one assessment, and that a rigorous conflict-of-interest policy be applied to senior IPCC leadership and all authors, review editors, and staff responsible for report content.
"We hope that today's report will help the IPCC move forward in a stronger, more transparent manner as it carries out future climate change assessments, which are so critical in helping the world understand and prepare for and respond to climate change," said Mr. Dijkgraaf.
Mr. Ban welcomed the review, and urged the 194 member governments of the IPCC to study it carefully and take appropriate action as soon as possible.
"Given the gravity of the climate challenge, the Secretary-General believes it is vital that the world receives the best possible climate assessments through an IPCC that operates at the highest levels of professionalism, objectivity, responsiveness and transparency," his spokesperson said in a statement.
"The Secretary-General firmly maintains that the fundamental science on climate change remains sound. He continues to support the conclusions of the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC, which have been repeatedly upheld and endorsed by numerous professional review boards across the globe," the statement added.
Mr. Pachauri called the recommendations "forward-looking" and said that IPCC members will carefully review them at the panel's plenary meeting, which will be held in October in Busan, Republic of Korea.
"We already have the highest confidence in the science behind our assessments. We're now pleased to receive recommendations on how to further strengthen our own policies and procedures."
The head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which along with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) co-hosts the IPCC, said today's report reaffirms the integrity, importance and validity of the panel's work while recognizing areas for improvement.
"These recommendations underscore that the IPCC remains the premier body for undertaking the risk assessment needed in such a complex field where knowledge – especially in respect to likely regional impacts – remains imperfect and where new knowledge is constantly being generated," Executive Director Achim Steiner said in a statement.
He added that with the fundamental science underpinning the IPCC's assessment reports not in doubt, and clear recommendations on how to move forward with regard to the panel's administration, the international community must move beyond the current "paralysis" in developing an effective response to climate change.
The IPCC is currently preparing to start work on the Fifth Assessment Report, scheduled to be finalized in 2014.
Hurricane Earl strengthens in Caribbean
From AlertNet
30.08.2010
Hurricane Earl strengthened as it began buffeting the Northern Leeward islands in the Caribbean on Monday and was seen becoming a powerful storm within the next 24 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Earl carried sustained winds of 105 miles per hour (169 kph) and was a Category 2 hurricane in the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity.
"Hurricane conditions are now spreading into the Northern Leeward Islands and will spread westward into the Virgin Islands later today," the hurricane center said in its 5 a.m. (0900 GMT) advisory.
"Earl is expected to become a major hurricane by tonight or early Tuesday," it added.
The storm's center was 50 miles (80 km) east-northeast of the French overseas island of St. Martin and moving north-northwest.
Hurricane warnings were in effect through the Caribbean, including the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda and the British overseas territories of Montserrat and Anguilla.
Tropical storm conditions were expected to spread over the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico on Monday, with hurricane conditions possible by evening.
The hurricane center warned of a storm surge, dangerous waves and heavy rains that could cause flash flooding and mudslides in areas of higher elevation.
Caribbean airline LIAT canceled 41 flights to several destinations in the eastern Caribbean and shut down its reservation service because of Earl's approach, according to a company statement.
Forecasters said Earl could affect the U.S. East Coast later this week.
"It looks like the storm will be east of the Bahamas on Wednesday, east of Cape Hatteras on Thursday and then probably east of or near Cape Cod and Long Island on Friday," Miami's WFOR-TV forecaster Jeff Berardelli said on CBS radio.
In the North Atlantic, Hurricane Danielle, a major Category 4 storm last week, was barely a hurricane on Monday morning as its sustained winds fell to 75 mph (121 kph). The storm was expected to lose its tropical characteristics later in the day.
It was about 440 miles (708 km) south of Newfoundland.
Caribbean Storm Damage Costs May Increase by 50% Along With Global Warming
From Bloomberg News
19.08.2010
Climate change may add 50 percent to the storm damage costs incurred by some Caribbean nations over the next two decades, said Swiss Reinsurance Co., the world's second-largest re-insurer.
Wind, storm surges and inland flooding already cost some Caribbean nations up to 6 percent of their economic output each year, the Zurich-based company said today in a statement on its website. Global warming could add costs amounting to another 1 to 3 percent of output by 2030, it said.
Insurers are being hit with more claims as damages from natural catastrophes rise. Costs to clean up after storms and other natural disasters reached a record $180 billion in 2005, of which insurers covered about half, according to Munich Re, the biggest re-insurer.
"As a global re-insurer. we are already exposed to the effects of climate change," said David Bresch, Swiss Re's head of sustainability. "Projected climate patterns are likely to heighten the risks."
More than 190 nations have been trying since 2007 to craft a treaty to rein in climate change and channel aid from rich to poor nations to help them adapt to its effects. At the latest round of talks earlier this month, island nations said that loopholes in the existing treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, could wipe out emissions reduction pledges for 2020.
Greenhouse gas emissions reductions pledged so far by nations would lead to total warming of 3 degrees to 3.9 degrees Celsius (5.4 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit), the Pew Center on Global Climate Change said. That's more than the 2-degree maximum sought by the U.S. and European Union and the 1.5 degrees proposed by an alliance of 43 low-lying and island nations.
Atlantic Hurricanes
The strongest Atlantic hurricanes may almost double in frequency by the end of the century as the planet warms, according to a paper in the journal Science in January. Occurrence of the most destructive hurricanes may rise 81 percent over 80 years, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-led team wrote.
The 2010 Atlantic storm season may be the most active since 2005, the worst on record, Moody's Investors Service said in June. The season began in June and ends in November.
Swiss Re said territories have a range of options open to them to reduce the risk of damage. The Cayman Islands could "cost-effectively avoid up to 90 percent of expected losses" by building sea walls and enforcing construction codes, the re- insurer.said, citing the study. In Dominica, just 2 percent of the possible damage could be avoided cost-effectively using such measures, it said.
Swiss Re was an adviser on the study on the economics of climate change in the Caribbean, which was released by the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, a risk-pooling fund of which 16 Caribbean governments are members. The research, which began in February, covers Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Jamaica and St. Lucia, according to Swiss Re.
Concluye exitosamente el Programa de Prevención y Preparación de Desastres en República Dominicana
13.08.2010
El Programa de Prevencion y Preparación de Desastres del PNUD en Republica Dominicana esta concluyendo en septiembre 2010 tras un trabajo multidisciplinario de fortalecimiento institucional de 4 anos en apoyo al gobierno.
Un legado importante del programa es la coordinacion de un ejercicio de diagnostico de la situacion de reduccion de riesgos en republica Dominicana (descargar documento), liderado por la EIRD. El documento, primer documento de este tipo realizado por expertos de America Latina de alto nivel de 9 agencias internacionales, fue entregado formalmente al Gobierno por Margareta Wahlstrom, ASG/EIRD el 9 de julio 2010. La Unidad de Desarrollo de Capacidades del PNUD/Panama ha apoyado el equipo del Programa en agosto 2010 a un ejercicio de Lecciones Aprendidas y Mejores Practicas en reduccion de desastres, que sirve de base a la realizacion de un documento de sistematizacion de las Herramientas desarrolladas por el Programa, el cual se dara a conocer en un acto publico el 15 de septiembre en Santo Domingo
UN assesses disaster risk reduction efforts by Dominican Republic
UN News Centre
19.07.2010
The United Nations has completed a first-of-its-kind assessment of disaster risk reduction efforts in the Dominican Republic, recommending that the Caribbean nation strengthen building codes as part of its efforts to mitigate the impact of hurricanes and other hazards.
The assessment, carried out in May by the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and its partners, examined the country's efforts in implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action, a 10-year plan to make the world safer from disasters triggered by natural hazards, which was adopted by governments in 2005.
That plan provides national authorities with a blueprint to assess and reduce risks through planning, training and better public education. Ensuring that key facilities such as hospitals, schools and other public infrastructure meet certain safety standards is among the ways this can be done.
This was the first time a country asked the UN to conduct an independent assessment of its own disaster risk reduction efforts.
"This exercise demonstrates the Government's goodwill and commitment in fulfilling its obligations to people of the Dominican Republic," said Margareta Wahlström, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, as she presented the report today in the capital, Santo Domingo.
"Because the report represents the shared view of many experts within and outside the United Nations, it can also be used by the Government to rally political support," she noted.
In addition to strengthening building codes, the report also recommended incorporating "vulnerability reduction" targets in projects funded by both the public and private sector, and tightening norms for designing public infrastructure, including procedures used in determining where structures are physically located.
It also suggested that the Government review – and where needed, develop – by-laws and norms for construction, whether national or local, to include considerations of risk. Public and private investment projects should also incorporate aspects of vulnerability reduction, it added.
In addition, the report recommended that the Dominican Republic – which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti – adopt an "island approach" to disaster assessment, and consider joint intervention for disaster mitigation.
"The two countries share areas that can be affected by the same kinds of hazards, which they should approach in bilateral fashion," said Ricardo Mena, Chief of the UNISDR regional office for the Americas, based in Panama City. "In terms of hurricane alert systems, they can exchange information on when a hurricane will hit border areas."
While in Santo Domingo, Ms. Wahlström also spoke about the Making Cities Resilient campaign, which began in May and is spearheaded by UNISDR and other partners. So far, 59 cities have joined the campaign, including 12 from the Americas.
Business leaders increasingly worried about biodiversity loss, UN-backed report finds
UN News Centre
13.07.2010
One in four corporate titans worldwide view biodiversity loss as a threat to their business growth, according to a new United Nations-backed study released today.
It found that more than half of chief executive officers surveyed in Latin America and 45 per cent of their counterparts in Africa see biodiversity decline as detrimental to profits, compared to less than 20 per cent in Western Europe.
The publication also found that business leaders who do not include the sustainable management of 'natural capital' as part of their strategies may be at a disadvantage in the global market.
Compiled by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), a body hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the study said that 80 per cent of consumers would stop purchasing products from companies that disregard ethical considerations in their sourcing practices.
"Through the work of the TEEB and others, the economic importance of biodiversity and ecosystems is emerging from the invisible into the visible spectrum," said Pavan Sukhdev, TEEB Study Leader and head of UNEP's Green Economy initiative.
The new report points to multinational mining giant Rio Tinto as one company that has committed itself to having a so-called "Net Positive Impact" on biodiversity, developing new methods of assessing the biodiversity values of its landholdings. It has also started to apply biodiversity compensation in Madagascar, Australia and other countries.
Coca Cola, Walmart and BC Hydro are among corporations with similar commitments on softening biodiversity loss.
"We are entering an era where the multi-trillion dollar losses of natural and nature-based resources are starting to shape markets and consumer concerns," said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
"How companies respond to these risks, realities and opportunities will increasingly define their profitability; corporate profile in the market-place and the overall development paradigm of the coming decades on a planet of 6 billion, going to over 9 billion people by 2050," he added.
Enhancing urban resilience against disasters can spur development
UN News Centre
12.07.2010
So far, 58 cities have joined the campaign, entitled Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready, which was launched in May and calls on leaders and local governments to commit to a 10-point checklist.
Margareta Wahlström, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, told reporters in New York today that the scheme is "extremely important" in the context of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.
Reducing the risks to cities – now home to more than half of the world's population – posed by disasters can help the world reach these Goals, she said.
For example, achieving the second MDG – ensuring that all children complete primary schooling – means that more than 100 million additional children will attend school. Because more schools will have to be erected to accommodate these young people, "why not build them safer?" Ms. Wahlström asked.
Resilience, she said, includes cities having a budget for risk reduction and ensuring that their critical infrastructure – sanitation, hospitals and others – are able to withstand disasters. It also entails urban areas having early warning systems in place for emergencies, as well as systems ready for any recovery effort.
The campaign, coordinated by the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), seeks to give cities a forum to share their experiences and expertise, especially given that risks are on the upswing due to increases in weather-related disasters.
The official voiced optimism that cities around the world will be successful in shoring up their readiness for hazards, citing Makati City, in the Philippines, as an example of an urban area that has enhanced its resilience.
UN agency unveils report on lessons from earthquake response in China
UN News Centre
07.07.2010
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today released a report on lessons learned while working with the Chinese Government to address the environmental impact of the devastating earthquake that hit the country's Sichuan province in May of 2008.
In the report, entitled UNEP in China: Building Back Better, the agency details its main interventions on the ground, including raising awareness on environmental and ecological considerations within the overall State planning processes for post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction.
The 8.0-magnitude quake affected 70 million people, destroyed some 6.5 million homes, and caused 15 million people to be evacuated. The release of the publication coincided with UNEP's "Nature of Cities" exhibition in the UN Pavilion at Expo 2010 in the Chinese city of Shanghai.
With regard to capacity-building in the aftermath of the earthquake, UNEP was able to bring together the best international experts to share practical knowledge with Chinese civil servants on a wide range of environmental issues linked to disaster recovery and reconstruction.
UNEP also strengthened its office in Beijing by hosting international experts and technical staff from across the agency to assist China's Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) to address the environmental challenges of the post-earthquake period.
In addition to lending support for the drafting of inputs to national recovery plans and appeals, as well as numerous reports and project proposals, UNEP worked closely with the MEP and local governments to help "green" the reconstruction, while addressing environmental improvements across sectors such as industry, education and agriculture.
UNEP deployed experts on the ground to assess the situation and advise national and provincial authorities engaged in reconstruction, providing specific guidance on the approaches that should be adopted for rehabilitation and restoration.
According to the report, the Chinese Government appreciated UNEP's ability to be flexible and respond quickly to changing needs and circumstances.
Cooperation with the Government resulted in better quality of support and technical assistance relating to environmental health and safety, prevention of secondary damage by industries, monitoring of water quality for drinking, and the prevention of contamination of water resources during the rescue phase of the earthquake.
In particular, UNEP was recognized for its environmental expertise in debris and waste management and for helping to "green" the recovery work.
Climate already helping disease spread north - study
From AlertNet
10.06.2010
Rising global temperatures might already be helping infectious diseases to creep north, according to a report by European scientists.
The report links warmer temperatures to the spread of dengue fever, yellow fever, malaria and even human plague in Europe.
"Fundamental influences of climate change on infectious disease can already be discerned and it is likely that new vectors and pathogens will emerge and become established in Europe within the next few years", says the report by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC).
The independent group is formed of 26 national science academies from across the European Union.
United Nations climate experts recommend cutting carbon emissions to prevent the rise of global temperatures beyond 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
But the prospects of success look poor, with international climate negotiations making slow progress.
When temperatures rise, the insects that spread disease mature faster and produce more offspring, the report says.
Though the report is cautious about making a causal link between global warming and the spread of disease, EASAC's chairman said the risk was undeniable and called for more research.
"To me, it doesn't make a difference how we call it, but that we have had a higher temperature over the last 20, 30 years, which is documented," said Dr Volker ter Meulen, EASAC chairman.
"These higher temperatures provide for the vectors and the viruses to grow faster and produce more," he added. "More vectors, more virus, and this will cause more disease."
For example, rising temperatures in Europe would provide new habitats for a mosquito that transmits yellow fever, West Nile virus, dengue fever and encephalitis, ter Meulen said.
The same mosquito has been linked to over 200 European cases of chikungunya, a virus that causes fever and destruction of the joints.
The European Commission supports additional research, said Peteris Zilgalvis, head of the Commission's research unit on infectious diseases.
"Impact is inevitable," he said. "Concerted action is needed at the EU and the national levels, because infectious diseases do not stop at borders."
Poor want 2010 climate pact; others see long haul
From AlertNet
09.06.2010
Many developing nations insisted at U.N. climate talks on Wednesday that a full U.N. treaty should be agreed in 2010 even though others are resigned to a far longer haul to tackle global warming.
"This is about our survival", said Collin Beck of the Solomon Islands who is vice-chair of the Alliance of Small Island States which fear a creeping rise in world sea levels caused by global warming.
He told a news conference his group insisted a treaty should be agreed at the next annual meeting of environment ministers in Cancun, Mexico, from Nov. 29-Dec. 10.
Many rich nations and some major emerging countries such as China, India and Brazil at Bonn talks among senior negotiators from May 31-June 11 reckon that a legally binding deal may have to wait, perhaps until a next meeting in 2011 in South Africa.
"If we can't deliver in Cancun and we are shown the road to Cape Town or any other cities, it will be unfortunate, it will be tragic, it will be a Holocaust," said Quamrul Islam Chowdhury of Bangladesh, main negotiator for the Group of 77 poor nations.
Poor nations such as Bangladesh and Pacific island states say they are most vulnerable to climate change and that food production for millions of people will be hit by desertification, floods, heatwaves and rising seas
But many other delegates believe that a treaty is impossible in 2010 and that a more practical approach may be to focus on issues such as green technology, ensuring aid to the poor and protecting forests rather than an elusive new treaty.
But any agreements in Cancun demand unanimity. The vote of each developing nation counts for as much as those of China or the United States, the top emitters.
LIFETIME
The U.N.'s incoming top climate official said that her focus for Cancun was for delivery on promises already made such as $30 billion in aid from 2010-12 or measures to protect forests.
"It's too simplistic to focus on 'do we have a legally binding agreement and if so by when?', said Christiana Figueres of Costa Rica, who will take over from Dutchman Yvo de Boer from July 1.
"It's not that black and white...I don't believe we will ever have a final agreement on climate, certainly not in my lifetime," said Figueres, who is aged 53. She said that advances in understanding climate science would always mean a need for adjustments.
The U.N.'s Copenhagen summit fell short of a legally binding deal in December. At the summit, most nations signed up for an accord meant to limit a rise in temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit). But it did not spell out how.
"Ideally we could have a legally binding document in Cancun, but we in Brazil and I personally don't think it will be possible," said Sergio Serra, Brazil's climate change ambassador.
And China said the goal now was to get negotiations back on track. "The first priority for all of us is to rebuild confidence and trust," China's climate ambassador Yu Qingtai said.
Trade, human rights seen aiding UN climate deal
From AlertNet
08.06.2010
A planned U.N. climate deal might adapt systems for monitoring trade or human rights as models to check up on poor nations' curbs on greenhouse gases, Mexico's climate chief said on Tuesday.
Luis Alfonso de Alba, whose country will host this year's main climate talks in Cancun from Nov. 29-Dec. 10, said a review system could help the world towards a U.N. climate treaty after the 2009 Copenhagen summit fell short of a binding deal.
"We are starting to look into a system of what we call 'peer review'" for developing nations' climate plans, he told a news conference on the sidelines of talks among climate negotiators from 185 nations in Bonn, Germany.
"Such systems have proven to be quite successful, whether it's trade or human rights, to mention some examples," he said. De Alba is Mexico's special representative for climate change and a former president of the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Rich and poor nations have long disagreed about how to monitor plans by developing nations to curb their rising greenhouse gas emissions as part of a world drive to avert more heatwaves, floods, desertification and rising seas.
SOVEREIGNTY
De Alba said the proposed "peer review" would satisfy rich nations' demands for better oversight while ensuring the poor do not feel it is interference in their domestic affairs.
Peer review "is not a police exercise, more a learning process. It forces you to make an additional effort," de Alba told Reuters. He said there would be no international sanctions involved for those not in compliance.
In U.N. monitoring of human rights, for instance, countries have to present reports about their performance. These are reviewed by three countries picked at random and debated publicly by all other nations.
And the World Trade Organisation reviews its members' policies for trade in goods and services under a 1989 deal.
"It's an effort in transparency," he said of such reviews. Many developing nations have only vague domestic plans so far for tackling climate change.
Developed nations, bound by the Kyoto Protocol for curbing greenhouse gas emissions until 2012, already face tougher international inspections of their commitments. Their pledges to cut emissions underpin carbon prices.
And developing nations receiving international funds will also face tougher monitoring. But there is a gap for checking programmes funded by developing nations themselves, for instance to save fuel through an efficiency drive at industrial plants.
De Alba said that expectations had been too high before December's Copenhagen summit, which agreed a non-binding deal to limit a rise in average world temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) above pre-industrial times. It did not say how.
De Alba said he wanted to be both ambitious and realistic for Cancun. He said Mexico was hoping for a full legally binding deal "but being aware that not necessarily everything is going to be solved in Cancun."
Most experts believe that a deal is out of reach for 2010.
Restoring damaged ecosystems can generate wealth and employment – UN report
UN News Centre
03.06.2010
Repairing forests, lakes and other types of nature reserves that have been damaged or depleted can generate wealth, create jobs and become a vital means of alleviating poverty, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), says in a report released today.
The report identifies thousands of ecosystem restoration projects worldwide and showcases over 30 initiatives that are transforming the lives of communities and countries across the globe.
Entitled Dead Planet, Living Planet: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration for Sustainable Development, the report underlines that far from being a cost on growth and development, many environmental investments in degraded, nature-based assets can generate substantial and multiple returns.
"The ecological infrastructure of the planet is generating services to humanity worth by some estimates over $70 trillion a year, perhaps substantially more," said Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director.
"This report is aimed at bringing two fundamental messages to governments, communities and citizens on World Environment Day (WED) and in 2010 – the UN's International Year of Biodiversity. Namely, that mismanagement of natural and nature-based assets is undercutting development on a scale that dwarfs the recent economic crisis," Mr. Steiner said.
"Well-planned investments and re-investments in the restoration of these vast, natural and nature-based utilities not only has a high rate of return, but will be central, if not fundamental, to sustainability in a world of rising aspirations, populations, incomes and demands on the Earth's natural resources," said Mr. Steiner from Kigali, Rwanda, the main host for this year's global WED events. The Day will be officially marked on Saturday.
Nature restoration activities include rehabilitating water flows to rivers and lakes, improving soil stability and fertility for agriculture and combating climate change by sequestering and storing carbon from the atmosphere.
The report underlines that maintaining and managing intact ecosystems must be the key priority. However, given that more than 60 per cent of the ecosystems, ranging from marshes and coral reefs to tropical forests and soils, are already degraded, restoration must now be an equal priority.
Rehabilitating ecosystems also generates jobs in a world where currently 1.3 billion are unemployed or underemployed, while supporting international goals to substantially reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity, a key theme this year.
The report cites evidence that well-planned, science-based, community-supported programmes can recover between 25 and 44 per cent of the original services alongside the animals, plants and other biodiversity of the former intact system.
As an example, it points to a study on restoring degraded grasslands and lands around river systems in South Africa's Drakensberg Mountains. It estimates that the project will bring back winter river flows to communities amounting to close to 4 million cubic metres of water, cut sediment losses and store carbon.
In Peru, the theme of ecosystem restoration underpins the Projeto Agua Limpa or Clean Water Project co-launched by UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Gisele Bündchen and her father in 2008 in her hometown of Horizontina.
The project is aimed at restoring the health of water supplies while boosting biodiversity by restoring forests and rehabilitating river banks and riverside vegetation in river basins.
"UNEP's report on ecosystem restoration spotlights the enormous opportunities for communities to invest in their future development," said Ms. Bündchen after the report was released.
"Restoring degraded environments is among the best gifts we can give and hand on to current and future generations – we need to bring to the attention of everyone the central link between forests, wetlands and other natural systems and our survival and prosperity in this extraordinary world," she added.
The report makes several recommendations, including urging overseas development agencies, international finance agencies and regional development banks to factor ecosystem restoration and long-term management assistance into development support, food security initiatives, job creation and poverty alleviation funding.
It also recommends that one per cent of a country's gross domestic product (GDP) be set aside annually for conservation, management and restoration of the environment and natural resources, with the precise figure linked to national circumstances.
Ecosystem restoration should be guided by experiences learned to date to avoid unintended consequences such as the introduction of alien invasive species and pests, the report suggests. It also posits that infrastructure projects that damage an ecosystem have funds set aside to restore a similarly degraded ecosystem elsewhere in a country or community.
Speaking in Kigali, Mr. Steiner urged the world to move towards a "common goal of a healthy, productive and well-managed planet that can give everyone the opportunity to flourish under the theme of 'Many Species, One Planet, One Future'."
Agriculture, energy sectors to shape sustainability of future development – UN
UN News Centre
02.06.2010
How the world contends with the agriculture and energy sectors will serve as a bellwether for development in the 21st century, largely determining whether growth will be sustainable for billions of people, according to a new United Nations-backed report.
With current production and consumption of fossil fuels and food draining freshwater supplies, triggering losses of forests and other ecosystems and raising pollution levels, the study concludes that dramatically reforming, rethinking and redesigning how the planet's people are fed and fueled could spur environmental, social and economic returns.
It stresses that reaching sustainability goals should start in the home, through dramatically changing heating and cooling systems, gadgets, appliances and the way people travel.
Perhaps controversially, the report – by the International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management – also calls for a shift away from animal-based protein diets to more vegetable-based foods to ease pressure on the environment.
"Decoupling growth from environmental degradation is the number one challenge facing governments in a world of rising numbers of people, rising incomes, rising consumption demands and the persistent challenge of poverty alleviation," said Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which hosts the Panel.
"Thus setting priorities would seem prudent and sensible in order to fast-track a low-carbon, resource-efficient Green Economy," he stated.
Launched today in Brussels, the publication notes that more intelligent fiscal policies and creative policy-making are among the tools that can be used to combat unsustainable patterns.
"Some tough choices are signaled in this report, but it may prove even more challenging for everyone if the current paths continue into the coming decades," Mr. Steiner said.
Latest round of UN climate change talks kicks off
UN News Centre
31.05.2010
Representatives from 182 governments have gathered in Bonn, Germany, today for a fresh round of United Nations talks on climate change, aiming to pick up on issues left unresolved after December's gathering in Copenhagen.
The Copenhagen Accord – which dozens of countries have now signed – was the final document from the conference in the Danish capital, where progress to agree on a binding treaty faltered.
"The Copenhagen meeting may have postponed an outcome for at least a year, but it did not postpone the impacts of climate change," said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
"The deadline to agree an effective international response to climate change at Copenhagen was set because governments, when launching negotiations in Bali in 2007, recognized the scientific warning on climate for what it was: a siren call to act now, or face the worst," he noted.
The next gathering of the conference of the parties to the UNFCCC will be held later this year in the Mexican city of Cancun.
"Climate negotiations over the next two weeks will be on track if they keep focused on a common way forward towards a concrete and realistic goal in Cancun," Mr. de Boer said. "There is a growing consensus on what that the goal for Cancun can be – namely, a full, operational architecture to implement effective, collective climate action."
Two working groups will meet during the Bonn gathering, with one focusing on a new negotiating text and the other concentrating on emissions reduction commitments for the 37 industrialized countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol for the period beyond 2012.
"I encourage governments to now develop greater clarity on the future of the Kyoto Protocol, since this issue cannot be left unattended until Cancun," the UNFCCC head said.
He also called on industrialized nations to fulfill the pledge they made in Copenhagen to deploy $30 billion from now to 2012 to jump-start climate action in developing countries. "Cancun can deliver if promises of help are kept and if promises to compromise are honoured in the negotiations."
Last month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that Christiana Figueres of Costa Rica will replace Mr. de Boer as head of the UNFCCC when he steps down this summer to pursue new opportunities to advance progress on climate change in the private sector and academia.
NOAA Expects Busy Atlantic Hurricane Season
From NOAA News
27.05.2010
An "active to extremely active" hurricane season is expected for the Atlantic Basin this year according to the seasonal outlook issued today by NOAA's Climate Prediction Center – a division of the National Weather Service. As with every hurricane season, this outlook underscores the importance of having a hurricane preparedness plan in place.
Across the entire Atlantic Basin for the six-month season, which begins June 1, NOAA is projecting a 70 percent probability of the following ranges:
- 14 to 23 Named Storms (top winds of 39 mph or higher), including:
- 8 to 14 Hurricanes (top winds of 74 mph or higher), of which:
- 3 to 7 could be Major Hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of at least 111 mph)
"If this outlook holds true, this season could be one of the more active on record," said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "The greater likelihood of storms brings an increased risk of a landfall. In short, we urge everyone to be prepared."
The outlook ranges exceed the seasonal average of 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. Expected factors supporting this outlook are:
- Upper atmospheric winds conducive for storms. Wind shear, which can tear apart storms, will be weaker since El Niño in the eastern Pacific has dissipated. Strong wind shear helped suppress storm development during the 2009 hurricane season.
- Warm Atlantic Ocean water. Sea surface temperatures are expected to remain above average where storms often develop and move across the Atlantic. Record warm temperatures – up to four degrees Fahrenheit above average – are now present in this region.
- High activity era continues. Since 1995, the tropical multi-decadal signal has brought favorable ocean and atmospheric conditions in sync, leading to more active hurricane seasons. Eight of the last 15 seasons rank in the top ten for the most named storms with 2005 in first place with 28 named storms.
"The main uncertainty in this outlook is how much above normal the season will be. Whether or not we approach the high end of the predicted ranges depends partly on whether or not La Niña develops this summer," said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. "At present we are in a neutral state, but conditions are becoming increasingly favorable for La Niña to develop."
UN unveils campaign to make cities more resistant to disasters
UN News Centre
27.05.2010
With the recent wave of natural hazards – from the devastating January earthquake in Haiti to volcanic eruptions in Iceland wreaking havoc with air travel in Europe – exposing the need for cities to implement disaster reduction plans, the United Nations is launching a campaign to boost the resiliency of urban areas.
The two-year scheme, called Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready, calls on leaders and local governments to commit to a 10-point checklist.
"A resilient city and its citizens can benefit greatly from the opportunities presented by urban risk reduction actions," said Margareta Wahlström, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Reduction.
"When successfully mobilized, resilient cities may benefit from growth and employment, business opportunities, balanced ecosystems, better health and improved education," she added.
The campaign, to be launched in Bonn, Germany, on Sunday, seeks to bring more than 1,000 local government leaders around the world to step up their investment in urban planning; infrastructure and building safety; reinforcing drainage systems to reduce flooding; and installing early warning systems, among other measures.
The mayors of five cities – Bonn; Mexico City, Mexico; Saint Louis, Senegal; Karlstad, Sweden; Larreynaga-Malpaisillo, Nicaragua; and Albay, Philippines – will be the first to commit to at least one of the checklist's 10 points.
"It is fundamental that we as local leaders are conscious about the risks," said Enrique Gomez Toruño, Mayor of Larreynaga-Malpaisillo. "We learned a lot during the recent influenza epidemics and before that from Hurricane Mitch, floods and landslides. We learned we have to invest more time, more capacities to reduce our risks."
The new campaign also urges community groups, planners, academics, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector to join efforts to enhance the resiliency of cities.
"Urban risk reduction is an opportunity that cities and their populations cannot afford to miss," Ms. Wahlström said.
The Secretariat of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) is coordinating the initiative, with the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) also playing a key role.
Emergency warning systems to be installed at critical facilities in BVI
From Caribbean Net News
20.05.2010
TORTOLA, BVI -- Engineers from viaRadio Corporation are in the British Virgin islands to commence the installation of warning devices within a number of critical facilities including schools, police stations, clinics, national parks posts and fire stations.
The new components will offer an alerting system which provides almost instantaneous messaging to persons who are indoors and are unable to hear the outdoor sirens located throughout the Territory.
The engineers will be working with staff at the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) and will provide training for maintaining and operating the units.
Tracy Moffett of viaRadio said, "We are pleased to be expanding ENVOY emergency warning systems in the Caribbean by installing the viaRadio system in the Virgin Islands. This viaRadio system will give the DDM the ability to immediately warn schools, first responders and other emergency personnel in the event of natural or manmade disasters. We hope ENVOY prevents the loss of lives, injuries and emergency situations that may occur."
Moffett is accompanied by William Marriott, who will be undertaking the installation and ensuring the functionality of all units. .
At a press conference held on February 16, Minister for Education and Culture Andrew Fahie announced the installation of the radio units in all primary and secondary schools, both public and private throughout the Territory. Minister Fahie said he was pleased that a project of this importance was being implemented in the Territory and thanked the DDM for pursing efforts to ensure the safety of residents.
On January 26, 2010 the DDM signed an agreement with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to access funding in the amount of approximately US$17,000.00 to purchase the major components of the viaRadio system as well as to secure 45 units to be installed at selected sites throughout the Territory.
During this week, secure servers will be installed at radio stations ZKING and ZROD and will serve as the main hub for transmitting signals to the various units at the critical facilities. The units will be able to provide a warning tone accompanied by a message. The message will provide specific instructions to key personnel of actions they should take in the event of a natural and technological hazard impact or for informational purposes. The message can also be transmitted in English or Spanish.
The viaRadio units will allow for mass notification and can also be further linked to mobile telephones and e-mail systems for simultaneous alerting, options which are under consideration for future use.
Central America coffee land to shrink as globe warms
From AlertNet
19.05.2010
By Sarah Grainger - SAN LUCAS TOLIMAN, Guatemala, May 19 - Mexico and Central America could lose around a third of land suitable to grow coffee as global warming hurts conditions for the best quality beans, a study of regional farms shows.
Specialty arabica coffee, the pride of countries like Guatemala, grows inside a very narrow band of altitude and temperature making it particularly sensitive to small changes in the climate.
At the current rate temperatures are rising, there could be at least a 30 percent net loss in land suitable to farm coffee in Mexico and Central America by 2050 forcing many farmers to turn to different crops, said Peter Laderach, a lead researcher at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture.
Laderach, whose organization is based in Colombia, is leading a team of scientists who started studying 7,000 small farms in Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador and Nicaragua in 2009 and has based his estimate on data collected so far.
The researchers map the farms with satellite positioning devices to collect data on altitude and crop production. That information is then cross-referenced with climate change models to track how different areas will be affected by hotter weather and changes in rainfall.
In San Lucas Toliman, a village nestled between two volcanoes in western Guatemala, 140 farmers from the Granja Juan Ana cooperative submitted mapping data to the project.
"We want to know what will happen to be more aware. We hope to pass the information to everyone so we can be prepared," grower Julio Morales said, whose family has farmed coffee in the area for more than two decades.
Greenhouse gas emissions could heat the earth's surface by between 2 and 11 degrees Fahrenheit (1-6 degrees Celsius) over the next 100 years, according to the United Nations, forcing farmers of all kinds of crops to change habits.
TRYING TO ADAPT
Unpredictable rainfall patterns, excessive droughts, and hurricanes caused by climate change are already affecting coffee farmers from Kenya to Vietnam. Mexico and Guatemala are among the world's top ten coffee producers by volume, according to the International Coffee Organization and shrinking coffee land will eventually affect the global market.
"We'll have much less coffee available and for those who can still produce, the price could go up," Laderach said.
Laderach's research has shown the changing weather will mean growers farming coffee at low altitudes will lose crops.
Higher altitudes, which now are too cold to grow coffee, will become farmland but higher up, land is scarce. Poor farmers in Central America, where most of the property is concentrated in the hands of a small number of owners, have trouble acquiring new land.
Many farmers between the low and high extremes will need to adapt their farming methods to continue producing coffee.
The scientists are using the data to give farmers advice on how to change practices. Some can plant shade trees to lower the temperatures over their trees, others can change to drought resistant varieties of coffee or install irrigation systems.
"If there's a whole portion of the coffee supply chain that 20 or 30 years from now can't grow as much, can't grow the same quality or perhaps can't grow coffee ... (we) want to know that now," said Michael Dupee, vice president of the U.S.-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc
UN names Costa Rican as new climate change chief
UN News Centre
17.05.2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appointed Christiana Figueres of Costa Rica to lead United Nations efforts to combat climate change.
She will take the reins of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from Yvo de Boer, who announced that he was stepping down to pursue new opportunities to advance progress on the issue in the private sector and academia.
"Ms. Figueres is an international leader on strategies to address global climate change and brings to this position a passion for the issue, deep knowledge of the stakeholders and valuable hands-on experience with the public sector, non-profit sector and private sector," Mr. Ban's spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, said in announcing the decision.
Her appointment as Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC comes five months after the Copenhagen Accord was reached at last December's UN conference in the Danish capital.
That non-binding pact aims to jump-start immediate action on climate change and guide negotiations on long-term action, pledging to raise $100 billion annually by 2020. It also includes an agreement to working towards curbing global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius and efforts to reduce or limit emissions.
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that to stave off the worst effects of climate change, industrialized countries must slash emissions by 25 to 40 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020, and that global emissions must be halved by 2050.
The next round of high-level global talks on climate change will be held later this year in Cancun, Mexico.
When announcing his resignation earlier this year, Mr. de Boer said, "I have always maintained that while governments provide the necessary policy framework, the real solutions must come from business."
Countries did not reach a clear legal agreement in Copenhagen, but, he noted, "the political commitment and sense of direction toward a low-emissions world are overwhelming. This calls for new partnerships with the business sector and I now have the chance to help make this happen."
With 194 Parties, UNFCCC has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol has been ratified by 190 of the UNFCCC parties. Under the Protocol, 37 States, consisting of highly industrialized countries and countries undergoing the process of transition to a market economy, have legally binding emission limitation and reduction commitments.
