Mission to clean "Death Zone"
An expedition of twenty Nepali climbers will head out this week to clean what's known as the world's highest garbage dump. Located above 8,000 meters (26,246 feet) in the "death zone" of Mount Everest, it's named for its notoriously oxygen-poor air, freezing temperatures and dangerous terrain. Since the first successful ascent of the world's tallest summit by Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953, Everest has become a proverbial dump, carrying an estimated 50 tons of trash generated by the 4,000 climbers who have followed since.
Though there have been a number of clean-up missions in the past to bring down all that junk bit by bit, no one has (understandbly) dared to tackle the mountain's "death zone", which apparently has trash dating from Hillary's time, including a number of corpses.
"This is the first time we are cleaning at that height, the death zone. It is very difficult and dangerous," says 30 year-old Namgyal Sherpa and leader of the Extreme Everest Expedition 2010. Sherpa has already climbed Everest seven times.
Climate change is also changing the face of Everest, thanks to rapidly disappearing glaciers and snows. "The garbage was buried under snow in the past. But now it has come out on the surface because of the melting of snow due to global warming," says Sherpa. "The rubbish is creating problems for climbers ... Some items of garbage are from Hillary's time."
Sherpa and his team will scale Everest with empty rucksacks and special bags in the hopes of bringing down a projected 2,000 kgs (4,400 lbs) of empty gas canisters, oxygen bottles, discarded tents, gear, utensils and electronics scattered between South Col and the 8,850 meter (29,035 feet) summit, typically left behind by exhausted climbers as they descend.
Trash and bodies
The team also hopes to bring down five bodies, one of a them a Swiss mountaineer that perished there two years ago.
"I have seen three corpses lying there for years," explains Sherpa. "We'll bring down the body of a Swiss climber who died in the mountain in 2008 and cremate it below the base camp for which we have got the family's consent."
Increasing tourism impacting Everest heavily
Home to eight of the world's 14 tallest peaks, climbing tourism in Nepal is a critical source of income, pulling in $500 million annually and providing employment and a relatively lucrative livelihood for many locals. Thousands of climbers pay expensive fees numbering in the thousands of dollars each for permits to climb these mountains, but trash has become such a widespread problem that the Nepali government imposed a hefty deposit to ensure climbers keep them clean.
Others however are calling for a temporary closure to certain over-trafficked areas because of the environmental and resource pressures that increased tourism brings, which are exacerbating the effects of climate change in the region.
"Climate change and the receding glacial waters are global issues and not within localized control, but we are particularly worried about deforestation of the area, much of it to sustain tourism, and our campaigning has helped improve the situation, but it still isn't enough," said Elizabeth Hawley of The Himalaya Trust, an environmental charity founded by Hillary. "We feel that we have to start from the beginning in order for the region to recuperate and recycle itself."
Source: http://bit.ly/98b9YM
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Saving Himalayas from climate catastrophe
Climate change is affecting the Arctic and the Himalayas more severely than other places of the globe. Though lately drawn into controversy, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 4th assessment report predicted that the Himalayas would lose its entire snow by 2035. Yet, the precise date to this effect might be debated because the world seriously lacks temporal data on snow meltdown in the Himalayas. However, if one accepts the hard data that temperature rise in the Himalayas is many times higher than in the lower altitude, one cannot deny that the rate of Himalayan melting is leading to serious consequences. Obviously, loss of snow will have serious implications on critical watersheds, biodiversity, scenic beauty and people’s livelihoods and should be treated as a global concern. If the Himalayan ecosystem gets destroyed, the world cannot produce another such system! Nepal strongly voiced its concerns about this during the Copenhagen summit last year.
GLOBAL RESPONSE
World’s reaction to climate change is only limited to lowering global temperature by reducing the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, which does not really address the Himalayan problem.
Following the Kyoto Protocol (KP) as per the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1992 (UNFCCC), many countries of the world agreed to reduce GHG emission by 5.2 percent over the 1990 level. While the major focus of the protocol is self-reduction of such gases by industrial countries, it also provides for creating indirect offsets focusing at the developing countries through what has been called Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The world through Bali Road Map (2007) aimed to correct KP’ s perceived shortfall in achieving adequate and fair target.
For developing countries, it was decided that a more challenging approach needs to be taken than the contemporary CDM. Now the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+) regime is aiming at providing financial compensation to reduce the current rate of deforestation and forest degradation and to maintain the forest carbon stock. This would sharply contrast with the CDM provision in which such payments were limited to creation of new carbon stock through afforestation and reforestation.
Though yet to be globally agreed, there has been a major conceptual leap toward an attempt to reduce the absolute level of GHG emission and create carbon offsets through additional mechanism like REDD+. Agreement on this could not be reached in Copenhagen, but the world is trying its best to do so by Cancun Convention in 2010. But the question still looms large: Will it be instrumental in saving the Himalayas from melting? The answer is no.
Effectively checking the Himalayas from melting would require maintaining global temperature below 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial era and the concomitant GHG emission below 350 parts per million (PPM). If we look at the present scenario in which the world has failed to agree for even a modest rise of 2 degrees and 450 PPM, such drastic cut seems unlikely. Conserving the Himalayan watershed might in fact require a number of extra considerations.
Temperature rise in the Himalayan region cause meltdown of thick ‘permafrost’ accumulated over centuries. During this process, methane is released whose effect to warming is 25 times higher than carbon dioxide, the dominant gas in causing global warming. This would evidently trigger warming process with multiplier effect. This may be compared to the story of Raktabij in Hindu mythology where an attempt of the divinity to destroy the devil was self-defeating owing to the reason that every single drop of devil’s blood would add to birth of another devil, thus making it invincible.
Another culprit could be ‘aerosol’ which originates from inefficient combustion of industrial fuels. The ‘black carbon particles’ thus produced, in particular, is known to cause warming with more localized effect compared to other GHGs whose effects are global. Obviously, a country sandwiched between rapidly industrialized countries like China and India may witness aerosol affecting the Himalayas.
It is clear that Nepal has failed to benefit from the contemporary CDM due to its complicated monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) requirements. Conceived REDD+ mechanism may be even more demanding in terms of MRV owing to numerous tedious qualifications including ‘base line’, ‘additionality’, ‘permanency’ and ‘leakage’. Unless this overall carbon crediting process is simplified, Nepal will not be able to benefit from this global provision or contribute to the global climate change mitigation.
While Himalayan watersheds provide services to the world, those are largely unaccounted for in the current crediting system as the main focus is GHG. Watershed, biodiversity, scenic beauty conservation and local livelihoods are major services, which can be shared with the world. This would call for more payment for all ecological services the Himalayan watershed could furnish than parochially considering GHG for payments. Failing this, poor Nepalis may not be inclined to put extra effort to conserve the resource base whose benefits are not only confined to Nepal. Though this may sound philosophical, there may be one more thing to consider. Nepal has innovated community forestry management system through decades of trial and error, and the world can largely benefit from this knowledge system to fight climate change in economical and sustainable manner.
To conclude, Himalayas require more holistic dealing of the environment than what is allowed by current GHG crediting modality. This evidently calls for unprecedented effort through direct interface and collaboration between relevant climate stakeholders namely scientists, climate negotiators (national and international), civil society and grassroots communities.
Sources: http://bit.ly/aQP3p7
GLOBAL RESPONSE
World’s reaction to climate change is only limited to lowering global temperature by reducing the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, which does not really address the Himalayan problem.
Following the Kyoto Protocol (KP) as per the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1992 (UNFCCC), many countries of the world agreed to reduce GHG emission by 5.2 percent over the 1990 level. While the major focus of the protocol is self-reduction of such gases by industrial countries, it also provides for creating indirect offsets focusing at the developing countries through what has been called Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The world through Bali Road Map (2007) aimed to correct KP’ s perceived shortfall in achieving adequate and fair target.
For developing countries, it was decided that a more challenging approach needs to be taken than the contemporary CDM. Now the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+) regime is aiming at providing financial compensation to reduce the current rate of deforestation and forest degradation and to maintain the forest carbon stock. This would sharply contrast with the CDM provision in which such payments were limited to creation of new carbon stock through afforestation and reforestation.
Though yet to be globally agreed, there has been a major conceptual leap toward an attempt to reduce the absolute level of GHG emission and create carbon offsets through additional mechanism like REDD+. Agreement on this could not be reached in Copenhagen, but the world is trying its best to do so by Cancun Convention in 2010. But the question still looms large: Will it be instrumental in saving the Himalayas from melting? The answer is no.
Effectively checking the Himalayas from melting would require maintaining global temperature below 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial era and the concomitant GHG emission below 350 parts per million (PPM). If we look at the present scenario in which the world has failed to agree for even a modest rise of 2 degrees and 450 PPM, such drastic cut seems unlikely. Conserving the Himalayan watershed might in fact require a number of extra considerations.
Temperature rise in the Himalayan region cause meltdown of thick ‘permafrost’ accumulated over centuries. During this process, methane is released whose effect to warming is 25 times higher than carbon dioxide, the dominant gas in causing global warming. This would evidently trigger warming process with multiplier effect. This may be compared to the story of Raktabij in Hindu mythology where an attempt of the divinity to destroy the devil was self-defeating owing to the reason that every single drop of devil’s blood would add to birth of another devil, thus making it invincible.
Another culprit could be ‘aerosol’ which originates from inefficient combustion of industrial fuels. The ‘black carbon particles’ thus produced, in particular, is known to cause warming with more localized effect compared to other GHGs whose effects are global. Obviously, a country sandwiched between rapidly industrialized countries like China and India may witness aerosol affecting the Himalayas.
It is clear that Nepal has failed to benefit from the contemporary CDM due to its complicated monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) requirements. Conceived REDD+ mechanism may be even more demanding in terms of MRV owing to numerous tedious qualifications including ‘base line’, ‘additionality’, ‘permanency’ and ‘leakage’. Unless this overall carbon crediting process is simplified, Nepal will not be able to benefit from this global provision or contribute to the global climate change mitigation.
While Himalayan watersheds provide services to the world, those are largely unaccounted for in the current crediting system as the main focus is GHG. Watershed, biodiversity, scenic beauty conservation and local livelihoods are major services, which can be shared with the world. This would call for more payment for all ecological services the Himalayan watershed could furnish than parochially considering GHG for payments. Failing this, poor Nepalis may not be inclined to put extra effort to conserve the resource base whose benefits are not only confined to Nepal. Though this may sound philosophical, there may be one more thing to consider. Nepal has innovated community forestry management system through decades of trial and error, and the world can largely benefit from this knowledge system to fight climate change in economical and sustainable manner.
To conclude, Himalayas require more holistic dealing of the environment than what is allowed by current GHG crediting modality. This evidently calls for unprecedented effort through direct interface and collaboration between relevant climate stakeholders namely scientists, climate negotiators (national and international), civil society and grassroots communities.
Sources: http://bit.ly/aQP3p7
Monday, April 26, 2010
Climate change to top SAARC Summit agenda
Issues governing the impact of climate change will be the main agenda of discussion in the upcoming 16th SAARC Summit scheduled to be held in Thimpu, the Bhutanese capital, on April 28-29.
The Standing Committee Meeting which kicked off in Thimpu on Sunday comprising foreign secretaries of the member states will endorse the theme of the SAARC Summit. It will then be endorsed by the foreign ministers´ meeting and finally by the meeting of the head of states.
Significantly, a regional consensus that SAARC should strengthen and represent unified regional voice to combat climate change at global level has been reached at New Delhi on Saturday by the People´s SAARC, a regional network of civil society organizations.
"Climate change is the theme of the SAARC Summit," Rajan Bhattarai, the prime minister´s foreign policy advisor, said, adding, "In SAARC, Nepal will highlight its effort in bringing to the fore the common concerns of mountainous countries concerning impact of climate change."
Bhattarai informed that the initiative taken by PM Madhav Kumar Nepal Nepal during the COP-15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December for formation of an Alliance of Mountainous Countries to fight challenges of climate change will be discussed in SAARC as well.
"We want to go to next COP-17 with an international network of mountainous countries and we will therefore go to Thimpu for a strong regional lobby in this regard," Bhattarai added.Nepal is soon hosting a Ministerial Meeting of Mountainous Countries.
The issue of glacier melting was for the first time brought before the international community in COP-16 after the historic cabinet meeting held in Kalapatthar drew the attention of the world at the issue and the effect of global warming on the lives of those living in the mountainous region.
Bhattaria also said Nepal is looking for a "strong support and solidarity" from other SAARC members in its efforts. He said, "India is very positive in this regard."
The Ministry of Environment has said that SAARC will concentrate on the issues like carbon emission, technology transfer, finance, disaster linkages in the region etc, but most prominently in initiating regional mitigation program.
"It is possible to divert the existing funds towards implementing effective climate change activities in the region," a MoE official who did not want to be named said, adding, "As a rising power, much depends on India´s initiatives."
The source also said that a regional action plan is expected to come at the end of the summit.
Besides a SAARC climate fund, a SAARC climate change study and research center for implementation of the action plan is said to be in the pipeline.
Regional climate change networks have also called on SAARC head of states to declare SAARC region as a low carbon economic region with particular emphasis on scaling up renewable energy technologies and providing low-carbon pathways for rural electrification.
They have also called for regional initiative for adaptation such as "food bank" and "early warning systems" which needs to be implemented immediately.
Source:http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=17920
The Standing Committee Meeting which kicked off in Thimpu on Sunday comprising foreign secretaries of the member states will endorse the theme of the SAARC Summit. It will then be endorsed by the foreign ministers´ meeting and finally by the meeting of the head of states.
Significantly, a regional consensus that SAARC should strengthen and represent unified regional voice to combat climate change at global level has been reached at New Delhi on Saturday by the People´s SAARC, a regional network of civil society organizations.
"Climate change is the theme of the SAARC Summit," Rajan Bhattarai, the prime minister´s foreign policy advisor, said, adding, "In SAARC, Nepal will highlight its effort in bringing to the fore the common concerns of mountainous countries concerning impact of climate change."
Bhattarai informed that the initiative taken by PM Madhav Kumar Nepal Nepal during the COP-15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December for formation of an Alliance of Mountainous Countries to fight challenges of climate change will be discussed in SAARC as well.
"We want to go to next COP-17 with an international network of mountainous countries and we will therefore go to Thimpu for a strong regional lobby in this regard," Bhattarai added.Nepal is soon hosting a Ministerial Meeting of Mountainous Countries.
The issue of glacier melting was for the first time brought before the international community in COP-16 after the historic cabinet meeting held in Kalapatthar drew the attention of the world at the issue and the effect of global warming on the lives of those living in the mountainous region.
Bhattaria also said Nepal is looking for a "strong support and solidarity" from other SAARC members in its efforts. He said, "India is very positive in this regard."
The Ministry of Environment has said that SAARC will concentrate on the issues like carbon emission, technology transfer, finance, disaster linkages in the region etc, but most prominently in initiating regional mitigation program.
"It is possible to divert the existing funds towards implementing effective climate change activities in the region," a MoE official who did not want to be named said, adding, "As a rising power, much depends on India´s initiatives."
The source also said that a regional action plan is expected to come at the end of the summit.
Besides a SAARC climate fund, a SAARC climate change study and research center for implementation of the action plan is said to be in the pipeline.
Regional climate change networks have also called on SAARC head of states to declare SAARC region as a low carbon economic region with particular emphasis on scaling up renewable energy technologies and providing low-carbon pathways for rural electrification.
They have also called for regional initiative for adaptation such as "food bank" and "early warning systems" which needs to be implemented immediately.
Source:http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=17920
Friday, April 23, 2010
Nepal for climate-change push for mountain countries
With the UN Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen last December having failed to take up the issue of saving the Himalayas, Nepal is preparing to push the agenda at the UN together with other Least Developed Countries (LDCs) around the world.Officials at the Ministry of Environment said they are currently working to forge a Mountain Alliance Initiative for Climate Change (MAICC) to push the agenda jointly at the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) during the Conference of Parties (CoP-16) to be held in Mexico in December.
Officials said the Climate Change Council (CCC) headed by the prime minister has already approved a proposal to this effect. It is now in the process of seeking endorsement from the cabinet.
Officials said the Climate Change Council (CCC) headed by the prime minister has already approved a proposal to this effect. It is now in the process of seeking endorsement from the cabinet.
The idea of jointly pushing the agenda was conceived after the UNFCCC held in Copenhagen failed to take up the issue of saving the Himalayas. The new initiative spearheaded by Nepal aims to include all LDCs with high mountains. Small island nations that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change are also willing to be part of the alliance.
Meena Khanal, spokesperson at the Ministry for Environment, said LDCs with snow-clad mountains like Nepal are at the receiving end of the effects of climate change such as floods, landslides, glacial lake outburst floods and prolonged drought. “Since Nepal has eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world we are preparing to take a lead role to push the agenda of saving snow-clad mountains,” she said.
There are a total of 49 countries including Nepal categorized as LDCs. Of them, 28 have mountains that remain snow-capped all year round. Officials believe that it will be easier to forge an alliance with such LDCs since Nepal currently heads the group of 49 LDCs at the UN. Nepal took the chair of the group from Bangladesh on September 29, 2009.
According to spokesperson Khanal, discussions will first be held at national level and then at regional and inter-country ministerial level meetings before formally putting forth the agenda at CoP-16 in Mexico.
The body will seek to have UNFCCC recognize LDCs with high mountains separately and provide them funds to take necessary measures for adapting to the effects of climate change.
During CoP-15 in Copenhagen, Nepal had pushed the agenda of ´Saving the Himalayas´ from melting due to global warming. The government also organized a cabinet meeting at Kalapatthar at the base of Mt Everest ahead of the Copenhagen conference to draw the attention of the world to the plight of the Himalayas. But the voice Nepal raised went largely unheard.
Source:http://bit.ly/caOMWz
Saarc summit in Bhutan: Climate change to be main theme
Climate change will be the main theme of the upcoming Saarc summit to be held in Bhutan where the member countries are expected to sign a convention on cooperation in protection of environment.
The summit on April 28-29, to be attended by prime minister Manmohan Singh, will also unveil rules and regulations for the ambitious Saarc University which is in the process of being set up in Delhi. Requests from Australia and Mauritius to have Observer status of the Saarc would also be considered and in all likelihood, approved, sources said.
Under the convention on environment, the eight member countries would commit to exchanging their knowledge and best practices, undertake capacity building and transfer of eco-friendly technology to each other, they said.
A declaration is expected to be issued on climate change issue wherein the member countries would outline their common position for the climate change summit to be held in Mexico later this year.
Initiatives for mountains and low-lying coastal areas would also be discussed at the meet of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
During the Saarc summit, the secretariat for the Saarc Development Fund in Thimpu would also be inaugurated.
India has contributed $189 million for the fund which would be used for social and some other sectors in the member countries. Other member countries also would be contributing for it in various amounts.
The meet is also expected to come out with the rules and regulations for the Saarc University, which is proposed to be set up in Mehrauli area of South Delhi by 2014.
While land is being acquired for the campus, the University will start functioning at a temporary venue from August. The University is proposed to have 5,000 students from all the eight Saarc member countries and a faculty of 500.
At least half of the students would be from India and the rest of the seats would be divided among other seven countries on pro-rata basis depending on criteria like population etc.
Under the convention on environment, the eight member countries would commit to exchanging their knowledge and best practices, undertake capacity building and transfer of eco-friendly technology to each other, they said.
A declaration is expected to be issued on climate change issue wherein the member countries would outline their common position for the climate change summit to be held in Mexico later this year.
Initiatives for mountains and low-lying coastal areas would also be discussed at the meet of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
During the Saarc summit, the secretariat for the Saarc Development Fund in Thimpu would also be inaugurated.
India has contributed $189 million for the fund which would be used for social and some other sectors in the member countries. Other member countries also would be contributing for it in various amounts.
The meet is also expected to come out with the rules and regulations for the Saarc University, which is proposed to be set up in Mehrauli area of South Delhi by 2014.
While land is being acquired for the campus, the University will start functioning at a temporary venue from August. The University is proposed to have 5,000 students from all the eight Saarc member countries and a faculty of 500.
At least half of the students would be from India and the rest of the seats would be divided among other seven countries on pro-rata basis depending on criteria like population etc.
Source: http://bit.ly/9ag2Ww
Global temperatures hit 'hottest March on record'
WASHINGTON — Global temperatures fueled by El Nino seasonal warming last month chalked up the hottest March on record, US weather monitors reported.
"Warmer-than-normal conditions dominated the globe, especially in northern Africa, South Asia and Canada," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement on Thursday.
Combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for March 2010 was the warmest on record at 13.5 degrees Celsius (56.3 degrees Fahrenheit), which is 0.77 degrees Celsius above the 20th century average of 12.7 C, it said.
Average ocean temperatures were the hottest for any March since record-keeping began in 1880, while the global land surface was the fourth warmest for any March on record, NOAA said, citing analysis from the National Climate Data Center.
It added that the January-March period was the planet's fourth warmest on record.
The US agency cited two Asian examples of high March mercury: Tibet had its second warmest March since records began in 1951, it said citing the Beijing Climate Center, while Delhi, India had its own second warmest March since 1901 record-keeping, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Cooler-than-normal temperatures prevailed in some locations, however, including Mongolia, eastern Russia, northern and western Europe, northern Australia, western Alaska and the southeastern United States, NOAA said.
The agency also pointed to Arctic sea ice as a temperature indicator, and said this was the 17th consecutive March in which Arctic sea ice coverage was below average.
Last month's average coverage of 15.1 million square kilometers (5.8 million square miles) was 4.1 percent below the 1979-2000 average, the agency said.
NOAA stressed that while El Nino, the weather anomaly which wreaks havoc on normal weather patterns from the western seaboard of Latin America to east Africa, weakened to a moderate strength in March, "it contributed significantly to the warmth in the tropical belt and the overall ocean temperature."
El Nino was expected to maintain its influence in the northern hemisphere "at least through the spring," NOAA said.
The record March temperatures are likely to be seen as evidence backing the case of those who believe climate change is an urgent crisis which must be addressed at the global level.
The United Nations and several countries have called for a legally-binding agreement on climate change, but at a summit in Copenhagen in December states failed to agree on a deadline to reduce carbon emissions that cause global warming.
"Warmer-than-normal conditions dominated the globe, especially in northern Africa, South Asia and Canada," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement on Thursday.
Combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for March 2010 was the warmest on record at 13.5 degrees Celsius (56.3 degrees Fahrenheit), which is 0.77 degrees Celsius above the 20th century average of 12.7 C, it said.
Average ocean temperatures were the hottest for any March since record-keeping began in 1880, while the global land surface was the fourth warmest for any March on record, NOAA said, citing analysis from the National Climate Data Center.
It added that the January-March period was the planet's fourth warmest on record.
The US agency cited two Asian examples of high March mercury: Tibet had its second warmest March since records began in 1951, it said citing the Beijing Climate Center, while Delhi, India had its own second warmest March since 1901 record-keeping, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Cooler-than-normal temperatures prevailed in some locations, however, including Mongolia, eastern Russia, northern and western Europe, northern Australia, western Alaska and the southeastern United States, NOAA said.
The agency also pointed to Arctic sea ice as a temperature indicator, and said this was the 17th consecutive March in which Arctic sea ice coverage was below average.
Last month's average coverage of 15.1 million square kilometers (5.8 million square miles) was 4.1 percent below the 1979-2000 average, the agency said.
NOAA stressed that while El Nino, the weather anomaly which wreaks havoc on normal weather patterns from the western seaboard of Latin America to east Africa, weakened to a moderate strength in March, "it contributed significantly to the warmth in the tropical belt and the overall ocean temperature."
El Nino was expected to maintain its influence in the northern hemisphere "at least through the spring," NOAA said.
The record March temperatures are likely to be seen as evidence backing the case of those who believe climate change is an urgent crisis which must be addressed at the global level.
The United Nations and several countries have called for a legally-binding agreement on climate change, but at a summit in Copenhagen in December states failed to agree on a deadline to reduce carbon emissions that cause global warming.
Global Food Supply Under Stress from Climate Change
Washington — By 2050, global food production will have to double from current levels to keep up with a hungry world, but the delicately balanced ecosystem that produces food in abundance is already under considerable stress as climate change erodes crop production, says U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
“This increased demand will have to be met under increasing water scarcity, heightened salinity, and more erratic weather and climate patterns,” Vilsack said at the international climate change conference held in Copenhagen. The conference aims to draft an internationally binding treaty to control greenhouse gas emissions causing the Earth’s temperature to rise.
Vilsack said that while global warming is affecting everyone, farmers, ranchers and others making their living off the land will be affected even more because of their particular vulnerabilities and challenges.
“Higher temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and more frequent extreme events like droughts and flooding threatens to reduce yields and increase the occurrence of crop failure,” he said December 12 during “Agriculture and Rural Development Day,” a daylong event at the University of Copenhagen.
A recent study by the International Food Policy Research Institute showed that rice and wheat yields in developing nations could decrease as much as 19 percent and 34 percent respectively by 2050 because of global warming. Vilsack said agriculture must play a role in curbing the impact of climate change, adding that “we are not currently on an optimum research trajectory to meet these challenges.”
The United States recently launched the Agriculture Department’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to focus farm science on new outcomes that are designed to end world hunger and lessen the effects of global warming on farming and forestry, he said.
“Our researchers are now working to develop stress-resistant crops that are drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant and saline-resistant,” he said. Research is also being directed at making crops more resistant to pests and diseases through genetic engineering rather than relying on chemicals.
During the Group of Eight (G8) major economies meeting in Italy in July, world leaders pledged to provide $22 billion over three years to increase international assistance for agricultural development, which includes $3.5 billion from the United States, Vilsack said.
But that alone will not resolve the major food security issues. It will take firm leadership from major developed and developing nations at the climate change conference to begin the process of changing the world and thwarting global warming, he said.
“This increased demand will have to be met under increasing water scarcity, heightened salinity, and more erratic weather and climate patterns,” Vilsack said at the international climate change conference held in Copenhagen. The conference aims to draft an internationally binding treaty to control greenhouse gas emissions causing the Earth’s temperature to rise.
Vilsack said that while global warming is affecting everyone, farmers, ranchers and others making their living off the land will be affected even more because of their particular vulnerabilities and challenges.
“Higher temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and more frequent extreme events like droughts and flooding threatens to reduce yields and increase the occurrence of crop failure,” he said December 12 during “Agriculture and Rural Development Day,” a daylong event at the University of Copenhagen.
A recent study by the International Food Policy Research Institute showed that rice and wheat yields in developing nations could decrease as much as 19 percent and 34 percent respectively by 2050 because of global warming. Vilsack said agriculture must play a role in curbing the impact of climate change, adding that “we are not currently on an optimum research trajectory to meet these challenges.”
The United States recently launched the Agriculture Department’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to focus farm science on new outcomes that are designed to end world hunger and lessen the effects of global warming on farming and forestry, he said.
“Our researchers are now working to develop stress-resistant crops that are drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant and saline-resistant,” he said. Research is also being directed at making crops more resistant to pests and diseases through genetic engineering rather than relying on chemicals.
During the Group of Eight (G8) major economies meeting in Italy in July, world leaders pledged to provide $22 billion over three years to increase international assistance for agricultural development, which includes $3.5 billion from the United States, Vilsack said.
But that alone will not resolve the major food security issues. It will take firm leadership from major developed and developing nations at the climate change conference to begin the process of changing the world and thwarting global warming, he said.
Wildlife Trafficking
Natural resources worldwide are under pressure. By working with other governments, organizations, and people around the world, the United States can meet global conservation challenges. One of these is illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife parts amounting to $10-$20 billion per year-second only to arms and drug smuggling.
This illegal trade is fueled by unchecked demand for exotic pets, rare foods, trophies, and traditional medicines. The slaughter to meet this demand is driving tigers, elephants, rhinoceros, exotic birds, and many other species to the brink of extinction. In addition, the alarming rise in virulent wildlife diseases, such as avian influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which can be spread by illegal wildlife trade and endanger public health.
To confront the growing threats to global wildlife from poaching and illegal trade in wildlife, the State Department created the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT). The coalition consists of U.S. Government agencies, other governments, and private sector partners. This coalition aims to bring the public and private sectors together to accomplish three goals, improving wildlife enforcement, reducing consumer demand, and catalyzing high-level political will to fight illegal trade in wildlife.
The Coalition complements and reinforces existing national, regional and international efforts to combat illegal traffic in wildlife. William Wijnstekers, Secretary General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) expressed his support for the Coalition in September 2008 with these words: "The CITES Secretariat is pleased to be associated with the efforts by the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT) to gain such attention and priority. The international multi-government and multi-organization CAWT partnership is a welcome addition to our ongoing battle against wildlife criminals."
This illegal trade is fueled by unchecked demand for exotic pets, rare foods, trophies, and traditional medicines. The slaughter to meet this demand is driving tigers, elephants, rhinoceros, exotic birds, and many other species to the brink of extinction. In addition, the alarming rise in virulent wildlife diseases, such as avian influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which can be spread by illegal wildlife trade and endanger public health.
To confront the growing threats to global wildlife from poaching and illegal trade in wildlife, the State Department created the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT). The coalition consists of U.S. Government agencies, other governments, and private sector partners. This coalition aims to bring the public and private sectors together to accomplish three goals, improving wildlife enforcement, reducing consumer demand, and catalyzing high-level political will to fight illegal trade in wildlife.
The Coalition complements and reinforces existing national, regional and international efforts to combat illegal traffic in wildlife. William Wijnstekers, Secretary General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) expressed his support for the Coalition in September 2008 with these words: "The CITES Secretariat is pleased to be associated with the efforts by the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT) to gain such attention and priority. The international multi-government and multi-organization CAWT partnership is a welcome addition to our ongoing battle against wildlife criminals."
Environment and Conservation
An expanding global population, rapid conversion of critical habitat to other uses, and the spread of invasive species to non-native habitats pose a serious threat to the world's natural resources and to all of us who depend on them for food, fuel, shelter and medicine. Policies that distort markets and provide incentives for unsustainable development intensify the problem. Every year, there is a net loss of 22 million acres of forest area worldwide. Every year, toxic chemicals, some capable of traveling thousands of miles from their source and lasting decades in the environment, are released into the earth's atmosphere.
Many environmental problems respect no borders and threaten the health, prosperity and even the national security of Americans. Pesticide contamination of food and water, polluted air, and invasive plant and
Many environmental problems respect no borders and threaten the health, prosperity and even the national security of Americans. Pesticide contamination of food and water, polluted air, and invasive plant and
animal species can take their toll on our welfare and economy. Twenty-five percent of prescription drugs come from rapidly-disappearing tropical forests. When people around the globe lack access to energy, clean water, food, or a livable environment, the economic instability and political unrest that may result can be felt at home in the form of costly peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions or lost markets.
Addressing these problems and achieving sustainable management of natural resources worldwide requires the cooperation and commitment of all countries. The State Department, through its environmental offices in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and working with other federal agencies, is seeking to forge this cooperation and these commitments through a variety of diplomatic approaches globally, regionally and bilaterally. These include negotiating effective science-based global treaties and promoting their enforcement, developing international initiatives with key countries to harness market forces to the cause of sustainable development, and creating a foreign policy framework in which innovative public-private partnerships involving US interests can flourish in developed and developing countries worldwide. This movement of environmental issues into the mainstream of U.S. foreign policy has come to be known as Environmental Diplomacy.
The Office of Environmental Policy (ENV) develops U.S. policy on environmental issues in the areas of air pollution, toxic chemicals and pesticides, hazardous wastes and other pollutants, and water resources. Key chemicals and pollution agreements include the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes, the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent, and the UN ECE Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Agreement. The Office also focuses on a variety of multilateral organizations and issues such as the UN Environment Program, the OECD Environment Policy Committee, the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation, trade and the environment, and the integration of environmental considerations into the work of the World Bank and other multilateral development banks.
The Office of Ecology and Natural Resource Conservation (ENRC) coordinates the development of U.S. foreign policy approaches to conserving and sustainably managing the world's ecologically and economically important ecosystems, including forests, wetlands, drylands and coral reefs, and the species that depend on them. ENRC also leads the formulation of policies to address international threats to biodiversity, notably land degradation, invasive species and illegal trade, as well as issues associated with the safe handling of living modified organisms and with access to genertic resources and the sharing of benefits arising from subsequent resource use. The Office advances U.S. interests on these matters in a wide variety of international organizations, institutions, treaties and other fora within and outside the United Nations system. Among these are the UN Forum on Forests, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, the Convention to Combat Desertification, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the Convention of Wetlands of International Importance, and the International Coral Reef Initiative. ENRC also oversees bilateral agreements under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, an innovative program of debt reduction.
Addressing these problems and achieving sustainable management of natural resources worldwide requires the cooperation and commitment of all countries. The State Department, through its environmental offices in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and working with other federal agencies, is seeking to forge this cooperation and these commitments through a variety of diplomatic approaches globally, regionally and bilaterally. These include negotiating effective science-based global treaties and promoting their enforcement, developing international initiatives with key countries to harness market forces to the cause of sustainable development, and creating a foreign policy framework in which innovative public-private partnerships involving US interests can flourish in developed and developing countries worldwide. This movement of environmental issues into the mainstream of U.S. foreign policy has come to be known as Environmental Diplomacy.
The Office of Environmental Policy (ENV) develops U.S. policy on environmental issues in the areas of air pollution, toxic chemicals and pesticides, hazardous wastes and other pollutants, and water resources. Key chemicals and pollution agreements include the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes, the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent, and the UN ECE Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Agreement. The Office also focuses on a variety of multilateral organizations and issues such as the UN Environment Program, the OECD Environment Policy Committee, the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation, trade and the environment, and the integration of environmental considerations into the work of the World Bank and other multilateral development banks.
The Office of Ecology and Natural Resource Conservation (ENRC) coordinates the development of U.S. foreign policy approaches to conserving and sustainably managing the world's ecologically and economically important ecosystems, including forests, wetlands, drylands and coral reefs, and the species that depend on them. ENRC also leads the formulation of policies to address international threats to biodiversity, notably land degradation, invasive species and illegal trade, as well as issues associated with the safe handling of living modified organisms and with access to genertic resources and the sharing of benefits arising from subsequent resource use. The Office advances U.S. interests on these matters in a wide variety of international organizations, institutions, treaties and other fora within and outside the United Nations system. Among these are the UN Forum on Forests, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, the Convention to Combat Desertification, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the Convention of Wetlands of International Importance, and the International Coral Reef Initiative. ENRC also oversees bilateral agreements under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, an innovative program of debt reduction.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Initiation for Mt Kailash Conservation
India, China and Nepal are set to launch a joint conservation initiative for the Mount Kailash landscape. The conservation will be meant to tackle the issue of glacial melt, biodiversity conservation and, interestingly, also have a mandate for cultural conservation in the Himalayan region.
This would be a first-of-its-kind trans-boundary conservation initiative in the area. “Concerns of climate change and glacial melt form a backdrop for the programme. We will be looking at biodiversity conservation and also work together for glaciology,” Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told The Indian Express. The trans-boundary programme will be launched in about two weeks.
The Environment Ministries from China and Nepal will be involved in the project, which has been launched under the guidance of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Ramesh had visited China last year, with an agenda for co-operation in the fields of glacier conservation and saving the tiger. He also met the Nepali Environment Minister recently, with the same mandate.
Friday, April 16, 2010
2010 Climate Adaptation Futures Conference
Co-hosted by Australia’s National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility and the CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship, this conference will be one of the first international forums to focus solely on climate impacts and adaptation. It will bring together scientists and decision makers from developed and developing countries to share research approaches, methods and results. It will explore the way forward in a world where impacts are increasingly observable and adaptation actions are increasingly required.
The Climate Adaptation Futures Conference will showcase leading impacts and adaptation research from around the world. It will explore the contribution of adaptation science to planning and policy making, and how robust adaptation decision making can proceed in the face of uncertainty about climate change and its impacts.
The Climate Adaptation Futures Conference will showcase leading impacts and adaptation research from around the world. It will explore the contribution of adaptation science to planning and policy making, and how robust adaptation decision making can proceed in the face of uncertainty about climate change and its impacts.
Trans-boundary Initiative for Mt Kailash Landscape Conservation Launched
A major transboundary project for conservation and sustainable development of the Greater Mt Kailash Region, involving India, Nepal and China has been launched under the guidance of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The project is titled ‘Mount Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation Initiative: Developing a Transboundary Framework for Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Greater Mt. Kailash Region of Nepal, India & China’. The Minister for Environment & Forests, Shri Jairam Ramesh said: “This is a first of its kind trans-boundary project in the region. It is hoped that this would set the tone for more transboundary collaboration between countries in the region on science, culture and capacity building in the greater Himalayan region. I commend the institutions involved and look forward to the results of the project”. A workshop is being organized by ICIMOD at the GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment & Development (GBPIHED) in Almora, Uttarakhand, India on April 11-13, 2010 to facilitate development of compatibility of approaches in information generation and analysis and use of standard protocols for the project. The project, proposes, in collaboration with UNEP and other partners, to engage regional, national, local partners and other stakeholders in India, Nepal, and China, in attempting to establish a transboundary cultural and biodiversity conservation landscape – the Mt Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL) – in its first phase, which will run for 18 months. The involved Institutions from Indian side - G. B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment & Development (GBPIHED; Lead Institute); Wildlife Institute of India (WII; Partner Institute) and Forest Department Uttarakhand (Partner Organization), with their wide ranging expertise and skills, are well suited to execute the project activities in the target landscape in Indian part. The nodal institution from Nepal is Ministry of Forests, and the nodal institution from China is the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The target Landscape; which spans widely over the southwestern portions of Tibetan Autonomous Region of China (TAR), and adjacent Himalayan regions in India and Nepal is highly diverse and environmentally fragile. It represents a sacred geography significant to hundreds of millions of people in Asia, and around the globe. The landscape, under accelerated change scenario accompanied by poverty and limited livelihood opportunities, is experiencing increasingly high pressure on fragile natural resource base that includes globally significant biodiversity and medicinal plant resources, vital ecosystem goods and services of the vast region. Therefore, the project with its envisaged goal to promote transboundary biodiversity and cultural conservation, ecosystem management, sustainable development, and climate change adaptations within the Mt. Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL), is timely and has potential of becoming a model project for replication across the globe. It is hoped that the project, with its aim to promote long-term ecological, climatic, and biodiversity datasets within the KSL would contribute to alleviating knowledge gaps that have emerged as a serious impediment to improved understanding, modeling, and prediction of climate change impacts (locally, regionally, and globally). Specific objectives of the project are: • Enhancing cooperation among the regional member countries through establishment of a Regional Cooperation Framework (RCF), development of a strategy for conservation of Mt. Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL), and developing a transboundary regional knowledge base; • Facilitating coordination among the various actors and stakeholders within the KSL landscape through enhancing cross-boundary collaboration in ecological and climate change monitoring and information exchange networks, and• Recognize, and strengthen local capacity efforts for community-based participation in conservation and sustainable development, and enhance cultural-socio-ecological resilience. The expected outcomes of the project are a regional dialog and forum created for RMCs and partner institutions, based on an improved knowledge base, to promote and facilitate transboundary cultural and environmental conservation through sustainable development , a consultative process aimed at developing a Regional Transboundary Framework facilitating the establishment and implementation of the KSL transboundary conservation landscape, strengthened policy at regional and national level that encourages and facilitates regional cooperation and transboundary management approaches and local capacity for community-based participation in conservation and sustainable development efforts within the KSL recognized and strengthened.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Salt favours highway plant invasion
A quiet change is happening on the verges of Switzerland's motorways: new plants are moving in, often transported over long distances in the wheels of trucks and cars.
Furthermore, the salt used to de-ice roads in winter has had a severe impact on habitat, driving out such common wayside plants as daisies and dandelions, and enabling salt-tolerant plants to take root.
As a result, some plants which used to be found only on the coast are moving inland. Botanist Raymond Delarze, who runs an environmental consultancy, was stuck in a traffic jam with a colleague back in 2003; they were intrigued by the flowers on the central reservation. One of them hopped out and collected some: it turned out to be Danish scurvy-grass, which grows all along the coast from Scandinavia to northern Spain, but had never been reported in Switzerland.“It’s very interesting for botanists to see how, by creating special, totally artificial conditions, we have species appearing in response to these conditions,” Delarze told swissinfo.ch. “They have succeeded in colonising a biotope which is favourable to them.” The more familiar plants, unable to put up with saline conditions, are no longer in a position to compete with the newcomers.
Takeover
While their spread is undoubtedly the consequence of human activity – not only the salting of roads, but the construction of the road network itself – the way it works out is unpredictable.The takeover has been happening over the past 50 years or so. Some of the newcomers have moved gradually: their presence was documented in France and Germany before they turned up in Switzerland. Others have appeared suddenly, far from any previously known location. Yet other newcomers were present in small numbers for years, barely noticed, and then suddenly spread, as Dr Michael Nobis, a biologist at the Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, told swissinfo.ch.“Often we don’t know the precise mechanism behind this,” he admitted. Many of the plants – like the scurvy-grass, the buck’s horn plantain, or the salt sandspurry – are very modest and unlikely to strike the non-biologist. But others are quite noticeable, like the bright-yellow narrow-leaved ragwort, a type of groundsel which originated in southern Africa and now provides a burst of colour alongside many motorways.It came to Europe a long time ago, imported in raw wool, Nobis explained, but it has only recently started to spread. It has been documented in the Swiss plateau area only in the past decade.Like the plants from European coastal areas, it has probably benefited from the gap in the habitat caused by the salting of the roads.
Furthermore, the salt used to de-ice roads in winter has had a severe impact on habitat, driving out such common wayside plants as daisies and dandelions, and enabling salt-tolerant plants to take root.
As a result, some plants which used to be found only on the coast are moving inland. Botanist Raymond Delarze, who runs an environmental consultancy, was stuck in a traffic jam with a colleague back in 2003; they were intrigued by the flowers on the central reservation. One of them hopped out and collected some: it turned out to be Danish scurvy-grass, which grows all along the coast from Scandinavia to northern Spain, but had never been reported in Switzerland.“It’s very interesting for botanists to see how, by creating special, totally artificial conditions, we have species appearing in response to these conditions,” Delarze told swissinfo.ch. “They have succeeded in colonising a biotope which is favourable to them.” The more familiar plants, unable to put up with saline conditions, are no longer in a position to compete with the newcomers.
Takeover
While their spread is undoubtedly the consequence of human activity – not only the salting of roads, but the construction of the road network itself – the way it works out is unpredictable.The takeover has been happening over the past 50 years or so. Some of the newcomers have moved gradually: their presence was documented in France and Germany before they turned up in Switzerland. Others have appeared suddenly, far from any previously known location. Yet other newcomers were present in small numbers for years, barely noticed, and then suddenly spread, as Dr Michael Nobis, a biologist at the Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, told swissinfo.ch.“Often we don’t know the precise mechanism behind this,” he admitted. Many of the plants – like the scurvy-grass, the buck’s horn plantain, or the salt sandspurry – are very modest and unlikely to strike the non-biologist. But others are quite noticeable, like the bright-yellow narrow-leaved ragwort, a type of groundsel which originated in southern Africa and now provides a burst of colour alongside many motorways.It came to Europe a long time ago, imported in raw wool, Nobis explained, but it has only recently started to spread. It has been documented in the Swiss plateau area only in the past decade.Like the plants from European coastal areas, it has probably benefited from the gap in the habitat caused by the salting of the roads.
A long history
In recent years there has been a lot of publicity about harmful invasive plants arriving in Switzerland, most notably the common ragweed from North America and the giant hogweed from the Caucasus, both of which are damaging to human health.But in itself there is nothing new, and nothing sinister, about the arrival of species, as Nobis points out.“At a time when we are speaking of climate change, it is certain that some plants are obliged to move elsewhere, so of course new species are arriving in different places,” he said.Of the 3,000 or so flowering plant species in Switzerland, 350 or so are categorised as neophytes, plants which have arrived since about 1500 and the discovery of the Americas.
Environmental impact
An important difference needs to be made between plants which can grow anywhere – which include both hogweed and ragweed – and those requiring a special environment. “Species which are able to colonise different habitats may certainly exploit the road network to get here but can then expand, while the salt-tolerant plants are obliged to grow by roadsides,” Delarze explained.If salting were to stop, Delarze doubts whether the newcomers would be able to survive, since they would be pushed out again by competitors.But if these plants are in themselves no threat to the native flora, what about their impact on the wider environment? It is possible that insects which depend on the newcomers could follow their host plants and immigrate to Switzerland, Delarze said, but this does not seem to have happened yet.Harmful species account for only a small proportion of neophytes. And Nobis played down the current overall impact of neophytes on terrestrial native plants. The main threat to them in Switzerland is still changes in land use, especially in agriculture. “And some neophytes make a positive contribution, by providing nectar and pollen,” he said. Better still, some have even been discovered as a food source by endangered insect species.“But we cannot make a blanket judgement as to whether neophytes are good or bad. Both aspects exist,” he said.
In recent years there has been a lot of publicity about harmful invasive plants arriving in Switzerland, most notably the common ragweed from North America and the giant hogweed from the Caucasus, both of which are damaging to human health.But in itself there is nothing new, and nothing sinister, about the arrival of species, as Nobis points out.“At a time when we are speaking of climate change, it is certain that some plants are obliged to move elsewhere, so of course new species are arriving in different places,” he said.Of the 3,000 or so flowering plant species in Switzerland, 350 or so are categorised as neophytes, plants which have arrived since about 1500 and the discovery of the Americas.
Environmental impact
An important difference needs to be made between plants which can grow anywhere – which include both hogweed and ragweed – and those requiring a special environment. “Species which are able to colonise different habitats may certainly exploit the road network to get here but can then expand, while the salt-tolerant plants are obliged to grow by roadsides,” Delarze explained.If salting were to stop, Delarze doubts whether the newcomers would be able to survive, since they would be pushed out again by competitors.But if these plants are in themselves no threat to the native flora, what about their impact on the wider environment? It is possible that insects which depend on the newcomers could follow their host plants and immigrate to Switzerland, Delarze said, but this does not seem to have happened yet.Harmful species account for only a small proportion of neophytes. And Nobis played down the current overall impact of neophytes on terrestrial native plants. The main threat to them in Switzerland is still changes in land use, especially in agriculture. “And some neophytes make a positive contribution, by providing nectar and pollen,” he said. Better still, some have even been discovered as a food source by endangered insect species.“But we cannot make a blanket judgement as to whether neophytes are good or bad. Both aspects exist,” he said.
Counting the cost of alien invasions
Far too many governments have failed to grasp the scale of the threat from invasive species, warns UN Environment Programme's executive director Achim Steiner. In this week's Green Room, he issues a call to arms to halt the alien invasion.
Ask an Asian rice farmer about a brown or green-coloured snail, some 10cm in length, and you could well be asking about sinister creatures from Mars.
The golden apple snail has become a scourge in the paddy fields, damaging a staple crop as a result of its voracious appetite and costing a small fortune to control via environmentally questionable chemicals.
The mollusc is among literally tens of thousands of life-forms classed as alien invasive species.
They are thought to be harming the global economy to the tune of $1.4 trillion (£913bn) a year, if not far more.
Free from natural predators and checks and balances, alien invaders - like the golden apple snail - can experience massive population surges in their new homes.
Native species are ousted, waterways and power station intakes clogged. Aliens also bring infections including viruses and bacteria, while poisoning soils and damaging farmland.
Invasive action
Some governments, such as New Zealand, are facing up to the challenge with tough customs controls on foreign plants and animals.
The golden apple snail has become a scourge in the paddy fields, damaging a staple crop as a result of its voracious appetite and costing a small fortune to control via environmentally questionable chemicals.
The mollusc is among literally tens of thousands of life-forms classed as alien invasive species.
They are thought to be harming the global economy to the tune of $1.4 trillion (£913bn) a year, if not far more.
Free from natural predators and checks and balances, alien invaders - like the golden apple snail - can experience massive population surges in their new homes.
Native species are ousted, waterways and power station intakes clogged. Aliens also bring infections including viruses and bacteria, while poisoning soils and damaging farmland.
Invasive action
Some governments, such as New Zealand, are facing up to the challenge with tough customs controls on foreign plants and animals.
South Africa has well-funded removal programmes aimed at, for example, conserving the unique Cape Floral Kingdom and its economically-important nature-based tourist attractions.
But far too many countries have failed to grasp the scale of the threat, or are far too casual in their response.
In the British novelist HG Wells' celebrated science-fiction saga, The War of the Worlds, aliens invaded in space ships to wreak havoc and mayhem.
In the real world they are spread from one continent to another via the global agricultural, horticultural, aquaria and pet trades - or by hitchhiking lifts in ballast water and on ships' hulls.
The rice-consuming golden apple snail is thought to been brought to Asia from Latin America in the 1980s as an aquarium pet and a gourmet food.
After the snails proved less than popular for diners, importers released the creatures and perhaps their eggs into Asia's rivers and lakes, from where they spread to about a dozen countries including Japan.
True cost
The "red tides" seen, for example, in Europe's North Sea and linked with fish kills are blooms of algae brought accidentally in ballast water from the seas off China.
But far too many countries have failed to grasp the scale of the threat, or are far too casual in their response.
In the British novelist HG Wells' celebrated science-fiction saga, The War of the Worlds, aliens invaded in space ships to wreak havoc and mayhem.
In the real world they are spread from one continent to another via the global agricultural, horticultural, aquaria and pet trades - or by hitchhiking lifts in ballast water and on ships' hulls.
The rice-consuming golden apple snail is thought to been brought to Asia from Latin America in the 1980s as an aquarium pet and a gourmet food.
After the snails proved less than popular for diners, importers released the creatures and perhaps their eggs into Asia's rivers and lakes, from where they spread to about a dozen countries including Japan.
True cost
The "red tides" seen, for example, in Europe's North Sea and linked with fish kills are blooms of algae brought accidentally in ballast water from the seas off China.
Alien invasive species also challenge the UN's poverty-related Millennium Development Goals.
Take water hyacinth as one example; a native of the Amazon basin, it was brought to continents like Africa to decorate ornamental ponds with its attractive violet flowers.
But there is nothing attractive about its impacts on Lake Victoria, where it is thought to have arrived in about 1990, travelling down the Kigera River from Rwanda and Burundi.
Hyacinth can explode into a floating blanket, affecting shipping, reducing fish catches, hampering electricity generation and human health.
The plant has now invaded more than 50 countries around the world and annual costs to the Ugandan economy alone may be $112m (£73m).
In sub-Saharan Africa, the invasive witchweed is responsible for annual maize losses amounting to $7bn.
Overall losses to aliens may amount to more than $12bn in respect to Africa's eight principle crops.
Damage to river banks in Italy by the introduced copyu rodent, brought in from Latin America for fur, is estimated at $2.8m annually, according to data compiled by the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP).
Take water hyacinth as one example; a native of the Amazon basin, it was brought to continents like Africa to decorate ornamental ponds with its attractive violet flowers.
But there is nothing attractive about its impacts on Lake Victoria, where it is thought to have arrived in about 1990, travelling down the Kigera River from Rwanda and Burundi.
Hyacinth can explode into a floating blanket, affecting shipping, reducing fish catches, hampering electricity generation and human health.
The plant has now invaded more than 50 countries around the world and annual costs to the Ugandan economy alone may be $112m (£73m).
In sub-Saharan Africa, the invasive witchweed is responsible for annual maize losses amounting to $7bn.
Overall losses to aliens may amount to more than $12bn in respect to Africa's eight principle crops.
Damage to river banks in Italy by the introduced copyu rodent, brought in from Latin America for fur, is estimated at $2.8m annually, according to data compiled by the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP).
In the Philippines, the golden apple snail causes damage to the rice crop of up to $45m.
The challenge is both a developed and developing economy one, but perhaps the true scale is perhaps only now unfolding.
Scientists with the Delivering Alien Species Inventories for Europe (DAISIE) say there are now 11,000 invaders in Europe, of which 15% cause economic damage and threaten native flora and fauna.
Meanwhile, climate change is also likely to favour some alien species currently constrained by local temperatures.
Scientists have termed them "sleepers" - foreign agents who become embedded in a community to be activated some years later. Rainbow trout, introduced into the UK, is a case in point.
In the War of the Worlds, the Martians were defeated by an Earthly infection - perhaps a bout of flu - to which they had no resistance. Real world aliens are often made of sterner stuff.
Fighting back
Improved international co-operation is needed alongside support for initiatives, such as GISP, and the work of organisations like the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
It is important too to boost the capacity of the responsible national customs, quarantine and scientific institutes able to provide early warning, especially in developing countries alongside strengthening agreements under the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Improved management of affected habitats can also assist. There is some evidence that introducing a variety of native freshwater plants into a golden apple snail-infested site can reduce impacts on the rice crop.
This year, the Japanese government will host the Unep-linked Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
2010 is when the international community is supposed to have reduced the rate of loss of the world's biodiversity. Raising awareness among policymakers and the public, and accelerating a comprehensive response via the CBD, when governments meet in Nagoya later this year, is long overdue.
As the economy recovers, global trade including via shipping, will resume the risk of further invasions. Alien invasive species are part of the overall biodiversity challenge; for too long they have been given an easy ride.
The challenge is both a developed and developing economy one, but perhaps the true scale is perhaps only now unfolding.
Scientists with the Delivering Alien Species Inventories for Europe (DAISIE) say there are now 11,000 invaders in Europe, of which 15% cause economic damage and threaten native flora and fauna.
Meanwhile, climate change is also likely to favour some alien species currently constrained by local temperatures.
Scientists have termed them "sleepers" - foreign agents who become embedded in a community to be activated some years later. Rainbow trout, introduced into the UK, is a case in point.
In the War of the Worlds, the Martians were defeated by an Earthly infection - perhaps a bout of flu - to which they had no resistance. Real world aliens are often made of sterner stuff.
Fighting back
Improved international co-operation is needed alongside support for initiatives, such as GISP, and the work of organisations like the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
It is important too to boost the capacity of the responsible national customs, quarantine and scientific institutes able to provide early warning, especially in developing countries alongside strengthening agreements under the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Improved management of affected habitats can also assist. There is some evidence that introducing a variety of native freshwater plants into a golden apple snail-infested site can reduce impacts on the rice crop.
This year, the Japanese government will host the Unep-linked Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
2010 is when the international community is supposed to have reduced the rate of loss of the world's biodiversity. Raising awareness among policymakers and the public, and accelerating a comprehensive response via the CBD, when governments meet in Nagoya later this year, is long overdue.
As the economy recovers, global trade including via shipping, will resume the risk of further invasions. Alien invasive species are part of the overall biodiversity challenge; for too long they have been given an easy ride.
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