Key issues at Copenhagen climate talks

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

Industrialized nations are under pressure to cut back even more on emissions of carbon dioxide and other global-warming gases, while major developing countries such as China and India are being pressed to rein in their emissions growth. Environmentalists and poorer nations say richer countries should reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent or more by 2020, compared with 1990 levels, to avoid serious climate damage. The European Union has pledged 20 percent, and possibly 30 percent. The US has offered only a three percent to four percent cut.

CLIMATE AID FOR POORER NATIONS

Richer nations have discussed a "prompt-start" package of 10 billion US dollars a year for three years to help developing nations adjust to the impact of global warming and switch to clean energy. Developing nations want to see commitments by wealthy nations for years more of long-term climate aid financing. Expert studies say hundreds of billions of dollars will be needed each year, and the developing nations are trying to establish stable revenue sources for the climate aid, such as a global aviation tax.

FOREST ISSUES

A program called REDD, for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, would pay poor countries to protect their forests. But the current draft includes no money for the program and no benchmarks to reduce deforestation, a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions. There are also disputes over how the money would be generated and whether this would be done on national or subnational level.

MONITORING OF PLEDGES

Developed nations already covered by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol would have their emission cuts monitored and would face possible sanctions if they don't live up to their obligations. The US, which rejected Kyoto, would have its reductions monitored if they were incorporated in a legally binding international agreement. The developed nations want some kind of international verification of emissions actions by developing nations, though these countries would not face penalties. China, India and others are resisting what they consider potential intrusions on their sovereignty.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

For Europe, Japan and other developed nations, new, deeper emissions cuts will take the form of an extension of quotas under the Kyoto Protocol. The US, which rejected Kyoto and wants to remain outside it, is likely to be included in a separate package that also deals with major developing countries. The level of legal obligation on each "track" may vary, particularly since the big developing countries — China and India — do not want to be bound by any international treaty to carry out their pledges of emission cuts. They prefer voluntary goals.

Source:http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=3023

Climate change threatening survival of Himalayan communities

Climate change is posing a serious threat to communities in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region, bringing both drought and catastrophic floods to hundreds of millions of people, according to a new United Nations-backed report.
Food security, housing, infrastructure, business and even the survival of people living in mountainous regions and their neighbours in river basins downstream in the region are extremely vulnerable to climate change, it said.
The publication was launched today in Copenhagen, Denmark, where nations are hammering out an ambitious new deal.
Its findings are based on research carried out by five teams in China, India, Pakistan and Nepal to assess the changing realities brought on by climate change.
“The acute experiences of people in this region are living proof of the pressures some societies are already enduring as a result of the onset of climate change – adaptation here is not just a necessity but a question of local communities’ very survival,” said the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner.
Temperature increases in the Himalayas seems to be more dramatic than the global average, with 0.6 degree centigrade rises reported in the Himalayas per decade, compared with the worldwide average of 0.74 degrees centigrade over the past century.
The new report found that extreme climate events are destroying crops; depleting water resources; depleting livestock and cropland; and dealing a blow to agricultural productivity.
It called on governments to boost local adaptation strategies and long-term resilience, not just disaster management.
Additionally, the publication appealed for a new Blue Revolution in Asia to enhance the efficiency of irrigation and water use to make more water available for crop production.
Nepal, which is normally known for its water abundance, has experienced extreme droughts, some lasting for years, while in some parts of India, embankments to contain the Koshi River have led to waterlogging and even calamitous flooding.
The report is a result of a two-year pilot assessment that was a joint effort by UNEP, the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
In another study released today, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that fisheries – already facing challenges triggered by overfishing and habitat loss – are not adequately prepared to deal with the problems arising from climate change.
Particularly vulnerable are small island developing States, with at least 50 per cent of their animal protein intake being fish.
But also at risk are inland fisheries, the vast majority of which are located in Africa and Asia and threaten the food supply and livelihoods of some of the world’s poorest people, the report noted.
Since most aquatic animals are cold-blooded making them sensitive to temperature fluctuations, global warming, it found, will have a significant impact on the reproductive cycles of fish.
In the North Atlantic, cod will be especially hard-hit given that temperature changes in plankton populations are already impacting the survival rates of young cod.

Source:http://www.webnewswire.com/node/488829

Climate talks deadlocked as clashes erupt outside

Danish police fired pepper spray outside the UN climate conference on Wednesday, as disputes inside left major issues unresolved just two days before world leaders hope to sign a historic agreement to fight global warming.

Hundreds of protesters were trying to disrupt the 193-nation conference, the latest action in days of demonstrations to demand "climate justice" — firm action to combat global warming. Police said 230 protesters were detained.
Inside the cavernous Bella Center convention hall, negotiators dealing with core issues debated until just before dawn without setting new goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions or for financing poorer countries' efforts to cope with coming climate change, key elements of any deal.
"I regret to report we have been unable to reach agreement," John Ashe of Antigua, chairman of one negotiating group, reported to the full 193-nation conference later Wednesday morning.
In those overnight talks, the American delegation apparently objected to a proposed text it felt might bind the United States prematurely to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, before the US Congress acts on the required legislation. US envoys insisted, for example, on replacing the word "shall" with the conditional "should."
Hundreds of protesters marched on the suburban Bella Center, where lines of Danish riot police waited in protective cordons. Some demonstrators said they wanted to take over the global conference and turn it into a "people's assembly," and as they approached police lines they were hit with pepper spray.
After nine days of largely unproductive talks, the lower-level delegates were wrapping up the first phase of the two-week conference and handing off the disputes to environment ministers in a critical second phase.
The lack of progress disheartened many, including small island states threatened by the rising seas of global warming.
"We are extremely disappointed," Ian Fry of the tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu declared on the conference floor. "I have the feeling of dread we are on the Titanic and sinking fast. It's time to launch the lifeboats."
Others were far from abandoning ship. "Obviously there are things we are concerned about, but that is what we have to discuss," Sergio Barbosa Serra, Brazil's climate ambassador, told The Associated Press. "I would like to think we can get a deal, a good and fair deal."

Source:http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=3019

Too much or too little water in the Himalayas

Hundreds of millions of people in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region and in the river basins downstream are being forced to adapt to a new reality: climate change.

Climate change is increasing uncertainty and the risk for extreme droughts interspersed with extreme floods that are challenging food security, housing, infrastructure, business and even survival.

Even hardy mountain populations, adapted for centuries to survival in extreme environments, are undergoing events so unprecedented that their traditional coping strategies are being overwhelmed by the events unfolding.

These are some of the main findings of a new study released today at the UN climate convention meeting in Copenhagen by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO). The findings are based on five field teams in China, India, Pakistan and Nepal who took part in this unique collaborative pilot study to look at the realities facing mountain populations and hundreds of millions people downstream.

The acute experiences of people in this region are living proof of the pressures some societies are already enduring as a result of the onset of climate change - adaptation here is not just a necessity but a question of local communities' very survival," said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director. In Nepal, a country normally known as a country of water abundance, extreme droughts in some cases lasting years have impacted large parts of the country. People who can afford machinery respond by digging trenches in the dry river beds. Now the trenches and tube wells have to be guarded to protect them against those who cannot afford to get water this way, leading to increased inequality and conflicts in the society.

In Assam and Bihar in India, embankments built to contain the Koshi River have led to waterlogging, and even worse, cause catastrophic floods when they suddenly burst as a result of improper construction and inadequate maintenance. People who have settled closest to the embankments are the most vulnerable and take the heaviest toll.

"Policies that determine people's access to resources when facing water stress and floods are currently weak throughout the region, thus people rely on their own innovations," said Andreas Schild, Director General of ICIMOD. "Governments have to find ways to support improved livelihood strategies, and increase people's influence in the governance of infrastructure, such as embankments," he added.

For the impoverished, everyday activities are focused on immediate survival, thus rendering the hope of developing long-term resilience and economic development even more remote, says the report. In some places, necessity has forced local farmers to sell off livestock and land during droughts to pay short-term debts, to cope with elevated food prices, or to rebuild destroyed housing - resulting among others from extreme climate events and inadequate policies elsewhere in the world.

Traditional institutions, like the Gram in Chitral, Pakistan, help people to manage scarce water resources in an equitable way. In Pakistan, a near doubling of the population in just 40 years will also challenge the food production, which is mainly based on irrigation from rivers fed by meltwater from snow and glaciers in the mountains. Social networks and cultures are an asset in dealing with the extremes, such as the designation of women as water guards in Yunnan province in China, to manage water conflicts.

Networks can also ensure that migrants find help, as in Chitral, Pakistan, where kinship and traditional hospitality help fellow villagers re-settle after catastrophes. But in some cases traditions can also challenge the need for new ways to adapt. In Assam, India, non-Mishing people are unwilling to use the flood-tolerant housing techniques developed by the Mishing because they do not wish to be associated with another caste.

Traditionally, many of the government policies in the countries of the region have been sectoral in nature, such as the investments in irrigation infrastructure in Yunnan. These investments, focused on increasing cash crop production at the national level, have largely improved and strengthened lowland communities' coping capacity and productivity - but they have not helped the up-land communities in dealing with water stress, as this was not their focus.

Similarly, road development in Nepal has increased market access and thereby supported new livelihoods, but has destroyed many traditional streams and wells, reducing local ability to cope with drought. Restoration programmes following droughts have frequently simply reconstructed buildings in high-risk flood zones, even new schools have been constructed in high-risk flash-flood locations.

A chief finding of the report is the need for governments to prioritise the development and improvement of national and regional policies to provide better support for local adaptation against a more extreme climate, helping to shift planning from acute survival towards long-term resilience. Many of the countries in the region, such as India, have assigned special institutions nationally to address disaster management.

"The report is ground-breaking in that it brings together best-practices aimed at increasing adaptation and resilience from across borders in Pakistan, India, Nepal and China," Mr. Steiner said. "If the world is to deal decisively with climate change, we must also address the need for programmes targeted towards adaptation strategies to build long-term resilience. Local people already have to make choices daily, and governments with adequate international assistance must step up their efforts to support them in coping," he added.

The report comes as the result of a two-year pilot assessment in the region, coordinated by ICIMOD, with partners from a range of institutions in China, India, Pakistan and Nepal, supported by expertise from UNEP's polar and cryosphere centre in Norway, GRID-Arendal, and the Norwegian Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO).

The study was performed through field teams who successfully conducted field investigations under challenging conditions in Chitral, Northern Pakistan, the hills of Koshi Basin, Nepal, Koshi Basin flood plains in Bihar, India, Brahmaputra flood plains in Assam, India, and in hill areas in Mekong and Salween river basins in Yunnan, China. The study was financed by the Norwegian and Swedish Governments.

Key Findings from the Report and Statistics on the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region:

- Extreme climate events are destroying crops, depleting water resources, causing losses in livestock, cropland, and agricultural productivity, and destroying the meagre infrastructure present, thus reducing market access and access to public services.

- Rainwater harvesting and revival of traditional and new water storage systems are crucial for water storage but must be adapted to the more extreme water events.

- Improved government policies must be developed to support and facilitate local adaptation strategies and to increase long-term resilience, not just disaster management.

- Increased efficiency of irrigation and water use is urgently needed

- a new Blue Revolution in Asia could increase water availability for crop production.

- Livelihood diversification increases resilience to extreme events as much as income level and should be supported through investments.

- Government policies must support and strengthen social capital and networks.

Some regional statistics:

- The warming in the Himalayas appears to be much faster than the global average, for example, 0.6 degrees Centigrade per decade in Nepal compared with the global average of 0.74 degrees Centigrade over the last 100 years. The rate of change is higher at higher altitudes.

-Glaciers are generally receding in the Hindu-Kush Himalayas, some 40-80% have been projected to be lost by the end of the century, with the exception of the Karakoram, where the glaciers have been more stable.

- The proportion of glacial melt in rivers varies from 2-50%, with mountain snow and ice being critical for much larger shares of the flow in some rivers.

- Irrigation water from rivers sustains nearly 55% of Asia's cereal production and around 25% of the world cereal production, feeding over 2.5 billion people in Asia. Another UN report, "The Environmental Food Crisis", warned that the melting glaciers and snow could jeopardize world food security and drive prices to unprecedented levels.

- The most serious short-term changes are probably related to the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events, such as high intense rainfall leading to flash floods, landslides, and debris flows, as well as extreme drought.

- The hydrological role of snow and ice from the mountains is particularly high for the Tarim, Syr Darya, Amu Darya, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yangtze and Huang He (Yellow) rivers.

-Over 1.3 billion people live directly in watersheds critically dependent upon glacier melt, snowmelt and water from the Hindu Kush-Himalayas.

- An estimated 516 million people in China, 526 million people in India and Bangladesh, 178 million people in Pakistan and northern India, and 49 million people in Central Asia, including Xinjiang in China, are thought to be at risk from water shortages.

- Floods impact several million people every year in the region, and lead to thousands of casualties.

- The risk of glacial lake outburst floods ('GLOFS'), the sudden bursting of natural dammed melt lakes at the mouth of glaciers, is increasing as glaciers continue to retreat; with a potential to destroy lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure up to 100 kilometers downstream.

Source:http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2009/12/14/news0795.htm

First official draft on climate deal

The world should at least cut its total greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050, says the document from a key UN working group.

A key working group under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) came up with a six-page text Friday. The draft may form the core of a new global agreement to combat climate change beyond 2012, when the present framework, the Kyoto Protocol, expires. However, most figures in the text are shown in brackets – meaning that there is not yet agreement on these specifics. Most importantly, the draft states that emissions should be halved worldwide by 2050 compared to 1990 levels, but it also suggests 80 percent and 95 percent reductions by that year as possible alternative options.
The draft is produced by Michael Zammit Cutajar (second from right on photo above), Chair of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA).
Even the core goal of the deal is in brackets. Throughout 2009, a number of scientific and political conferences have called for global warming to be kept below two degrees Celsius. Still, the new draft mentions 1.5 degrees Celsius as a possible alternative goal.
Besides the ultimate target of cutting emissions by 50 percent (or 80 percent, or 95 percent respectively) by 2050, the paper also puts forth an interim target by 2020 to be set. For emissions generated by developed nations, a target of 75 percent in reductions (or more – ranging up to 95 percent) is suggested. As for developing countries, the text calls for “substantial deviations” from present growth rates in emissions.
Comments from climate groups vary: “There are many holes - the text displays diversions. Still it (the draft) clearly shows that it is possible to reach a deal. The holes need to be filled through political will and specific political commitments. We still do not know how much money will be paid and by whom,” Kim Carstensen, head of global conservation organisation WWF’s climate campaign, tells Danish daily Berlingske.
More critical is Erwin Jackson of the Australian Climate Institute: “It would be a huge backwards step if this is adopted. There is no mandate for a legally binding treaty that would take in the US or the big developing countries like China and India,” Erwin Jackson tells The Sydney Morning Herald.

Source:http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2938

First official draft on climate deal

The world should at least cut its total greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050, says the document from a key UN working group.

A key working group under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) came up with a six-page text Friday. The draft may form the core of a new global agreement to combat climate change beyond 2012, when the present framework, the Kyoto Protocol, expires. However, most figures in the text are shown in brackets – meaning that there is not yet agreement on these specifics. Most importantly, the draft states that emissions should be halved worldwide by 2050 compared to 1990 levels, but it also suggests 80 percent and 95 percent reductions by that year as possible alternative options.
The draft is produced by Michael Zammit Cutajar (second from right on photo above), Chair of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA).
Even the core goal of the deal is in brackets. Throughout 2009, a number of scientific and political conferences have called for global warming to be kept below two degrees Celsius. Still, the new draft mentions 1.5 degrees Celsius as a possible alternative goal.
Besides the ultimate target of cutting emissions by 50 percent (or 80 percent, or 95 percent respectively) by 2050, the paper also puts forth an interim target by 2020 to be set. For emissions generated by developed nations, a target of 75 percent in reductions (or more – ranging up to 95 percent) is suggested. As for developing countries, the text calls for “substantial deviations” from present growth rates in emissions.
Comments from climate groups vary: “There are many holes - the text displays diversions. Still it (the draft) clearly shows that it is possible to reach a deal. The holes need to be filled through political will and specific political commitments. We still do not know how much money will be paid and by whom,” Kim Carstensen, head of global conservation organisation WWF’s climate campaign, tells Danish daily Berlingske.
More critical is Erwin Jackson of the Australian Climate Institute: “It would be a huge backwards step if this is adopted. There is no mandate for a legally binding treaty that would take in the US or the big developing countries like China and India,” Erwin Jackson tells The Sydney Morning Herald.

Source:http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2938

Chinese official: Stern “irresponsible”

China and the US continue their barbed exchange. The Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei (photo above) says that the US chief negotiator either lacks common sense or is “extremely irresponsible”.

In unusually blunt language, China’s Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said on Friday that he was "shocked" by US climate envoy Todd Stern's comments earlier this week that China shouldn't expect any American public climate aid money, and that the US was not in any debt to the world for its historically high carbon emissions. "I don't want to say the gentleman is ignorant," He Yafei told reporters at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen. "I think he lacks common sense where he made such a comment vis-a-vis funds for China. Either lack of common sense or extremely irresponsible." The world's two biggest greenhouse polluters have been exchanging barbs this week about the sincerity of their pledges to fight climate change. China is grouped together with the developing nations in the climate talks. But Stern said that when it comes to financing to help poor countries deal with climate change, the US doesn't consider China one of the neediest countries. "I don't envision public funds — certainly not from the United States — going to China," he said on Wednesday. "China to its great credit has a dynamic economy, and sits on some two trillion dollars in reserves. So we don't think China would be the first candidate for public funding." The Chinese official said that China wasn't asking for money, rather that the US and China had different responsibilities in dealing with global warming.

Source:http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2942

Hillary on climate mission for Obama

US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, needs to persuade China to take action on global warming to help President Obama win Senate vote on emission caps.

Hillary Clinton has chosen Asia, particularly China, for her maiden voyage next week as Secretary of State. While the most urgent issue is Beijing's help to end a global recession, Mrs. Clinton's more planet-saving goal is to get China to set curbs on its carbon emissions.
Without that, President Obama may not be able to win enough Senate votes for a cap on US greenhouse gases.
As the world's two largest emitters, China and the US will set the pace this year among all nations in make-or-break negotiations for a post-Kyoto treaty on global warming. The talks end this December with a summit in Copenhagen.
If the world is to make a commitment to fight climate change, each of these giant polluters needs to know the other will jump into the same chilly pool of obligatory curbs on their tailpipes and smokestacks.
But if China isn't making much of a sacrifice, many US senators, especially those from coal states, may not support CO2 cuts or a treaty seen as reducing US competitiveness.
China and other developing countries say they should be allowed to pollute for a while to catch up to industrialised standards.

Source:http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=702

Developing world threatens battle on drafts

African countries, Brazil, China, South Africa and India say they have produced a default proposal to be used only if rich countries try to shortcut UN-led negotiations in Copenhagen.

At the ongoing UN conference on climate change, COP15, a group consisting of African countries plus the BASIC block – Brazil, South Africa, India and China – have drawn up a text for a new global agreement.However, the text is only "ready in the wings (…) if any of the other groups springs a surprise draft (…) then the G-77 (Group of 77, representing most of the world’s developing countries) would put out this text," the Hindustan Times reports, quoting India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh:
"We are holding it (…) if there is a "Danish" we will produce "ABASIC"," the minister says.
By a "Danish" the minister hints at a draft text allegedly produced by the Copenhagen conference’s host last week, claimed to favor developed countries."ABASIC" is an acronym combining an A for Africa with BASIC, which is an informal group consisting of Brazil, South Africa, India and China.
In another interview Jairam Ramesh indicates that the default text may never be released, as the negotiations are already hampered by too many drafts:
"I think the way the (UN) working groups are functioning is not conducive to creating any form of consensus. Right now I'm really confused. If you want to maintain your sanity, don’t look at drafts," Mr. Ramesh tells Bloomberg.

Source:http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=3007

Japan to unveil 10 billion dollars in climate aid

A pledge of funds from rich countries will be a key ingredient for any climate change deal in Copenhagen. Japan is ready to make an offer in Copenhagen.

When Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama lands in Copenhagen for the UN climate summit, he will bring along an offer of 10 billion US dollars to help developing countries fight global warming, the Tokyo Shimbun daily reports, according to Reuters.

The pledge of 10 billion dollars over three years, including steps to protect biodiversity, is more than previously announced. According to Reuters, Environment Minister Sakihito Ozawa last week declined to say how much Japan - the world's fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases - would contribute, but said that the government wanted to pay more than a previously announced 9.2 billion dollars over three years.

Source:http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2996

Forest negotiations are making headway

There is mounting agreement on rewarding tropical countries which slow deforestation under a new deal. This is the first issue where significant progress has been made in Copenhagen.

Negotiators in Copenhagen have made progress on two key issues for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation – also known as REDD – a forest policy group reports, according to mongabay.com. "We needed two critical pieces of text to catapult into a world where developing nations could see real value for saving tropical forests," says John O. Niles, Director of the Tropical Forest Group. "Forests and forest peoples worldwide need "early action" language to fast track financing to save forests immediately. And the agreement needs clarification that national forest reference emissions levels will be discussed and decided with concrete timelines. Both of these critical dimensions of a new global forest paradigm are now very much in play," he says according to mongabay.com. This the one of the few areas where significant progress has been made in Copenhagen, says Cara Peace, Tropical Forest Group's Assistant Director for Policy in a statement. "Saving tropical forests has positively catalyzed the climate change negotiations - it is the only beacon in an otherwise dark night," mongabay.com cites her as saying.According to Reuters, the latest draft text also addressed several key issues on protecting the interests of indigenous people, but activists complain that is has been moved out of a legally binding part of the text.

Source:http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2998

G-77 chief negotiator walked out in anger

Chief negotiator for 130 developing countries believes that the UN climate change conference "will probably be wrecked by the bad intentions of some people".
Late last night, Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aiping, who represents the Group of 77 (G-77) at the UN climate change conference, walked out of a consultation meeting with UN representatives in anger. "Things are not going well," a tight-lipped Di-Aiping told the Danish TV2 News. According to Politiken, Di-Aping had been for an hour-long meeting, but left and delivered a scathing criticism. "This conference will probably be wrecked by the bad intentions of some people," he told TV2 News. Asked what he believes the Danish government is trying to achieve, Di-Aiping said: "No good".
Source:http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2932

Obama: Climate change is a security issue

“Not only scientists and environmental activists call for action on climate change, but also military leaders understand that our common security hangs in the balance,” said President Obama in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.

Giving the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," has been seen as a means of boosting international climate talks.
In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo, President Obama stressed the importance of confronting climate change:
"There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, more famine, more mass displacement – all of which will fuel more conflict for decades," and then he drew attention to the question of security in the climate problem:
"It is not merely scientists and environmental activists who call for swift and forceful action – it's military leaders in my own country and others who understand that our common security hangs in the balance."
According to AFP, the Group of 77 seized the opportunity to urge Barack Obama to steer the US back into the Kyoto Protocol and to release 200 billion US dollars to fight climate change:
"That's the challenge that President Obama needs to rise to. This is what we expect from him as a Nobel Prize winner," said Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping of Sudan, representing 130 countries in the G-77 bloc and China.

Source:http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2924

Copenhagen Conference: What is the stake for Nepal?

The most emerging problem facing the world today is climate change. The reason behind climate change, although debatable, is agreed by scientists to be the rampant use of fossil fuel as energy and deforestation globally in an unsustainable manner. Ultimately, it is proved that climate change is human-induced.

The demand for energy is ever increasing. While developing countries need a huge amount of it in order to achieve high economic growth rate, developed ones need energy to maintain things with huge demand for it. In both the cases, the entire economies depend on access to dependable and affordable energy. In this context, more the amount of energy available better will be the living standard of people that depend on the extent and degree of economic development. The miraculous economic development that the world has achieved today is the most probable outcome of technological innovation and advancement. These technological innovations from the days of internal combustion and jet engine to today’s rocket science and internet accessibility are largely based on the electric as well as fossil fuel energy. Most of the sources of the generation of electric energy are fossil fuel as the power is generated from coal and natural gas.

On the other hand, improving living standard of the people has increased the demand for physical facilities which require larger amount of energy to function. Consequently, the demand for energy increases for those facilities. Unlike other commodities, energy has a unique inelastic demand that leads to monopoly of a single source of energy with few substitutes. In the long run, fossil fuel is the most dependable source without which the physical facility the world enjoys today seems impossible albeit the efforts to develop alternatives.

The widespread and uncontrolled use of fossil fuel has a dire effect on the environment. Fossil fuel emits greenhouse gas (GHG) in the atmosphere producing carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 once produced remains in the atmosphere for 200 years. It follows that the impact of CO2 on the atmosphere goes on accumulating as well as contributing to the global warming. The realization of the importance to reduce GHG emissions has led to a series of climate change conferences the Copenhagen conference being held in December 2009 being one of them.

Poor countries like Nepal suffer the most from the effect of GHG emissions while they emit very little. The Copenhagen conference gives an opportunity for developing countries to bag large assistance for the development of alternative energy sources. Developed countries are bound to cut emissions because they alone emit over 80% of GHG. They need to invest a significant amount to cut down carbon emissions on the planet. This assistance will go to poor developing countries for the development of clean energy sources. Nepal has to do a lot of homework that can provide opportunity to take advantage from the forth coming climate change conference.

Nepal has various high potential sources of clean energy alternatives-biogas, photovoltaic (PV) and micro hydro. All of them are in use and practice. Biogas is the most popular in the rural areas of the country since past several decades. A total of 156575 biogas plants have already been installed in the rural areas till 2005. Similarly, photovoltaic, a solar home system based on the solar power is in use in the rural areas of the country since last decade. Till June 2009, 91947 households of the rural areas of the country have installed solar home system cells with the combined capacity of 2175 kw. The former provides energy for cooking as well as lighting while the latter is used for lighting purposes. Micro hydro is another source of clean energy with immense potentiality. Likewise, mini greed electrification program has served 11279 households by providing electricity with installed capacity of 1133 kw. Micro hydro provides sufficient energy for a typical village with large variations on end use. With the installation of micro hydro for a target community will provide power not only for lighting, cooking, charging of various appliances such as mobile, computer, TV etc but also helps to operate small scale industries in the local level to increase the economic activities thereby increasing the earning of the poor people. It is roughly estimated that 7% of rural population have been electrified through both the mini grid and PV system.

The efforts that Nepal has been putting to develop renewable sources of energy gradually are improving. But the pace of development is very slow. This is because of poverty that limits the capacity of the majority of people to afford necessary expenses to install. They need financial as well as technical assistance. To get this, Copenhagen climate change conference will be the platform. A clear and well envisioned plan for the development of clean energy through biogas, PV and micro hydro system as Nepal has their immense potentiality, is needed to convince international community. Nepal will get a number of environmental, economic and social benefits from the development of these renewable energy sources. Nepal also can bag a large amount of money by selling carbon under the CDM program if these resources are well utilized. A lot of scarce resources can be saved that otherwise are heavily invested in importing fossil fuel. In spite of this, the campaign against the excess creation of GHG emissions in the atmosphere to save the planet from the global warming would come true for the world community if developed countries invest a significant portion of their GDP to develop renewable energy sources of developing countries.

Source:http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/component/content/article/13-top-column/2840-copenhagen-conference-what-is-the-stake-for-nepal.html

Tourist arrivals up 25 pc in Annapurna

The number of tourists enjoying trekking along the Annapurna circuit has soared by 25 percent this season, according to Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP).

With the rise in the number of visitors, the hotels in Myagdi and Mustang regions are operating full house, generating better income to local entrepreneurs.

Delighted over better earnings from foreign visitors, local hoteliers, meanwhile, has started denying services to domestic travelers. “It is very sad for us, but we have no option. We have no space to accommodate visitors for night stay,” Chhonam Dorje of Laligurans Hotel said.

According to ACAP, about 25,740 tourists visited the region as of October-end this season, whereas the number of arrivals was 18,462 in the same period last year.

The number of visitors has continued to grow even in November, said Paras Bikram Singh, chief of ACAP in Mustang. He told myrepublica.com that the growth has mainly been recorded in the number of tourists from SAARC region. “More visitors from SAARC countries are visiting the region for adventure as well pilgrimage purpose,” he stated.

Trekking on the Annapurna circuit has been one of the major reasons behind the increment in number of trekkers in the region. Also the pilgrimage to Muktinath, a temple widely revered in Nepal and India, has also been contributing to the rise in number of tourists in the region.

The trekking along the circuit starts from Naya Pul of Kaski and traverses along Birethanti, Ghandruk, Ghorepani, Shikh, Gharkhola, Tatopani, Dana and reaches Pun Hill. It further moves ahead to Pahiro Thapla, Lete, Kowang, Tukuche, Marfa, Jomsom, Muktinath, Thorang Pass and moves into Manang.From Manang, trekkers travel through Khangsar to Pisang, Dharapani, Chamje in Lamjung and ends at Besi Shahar of Lamjung.

For the trek, each tourists needs to pay permit fee of Rs 2,000 to ACAP. Earlier, trekking through the circuit used to take 22 days, thereby creating substantial business opportunities to the locals. However, with the start of vehicular services, the number of trekking days in the route has dropped to 12 days.

Tourists from France, USA, UK, India and Korea mostly travel along this route. Apart from trekking, the region is also popular for its rich bio-diversity, and hence, has been attracting overseas researchers as well.

Source:http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11931

Climate change puts Myagdi musk deer in danger

Increasing temperature and human activities have not spared the musk deer found in mountainous areas of Myagdi district--the small deer with a stocky build have been fleeing to other areas leaving their habitats.

Earlier, must deer were found in abundance at Mudi, Lulang, Gurja, Kuimenga, Dana and Muna VDCs situated on the foothill of Mount Dhaulagiri.Wildlife expert Dr Mukesh Kumar Chalise said adverse climatic condition and lack of food resulted in by climate change and increasing temperature has forced the musk deer, who love isolated environment, to cool areas.

According to local residents, the endangered deer have been migrating to Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve and jungles in Dolpa, Rukum and Mustang.

The musk deer previously seen in Mudi jungle can be spotted lately in and around the Dhaulagiri Base Camp, said a local teacher, Dirgha Bahadur Khatri.

Apart from musk deer, mountain goat, deer and ghoral earlier found in forests of Gurja, Lulang, Muna, Mudi, Chimkhola and Dana have left the jungles.

Forest officer Purneshwor Subedi said these wildlife creatures have also migrated to other areas in wake of increasing human encroachment on forests.Considering both the cases, we can surmise that existence of wildlife found in high hilly areas is at risk, said Dr Chalise.

Source:http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=12126

Fragile mountain ecosystem needs preservation

The increasing fragility of mountain ecosystems now direly needs the attention not only of concerned departments but also of the general public who must understand the impacts of unsuitable development that are particularly intense, more rapid and more difficult to correct than in other ecosystems.

The United Nations General Assembly has designated December 11, from 2003 onwards, as the International Mountain Day that is observed every year with a different theme relevant to sustainable mountain development. The theme for the International Mountain Day 2009 was ‘Disaster Risk Management in Mountains.’

The international day for mountains rightly reminds all of the people living in and around Islamabad to give a serious thought to rising threats to natural ecosystem of Margalla Hills National Park because of fire incidents, land cover change, agricultural intensification, infrastructure development and cutting of firewood that ultimately not only damage the vegetative cover but also spoil wildlife in the area.

The civil society organizations and some other individuals have been constantly raising their voice for preservation of natural character of Margalla Hills to avoid environmental hazards detrimental to human health. Himalayan Holidays is one of such organizations that have prepared various plans to raise awareness of local people especially students about ways and means to protect vegetative cover, flora and fauna and wildlife in the Margalla Hills.

Najeeb Khan, head of Himalayan Holidays and a tour operator, told ‘The News’ that there are 30 schools in the villages falling in the jurisdiction of Margalla Hills National Park having over 4,000 students that had first-hand knowledge about ground situation of the area. He said his organization prepared a comprehensive programme to raise awareness among these students who could better act as monitors and protectors of Margalla Hills.

“We need to educate the students about ways and means to avoid bushfire, promote wildlife and preserve water resources in Margalla Hills,” he said. Najeeb said they were planning to conduct night camping events on weekly basis in various villages including Sangjani, Golra, Shah Allahditta, Pind Sangdyal, Kot Janndan, Sanyari, Saidpur, Nurpur Shahan, Talhard, Gukina Kalan, Gukina Khurd, Malwadi, Nandiaas, Rumli and Shahdarra.

He said, “We are planning to take groups of students on one night camping and two days training activity that will provide them with outdoor education about biological diversity of forest and wild cover.” The students would be provided with free of cost camps, sleeping bags, meals and transportation during camping and training sessions, he said.

Source:http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=212841

Biologists: Greening Arctic not Likely to Offset Permafrost Carbon Release

As the frozen soil in the Arctic thaws, bacteria will break down organic matter, releasing long-stored carbon into the warming atmosphere.
At the same time, plants will proliferate, nurtured by balmier temperatures, more nutrients from decomposing soil and the increasing abundance of the greenhouse gas they depend on for growth.
These connected but contrasting changes have raised a question for scientists who study the causes and consequences of global climate change: Will the shrubs and incipient forests spreading across the Arctic compensate for the permafrost's rising release of carbon, blunting its impact on a warming planet? Or, with twice as much carbon locked up in the permafrost as now present in the atmosphere, will the lush growth become overwhelmed — like a kitchen sponge put down to stem a water main break?
Researchers led by a University of Florida ecologist may have an answer. In a paper set to appear May 28 in the journal Nature, the team reports experimental results suggesting tundra plant growth may keep up with rising carbon dioxide initially.
But if thawing continues in a warmer world, the permafrost will spew carbon for decades, and the plants will become overwhelmed — unable to sop up the excess carbon despite even the most vigorous growth.
“At first, with the plants offsetting the carbon dioxide, it will appear that everything is fine, but actually this conceals the initial destabilization of permafrost carbon," said Ted Schuur, a UF associate professor of ecology and lead author of the paper. "But it doesn't last, because there is so much carbon in the permafrost that eventually the plants can't keep up."
Schuur noted most of the 13 million square kilometers, or roughly 5 million square miles, of permafrost in Alaska, Canada, Siberia and parts of Europe remain frozen. However, thawing already occurring around its southern edges is expected to expand this century.
Should that occur, this study suggests the permafrost could lose in the range of 1 gigaton of carbon, or 1 billion tons, per year - about the same order of magnitude as being added by current deforestation of the tropics, another large biospheric source, Schuur said.
While burning fossil fuels contributes considerably more carbon, about 8.5 gigatons annually, that process can at least in theory be controlled - whereas once the permafrost thaw begins, it sets up a self-reinforcing loop far from human activity and potentially difficult to stop.
That highlights the urgent need to address human-caused emissions now, Schuur said.
"It is not an option to be putting insulation on top of the tundra," he said. "If we address our own emissions, either by reducing deforestation or controlling emissions from fossil fuels, that's the key to minimizing the changes in the permafrost carbon pool."
Researchers from UF used hand-built, automated chambers to trap and measure carbon dioxide losses in Alaska year-round from 2004 through 2006. Thawing at the research sites near Denali National Park, in central Alaska, varies considerably, with some plots much more extensively thawed than others.
The researchers determined how long each spot had been thawing using long-term data from permafrost-monitoring instruments combined with historical aerial photographs. With a total of 18 of the automated chambers, they measured the release and uptake of carbon between the tundra and the atmosphere. This resulted in a measurement of net ecosystem carbon exchange - the total carbon each spot lost, or gained, due to thawing permafrost.
The results were clear.
Tundra sites that had thawed for the past 15 years gained net carbon, as increasingly verdant plant growth was greater than the permafrost's carbon losses. However, radiocarbon dating of carbon dioxide showed that old carbon from the permafrost was already being released in higher amounts due to thaw - signifying that all was not well with the permafrost carbon even in that time period. The site that began thawing decades before gained net carbon emission to the atmosphere, revealing that more thaw caused significantly more old carbon loss — despite greening of the vegetation, including more shrubs.
Said Jason Vogel, a UF postdoctoral associate and author of the paper: "The plants are still growing faster in the extensively thawed area, but that's not enough to keep up with the greater microbial activity releasing old carbon from deeper in the soil."
As a result, even as the Arctic greens, its escalating old carbon loss "could make permafrost a large biospheric carbon source in a warmer world," according to the paper.

Source:http://www.clas.ufl.edu/events/news/articles/20090527-permafrost.html

Plant Fossils give First Real Picture of Earliest Neotropical Rainforests

A team of researchers including a University of Florida paleontologist has used a rich cache of plant fossils discovered in Colombia to provide the first reliable evidence of how Neotropical rainforests looked 58 million years ago.
Researchers from the Smithsonian Institution and UF, among others, found that many of the dominant plant families existing in today’s Neotropical rainforests — including legumes, palms, avocado and banana — have maintained their ecological dominance despite major changes in South America’s climate and geological structure.
The study, which appears this week in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined more than 2,000 megafossil specimens, some nearly 10 feet long, from the Cerrejón Formation in northern Colombia. The fossils are from the Paleocene epoch, which occurred in the 5- to 7-million-year period following the massive extinction event responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs.
“Neotropical rainforests have an almost nonexistent fossil record,” said study co-author Fabiany Herrera, a graduate student at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus. “These specimens allow us to actually test hypotheses about their origins for the first time ever.”
Herrera said the new specimens, discovered in 2003, also provide information for future studies that promise to provide an even stronger understanding of the plants that formed the earliest Neotropical communities.
Many previous assumptions and hypotheses on the earliest rainforests are based on studies of pollen fossils, which did not provide information about climate, forest structure, leaf morphology or insect herbivory.
The new study provides evidence Neotropical rainforests were warmer and wetter in the late Paleocene than today but were composed of the same plant families that now thrive in rainforests. “We have the fossils to prove this,” Herrera said. “It is also intriguing that while the Cerrejón rainforest shows many of the characteristics of modern equivalents, plant diversity is lower.”
The site, one of the world’s largest open-pit coal mines, also yielded the fossil for the giant snake known as Titanoboa, described by UF scientists earlier this year.
“These new plant fossils show us that the forest during the time of Titanoboa, 58 million years ago, was similar in many ways to that of today,” said Florida Museum vertebrate paleontologist and biology professor Jonathan Bloch, who described Titanoboa but was not part of the rainforest study. “Like Titanoboa, which is clearly related to living boas and anacondas, the ancient forest of northern Colombia had similar families of plants as we see today in that ecosystem. The foundations of the Neotropical rainforests were there 58 million years ago.”
Megafossils found at the Cerrejón site made it possible to use leaf structure to identify specimens down to the genus level. This resolution allowed the identification of plant genera that still exist in Neotropical rainforests. With pollen fossils, specimens can be categorized only to the family level.
Researchers were surprised by the relative lack of diversity found in the Paleocene rainforest, Herrera said. Statistical analyses showed that the plant communities found in the Cerrejón Formation were 60 percent to 80 percent less diverse than those of modern Neotropical rainforests. Evidence of herbivory also showed a low diversity level among insects.
The study’s authors say the relative lack of diversity indicates either the beginning of rainforest species diversification or the recovery of existing species from the Cretaceous extinction event.
The researchers estimate the Paleocene rainforest received about 126 inches of rainfall annually and had an average annual temperature greater than 86 degrees. The Titanoboa study, which used different methods, estimated an average temperature between 89 and 91 degrees. Today the region’s temperatures average about 81 degrees.
Herrera is now comparing fossils from the Cerrejón site to specimens from other Paleocene sites in Colombia to see how far the early rainforest extended geographically. He is also examining fossils from a Cretaceous site to determine differences in composition before and after the extinction event.

Source:http://www.clas.ufl.edu/events/news/articles/20091021-neotropical.html

South Asia Taps Tourism Potential for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth

Efforts by Nepal, India and Bangladesh to take advantage of the tourism potential of their rich natural and cultural attractions, including many of the world’s major Buddhist sites, are getting support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

ADB Board of Directors today approved a total of $57.5 million in grants and loans for the South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project, which will develop and improve infrastructure and services for key tourism sites in the three countries. It will also help increase the capacity of sector agencies to sustainably manage and protect sites, and will target increased involvement by local communities in tourism.
South Asia is one of the poorer regions of the world but has many renowned natural and cultural attractions, including the world’s highest mountain and the Sacred Garden in Lumbini, Nepal, where Buddha was born, the Rumtek Buddhist Monastery in India’s Sikkim state, and ancient monasteries and temples in western Bangladesh. Countries in the sub-region, including India, Nepal and Bangladesh have formed a working group for collective action to tap the synergies of their complementary tourism sites in order to expand tourism. However, development has been hindered by limited connectivity to sites, inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of capacity by sector agencies to develop and manage key destinations.
The project will target transport and other infrastructure upgrades and will improve water supply, sanitation and solid waste management services to enhance the environment at key sites. Support will be given to increase the capacity of sector agencies to sustainably manage and protect attractions, while steps will be taken to increase involvement by local communities in the tourism sector.
“Tourism plays an important role in the regional economy and this project will benefit around 2.4 million people through increased income and employment, health and environmental improvements, and reduced travel time,” said Gülfer Cezayirli, Principal Urban Development Specialist in ADB’s South Asia Department.
"The project features a subregional approach to tourism development that will bring wider benefits than a single country approach, and will help spread jobs and income to areas currently bypassed by existing tourism markets," added Ms. Cezayirli. "It includes a program to ensure that poor and remote communities have the knowledge and skills to take advantage of new tourism opportunities."
Along with ADB’s loans and grants, the governments of the three countries, and the OPEC Fund for International Development, will provide the balance of the project cost of $89.5 million.
India will receive a loan of $20 million equivalent from ADB’s ordinary capital resources. Nepal will receive a grant of $12.75 million, and a loan of $12.75 million equivalent, both from ADB’s concessional Asian Development Fund (ADF). Bangladesh will receive a $12 million equivalent ADF loan.
The project executing agencies are Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, India’s Sikkim State Department of Tourism, and Bangladesh’s Department of Archaeology, Ministry of Cultural Affairs.The project is due for completion by September 2014.

Source:http://finchannel.com/news_flash/Travel_Biz_News/51948_South_Asia_Taps_Tourism_Potential_for_Inclusive_and_Sustainable_Growth/

Indian engineer 'builds' new glaciers to stop global warming

Chewang Norphel, 76, has "built" 12 new glaciers already and is racing to create five more before he dies.
By then he hopes he will have trained enough new "icemen" to continue is work and save the world's "third icecap" from being transformed into rivers.
His race against time is shared by Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister who called on the region's Himalayan nations, including China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, to form a united front to tackle glacial melting.
The great Himalayan glaciers, including Kashmir's Siachen glacier, feed the region's most important rivers, which irrigate farm land in Tibet, Nepal, Bangladesh and throughout the Indian sub-continent. The apparent acceleration in glacial melting has been blamed for the increase in floods which have destroyed homes and crops.
Chewang Norphel, the "Iceman of Ladakh", however believes he has an answer.
By diverting meltwater through a network of pipes into artificial lakes in the shaded side of mountain valleys, he says he has created new glaciers.
A dam or embankment is built to keep in the water, which freezes at night and remains frozen in the absence of direct sunlight. The water remains frozen until March, when the start of summer melts the new glacier and releases the water into the rivers below.
So far, Mr Norphel's glaciers have been able to each store up to one million cubic feet of ice, which in turn can irrigate 200 hectares of farm land. For farmers, that can make the difference between crop failure and a bumper crop of more than 1,000 tons of wheat.
The "iceman" says he has seen the effects of global warming on farmland as snows have become thinner on the ground and ice rivers have melted away never to return.
His own work has now been recognised by the Indian government, which has given him £16,000 to build five new glaciers. But time is his enemy, he told The Hindustan Times. "I'm planning to train villagers with instruction CDs that I have made, so that I can pass on the knowledge before I die," he said.

Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/globalwarming/6449982/Indian-engineer-builds-new-glaciers-to-stop-global-warming.html

Climate change could displace 600 million people, report warns

Climate change could force up 150 million climate refugees to flee their countries in the next 40 years, a report from the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) warns.

The EJF claim that between 500 to 600 million people, equivalent to ten per cent of the world’s population, are at extreme risk of displacement by climate change.

A day after coming to power last year, President Mohamed Nasheed declared his intentions of setting up a sovereign fund to relocate the Maldives 350,000 people if sea level rises swamped the island nation.

“We are just 1.5m over sea level and anything over that, any rise in sea level - anything even near that - would basically wipe off the Maldives, so we will be affected very quickly - and very soon,” said Nasheed to the authors of the EJA report.

As one of the lowest-lying countries in the world, the Maldives is vulnerable to sea level rises. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said sea level rises of up to 59cm within a century would submerge many of the archipelago’s 1,192 islands.

Around 80 per cent of the Maldives total land area is less than 1m above sea level and the highest point is 2.4m above sea level. Further, the EJA report noted that 40 per cent of the population, 70 per cent of fisheries infrastructure, 80 per cent of powerhouses and 99 per cent of all tourist accommodation is within 100m of the coastline.

The report stated that nearly one-third of countries have more than 10 per cent of their land within 5m of sea level while 11 countries are below 5m and five of these would be threatened by only a 1m sea level rise.

Sea level rises due to melt-water from glaciers and ice sheets as well as thermal expansion of water in seas and oceans will result in beach erosion, coral bleaching, coastal flooding, damaged coastal infrastructure and salinisation of freshwater sources, the EJA report adds.

Small Island Developing States, such as the Maldives, have the largest share of land in low-lying coastal zones and are home to six million people. These countries, the report notes, are disproportionately burdened with the impacts of climate change, despite being among the smallest emitters.

Further, climate change affects those countries that are least able to adapt as well as people who are both economically and socially disadvantaged. Paradoxically, the report said, many of the countries worst hit have the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per capita.

The report advised the creation of a legal term for people who migrate as a result of environmental degradation and climate change so that they are offered protection.

It added that in 2006, delegates from the Maldives government proposed an amendment to the 1951 UN Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees to extend the definition to include environmental refugees.

The EJF argues the need for a convention for environmental refugees and in the report, Professor Frank Biermann and Ingrid Boas of Vrije University in Holland, proposed five points to be included in the convention:

* Planned and voluntary resettlement and reintegration as opposed to ad hoc emergency relief responses

* Climate refugees to be treated the same as permanent immigrants

* Any convention must be tailored to an entire group of people, including entire nations

* Support for national governments to protect their people

* Protection of climate refugees must be seen as a global problem and global responsibilityThe foundation further contends a financial mechanism must be set up to ensure funding is available for climate change adaptation.The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change estimates that US$49 billion to US$171 billion will be needed annually by 2030 for adaptation to climate change.

Putting this figure into context, the report noted that in 2008, the nine biggest US banks paid US$32.6 billion in bonuses. The report comes less than a month before world leaders will congregate in Copenhagen to hammer out a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

Discussions have so far stalled with the developing world arguing rich, industrialised nations must take the lion’s share of the responsibility for climate change. Meanwhile, the latter are loath to commit to drastic cuts in emissions.

Last month, Nasheed led his cabinet in the world’s first underwater dive to highlight the country’s vulnerability to rising sea levels and call for leaders to commit to cuts that will reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350ppm.

Source:http://www.minivannews.com/news_detail.php?id=7645

Fight for climate and food security may pass through agriculture

Those for food security and climate change containment are two battles that can be fought together through sustainable agriculture, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. A recent FAO report, indeed, stressed that agriculture not only suffers the impacts of climate change, it is also responsible for 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. But agriculture has the potential to be an important part of the solution, through mitigation - reducing and/or removing - a significant amount of global emissions, FAO says. Some 70 percent of this mitigation potential could be realized in developing countries.

"Many effective strategies for climate change mitigation from agriculture also benefit food security, development and adaptation to climate change," said FAO Assistant Director-General Alexander Müller. "The challenge is to capture these potential synergies, while managing trade-offs that may have negative impacts on food security."The report, Food Security and Agricultural Mitigation in Developing Countries: Options for Capturing Synergies was launched during the Barcelona Climate Change Talks from November 2 to 6.

The most important technical options for climate change mitigation from agriculture are improvements in cropland and grazing land management and the restoration of organic soils and degraded lands.

Other options involve difficult trade-offs, with benefits for mitigation but potentially negative consequences for food security and development. In some cases, there are synergies in the long-run, but trade-offs in the short-run.

Biofuel production provides a clean alternative to fossil fuel but can compete for land and water resources needed for food production. Restoration of organic soils enables greater carbon sequestration, but may reduce the land available for food production. Rangeland restoration may improve carbon sequestration but involves short-term reductions in herder incomes by limiting the number of livestock.

Some trade-offs can be managed through measures to increase efficiency or through payment of incentives or compensation.Many of the technical mitigation options are readily available and could be deployed immediately. But while these actions often generate a net positive benefit over time, they involve significant up-front costs.

Other barriers, such as uncertain property rights, lack of information and technical assistance or access to appropriate seeds and fertilizer, also need to be overcome. "Linking to ongoing agricultural development efforts that address these same issues is one cost effective way of doing this," said Kostas Stamoulis, Director of the FAO Agricultural Development Economics Division.A range of financing options—public, public-private and carbon markets—are currently under negotiation for climate change mitigation actions in developing countries. These could be future sources of finance for agricultural mitigation actions, the report says, as could a dedicated international fund to support agricultural mitigation in developing countries and coordination with financing from official development assistance for agricultural development.

Source:http://en.greenplanet.net/lifestyle/eco-sustainability/1104-fight-for-climate-and-food-security-may-pass-through-agriculture.html

DFID announces £50m grant to Nepal on climate change

UK government´s Department for International Department (DFID) has announced £50 million (US$ 80 million) grant assistance to Nepal for tackling climate change. The grant was provided to Nepal in view of its vulnerability to climate change impacts. Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered his support to the programme, launched less than a month before December’s crucial Copenhagen negotiations.
The Prime Minister said: "Countries right across the world need to take urgent and radical action to tackle climate change. The poorest and most vulnerable countries need our help to do so. That is why we are announcing today a £40m package of support to work with Nepal to tackle deforestation. And with less than a month to go to Copenhagen, it is time for the world to step up and make the bold decisions we need to secure a global, comprehensive and binding climate change deal.”
“Nepal is in the front line of the battle against climate change with the Himalayan glaciers melting faster than anywhere else in the world,” said UK International Development Minister Gareth Thomas, according to a statement issued here by the Department for International Development (DFID). “Deforestation is Nepal’s biggest source of greenhouse gases and we need to reverse that trend.”

“We would like to ensure participation of maximum local people in our reforestation program,” Simon Lucas, Climate Change Officer at DFID Nepal, said. DFID claims to have contributed towards reforestation in Nepal by at least 10 per cent through its various programs in the past.
“A fair and equitable deal in the upcoming Copenhagen climate change meet is vital to help ensure that the Least Developed Countries, including Nepal are given necessary funds and support to fight the devastating impacts of climate change,” read the statement.
Out of the total grant, £40 million ($ 66 million) will go towards protecting Nepal’s forests by supporting the National Forestry Programme (NFP) with other donors. The NFP aims to help increase incomes of around 1.2 million people by 50 percent. The ten-year National Forestry Programme will give Nepalese communities ownership of the thousands of hectares of forest currently under government control, helping some of the world’s poorest people to earn an income from their natural resources and put a stop to the rampant deforestation currently blighting the country. The UK will offer another £10 million to help increase Nepal’s resilience to climate change impacts. For this, measures like improving emergency warning systems, protecting the vulnerable from floods and landslides and supporting community water schemes to increase their ability to cope with drought will be taken. The DFID will be spending up to £50 million ($80 million) over the next 10 years to help tackle climate change and improve lives of the poor in Nepal.
Nepal currently has the highest per-capita carbon emissions in South Asia, at 6.6 tonnes per person per year, and the vast majority of this is caused by deforestation. The Government of Nepal does not currently have the capacity to monitor all of the nation’s forests, which cover 40% of the country, and has already handed over a fifth of Nepal’s forests to local communities to help counter this. By allowing communities to earn a living from the forests, the programme aims to increase the incomes of 1.2 million people by 50 per cent. A projected reduction in carbon emissions could also raise around £10 million on the international carbon markets.
Earlier this year, the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown had called for an international financial initiative worth $100 billion to support developing countries to combat climate change. In response to his call, the European Union (EU) agreed to increase the figure to $135 billion. The support from DFID, which has already announced 172 million pounds to Nepal over the next three years, comes as a part of the international initiative.

Source: The Kathmandu Post, MyRepublica, DFID Press Release

Jomsom under the threat of climate change

People in the remote district of Mustang have been experiencing the worst nightmares in terms of the effects of climate change in their livelihoods and economy.

This year, the Jomsom valley saw no snowfall in the town area and no rainfall at all. The maximum temperature rose to 27 degree Celsius in comparison to 24 degrees last year. Similarly, the minimum temperature was recorded at 13 degrees, whereas in previous years, the temperature usually dipped to less than minus four degrees. The temperature fluctuation has also had an adverse effect on the snow fall pattern.

Alarmingly, the snow-line has gradually been moving up to an altitude of 5,000 meters, thereby leaving mountain rocks bare. Since snow is melting fast, tree lines are moving up as well.

According to the locals, the snow has started melting “very quickly” in Upper-Mustang. All the VDCs are now facing acute shortage of water due to quick evaporation as sources of water have drastically dried up in just a years´ time.

“This year we saw no snow here, whereas it used to snow four times a year earlier,” BP Sharma, a local shopkeeper told myrepublica.com, adding, “We have had no rainfall this year. There used to be plenty of rainfall until two years back.”

Worst affected is horticulture, which is on the verge of extinction. “In Kunjo and Kobang, there is no apple farming at all now,” said Paras Bahadur Singh, the conservation officer of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). He informed that in Kunjo the locals are now considering orange farming as an option and in Kobang people are opting for walnut farming.

Since there is hardly any rainfall, fertile lands have turned barren. This has also had an adverse effect on the livestock. People seem to have noticed the drastic change in bio-diversity and wildlife movement though. As per the locals, one can easily find jackals at an altitude of 3800 m, which was impossible until just a few years ago. Similarly, between the months of Baisakh to Ashwin, more house flies and mosquitoes are noticed.

Mustang has a population of 14,000, and is now considered one of the most vulnerable places under the threat of glacier lake outburst. Experts have said that Thulagi glacier lake in northern Manang, which now has a high glacier deposit, is the biggest danger facing the region.

“If Thulagi bursts, the Bhotekoshi experience will repeat,” Ngamindra Dahal, a climate change expert told myrepublica.com. He added that the burst will lead to rise in the water-level of Marsyangdi, which will sweep off major hydro projects in Nepal. The Gandak barrage will be hit the hardest.

Source:http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11831

Climate change impact on extended Hindu Kush-Himalayan region

Now all conscious people know at least some common consequences of global warming, the first and foremost being melting of glacier and sea level rise as its result. Mountains occupy 24% of the global surface area and are home to 12% of the world's population (ICIMOD, 2008). Mountain regions of this planet are not only vulnerable to climate change but also areas to visualize the impact of climate change since measuring the melting snow caps helps us understand the glacial retreat rate linked with climate change. The superb example of this is the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region.
HKH range spans over 4.3 million km2 and the region includes areas of eight countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, China, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Few places on Earth can match the breathtaking splendour of the Himalayas. It contains varied geographical terrains and many unparalleled characteristics. Its towering peaks and secluded valleys have inspired naturalists, adventure seekers and spiritualists for centuries. Its diverse landscapes harbour rare creatures like red pandas, snow leopards and one-horned rhinos.
Although this region has been romanticized as a mythical paradise, it is fragile now facing many challenges. Climate change is melting its mountain glaciers. It is often referred to as the 'Third Pole' and the 'Water Tower of Asia,' as it stores a large volume of water in the form of ice and snow, and regulates the flow of the 10 major river systems in the region. But this storehouse is in danger now.
HKH region is considered to be the mountainous area of Asia expanding from south to the central Asia but extended HKH incorporates the adjacent river basins also.
Both direct instrumental records and environmental proxy records indicate that historical and recent changes in climate in many mountain regions of the world are often greater than those observed in the adjacent lowlands. Likewise, the rates of warming in the HKH region are significantly higher than the global average. The first and foremost effect of global warming is the melting of glacier -- the snow line will change by glacial retreat. The change in snow line of HKH region due to global warming will also affect the environment and livelihood of people in its river basins.
Himalayan glaciers accumulate most of their snow in summer from “solid” monsoonal precipitation. As the atmospheric temperature continues to rise, the snowline (zero temperature line) continues to shift toward higher altitudes leading to more rain (Hasnain 2002, Kadota et al. 1993). Actual and potential changes in climatic parameters can have strong impacts on the cryospheric: a change in the snowline, change in duration of snow cover, an increase in cryogenic hazards such as ice and snow avalanches, glacier recession, formation and break-out of moraine-dammed lakes, etc.
Trans-boundary effect

More immediately, as the glaciers retreat, glacial lakes form behind some of the now exposed terminal moraines at elevations ranging from 3000 masl in the west to 5000 masl in the east of the region. Rapid accumulation of water in a glacial lake can lead to a sudden breaching of the unstable moraine dam. This results in the discharge of huge amounts of water and debris, a form of flash flood known as glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), which can have catastrophic effects downstream.
These high frozen reservoirs release their water at the top of the watersheds of the ten major rivers in the region. These rivers wind their way through thousands of kilometers of grazing, agricultural, and forest lands and are used as renewable sources of irrigation, drinking water, energy, and industry, serving some 1.3 billion people who live in the great river basins. On their journey, they recharge aquifers and many underground water sources. However, this glaciers are retreating in the face of accelerating global warming and are particularly vulnerable to climate change to the point that the long term loss of natural fresh water storage is likely to have severe effects on communities downstream.
The real threats

The eastern Himalayas has the largest concentrations of glaciers outside the polar regions -- which hold vast stores of fresh water. The region's agriculture and power generation are fully dependent on the freshwater supply fed by the discharges of the Himalayan glaciers. Continued climate change is predicted to lead to major changes in fresh water flows with dramatic impacts on biodiversity, people and their livelihoods.
The glaciers of the greater Himalayan region are nature's renewable storehouse of fresh water from which hundreds of millions of people downstream have benefited for centuries at the time in the year when it is most needed - the hot, dry season before the monsoon. One of the most visible impacts of climate change in the Himalayan region is the retreat of the glaciers, many at higher rates than in other mountain ranges.
Continued deglaciation could have a profound impact on the water in the ten large river basins originating in the HKH region. River discharges are likely to increase for some time due to accelerated melting, but the flow is then likely to be lower within next 30-50 years as the storage capacity of the glaciers will go down. The effects are likely to be felt most severely in the arid areas of the region specially parts of India which are already very dry.
Glacial lake outburst

Glacial lakes have formed in many places in the area at the foot of retreating valley glaciers. An inventory compiled by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) identified 8790 glacial lakes within selected parts of the HKH. Some 204 of the glacial lakes were considered to be potentially dangerous, that is liable to burst out leading to a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF). There have been at least 35 GLOF events in Bhutan, China and Nepal during the 20th century (ICIMOD, 2009). It is suspected that the number and intensity of GLOF will increase due to melting of Himalayan ice.
Increased hazards

The HKH is one of the most complex, dynamic, and intensive risk hotspots with earthquakes, floods, flash floods, landslides, droughts, and wild fires affecting it off and on. This is due to the physical and socio-economic characteristics of the region combined with the changing risk factors such as climate change, population growth, and economic demand. Floods and droughts are likely to increase as a result of a number of factors. An increase in seasonal change is predicted with more precipitation during the wet season leading to increased flood risk, and potentially drier dry season with increased risk for drought. Changes in the monsoon regime might lead to an overall increase in precipitation in some areas, and a decrease in others.
Hampered ecosystem

Climate change is affecting ecosystem services by affecting forest type and area, its primary productivity, species populations and migration, occurrence of pests and diseases, and its regeneration. The increase in greenhouse gases is also affecting species composition and changing the ecosystem structure, which in turn affects ecosystem function. The interaction between elevated CO2 and climate plays an important role in the overall response of net primary productivity. Climate change will have a profound effect on the future distribution, productivity, and ecological health of forests.
There could be a significant reduction in cryospheric ecosystems and their services. A major expansion of the tropical zones would cover most of the middle mountains and inner valleys, whereby the quality and quantity of ecosystem services are likely to change dramatically for the worse.
Affected well-being

Climate change can affect people's wellbeing in a variety of ways. It is likely to exacerbate the existing food insecurity and malnutrition. Vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever are likely to move to higher altitudes. Water-borne diseases are also likely to increase with the increasing water stress accompanied by the lack of safe drinking water and basic sanitation in the region. Deaths and morbidity associated with extreme and erratic weather are also likely to increase. Climate change will have differentiated impacts which could be more severe for women, and the poor and the marginalized.
Hindu Kush-Himalaya region is highly vulnerable to the inevitable climate change. The mountain is melting in the monsoon at a higher rate and giving rise of numerous adverse effect like glacial lake outburst floods, impacting on water availability, disrupting ecosystem services, increasing the intensity of floods and drought and after all hampering the livelihood of over 1.3 billion people. Whatever we do to mitigate the climate change, global warming will be advancing in the coming years. It will take about 100-200 years to eliminate the effect of already emitted anthropogenic green house gas if whole mankind stops emitting GHGs. So, measures must be taken now to adapt to the changed climatic condition. ICIMOD can play a vital role in the way of adaptation by research and disseminating the findings to the governments in the HKH region.

Source:http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=112963

Melting glaciers threaten water supply for millions

Snow and ice in the Andes Mountains, high above the tropical regions of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, supply the drinking water for 30 million people. That ice has been dwindling in recent years due to rising temperatures, threatening the region’s water supply, agriculture and power generation. Scientists are stepping in to help, using monitoring data to improve understanding of the region’s water cycle and better plan for future needs.
The high Andes Cordillera is home to 70 percent of the world’s so-called tropical glaciers.

During the winter, the glaciers accumulate and store rain and snow that then melts off in the summer, providing a freshwater source. Quito, Ecuador, draws 50 percent of its water from the glacial basin, while this source accounts for 30 percent of the water used in La Paz, Bolivia. This water supply is now in jeopardy, with warmer temperatures changing the timing of the glacial melt and the amount of precipitation over the mountains; warmer temperatures cause the clouds that cover the Andes to condense at higher altitudes and release even more heat along the way.
Since 1970, the Andean glaciers have lost 20 percent of their volume, according to Peru’s National Meteorology and Hydrology Service. Some models project that many of the lower-altitude glaciers could disappear entirely in the next 10 to 20 years. Because these glaciers are the major regulators of the water supply for the region, a global effort is under way to help the region cope with increased local climate variability and global climate change.
WMO Members are contributing to a multi-disciplinary project, led by the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility, to address the situation in the Andes. Several WMO Members are monitoring changes in the glaciers with the use of high-resolution satellite images.
Improved observation and assessment practices enable the region to better map out the vulnerable areas and develop adaptation strategies. Adaptation measures include the development of alternative water sources, diversification of the energy supply and shifting to alternative crops and advanced irrigation systems.
The Colombian Government has adopted an Integrated National Adaptation Plan that includes pilot projects to regulate water in the high-altitude moorlands and to compensate for loss of available water in the insular areas. In all of these efforts, climate information plays a keyrole. Effective water management requires advance warning of dramatic changes in the hydrological cycle. The ultimate goal is for climate scientists to be able to provide the necessary forecasts to water managers everywhere. Courtesy: World Meteorological Organization.

Source:http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/11/09/fea29.asp

World 'still losing biodiversity'

An unacceptable number of species are still being lost forever despite world leaders pledging action to reverse the trend, a report has warned. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says the commitment to reduce biodiversity loss by 2010 will not be met. It warns that a third of amphibians, a quarter of mammals and one-in-eight birds are threatened with extinction.
The analysis is based on the 44,838 species on the IUCN Red List. "The report makes for depressing reading," said co-editor Craig Hilton Taylor, manager of the IUCN's Red List Unit.
"It tells us that the extinction crisis is as bad, or even worse than we believed.
"But it also shows the trends these species are following and is therefore an essential part of decision-making processes."
The main policy mechanism to tackle the loss is the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD), which came into force in 1993 with three main aims:
• To conserve biological diversity
• Use biological diversity in a sustainable fashion
• Share the benefits of biological diversity fairly and equitably
Currently, 168 nations are signatories to the convention, which set the target "to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level".

Jean-Christophe Vie, deputy head of the IUCN's Species Programme, warned that the scale of "wildlife crisis" was far worse than the current global economic crisis.
"It is time to recognise that nature is the largest company on Earth working for the benefit of 100% of humankind," he said. "Governments should put as much effort, if not more, into saving nature as they do saving economic and financial sectors.
"When governments take action to reduce biodiversity loss, there are some conservation successes but we are still a long way from reversing that trend."
The assessment lists 869 species as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild. Overall, the report categorises at least 16,928 species as being threatened with extinction.
"All of the plants and animals that make up Earth's amazing wildlife have a specific role and contribute to essentials like food, medicine, oxygen, water," said Mr Vie. "We need them all, in large numbers. We quite literally cannot afford to lose them."

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8130942.stm