Himalayan Herbs and Climate Change

Invasive Species Widespread, but Not More Than at Home Range

2011-03-03T01:17:00.000-08:00

Invasive plant species have long had a reputation as being bad for a new ecosystem when they are introduced.
Stan Harpole, assistant professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Iowa State University, is founding organizer of a team of more than 70 researchers working at 65 sites worldwide that tested that assumption.

They wanted to know if it is true that problematic invasive species often spread widely in their new habitats because they don't encounter predators or diseases that help keep them in check in their home ranges.

"There is this assumption that when plants invade a new area that they become much more abundant in the new area than they were in the native areas," said Harpole. "It turns out that, on average, they aren't any more abundant away from home than they are at home."

Harpole says there is a "rule of 10s" that can apply to invasive species.

"Of, say, 100 plants that arrive in a new area, only about 10 percent of those will survive without being in a greenhouse or some other controlled area," said Harpole. "Of those 10 that can survive, only about 10 percent of those really cause problems.

"When you think about all the species we've brought over from other areas, relatively few have become serious pest species. The problem is we've brought over so many that quite a few have become major problems and they get a lot of attention."

Harpole points to the kudzu plant as an example.

Kudzu was introduced from Asia as a soil erosion plant more than a century ago. It now chokes out native species from Texas to Maine to Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Problem plants like this are uncommon when compared to all the exotic species in a region, but they do get the most interest and may give the impression that species that escape their home range often spread and take over new habitats and become more abundant than before, says Harpole.

Invasion can also be thought of more generally as a process in which new species enter new habitats. Even plants now considered native were once invaders, says Harpole.

When glaciers receded from the Midwest 10,000 years ago, there were no native species in the area -- the retreating ice left bare ground open for invasion.

"All the plants that are now seen as native were invasive in the past in the sense that they had to spread across the landscape," he said.

"What's different today is that we move plants so much faster than they would move by themselves. Now a species can become global in a matter of years, where it may have taken tens of thousands of years in the past," said Harpole.

Harpole is coauthor of a research paper led by Jennifer Firn of Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and is published in the journal Ecology Letters. Coordination of the study was funded by the National Science Foundation.
Source:http://bit.ly/gbjOi7

Poacher who killed 15 rhinos arrested

2011-03-03T01:12:00.000-08:00

KATHMANDU, Feb 28: The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Saturday arrested a notorious rhino poacher who killed more than 15 rhinos in Chitwan for the past few years.

The rhinos, all from the Chitwan National Park, were killed for their horns that fetch high prices in the black market.

The poacher is Kajiman Praja, 32, of Korak-9 in Chitwan and he has killed six rhinos in less than a year. Praja has been listed by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature as the deadliest rhino poacher of the time. He was arrested by the CIB´s virgin operation hunt.

Praja´s is a rags to riches story. He would employ his wives and two other female members of his family for rhino poaching and has so far earned at least Rs 15 million by selling rhino horns.

One-horned rhino is an endangered animal and its population in Nepal is around 435.

The arrest of Parja, who hails from the backward Chepang community that chiefly resides in the periphery of the park, which is home to most of the country´s one-horned rhinos, has raised hopes among conservationists and served a major blow to poachers.

"We are very happy that CIB has nabbed a kingpin who single-handedly rendered conservation efforts ineffective," said Diwakar Chapagain, the country director of WWF.

Need for sustainable approach

DIG Rajendra Singh Bhandari, the CIB chief, says operation hunt is the first high-profile venture undertaken to fight organized crimes in the wildlife sector.

"Now we will look into the arteries of wildlife crimes that portray Nepal as a major transit in the world," he said. "We see that our investigation into wildlife crimes could reveal their linkages to other organized criminal rings that thrive on smuggling."

Chapagain has similar impressions. "In place of Kajiman, they could pose a Ramman or somebody else if this problem is attacked at its roots," he said.

Bhandari also holds that an integrated program should be developed targeting the backward communities residing alongside major wildlife habitats.
Source:http://bit.ly/fs2irc

Sexy monkeys wash with own urine

2011-03-01T01:40:00.000-08:00

Capuchin monkeys have what at first glance appears to be an odd habit: they urinate onto their hands then rub their urine over their bodies into their fur.

Now scientists think they know why the monkeys "urine wash" in this way. A new study shows that the brains of female tufted capuchins become more active when they smell the urine of sexually mature adult males.

That suggests males wash with their urine to signal their availability and attractiveness to females. Details of the finding are published in the American Journal of Primatology.

A number of New World monkey species, including mantled howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys and the few species of capuchins, regularly "urine wash", urinating into the palm of the hand, then vigorously rubbing the urine into the feet and hindquarters.

Several hypotheses have been put forward as to why they do it, including that it may somehow help maintain body temperature or allow other monkeys to better identify an individual by smell.

Most studies into the behaviour have been inconclusive. "But one study reported that when being solicited by a female, adult males increased their rate of urine-washing," said Dr Kimberley Phillips, a primatologist at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, US.

"Since female capuchins [when they are most fertile] actively solicit males, we reasoned that urine washing by males might provide chemical information to the females about their sexual or social status," she told BBC News.

To investigate, Dr Phillips and her colleagues scanned the female monkeys' brains while the animals sniffed adult male and juvenile male urine.

These magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans revealed that female tufted monkeys' brains became significantly more active when they sniffed the scent of urine produced by adult males compared to that from juveniles.

Since adult males are sexually mature, they excrete higher concentrations of the male sex hormone testosterone in their urine. The concentration of this testosterone is also linked to their social status; higher status males tend to produce more.

"Female capuchin monkey brains react differently to the urine of adult males than to urine of juvenile males," said Dr Phillips. "We suggest that this is used as a form of communication to convey social and or sexual status."

She added that it was surprising that capuchin monkeys appeared to respond to these cues, because the species is not known for using communication based on smell.
Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk

Tropical forests 're-shaped' by climate changes

2011-02-20T20:07:00.000-08:00

Future climate change could change the profile of tropical forests, with possible consequences for carbon storage and biodiversity, a study says.

It suggests that if current trends continued, the drier conditions would favour deciduous, canopy species at the expense of other trees. US researchers based their findings on the changes they recorded in a Costa Rican forest over a 20-year period.

The team's paper has been published in the journal Global Change Biology.
"It is important because - depending on the rate of change, and the type of species that are found in the forests - it will influence a lot of ecosystem services and processes," explained co-author Brian Enquist from the University of Arizona.

"For example, we need to know how much carbon tropical forests are storing, and will store in the future. We also need to know how much CO2 they are taking out of the air."

Professor Enquist and his team examined how an area of forest had changed between 1976 and 1996. "We were fortunate that between the two dates, there was a series of quite impressive droughts - those droughts have been increasing in severity over the longer term," he told BBC News.

He said that there had been a "tremendous reduction" in the total number of trees in the forest. "Most of that reduction was in the smallest trees - such as the saplings and the smaller trees in the understorey," Professor Enquist observed.

"That was the first change that we immediately noticed, but then we began to look very closely and asked what was causing those trees to die.

"What we found was that there was a very distinctive signal in the types of trees that tended to survive and the types of trees that died - it came down to basic differences on how these trees functioned and worked.

"We found that those species that tended to require more moist conditions were the ones that dropped out very quickly, and those that were able to handle more drought-like conditions persisted."

Professor Enquist said the species that favoured such conditions were deciduous, canopy trees, and if the trend of drier conditions continued into the future then it would change the characteristics of tropical forests.

"The ecosystem implication is that those types of forests (dominated by deciduous, canopy species) tend to store less carbon and hold less biomass, which would then have a detrimental impact in terms of the entire biosphere's ability to help regulate or mitigate the effects of global climate change."

He said the study's findings, when combined with other results from other similar projects, created a picture of tropical forests that were changing "rather quickly".

Professor Enquist added that these forests appeared to be quite suseptible to changes in rainfall, and that future projections of changes in rainfall patterns were likely to have "immediate or very quick consequences".
More on This Story.
Sources:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12496415

Live Tiger found in check-in baggage

2010-08-26T22:42:00.000-07:00

A two-month old tiger cub was found sedated and hidden among stuffed-tiger toys in the luggage of a woman at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Sunday.

The 31-year old Thai national was scheduled to board a Mahan Air flight destined for Iran when she had trouble checking in her oversized bag. Airports of Thailand (AOT) staff suspected something amiss when they scanned the bag and x-ray images showed an item resembling a real cat.

Officers from the Livestock Development Department and the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department were then called in to open the bag for inspection and discovered the tranquilized cub.Investigations are underway to determine if the cub was wild caught or captive-bred, where it came from and the suspect’s intended final destination.

The cub is being cared for at the Rescue Center of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. DNA samples will be sent to the tiger enclosure at Khaopratab Wildlife Rescue Center in Ratchaburi Province, to determine which subspecies the cub belongs to, which will help determine its origin.

Tiger populations in Thailand and throughout Asia are critically threatened by poaching and trade to meet the international demand for tiger parts, products and, as illustrated in this case, live tigers.

Tigers are categorized as Endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) and listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) prohibiting international commercial trade. Both captive and wild caught tigers fall under the same regulations.

The ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network, sponsored by the US Agency for International Development recently held a training course on Wildlife Trade Regulation at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

Many of the agencies who were involved in the case had attended that course and work in close co-operation under Thailand’s own Wildlife Enforcement Network.We applaud all the agencies that came together to uncover this brazen smuggling attempt, said Chris R. Shepherd, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia’s Deputy Regional Director.

TRAFFIC is glad to see these training programmes pay off in seizures, arrests and continued vigilance at the airport especially by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.However, Shepherd also cautioned that this case demonstrated a real need for constant monitoring and tougher penalties.

If people are trying to smuggle live Tigers in their check-in luggage, they obviously think wildlife smuggling is something easy to get away with and do not fear reprimand.

Only sustained pressure on wildlife traffickers and serious penalties can change that.
Source:http://www.traffic.org/home/2010/8/26/live-tiger-found-in-check-in-baggage.html

The milk of forest kindness

2010-08-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

In a novel way of showing benevolence, a community forest in Nawalparasi district has constructed houses for its poor consumers.

Sundari Community Forest of Amarapuri built houses to 12 families who are its consumers living in an abject poverty. Office bearers of the community forest said the houses have been built for the poor families in recognition to their contribution for forest preservation.
The forest committee handed over the houses to the families amid a function on Thursday. All the 12 houses have been constructed through the income of the forest.

Badri Prasad Sapkota, chairman of the forest user group, said the community forest has been spending 35 percent of its total income to alleviate poverty. The committee spent Rs. 65,000 to build a house.

The decision of the community forest not only made the beneficiaries happy but has encouraged them further to conserve forest. “I had never hoped that the forest committee would help us in a big way. This has greatly inspired us to dedicate our lives in forest preservation,” said Dambar Kumari, who is one among the 12 recipients.
Source:http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/08/27/national/the-milk-of-forest-kindness/321226/

Himalayan countries discuss roadmap to adapt to climate change

2010-08-25T01:47:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal on August 18 started a three-day high-level technical consultative meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal.Called ‘Sacred Himalayas for Water, Livelihoods, and Bio-cultural Heritage’, the expected outcome of the meeting will create a roadmap leading to the proposed ‘Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas in Bhutan 2011’.

Dr Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission, Nepal, congratulated the Bhutan government for taking the initiative to develop a regional framework and national adaptation plans to fight climate change and to reduce the vulnerability of local populations living in the region.

He commended the role of ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development), of which he is a board member, in providing technical backstopping to the summit.
Agriculture Minister Dr Pema Gyamtsho said that countries should work together in developing medium- and long-term strategies as citizens of the eastern Himalayas.
“We share a common geography, common problems, and a common destiny and need to take collective action to tackle the problems posed by changing climate.” He emphasised.
Dr Madhav Karki, Acting Director General of ICIMOD, highlighted the potentials of the HKH region, also known as the ‘Third Pole’ or the ‘Water Towers of Asia’ as a major water source for close to 1.3 billion people.
He suggested four key messages for building a climate-resilient region and long-term adaption including livelihood diversification, disaster preparedness, climate risk assessment for infrastructure development, and improved management of natural resources. He also stressed the urgent need to share scientific knowledge to address the ‘knowledge gaps’ that currently exist in the region.
Nawang Norbu, one of the participants from Bhutan, presented the rationale for the proposed Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas, Bhutan 2011, and its links to the process, and the rationale for focusing on the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayan region.
Source: http://bit.ly/cWYJeS

Rare mushroom blamed for mystery deaths in China

2010-07-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

A tiny mushroom, little known to scientists, is behind some 400 sudden deaths in China, experts say.For 30 years, during the rainy season, scores of villagers in Yunnan province have died suddenly of cardiac arrest.
Following a five-year investigation, researchers from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Beijing say they have the culprit.The mushroom, know as Little White, belongs to the Trogia genus and has three toxic amino acids, experts say.
Researchers found that the deaths, known as Yunnan Sudden Death Syndrome, occurred almost always during rainy season (from June to August), and at an altitude of 1800-2400m (5900-7900ft).

Warning

"We heard amazing stories about how people would drop dead in the middle of a conversation," Zhang Shu, a cardiologist who took part in the CDC study, told Science magazine.
"About two-thirds of victims, in the hours before death experienced symptoms such as heart palpitations, nausea, dizziness, seizures and fatigue," he said.The investigation was initially hampered by language barriers, and the remote locations of the Yunnan villages.However, in 2008, the scientists noted that the Little White mushroom was often found in the homes where people had died.
Yunnan province is well-known for its wild mushrooms, many of which are exported at high prices.Families, who make their living by collecting and selling the fungi, eat the Little White as it has no commercial value - it is too small and turns brown shortly after being picked.
A campaign to warn people against eating the tiny mushrooms has dramatically reduced the number of deaths. There have been no reported deaths so far this year.
However, the scientists are carrying out further tests to find out why the mushroom is so lethal, as testing found the mushroom contained toxins, though not enough to be deadly.
"What's happening in Yunnan isn't expected from any other mushroom toxin," said Robert Fontaine, a US epidemiologist who took part in the investigation.
"What we have here is a toxin that is picking off vulnerable people," he told Science.He suggested that the toxins could be acting together with high concentrations of barium, a heavy metal, in the local water supply.
Source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10630155

Plants 'can think and remember'

2010-07-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

Plants are able to "remember" and "react" to information contained in light, according to researchers.
Plants, scientists say, transmit information about light intensity and quality from leaf to leaf in a very similar way to our own nervous systems.
These "electro-chemical signals" are carried by cells that act as "nerves" of the plants.
In their experiment, the scientists showed that light shone on to one leaf caused the whole plant to respond.
And the response, which took the form of light-induced chemical reactions in the leaves, continued in the dark.
This showed, they said, that the plant "remembered" the information encoded in light.
"We shone the light only on the bottom of the plant and we observed changes in the upper part," explained Professor Stanislaw Karpinski from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Poland, who led this research.
He presented the findings at the Society for Experimental Biology's annual meeting in Prague, Czech Republic.
"And the changes proceeded when the light was off... This was a complete surprise."
In previous work, Professor Karpinski found that chemical signals could be passed throughout whole plants - allowing them to respond to and survive changes and stresses in their environment.
But in this new study, he and his colleagues discovered that when light stimulated a chemical reaction in one leaf cell, this caused a "cascade" of events and that this was immediately signalled to the rest of the plant by via specific type of cell called a "bundle sheath cell".
The scientists measured the electrical signals from these cells, which are present in every leaf. They likened the discovery to finding the plants' "nervous system".
Thinking plants
What was even more peculiar, Professor Karpinski said, was that the plants' responses changed depending on the colour of the light that was being shone on them.
"There were characteristic [changes] for red, blue and white light," he explained.
He suspected that the plants might use the information encoded in the light to stimulate protective chemical reactions. He and his colleagues examined this more closely by looking at the effect of different colours of light on the plants' immunity to disease.
"When we shone the light for on the plant for one hour and then infected it [with a virus or with bacteria] 24 hours after that light exposure, it resisted the infection," he explained.
"But when we infected the plant before shining the light, it could not build up resistance.
"[So the plant] has a specific memory for the light which builds its immunity against pathogens, and it can adjust to varying light conditions."
He said that plants used information encrypted in the light to immunise themselves against seasonal pathogens. "Every day or week of the season has… a characteristic light quality," Professor Karpinski explained.
"So the plants perform a sort of biological light computation, using information contained in the light to immunise themselves against diseases that are prevalent during that season."
Professor Christine Foyer, a plant scientist from the University of Leeds, said the study "took our thinking one step forward".
"Plants have to survive stresses, such as drought or cold, and live through it and keep growing," she told BBC News. "This requires an appraisal of the situation and an appropriate response - that's a form of intelligence.
"What this study has done is link two signalling pathways together... and the electrical signalling pathway is incredibly rapid, so the whole plant could respond immediately to high [levels of] light."
source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10598926

Timber smuggling rampant in Nepal

2010-07-09T03:53:00.000-07:00

Owing to the lack of government policy to control illegal export, timber smuggling is on the rise in Gorkha. Rampant felling of the trees has turned forests into bare lands.

Timber and firewood are being smuggled from Mirkot, Dhuwakot, Deurali, Gaikhur, Khoplang, Harmi, Aanppipal and Dandapakha forest areas to the adjoining districts. Ganesh Sedai, a local of Serabesi Mirakot, said that timber smugglers had been ferrying a large amount of timber and firewood. "The green forest hills have transformed into barren lands," lamented Sedai.

Amrit Nagarkoti, a local timber entrepreneur, said that smugglers had been exporting timber to Chitwan, Kathmandu and Pokhara. He cautioned if smuggling continued in the same scale, all the villages would turn into deserts.

Tap Bahadur Upreti, a local, however, said that he had to fell trees for his livelihood." I cannot live without firewood," asserted Upreti. He also said that illegal forest clearance would cease if Local Community Forest Consumers Committee formulated and implemented a strict rule against it.

District Forest Office and Community Consumers Committee have turned a blind eye to the problem. Krishna Prasad Wasti, DFO, Gorkha, conceded that his office could not prevent illegal export since there was no effective policy.
Source:http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Timber+smuggling+rampant&NewsID=242301

Nepal Maoists reportedly involved in smuggling of contraband timber

2010-07-09T03:51:00.000-07:00

Harakpur, Morang, Nepal - Contraband Simal trees [silk cotton, Bombax malabarica] are being felled and smuggled to India through various border points in eastern Morang invoking Maoist blessings. Concerned timber traders said the Maoists take hefty sums from them to allow the export.

The Maoists' district leadership has, however, denied the charge and claimed that the timber traders are engaged in illegal trade in the name of the Maoists with an aim to defame the Maoists.

"We have directed everyone not to engage in illegal trade and timber smuggling," the Maoists' Morang district chief Dinesh Sharma said. He said the rebels will search out such traders and take action. But Maoist party Chairman Prachanda, talking to journalists in Chandragadhi [a town in Jhapa] two weeks ago had admitted involvement of Maoist workers in deforestation and directed the district leadership to control such act.

"Smuggling out is continuing," acting district forest officer Devi Prasad Koirala said, adding, "We have information of Simal trees being smuggled to India. We have mobilized forest concern groups and local villagers to control the act."

The committee and local villagers said they intercepted two truckloads of Simal timber in Darbesa and Rangeli on Saturday [26 August]. Police however said they have no information about the interception. Timber is being smuggled to India through Mahadeva, Jhurkiya, Bardanga, Dainiya, Rangeli, Babiyabirta, Mayagunj, Amgachhi border points, among others.

Simal timber is being smuggled to India for the past three months. "In the past three months, Simal timber worth 5m rupees [1 US dollar is 75 rupees] has been smuggled to India from Harakpur, Amardaha, Dainiya, Babiyabirta, Govindapur and Hasandaha village development committees among others," a trader involved in smuggling said.

"We pay off those who claim to be Maoists," the trader said, adding, "After paying commissions, they don't give any trouble." [passage omitted: Most of the Simal trees have already been felled down and smuggled to India]

With most of the Simal trees cut down the natural habitat of birds like eagles, vultures and cranes is being destroyed.

Source: Kantipur, Kathmandu, in Nepali 28 Aug 06

Massive forest loss spurs Nepal to ban logging for two months

2010-07-09T03:37:00.000-07:00

Nepal has announced a two month ban on logging throughout the mountainous country, reports the AFP. The ban was issued after officials received reports of alarming deforestation in lowland areas; according to one official over 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of forest was lost in a few months, nearly double the amount of forest lost on average each year from 2000-2005.

The forests under threat are mostly community-owned, lowland forests in the southern belt of Terai.

"Some logging is allowed in these community forests, but what we're finding is that this allowance is being exceeded," Deepak Bohara told the BBC. "So we have banned all logging until we can formulate a new government policy."

Approximately a quarter of Nepal is covered by forest. From 2000-2005 the Asian nation lost nearly 53,000 hectares of forest annually, about 1.4 percent per year.

Nepal is a part of the UN's REDD (Reduced Emissions through Deforestation and forest Degradation) program that proposes to pay countries to keep their forests intact to reduce carbon emissions. Currently 12-17 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation.
Source:http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0623-hance_nepal.html

World needs 'bailout plan' to protect endangered species

2010-05-16T23:04:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - Facing what many scientists say is the sixth mass extinction in half-a-billion years, our planet urgently needs a "bailout plan" to protect its biodiversity, a top conservation group said Thursday.

Failure to stem the loss of animal and plant species will have dire consequences on human well-being, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned.

"The gap between the pressure on our natural resources and governments' response to the deterioration is widening," said Bill Jackson, the group's deputy director, calling for a 10-year strategy to reverse current trends.

"By ignoring the urgent need for action we stand to pay a much higher price in the long term than the world can afford," he said in a statement.

A fifth of mammals, 30 per cent of amphibians, 12 per cent of known birds, and more than a quarter of reef-building corals -- the livelihood cornerstone for 500 million people in coastal areas -- face extinction, according to the IUCN's benchmark Red List of Threatened Species.

In 2002, the international community pledged to slow the biodiversity drop off by 2010, and incorporated the target into the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. But the decline has continued apace, according to a major scientific assessment published last week in the journal Science.

The next opportunity to set new goals and devise a strategy for achieving them will be the October meeting in Nagoya, Japan of the Convention of Biological Diversity.

In preparation, an advisory body of scientists will brainstorm in Nairobi, Kenya starting next week, and formulate recommendations.

Discussions will cover protected areas, inland and marine water areas, the impact of climate change, biofuels and invasive species, said the IUCN, a key partner in the deliberations.

"This year we have a one-off opportunity to really bring home to the world the importance of the need to save nature for all life on Earth," said Jane Smart, head of the IUCN's Biodiversity Conservation Group.

"If we don't come up with a big plan now, the planet will not survive," she said.
The IUCN draws together more than 1,000 government and NGO organisations, and 11,000 volunteer scientists from about 160 countries.

Source: http://bit.ly/dajeN5

Japan pledges grant for forest preservation

2010-05-13T02:58:00.001-07:00

Japan has agreed to extend a grant assistance of Rs. 451.8 million to Nepal for the forest preservation programme.

According to Embassy of Japan in Kathmandu, the assistance will be provided to address climate change with special emphasis on adaptation to, and the mitigation of climate change as well as on improved access to clean energy.

Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Tatsuo Miszuno and Finance Secretary Rameshore Prasad Khanal signed and exchanged a set of notes on behalf of their respective governments.

On the occasion, Ambassador Mizuno mentioned that Nepal is very keen to take the initiative in trying to prevent serious global warming as well as prevent melting of Himalayan glaciers, the endeavor of which includes pollution control and natural resources management among South Asian countries.

He also stressed to make utmost efforts so as to restrain deforestation and expand the land area covered by forests.

The Japanese ambassador also stated that the signing of the notes for the forest preservation programme shows the wishes of the Japanese government its people for the further balanced national development and well-being of Nepalese people.

Source:http://bit.ly/aWooqz

Japan pledges grant for forest preservation

2010-05-13T02:58:00.000-07:00

Everest expedition to clean world's highest garbage dump

2010-04-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

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

Saving Himalayas from climate catastrophe

2010-04-28T03:58:00.000-07:00

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

Climate change to top SAARC Summit agenda

2010-04-26T21:56:00.000-07:00

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

Nepal for climate-change push for mountain countries

2010-04-23T04:25:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2010-04-23T04:22:00.000-07:00

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.

Source: http://bit.ly/9ag2Ww

Global temperatures hit 'hottest March on record'

2010-04-23T04:19:00.001-07:00

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.

Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hfbdv0RAfzTmE4CocfAzlmGJ2t1g

Global Food Supply Under Stress from Climate Change

2010-04-23T04:15:00.000-07:00

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.

Source:http://www.america.gov/st/energy-english/2009/December

Wildlife Trafficking

2010-04-23T04:12:00.000-07:00

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."

Source:http://www.state.gov/g/oes/env/wlt/index.htm

Environment and Conservation

2010-04-23T03:58:00.000-07:00

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

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.

Source:http://www.state.gov/g/oes/env/index.htm

Initiation for Mt Kailash Conservation

2010-04-21T00:29:00.000-07:00

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.

2010 Climate Adaptation Futures Conference

2010-04-16T03:38:00.000-07:00

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.

Source:http://www.nccarf.edu.au/conference2010/

Trans-boundary Initiative for Mt Kailash Landscape Conservation Launched

2010-04-16T03:29:00.000-07:00

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.

Source:http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=60218

Salt favours highway plant invasion

2010-04-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

Source:http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/science_technology/Salt_favours_highway_plant_invasion.html?cid=8216916&rss=true

Counting the cost of alien invasions

2010-04-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

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).

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.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8615398.stm

Fire ravages conservation area; still out of control

2010-01-22T02:03:00.000-08:00

A large rhododendron forest and the wildlife have been destroyed in the fire that broke out in Kaski´s tourist village of Chhomarong in the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) from Monday.

The fire broke out from marijuana stubs thrown by two hotel porters on Saturday. Though locals of Khuldighar in Ghandruk-9 brought the fire under control on Saturday, the fire that had remained inside the jungle has again spread from Monday, ACAP´s Ghandruk office chief Sudeep Adhikari said.
The villagers have been unable to bring the fire under control since it has spread from one hill to another. They have asked ACAP´s central office in Pokhara and the National Trust for Nature Conservation in Kathmandu for helicopter to douse the fire. These bodies say that such facility is not yet available in Nepal while the locals complain that the concerned bodies have not taken immediate steps to control the fire.

The fire broke out in the dense forest at an altitude of about 2,700 meters between Khuldighar and Bambu. The forest area lies on the trekking route to Annapurna and Machhapuchchhre base camps and is rich in wildlife."Though there have been no human casualties, forests of rhododendron and nigalo (arrow bamboo) worth millions of rupees have been destroyed in the fire," Adhikari said. "Many endangered species may have also died in the fire."

ACAP Project Director Lal Prasad Gurung, who is in Kathmandu, said he has not seen fire on such scale in his 25-year conservation career. He said the area is home to ratuwa (barking deer), thar, snow leopard, lophophorus, munal and pheasants.

Locals expressed fears that the fire may reach Chhomarong village if not controlled immediately. The fire can also be dangerous for tourists en route to Machhapuchchhre and Annapurna base camps. “The roots of plants go deep into the rocks and stones have been loosened due to the heat and started to fall down on the trekking route,” a local explained.

The area of fire is one day´s walk from Chhomarong and four hours from Ghandruk. Adhikari went toward the affected area with a few staff and officials of ACAP, after talking to myrepublica.com on the phone, but he said he could reach there only on Wednesday.

Likewise, a six-man police team led by assistant sub inspector Chandra Bahadur Bohara from Area Police Office, Ghandruk headed for the area Tuesday morning.The teenager porters who started the fire in Khuldighar, Ghandruk-9 on Saturday had been arrested but were released after a warning as the fire in village came under control the same day.

Source:http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=13968

Governments 'must tackle' roots of nature crisis

2010-01-22T01:58:00.000-08:00

Governments must tackle the underlying causes of biodiversity loss if they are to stem the rate at which ecosystems and species are disappearing.
That was one of the conclusions of an inter-governmental workshop in London held in preparation for October's UN biodiversity summit in Nagoya, Japan.
Delegates agreed that protecting nature would bring economic benefits to nations and their citizens.
Representatives of 54 countries attended the UK-hosted meeting.
The organisers hope that securing agreement on fundamental issues now will keep the October summit of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) free from the kind of divisions that dogged last month's climate change summit in Copenhagen.

The UK's Marine and Natural Environment Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said that despite the weak Copenhagen outcome, there had been general agreement on the need for strong international action on biodiversity.
"One of the most important things was a strong feeling that we need to come out of Nagoya with something concrete on the table - something that works all the way down the local and community levels as well," he told BBC News.
"People are really focused on trying to stem the tide [of biodiversity loss] and reverse it."
The UN calculates that species are currently going extinct at about 1,000 times the "natural" rate; and economic analyses being prepared for the UN Environment Programme (Unep) show that ecosystems, such as coral reefs and rainforests, are worth far more intact than depleted.
Species at risk
In 2002, governments set a target of significantly reducing the rate of global biodiversity loss by 2010 - a target that is not going to be met.
Many observers now argue that it was not really achievable; global ambitions did not translate into local and regional action, and not enough attention was paid to the underlying factors causing depletion of the natural world.
New targets are likely to be set at the Nagoya meeting that are designed to be more scientifically valid and achievable.

But according to Simon Stuart, chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Species Survival Commission, setting targets is not the most important task facing governments.
"We have a chance of a much tougher target for 2020 than we had for 2010, which would be about having no net biodiversity loss," he said.
"I think the key thing is whether we'll see over the next few years concerted action on the drivers of biodiversity loss - if we don't see that in the next few years, then we certainly won't see good results by 2020."
All of those drivers, he noted, were related to the expansion of the human footprint - among them population growth, loss of habitat, climate change, ocean acidification, and growing demand for food.
Maria Cecilia Wey de Brito, secretary for biodiversity and forests with the Brazilian government, who co-chaired the meeting with Mr Irranca-Davies, acknowledged that these issues would be difficult to tackle, but said it could be done.
"Of course it's not easy; but it's possible, because what is at risk is our maintenance as a species on the planet," she said.
"We think that people will understand very well that if our ecosystem services get to a state where we won't have them anymore - the pollinators, for example - this is going to be disastrous.
"So I think this is something that is going to be possible, because it's totally necessary."
Richer harvests
Eighteen years after the biodiversity convention came into existence, one of its key aims - to agree a mechanism for fairly and sustainably profiting from nature exploitation - remains unrealised.
The UN would like to conclude an agreement on it this year; and Mr Irranca-Davis noted there had been some progress during the London talks. Delegates from developing countries - that have historically been suspicious of the notion - have been speaking of its potential benefits.
He said that some developing countries with rich biodiversity assets had expressed an interest establishing an agreement for good, sustainable exploitation of their own natural resources.
"[Some] developing nations expressed the view that, if we get those sort of agreements right, there is more potential to harvest from biodiversity," he said.
"So it's in our interests not only to protect, but to identify where those biodiversity riches are and to exploit them further, but in the right way, and making sure that these benefits are not just to developed countries, but to developing nations as well."
The meeting also discussed whether an expert panel should be set up to collate research on biodiversity - analogous to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - but there is as yet no consensus.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8470164.stm

Loss of Biodiversity and Bee decline

2010-01-22T01:52:00.000-08:00

The decline of honeybees seen in many countries may be caused by reduced plant diversity, research suggests.
Bees fed pollen from a range of plants showed signs of having a healthier immune system than those eating pollen from a single type, scientists found.
Writing in the journal Biology Letters, the French team says that bees need a fully functional immune system in order to sterilise food for the colony. Other research has shown that bees and wild flowers are declining in step.
Two years ago, scientists in the UK and The Netherlands reported that the diversity of bees and other insects was falling alongside the diversity of plants they fed on and pollinated.
Now, Cedric Alaux and colleagues from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) in Avignon have traced a possible link between the diversity of bee diets and the strength of their immune systems.
"We found that bees fed with a mix of five different pollens had higher levels of glucose oxidase compared to bees fed with pollen from one single type of flower, even if that single flower had a higher protein content," he told BBC News.

Bees make glucose oxidase (GOX) to preserve honey and food for larvae against infestation by microbes - which protects the hive against disease.
"So that would mean they have better antiseptic protection compared to other bees, and so would be more resistant to pathogen invasion," said Dr Alaux.
Bees fed the five-pollen diet also produced more fat than those eating only a single variety - again possibly indicating a more robust immune system, as the insects make anti-microbial chemicals in their fat bodies. Other new research, from the University of Reading, suggests that bee numbers are falling twice as fast in the UK as in the rest of Europe.
Forage fall
With the commercial value of bees' pollination estimated at £200m per year in the UK and $14bn in the US, governments have recently started investing resources in finding out what is behind the decline.
In various countries it has been blamed on diseases such as Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), infestation with varroa mite, pesticide use, loss of genetic diversity among commercial bee populations, and the changing climate.

The most spectacular losses have been seen in the US where entire colonies have been wiped out, leading to the term colony collapse disorder.
However, the exact cause has remained elusive. A possible conclusion of the new research is that the insects need to eat a variety of proteins in order to synthesise their various chemical defences; without their varied diet, they are more open to disease.
David Aston, who chairs the British Beekeepers' Association technical committee, described the finding as "very interesting" - particularly as the diversity of food available to UK bees has declined.
"If you think about the amount of habitat destruction, the loss of biodiversity, that sort of thing, and the expansion of crops like oilseed rape, you've now got large areas of monoculture; and that's been a fairly major change in what pollinating insects can forage for."
As a consequence, he said, bees often do better in urban areas than in the countryside, because city parks and gardens contain a higher diversity of plant life.
Diverse message
While cautioning that laboratory research alone cannot prove the case, Dr Alaux said the finding tied in well with what is happening in the US.
There, collapse has been seen in hives that are transported around the country to pollinate commercially important crops.

"They move them for example to [a plantation of] almond trees, and there's just one pollen," he said.
"So it might be possible that the immune system is weakened... compared to wild bees that are much more diverse in what they eat." In the US, the problem may have been compounded by loss of genetic diversity among the bees themselves.
In the UK, where farmers are already rewarded financially for implementing wildlife-friendly measures, Dr Aston thinks there is some scope for turning the trend and giving some diversity back to the foraging bees.
"I'd like to see much greater awareness among land managers such as farmers about managing hedgerows in a more sympathetic way - hedgerows are a resource that's much neglected," he said.
"That makes landscapes much more attractive as well, so it's a win-win situation." The French government has just announced a project to sow nectar-bearing flowers by roadsides in an attempt to stem honeybee decline.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8467746.stm

Climate Change and Needs for Regional Cooperation

2010-01-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

Climate scientists say regional governments need to include disaster management in their policies for coping with climate change. Governments are asking the scientific community to better advise them on reducing disaster risks.

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center and the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are drawing together scientists in Asia to both assess the risk of extreme weather and to find ways to reduce the damage it can cause.

Scientists and officials from 10 countries have been meeting this week in Bangkok, as part of the lead up to a special report on managing extreme weather events. As the global climate warms, it is expected to contribute to weather disasters, such as floods, stronger tropical storms and severe droughts.

Anand Patwardhan, from the Indian Institute of Technology, and one of the authors of the report says it is essential for policy makers to link climate change and disaster management planning.

"It has become very clear in the IPCC that unless we are able to build these linkages, unless we are able to mainstream or integrate climate change concerns into ongoing disaster risk reduction, disaster management practices that adaptation agenda will not be advanced," Anand said.

Anand says governments now understand the risk of a warming climate. Most climate scientists think emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are contributing to climate change.

"If one looks at what governments are expecting from the IPCC, they're telling us that you have made the case for action as scientists, now tell us what we should do and how we should do it whether it is in regard to mitigation or is it in regard to adaption," Anand said.

But Anand says this has proven a challenge for the scientific community because it must draw in people able to implement policies that go beyond science - such as finance, engineering and community structures.

Some governments, such as Vietnam, now encourage different ministries to cooperate on the different problems caused by rising sea levels. But scientists at the meeting this week say other Asian countries lag far behind.

The IPCC has warned that several cities across Asia, including Dhaka, Bangkok and Manila, are at risk to rising sea levels and severe storms. In Bangkok, for instance, there are warnings that up to one-million people could be affected by serious flooding by 2050 unless steps are taken to reduce the problem.

Source:http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/environment/Scientists-Call-for-Greater-Regional-Cooperation-in-Efforts-to-Deal-With-Climate-Change-80902402.html

Climate deal cannot ignore rainforests

2010-01-04T21:01:00.000-08:00

Delegates at the Copenhagen summit cannot afford to leave the world's rainforests outside of a global climate agreement, says Daniel Murdiyarso. In this week's Green Room, he sets out how plans to make the vital ecosystems worth more alive than dead are developing.

There is a growing realisation that the world's tropical and sub-tropical forests need to become an integral part of the new global climate regime. But why is it so important that it plays a role in the international effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions?
When the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997, it failed to recognise the vast amount of carbon locked in the vital ecosystems. This meant that the opportunity for developing countries with rainforests to participate in the international treaty were lost.
Five years later, when the Marrakesh Accord was adopted, a tiny amount of forest sector was accepted under the Kyoto mechanism, known as A/R CDM (Afforestation and Reforestation under the Clean Development Mechanism).
But as a result of a number of tough restrictions, including a 1% cap on eligible land, it was estimated that the scheme would only curb some 0.03% of global emissions.
Almost at the same time, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Third Assessment Report revealed the fact that land-use change, especially deforestation in developing countries, contributed about 20% of the total emissions from human activities.
Dead or alive?
If avoiding deforestation was to be part of the solution, the rainforest nations found the idea of being unable to harvest the natural resource a bit scary as it would hit their incomes.

As a result, the idea of reducing, rather than avoiding, emissions was put forward as an alternative. It was deemed that Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (Redd) was more attractive. It was also considered to be a relatively cheap option by Lord Stern's Review, which was commissioned by the UK government.
He concluded that the ecological services provided by the rainforests were more valuable than the revenue generated by harvesting the trees. In short, they were worth more alive than dead.
But is it really cheap? Unless the host countries are supported, Redd projects will not effectively reduce emissions, nor generate finances.
However, if the Redd scheme was up and running quickly, this may give buyers and sellers of the programme's carbon credits a head start. Under the current climate negotiations in Copenhagen, rich nations are expected to commit to deep cuts in their national emissions.
Redd credits obtained from developing countries could potentially buy the time needed for developed nations to decarbonise their economies. Provided that the capacity of developing countries is in place, Redd can be implemented relatively quickly.
'New opportunity'
Bringing forests in to the new global climate agreement, carbon that is stored in various compartments of the ecosystems, will be a new asset.
However, issues regarding land ownership and rights - which had never been properly resolved in many developing countries - will create a new challenge related to carbon rights.
Even if there was no such complication, the governance of the forests has been problematic, especially regarding efficiency and transparency when one looks at the allocation of revenues generated by the scheme.
Redd may offer a new opportunity for rainforest nations to demonstrate good governance. Forests should be managed more openly involving broader stakeholder participation.
Rights and responsibility that are associated with the benefits will eventually be shared across the stakeholders, from indigenous communities to logging companies.
Copenhagen is sending out a mixed message on whether or not forests will be in the next climate regime. The first week of long and seemingly endless negotiations will need a strong endorsement from high-level officials this week.
A deadlock that was experienced in Kyoto 12 years ago can be avoided. COP15 - which looks like a summit - is being supported by more than 100 head of states and governments.
They are coming with the aim of celebrating a success, not a failure. There is no reason why a meaningful and forward looking agreement will not be achieved here. After a one-day extension, a small step of a 5% cut in global emissions from 1990 level was finally agreed in Kyoto.
As time has gone by, we have learnt a lot of lessons. Copenhagen should do it better. A deeper cut is needed. We have to remind ourselves that the atmosphere cannot afford to leave forests behind for the second time.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8413737.stm

Nepal Tourism Year 2011 to be launched in February

2010-01-04T20:19:00.000-08:00

The Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011 secretariat has announced that official launch of NTY 2011 will take place on February 26 at Tundikhel.

During the formal declaration, leaders of all political parties, government and the private sector and professionals will gather at Tundikhel, Kathmandu, to express their commitment to make the tourism year a success.

The day will also see a peace torch being taken from Lumbini to Kathmandu and the NTY 2011 secretariat head will pass the torch to a high-profile personality while rallies from six different places in the valley will be also organised.

The NTY 2011 Secretariat on Sunday began its four-day briefing for the launch of the campaign. Various private sector organisations and travel trade entrepreneurs were briefed on Sunday by the Secretariat.

Representatives of the private sector and tourism entrepreneurs asked the Secretariat to launch the campaign in other parts of the country in order to further bolster the NTY 2011.

Kush Kumar Joshi, president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), expressed commitment that FNCCI would be promoting NTY through some 30 expos being held in various districts.
Prachanda Man Shrestha, Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board, urged the 25 political parties represented in the Constitution Assembly (CA) to translate their commitment towards tourism into reality.

Source: nepalnews.com

Key issues at Copenhagen climate talks

2009-12-16T22:57:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-16T22:49:00.002-08:00

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

2009-12-16T22:49:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-16T22:33:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-15T23:17:00.001-08:00

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

2009-12-15T23:17:00.000-08:00

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.

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

Chinese official: Stern “irresponsible”

2009-12-15T23:13:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-15T23:11:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-15T23:09:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-15T23:07:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-15T23:03:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-14T00:54:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-14T00:51:00.000-08:00

“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?

2009-12-14T00:40:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-14T00:33:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-14T00:30:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-14T00:26:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-23T00:13:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-23T00:07:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-19T23:51:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-16T22:08:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-16T21:14:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-16T21:09:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-16T21:03:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-16T02:16:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-14T21:18:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

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'

2009-11-05T23:36:00.000-08:00

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

Species' extinction threat grows

2009-11-05T23:14:00.000-08:00

More than a third of species assessed in a major international biodiversity study are threatened with extinction, scientists have warned.
Out of the 47,677 species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 17,291 were deemed to be at serious risk.
These included 21% of all known mammals, 30% of amphibians, 70% of plants and 35% of invertebrates.
Conservationists warned that not enough was being done to tackle the main threats, such as habitat loss.
"The scientific evidence of a serious extinction crisis is mounting," warned Jane Smart, director of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Biodiversity Conservation Group.

"The latest analysis... shows that the 2010 target to reduce biodiversity loss will not be met," she added.
"It's time for governments to start getting serious about saving species and make sure it's high on their agendas for next year, as we are rapidly running out of time."
The Red List, regarded as the most authoritative assessment of the state of the planet's species, draws on the work of thousands of scientists around the globe.
The latest update lists amphibians as the most seriously affected group of organisms on the planet, with 1,895 of the 6,285 known species listed as threatened.
Of these, it lists 39 species as either "extinct" or "extinct in the wild". A further 484 are deemed "critically endangered", 754 "endangered" and 657 "vulnerable".

The Kihansi Spray Toad (Nectophyrnoides asperginis) is one species that has seen its status change from critically endangered to extinct in the wild.
It was only found in the Kihamsi Falls area of Tanzania, but its population had crashed in recent years from a high of an estimated 17,000 individuals.
Conservationists suggest that the rapid decline was primarily the result of of a dam being constructed upstream from the toads' habitat, which resulted in a 90% reduction in the flow of water.
"In our lifetime, we have gone from having to worry about a relatively small number of highly threatened species to the collapse of entire ecosystems," observed Professor Jonathan Baillie, director of conservation programmes at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
"At what point will society truly respond to this growing crisis?"
The updated data from the 2009 Red List is being made publicly available on the IUCN website on Tuesday.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8338880.stm

Nepal, Japan team up for Himalayan climate research

2009-11-05T22:07:00.000-08:00

Climate change and environmental research in the Himalayas are set to receive a boost with the announcement of a new research partnership between Japan and Nepal.

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) — a Japanese research agency focusing on sustainable development — will work with Nepal's International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on climate change related issues, says a joint statement issued this month (1 October).

Their work will cover the Hindu Kush-Himalayas (HKH), a swath of mountain ranges stretching from Afghanistan to Myanmar, and covering Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Pakistan and Nepal.

Megumi Kido, IGES public relations officer, says: "The two institutes will work together on four major areas: natural resources management and ecosystem services [processes and resources in the natural ecosystem that benefit humankind] like water resources, forest resources and watersheds, rewarding for ecosystem services including carbon financing, adaptation to climate change, and policy and governance."

The joint research will include adaptation and mitigation strategies to combat climate change. The agreement comes at a time when experts are pointing towards a huge lack of scientific information on various issues in the HKH region including glacier melting, and water and forest resources.

A 2009 ICIMOD report on the impact of climate change on water resources and livelihoods in the Himalayas says, "Climate change is affecting the amount of snow and ice and rainfall patterns in the Himalayan region, but there is a severe lack of data needed to understand these processes".

Pradeep Mool, a remote sensing specialist in the integrated water and hazards management division at ICIMOD, told SciDev.Net that the lack of consistent data has often confused citizens. "There is no consistency in the data on the area glaciers cover in the Himalayas. I also remember in 1997, when there was fear of the Tsho Rolpa glacier bursting in Nepal, the media published reports that it may flood Kathmandu — which was unrealistic as Kathmandu doesn't fall within its catchment."The bilateral agreement marks a major expansion in collaboration between the two agencies. Previous partnerships between the two institutes have involved the informal sharing of scientific data for analysis.

Source:http://www.scidev.net/en/news/nepal-japan-team-up-for-himalayan-climate-research.html

Weather station network to serve South Asia

2009-11-05T22:02:00.000-08:00

Countries in South Asia are to benefit from a network of weather stations that will monitor climate variations and improve preparation for the impact of global warming.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) will first set up 50 stations across Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, India's environment minister Jairam Ramesh announced last week (20 October) at a meeting of environment ministers and officials from countries belonging to the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

A second phase will cover Afghanistan and Pakistan before a third extends the network to the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

The stations, which will focus on storm surveillance, will be part of the SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC) which covers the countries concerned.Ramesh did not specify when the weather stations would be set up, just that it will be "very soon".

He said the ministers had also agreed to hold annual South Asian workshops on climate change to discuss each country's plans for climate change mitigation, adaptation, measurement and monitoring.

At the UN conference on climate change in Copenhagen in December, SAARC countries plan to hold an event to highlight the region's concerns about the impact of global warming.

The decision to ramp up climate change activities is the second major initiative announced recently for the region.On 18 October, India announced it would set up a research centre and launch two of its own satellites to gather data on climate change.

Ramesh announced in Bangalore that the city would be home to the new National Institute on Climate and Environmental Sciences (NICES), which will help the country gather its own data on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change projections instead of relying on data from Western countries.

The institute will complement the Centre for Climate Change Research (CCCR), which was launched in August by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology to focus on basic climate science and modelling.NICES will receive an initial government grant of 400 million rupees (around US$9 million) and will be a "data hub" on climate change that will help build India's local capacity, said Ramesh. He is increasingly emphasising the need for India to develop its own models and database (see Homegrown climate models 'set India's record straight').

The Indian space department will launch the two satellites in 2010 and 2011 to monitor greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.

Source:http://www.scidev.net/en/news/weather-station-network-to-serve-south-asia.html

Attention on Himalayas at Summit

2009-11-05T01:09:00.000-08:00

KATHMANDU, NOV 03 - Despite attention on the Polar Regions as hot-spots of climate change, the effects of global warming on the Himalayas have largely been ignored. The melting of the Himalayas, which hold about 0.77 percent of the total snow in the world, goes largely neglected, even though billions of people living in the region are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

“The effects of climate change on countries like Bangladesh and Maldives are now well known; however, there is little international awareness about the vulnerability of the Himalayas posed by the same cause,” said Deepak Bohora, Minister for Forest and Soul Conservation on Monday.

Furthering this message will be 2,000 mountaineers who have scaled Mt. Everest and will come together on Dec. 11, International Mountain Day, at the Copenhagen Climate Summit to raise awareness on impacts of climate change in the Himalayas.

The campaign, named Summiteers’ Summit and led by mountaineer Appa Sherpa, will help draw interest of world leaders on the serious impact of global warming phenomena such as faster retreat of glaciers and their bursting, along with vulnerabilities of the people living in the Himalayas.

Sherpa, who successfully climbed Everest for the record 19th time this year said, “The snow levels are decreasing significantly. I saw water at 8,000 m this year, which is very uncommon in the Everest region.”

Meanwhile, explaining another instance of climate change in the region, Appa said locals of Dingboche in Solukhumbu district are not interested in building any new infrastructure including schools, hospitals and houses, due to fears of glacial lake outbursts.

Summiteer Pemba Dorje Sherpa, record-holder for the fastest ascent of Everest, said, climbing Everest was much easier this year compared with previous years. “We can climb comfortably with normal shoes up to 7,000 m. There are more rocky parts compared with snow-covered areas on the way to the summit,” he said.

Pemba agreed with Apa about the presence of water at higher altitudes than before. “Earlier, we had to melt the ice to drink water. However, water is now easily found without having to heat the ice,” he said.

The government has said it will lead the role to draw global attention about climate change impacts in the Himalayas especially towards Mt. Everest in the 15th Conference of Parties of United Nation’s Framework of Climate Change (UNFCC) to be held at Copenhagen, Denmark, this December.

Minister Bohora also said that the government will invite Bill Clinton and Al Gore, former U.S. president and vice-president, among other world leaders to lead the summiteers in Copenhagen.This year’s Copenhagen summit of climate change is viewed as a crucial meeting of all the meetings of the UNFCC. The summit has been billed as a final opportunity for the world to seal a deal to prevent climate change’s catastrophic impacts and help poor countries like Nepal to adapt to the phenomenon.

Source:http://www.ekantipur.com/news/news-detail.php?news_id=302408

Nepal: A Top Tourist Destination

2009-11-04T00:16:00.000-08:00

Lonely Planet, the largest travel guide-book and digital media publisher, has included Nepal in its 'Best in Travel 2010' list released Monday.

Nepal features sixth on the list of top ten countries to visit in 2010 as recommended by Lonely Planet. El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Portugal, Suriname, and the United States are the other countries in the list.

They'll take you from the familiar to the far away, both geographically and culturally, and more than likely have you reaching for your travel bag, says Lonely Planet about the destinations mentioned.

Source:nepalnews.com

Global Warming and Climate Change as Opportunities

2009-11-01T22:21:00.000-08:00

How must society adapt to rapid climate change to minimise severe upheaval?

The question makes two explicit assumptions, both of which are controversial and disputed: that climate change is rapid and that it will result in severe upheaval. Similarly, it is not clear whether the best reaction to global warming should be societal, or individual (or, perhaps, global).

That global warming is happening has now been established. Yet, such a forcing is likely to take centuries to induce any discernible climate change on the planetary level. Moreover: self-interested and well-paying hype aside, we know close to nothing about the hypercomplex set of interactions between various greenhouse gases, the atmosphere, the oceans, the Earth's orbit, volcanic eruptions, human activities, the unforeseen outcomes and by-products of well-meaning regulation and technologies (such as biofuels), solar dynamics, plate tectonics, and thousands of other factors, the vast majority of which are yet to be discovered.

Environmentalism is, therefore, poor science or pseudo-science: it is a pernicious and venal form of faddish hubris. In our current state of ignorance, the more ambitious variants of "solutions" such as geoengineering are far more dangerous than the threats of global warming. Two things are clear, though: (a) Climate change had happened frequently and repeatedly, long before and ever since humans strode the scene; and (b) Some regions of Earth will greatly benefit economically from global warming.

Others, inevitably, will suffer and will have to adapt. None of this sounds like a "severe upheaval", let alone life-threatening as the more rabid and sensationalist environmentalists will have us believe.

We should take an inventory of what we know and act upon it resolutely (mitigation): emissions from fossil fuel combustion should be tamed, captured, stored, sunk, and sequestered (aerosols to be further studied in conjunction with global dimming and ozone depletion); measures for population control and family planning enhanced; alternative and renewable fuels should be studied and incentives provided to energy-efficient, clean and green technologies; cement manufacture should be tweaked; cap and trade (or tax) schemes implemented on the national, corporate, and individual levels; weather-resistant, energy-conserving, and green construction technologies pioneered; the diets of livestock should be adapted to restrict biological emissions; deforestation and reforestation should be rationalized as should be land use; drought-related indigenous agricultural and water management knowledge and crop varieties should be preserved; flood defenses erected or strengthened; and weather-monitoring capacity should be extended and modernized. These measures make good sense, whatever the urgency of the problem facing us.

But, we should invest the bulk of our scarce resources in research and innovation. We should accept that climate change is inevitable and work out ways of harnessing it to our benefit. We should come up with new agricultural methods and strains; new types of tourism; new irrigation techniques; water desalination, diversion, transport, and allocation schemes; ways of sustaining biological diversity and of helping the human body adapt and cope; and global plans to cope with energy production problems, poverty, and disease triggered by global warming.

For the next few centuries, global warming is inexorable and largely irreversible (as the IPCC essentially admits). To think otherwise is completely delusional. Better to re-imagine our existence on this planet (adaptation). As temperatures rise in certain locales (and drop in others!), new economic activities and routes of commerce would be made possible or rendered feasible; new types of produce and forests will flourish; new technologies will be developed to cater to a novel and growing set of needs.

We would do well to not consider global warming as a crisis, but as a massive change. And even if we insist on regarding it as a cataclysm, as the Chinese saying goes, there are opportunities in every predicament. The initial costs of every transformation and transition in human history have been steep (recall the Industrial Revolution and, more recently, the transition from Communism to Capitalism). Climate change is not likely to be the only exception. Such a massive realignment implies severe disruption and great distress. But, invariably, tectonic shifts are followed by an extended period of creativity and growth. This time will be no different.

Source:http://globalpolitician.com/25981-climate-change-global-warming-environment

Melting Himalayan glaciers endanger all of South Asia

2009-11-01T22:17:00.000-08:00

Reports indicate that the melting of the Himalayan glaciers is threatening the kingdom of Bhutan, the impacts of which will adversely affect the entire South Asian region.
According to a report in Nature News, glaciers in the Himalayas are retreating faster than in any other part of the world and they could disappear completely by 2035. This puts the mountainous nation of Bhutan at a special risk. In an area smaller than Switzerland, it has 983 glaciers and 2,794 glacial lakes, some of which have burst to produce deadly glacial lake floods.
A nation without even its own helicopter, Bhutan lacks the resources to combat global warming. It is carrying out the work at Thorthormi glacier with the help of money from various international donors.
As the first nation to get adaptation money from the Least Developed Countries Fund, Bhutan is something of a pioneer among developing nations in their quest to adapt to a warmer future, and the struggles at Thorthormi glacier illustrate the enormous obstacles that adaptation efforts still face. It is only within the past decade that researchers realized that Thorthormi could pose a threat. Thorthormi’s ponds were expanding and merging to form larger bodies of water. The changes have been dramatic even in the past few months. “Just before we started our work here in July this year, that part of the lake was water,” said Karma Toeb, the project’s glaciologist and team leader, pointing down to a number of icebergs. “The ice blocks have been breaking off the mother glacier upstream,” he added.
According to Thinley Namgyel, the deputy chief environment officer at the National Environment Commission in Thimphu, “A few decades down the line, the glaciers will retreat and we are not sure what impact it will have on the economy.” But, the impacts of the melting of the Himalayan glaciers will reach far beyond Bhutan’s borders. The glacier-fed rivers that flow south from the Himalayas are the arteries of south Asia.
It is estimated that the retreat of glaciers will affect the water supply of roughly 750 million people across South Asia and China, according to Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Across Asia, there are countless cases like Thorthormi, where the needs are great and the resources scarce. Regarding the effects of climate change and their costs, “every single estimate that people have come up with has been exceeded by reality”, said Dr. Pachauri. “The impacts of climate change are clearly turning out to be much worse than what we had anticipated earlier,” he added.

Source:http://beta.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article37572.ece

Climate map shows human impacts

2009-11-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

A map designed to show the predicted effects of a 4C rise in global average temperature has been unveiled by the UK government. It shows a selection of the impacts of climate change on human activity.
These include extreme temperatures, drought, effects on water availability, agricultural productivity, the risk of forest fire and sea level rise. The map is based on peer-reviewed science from the Met Office's Hadley Centre and other scientific groups.
It was launched at the Science Museum by Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Climate and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and the UK's chief scientist Professor John Beddington. According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, agricultural yields would be expected to decrease for all major cereal crops in all major regions of production.
In addition, half of all Himalayan glaciers will be significantly reduced by 2050, leading to 23% of the population of China being deprived of the vital dry season glacial meltwater. The impacts are those expected to result following a global average temperature rises of 4C above the pre-industrial climate average.
Mr Miliband commented: "To tackle the problem of climate change, all of us - foreign ministries, environment ministries, treasuries, departments of defence and all parts of government and societies - must work together to keep global temperatures to 2C."

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8324428.stm

ASEAN meet highlights status of biodiversity

2009-10-29T23:42:00.000-07:00

SINGAPORE – As the International Year of Biodiversity draws near, countries all over the world are assessing how they are faring against the 2010 Biodiversity Target of significantly reducing the loss of biological diversity.
The ASEAN member states, home to 20 percent of the world’s known species of flora and fauna, are actively participating in international efforts to determine the real status of biodiversity and to reduce biodiversity loss.
Over 300 key biodiversity stakeholders from the region and other parts of the world gathered for the inaugural ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity (ACB2009) at Republic Polytechnic in Singapore to discuss the pressing issue of biodiversity loss from 21 to 23 October.
The conference, with the theme “Biodiversity in Focus: 2010 and Beyond,” was hosted by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and the National Parks Board, Singapore (NParks).
Guest of Honor Ms. Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education, Singapore, encouraged ASEAN member states to pool together their resources, expertise, and experience to jointly tackle the challenges of biodiversity conservation.
Ms. Fu also reaffirmed Singapore’s commitment to play its part in contributing to biodiversity conservation in the international arena. She cited the development of the Singapore Index on Cities’ Biodiversity which, when formalized, will help cities benchmark the success of their efforts to reduce biodiversity loss and hopefully enhance urban biodiversity in the longer term.
“Leveraging on our experience as a Garden City endowed with rich biodiversity, Singapore is now working with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and other partner cities to develop the Singapore Index on Cities’ Biodiversity,” she said.

Source:http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/226493/asean-meet-highlights-status-biodiversity

Melting Kyrgyz glaciers pose threat

2009-10-29T23:35:00.000-07:00

Geologist Bakutbek Ermenbaev points up through the pine trees at the glacier above us in Kyrgyzstan's Alatau mountains.
"That one - called Adigene - has decreased in size by about 20% over the last 50 years," he says.
He adds that a neighbouring glacier, Aksai, has disappeared completely.
Mr Ermenbaev, who works for the government's hydrogeology agency, says global warming is to blame. And he warns that unless action is taken to reduce this warming, all of Kyrgyzstan's 2,200 glaciers could have melted within a century.
The Kyrgyz glaciers and those in neighbouring Tajikistan are vital to the water supply of Central Asia. "In normal circumstances the glaciers would melt in the summer season, but regain their size in the winter," Mr Ermenbaev says.
But he adds that on average the glaciers are now decreasing in size by 15-20m ( 50-65ft) annually. One glacier, Petrova, is retreating by 50m a year.
Overflowing lakes
The hydrogeology agency has been monitoring the melting of the glaciers for the past 50 years and has one of its monitoring stations on Adigene.
"On average, all around the country, we can say the glaciers have decreased in size by about 20%. "In the last 20 years this has been happening more rapidly than in the previous years," Mr Ermenbaev says.
We are standing by a fast-flowing mountain stream, less than an hour's drive from the capital, Bishkek, but we are already at more than 2,000m above sea-level.
The majority of Kyrgyzstan is mountainous and we are surrounded by snow-capped peaks.
Mr Ermenbaev says the size of the surrounding mountain lakes is further evidence of the effects of global warming.
"When a glacier starts melting it creates small lakes, and each year the size of those lakes is growing," he says. He adds that when the lakes get too big, the water overflows and rushes down the valleys and gorges, potentially threatening the settlements in its path.
A number of homes and buildings were washed away in the gorge we are in, which is called Ala-Archa, in the late 1990s. In Soviet times permanent building was banned in such areas and Mr Ermenbaev says the restrictions should be re-introduced.
He says the agency's monitoring work has been complicated by the fact that it can no longer get access to some land that has been privatised since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Regional tensions
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan's neighbours, such as Uzbekistan - which has a thirsty cotton growing industry - rely on the glaciers for their water supplies.
Mr Ermenbaev says that although the melting may appear to be good news for the downstream countries, providing increased supplies, it will lead to water shortages in the long term. Access to water resources has already created tension between countries in the region. The glaciers provide a store of frozen water, which in the past was released gradually by the thawing and freezing process.
But even if the water is stored downstream in reservoirs it evaporates much more quickly than it would in colder temperatures at higher altitude. "It's not good for the downstream countries to have a lot of water in their reservoirs which could evaporate without benefiting them," Mr Ermenbaev says.
He says that the short-term solution is to build dams on the mountain lakes, where the water can be stored for longer and its flow downstream can be regulated. However, such projects are not popular with the downstream countries which do not want to see restrictions placed on their access to water.
Mr Ermenbaev says that the only long-term solution is to halt global warming, otherwise the mountain landscape could change for ever.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8326594.stm

Women in Pakistan Hit Hardest By Climate Change

2009-10-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

Pakistan is among the countries which will be hit hardest in near future by effects of climate change even though it contributes only a fraction to global warming. The country is witnessing severe pressures on natural resources and environment. This warning has recently come from the mouth of Pakistan’s prime minister in a recent statement. The PM[1] has alarmed the countrymen by disclosing that Pakistan is the 12th most vulnerable country in the world, to environmental degradation, would cost five per cent of the GDP every year.

Very few Pakistanis took such warnings serious. There is no media uproar, no popular movement and no political clamoring over the issue. Sad! The majority of the Pakistani policy makers have no time to think about the horrifying picture of the future, caused by the worsening climatic conditions. The country is busy fighting US-led war on terrorism and now almost trapped in a complex political quagmire where it has found itself fighting a war with itself. Therefore, very little time planners find to apprise the people of Pakistan on the repercussions of adverse climatic effects.
The climate experts in the country are hinting at severe water scarcity saying that water supply, already a serious concern in many parts of the country, will decline dramatically, affecting food production. Export industries such as, agriculture, textile products and fisheries will also be affected, while coastal areas risk being inundated, flooding the homes of millions of people living in low-lying areas.
Pakistan’s north eastern parts already experienced droughts in 1999 and 2000 are one such example that caused sharp declines in water tables and dried up wetlands, severely degrading ecosystems. Although Pakistan contributes least to global warming-one 35th of the world’s average of carbon dioxide emissions-temperatures in the country’s coastal areas have risen since the early 1900s from 0.6 to 1 degree centigrade. Precipitation has decreased 10 to 15 per cent in the coastal belt and hyper arid plains over the last 40 years[2] while there is an increase in summer and winter rains in northern Pakistan.
Although Pakistan produces minimal chlorofluorocarbons and a little sulphur dioxide emissions, thus making a negligible contribution to ozone depletion and acid rain, it will suffer disproportionately from climate change and other global environmental problems. Health of millions would also be affected with diarrhoeal diseases associated with floods and drought becoming more prevalent. Intensifying rural poverty is likely to increase internal migration as well as migration to other countries. Given the enormity of the impact, adaptation and mitigation measures are critically important.
Pakistan’s eco system has suffered greatly due to climatic change; one such example is that of Keti Bandar; one of the richest port in the region of the coastal belt of Pakistan that lost privileges of being at some point in time. The former port facilities bordered both shores of the Indus River delta but have become submerged as a result of coastal erosion, leaving only a thin, 2km long isthmus by way of a land bridge to the mainland.
There was a time when it was known to be an area thriving on mangroves ecosystem, rich with agriculture and boasting a busy seaport. Now the landscape is barren and thatched houses dotted on mudflats. Water logging and salinity is its major problem and the intruding sea has almost eaten up the villages. Thousands of peasant families and fisher folk community already had to migrate to other areas in search of livelihood.
So grave is the situation now in the same region that cyclones often visit the coastline and their intensity has increased many times more. Poor peasant and fisher folk communities always hit hard by these cyclones. The blame relies on the fact that the community residing in Keti Bandar is threatened with global climatic change. The coastal area is said to be most vulnerable to climate change with rising sea surface temperatures and atmospheric water vapor causing an increase in cyclone intensity and rainfall. When it comes to climate change population does matter, particularly for countries like Pakistan with an annual growth rate of 2.69 percent[4], will be the sixth most populous country. As poor families struggle to survive, environmental degradation is going to be more pervasive. Long-term sustainable development goals are disregarded in favor of immediate subsistence needs, leaving vulnerable communities specially women at the mercy of climate. Increased use of wood for fuel, abusive use of land and water resources, in the form of overgrazing, over fishing, depletion of fresh water and desertification- are common in rural areas of Pakistan.
There seems to be no stopping the runaway population growth here in Pakistan because birth control is often portrayed as anti-people. The country's political and religious leaders who could make a difference are to blame. They have ignored the explosive population growth completely. Birth control is a taboo topic in Pakistan. In our culture, the larger the number of children, the stronger the family feels. Poverty does not seem to matter. The mullahs (clerics) may not like it.
The rural population has been kept illiterate in Pakistan. "Instead of building schools we built armies. The feudal landowners saw to it that the rural population is kept away from schooling. Mullahs declare girls' education to be un-Islamic. The reality is that even where women want to practice birth spacing they face difficulty in accessing the family planning services. They meet with a non-supportive environment at home, and encounter misconceptions and misinformation about the use of family planning.
At regional level, according to experts, by 2050, the Indian subcontinent will have to support 350 million Pakistanis; 1.65 billion Indians; 40 million Nepalese; 300 million Bangladeshis and 30 million Sri Lankan. The total will be about 2.4 billion people. This was the total population of the whole earth around 1950[5]. The strain on resources in the region will be tremendous, and consequences catastrophic. By then the glaciers in the Himalayas will be gone, the monsoons will be erratic, sometimes too much or too little rain; new uncontrollable diseases will have emerged. It will come overnight. We will wake up, and find that all we had yesterday (food, water, electricity) are gone.
This horrific picture is, no doubt, a matter of concern for the entire population living in this part of world, but matter of urgency for the marginalized sections especially women who will obviously worst and first hit of the climate bomb. Need of the hour is to highlight the gravity of the issue with focus on demanding security to the rights of the poor and marginalized sections in the future policy planning with regard to Climate Change .
In developing countries like Pakistan, women are already suffering disproportionately; as a consequence of climate change. Local environmentalists estimate that 70 per cent of the poor, who are far more vulnerable to environmental damage, are women. Therefore, women are more likely to be the unseen victims of resource wars and violence as a result of climate change. We witnessed this phenomenon in years 1999 and 2000 when thousands of poor families had to flee from drought-hit areas of Balochistan, the most backward province of Pakistan. Women and children were seen the most suffered sections.
Like other poor countries, climate change is harder on women in Pakistan as well, where mothers have to stay in areas hit by drought, deforestation or crop failure. Many destructive activities against the environment disproportionately affect them, because most women in Pakistan are dependent on primary natural resources: land, forests, and waters. In case of droughts they are immediately affected, and usually women and children can't run away. Men can trek and go looking for greener pastures in other areas and sometimes in other countries ... but for women, they're usually left on site to face the consequences. When there is deforestation, when there is drought, when there is crop failure, it is the women and children who are the most adversely affected.
While women are the main providers of food in Pakistan, they face barriers to the ownership and access to land. 67 percent of women are engaged in agriculture related activities but only 1 per cent own land. When hit by the negative impact of climate change, women lose at the same time their livelihood means and their capacity to cope after a disaster. As a result of climate change, domestic chores such as collecting water and firewood become more burdensome and time consuming. As girls commonly assist their mothers in performing these tasks, there is less time left for school or any other economic activity.
The recent data shows that due to climate change major crops yield in Pakistan has declined by 30% (Lead, 2008). Experts are of the opinion that Climate Change is enhancing the susceptibility of agriculture zones to floods, drought and storms. It is pertinent to mention that the agriculture is the single largest sector in Pakistan’s economy, contributing 21 per cent to the GDP and employing 43 per cent of the workforce (Lead, 2008) of which female are in majority.
There is a common perception that ‘it is men who are the farmers’. Contrary to this perception, women in Pakistan produce 60-80 percent of food consumed in the house (IUCN, 2007). In Pakistan, especially in the mountainous regions, men out-migrate for livelihood opportunities (from 50% to 63% of the households) (WB, 2005) and it is the women who looks after the family’s agriculture piece of land along with many other responsibilities. It is interesting to note how much work female household members contribute outside their homes, but their work is generally less visible and attracts less public recognition.
The rise in temperature is going to affect the farming communities in Pakistan as a whole, but will have severe impacts on individuals/households specially women, who are socially, politically and economically more vulnerable.
Important to mention here is that Pakistan was one of the first countries to ratify the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1994 and has also endorsed other related protocols (Kyoto and Montreal) but its Climate Change policy is still in the making. Experts are of the opinion that not much in terms of gender should be expected from the forthcoming national policy on Climate change, as responsive policies can only result when they come out of forums that have equal gender representation along with the necessary sensitivity.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is a new mechanism of the Government of Pakistan (GOP) which is trying to address the disaster vulnerabilities of the communities living in hazardous regions by keeping the gender sensitivities in mind. Since NDMA is a new mechanism not much can be said about its programs at this point, but if women are not involved in developing and monitoring important policies and legislations, gender issues will go unnoticed.
In nutshell climate change could hamper the achievement of many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including those on poverty eradication, child mortality, malaria, and other diseases, and environmental sustainability. Much of this damage would come in the form of severe economic shocks. In addition, the impacts of climate change will exacerbate existing social and environmental problems and lead to migration within and across national borders of Pakistan.

Source:http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0910/S00418.htm

Women bear brunt of climate change but have little say in solutions

2009-10-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

Following an increased focus on the role of women in global issues, calls are being made for greater inclusion of women in making and implementing environmental policy and technological changes.
Christina Chan, a senior policy analyst for CARE International, related the situation to the UN news agency IRIN: "Well-designed, top-down approaches to [environmental] adaptation can play a role in reducing vulnerability to climate change; yet they may fail to address the particular needs and concerns of women.”
The IRIN article explores reasons that women are often left out of environmental health approaches, including their almost exclusive responsibility for “daily duties,” such as securing food, cooking and the care of the sick and elderly. These activities fail to capture the attention of men working instead on “big-scale technology."
On Thursday, in testimony to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Peter O'Driscoll of ActionAid USA reiterated that women are among those most vulnerable to negative effects of climate change and their voices should be present in environmental policy discussions. O’Driscoll stated: “Women depend more than men on the fragile ecosystems that are threatened by climate change, yet lack adequate access to and control over the natural resources, technologies, and credit they need to produce food.”
Gender’s role in environmental policy is also the topic of a book, Climate Change and Gender Justice, to be released next month. The book, which is edited by Geraldine Terry, is part of Oxfam’s Working in Gender and Development series. Oxfam also presented Gender, Development, and Climate Change, by Rachel Masika, as part of its Focus on Gender series.

Source:http://www.examiner.com/x-24151-Philanthropy-Examiner~y2009m10d16-Women-bear-brunt-of-climate-change-but-have-little-say-in-solutions

Andean Quechua and American youth engage in dialogue about Climate Change

2009-10-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

Andean youth from Cusco, Peru have much to share about their experiences of climate change affecting their biocultural systems in the Potato Park of Pisac, Cusco, Peru, in the same way that youth from Dedham, Massachusetts, United States are eager to share how they too are seeking climate change solutions within their community.

Uniting through collaborative dialogue to develop strength and power for creating climate change solutions, these two groups of young people will engage in a conversation on the 24th of October 2009 at 12:30 pm Peruvian time. The conversation is part of youth climate action for the International Day of Action on Climate Change. A series of conversations have been planed with a forward glance on the 15th COP of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to take place in Copenhagen, Denmark next December 2009.

The objectives of the conversation is to analyze the impacts of climate change on youth and to catalyze the actions of young people, while promoting creative new ideas and strengthening respect for Pacha Mama (Mother Earth).

The international Indigenous Peoples' Climate Change Assessment Initiative (IPCC), Association ANDES and the communities of the Potato Park are responsible for organizing the local end of this open-ended conversation and will facilitate a videoconference between the groups from its headquarters in Cusco, at 12:30 p.m. on 24 October. The Potato Park youth are part of a team that is facilitating an indigenous climate change assessment in their biocultural territory (please visit:http://www.ipcca.net). Creating a space for sharing knowledge and experiences among young people from around the world will help to demonstrate that the actions of youth can provide significant benefits for the socio-economic and environmental welfare of their nations, while strengthening each group's own actions to maintain their local livelihoods and environments.

Source:http://www.andes.org.pe/climate_change_conversations/

Himalaya – Changing Landscapes photo exhibition on show in Berne, Switzerland

2009-10-26T03:19:00.000-07:00

(Berne, 26 October 2009) The large outdoor exhibition by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and sponsored by Swiss Development Corporation (SDC) is currently on show at the Waisenhausplatz (Meret-Oppenheim-Brunnen) in Berne, Switzerland. The exhibition is open 10am – 6pm 25 - 31 October 2009.
In the 1950s Austrian and Swiss scientists conducted extensive studies of the Everest region in Nepal. Photos taken by these scientific teams are vital in trying to understand the impact of climate change on the world’s highest mountain range, the Himalayas. Mountain geographer Alton Byers revisited the photo sites in 2007 and took replicates showing many changes. In 2008, as part of its 25th Anniversary celebrations, ICIMOD united the old and new photographs in a photo exhibition: Himalaya – Changing Landscapes, now on display in Berne.
The exhibition aims to raise awareness of the impact of climate change and other new challenges that mountain people are facing. The stunning repeat panorama views of mountains and glaciers are accompanied by photographs of the scientists conducting glacier research in the 1950s. In the second part of the exhibition, photographs from renowned Swiss photographers Fritz Berger and Toni Hagen (with repeat photographs by Alex Treadway) taken in the mid hills of Nepal and Pakistan show landscape and cultural and socioeconomic changes.
Climate change is affecting people and the environment around the globe and this is especially evident in the Himalayas. The greater Himalayan region has the largest concentration of snow and ice outside the two poles. Warming in the Himalayan region has been much greater than the global average. Himalayan people contribute little to global warming, yet they experience some of its most severe impacts. Weather patterns are becoming more unpredictable and extreme with prolonged dry spells and strong storms. This phenomenon is causing concern over the long-term impact on total water supply. Global warming is likely to have far reaching consequences -- on water, agriculture, biodiversity, and the many other factors that provide a basis for people to survive. The ten river systems originating in the Himalayas serve around 1.3 billion people. The footprint of food and energy production of the Himalayan river basins reaches up to 3 billion people. There is a wide gap in the knowledge of the short and long term implications of climate change on the Himalayas. Most studies conducted have excluded the Himalayan region because of its extreme and complex topography, and the lack of adequate existing data.
Dr. Andreas Schild, Director General of ICIMOD; “Melting glaciers are just the tip of the iceberg. The changes taking place are alarming, and the time to act is now. Scientific evidence shows that the effects of globalisation and climate change are being felt in even the most remote Himalayan environments. The signs are visible, but there is very little in-depth knowledge or data available from the Himalayan region. Global measures of scientific co-operation and regional collaboration are needed to reduce this information gap. What happens in this remote mountain region is a serious concern for the whole world”.
For mountain people there are other drivers of change, too: migration, population growth, changes in land-use, and introduction and removal of species. On the other hand people have better access to roads, electricity, education, and communication. Remittances bring new prosperity, and tourism is increasing. But urbanisation, outmigration of men, and problems with waste disposal are also having a marked effect.
The Himalaya – Changing Landscapes photo exhibition was first unveiled in a small format at the Mount Everest Base Camp (5300m) in April 2008, making it the highest photo exhibition in the world. In 2008 the exhibition was held in Stockholm, Barcelona, and Kathmandu, and earlier this year in Bonn, Germany. ICIMOD sees the exhibition as a powerful tool for raising awareness of the impact of climate change in the Himalayas.
source: www.changing-landscapes.com

Saving forests five times better than carbon capture for climate action

2009-10-23T01:26:00.000-07:00

Washington, October 12 (ANI): In a new research, WWF (Worldwide fund for Nature) Sweden has determined that saving forests is five times better than carbon capture for climate action.
WWF Sweden is urging its government to get behind an effective international agreement on halting forest loss as a key and highly cost effective measure on climate change.

Sweden should follow the examples set by its northern neighbors in developing systems to halt deforestation," said WWF CEO General Lasse Gustavsson.
"One Swedish krona to stem deforestation results in the same emissions reductions as five kronor for the controversial carbon capture and storage technique," Gustavsson added.
According to 'Gold in Green Forests', a report issued by WWF-Sweden, next to energy efficiency, halting forest loss and degradation is the most cost-effective method for mitigating climate change.
The annual loss of natural forests in developing countries is equivalent to one third of Sweden's surface area.
Forest fires, the conversion of forests to agricultural land and the cultivation of energy crops are responsible for the high rate of forest loss.
A program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, known as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) is currently being discussed in the negotiations for a global climate deal.
REDD aims to make it worthwhile for developing countries to maintain their forests, as opposed to cutting them down.

Halting deforestation would not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but would also secure the livelihoods of people living in these forests.
"We should always prioritize solutions that are best for both the environment and our wallets, especially during the ongoing financial crisis. Sweden's cautious attitude in this area is therefore very surprising," said Gustavsson, who calls for the government to take action during the ongoing climate change conference in Bangkok and secure a system to finance the protection of the world's forests.
"Norway, Finland, Denmark and Germany have already guaranteed financing for REDD between 2010 and 2012. It's time for the Swedish government to take action - both domestic and as EU President," he said. (ANI)

Source:http://newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/127761#

Missing Link

2009-05-25T22:44:00.000-07:00

The nearly complete skeleton of a 47 million-year-old creature found in Germany was displayed this week by scientists who said it would help illuminate the early evolution of monkeys, apes and humans.
About the size of a small cat, the lemur-like animal has opposable thumbs, four legs and a long tail.
It's not a direct ancestor of monkeys and humans, but researchers say it provides a good indication of what such an ancestor may have looked like.
SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Franzen, Senckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt, Germany: "It is a member of the ancestors. We could call it, if we would put it familiarly, we are not dealing with our grand, grand, grand, grandmother, but perhaps with our grand, grand, grandaunt."
The discovery was made by amateur fossil hunters in a shale pit near Frankfurt, Germany more than 25 years ago. Its significance was not realized until the University of Oslo bought it for study about 2 years ago.
The animal was a juvenile female that scientists believe died at about nine or 10 months.
Because the skeleton is so remarkably complete, scientists believe it will provide a window into primate evolution.
SOUNDBITE (English) Jorn Hurum, University of Oslo: "We of course are not stating that this is our direct ancestor, that's too much, even it's debated when you go a few (m) million years back. Remember this is 47 (m) million years ago, it's really hard to pinpoint exactly who gave rise to humans at that point but this is as good as it gets really."
SOUNDBITE: (English) Holly Smith, University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology: "This skeleton is going to inform almost anything that we talk about in trying to determine the ancestor of higher primates."
The unveiling was made at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
The story of the fossil find will be shown in the US on the channel History.
Source:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090520-missing-link-found-video-ap.html

Impact of firing on global warming

2009-04-26T02:56:00.000-07:00

Fire accounts for roughly half of greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and about twenty percent of total emissions from human activities, report researchers writing in the journal Science. The estimates — based on analysis of fire's impact on emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane; albedo or the reflectivity of Earth's surface; and release of aerosols and other particulates — suggest fire plays a major large role in climate than conventionally believed.

"It's very clear that fire is a primary catalyst of global climate change," said Thomas W. Swetnam of the University of Arizona in Tucson, one of 22 co-authors of the report.
The Kelsey Complex fire ranges in the Klamath National Forest, in 1987. Photo courtesy of Florida Division of Forestry."We've estimated that deforestation due to burning by humans is contributing about one-fifth of the human-caused greenhouse effect -- and that percentage could become larger."

Other research suggests that higher temperatures could trigger a feedback effect whereby emissions from forests will increase due to reduced rainfall and increased incidence of fire and tree-killing pest outbreaks. Increased emissions will in turn exacerbate these impacts.

"Fires are obviously one of the major responses to climate change, but fires are not only a response -- they feed back to warming, which feeds more fires," said Swetnam. While cautioning that their work is an early attempt to quantify the impact of fire on climate, the authors put forth some estimates for sources of emissions from fire. For example, CO2 emissions due to deforestation since 1750 is estimated at 182-199 billion tons carbon (total fossil fuel emissions since 1750 are estimated at 315 billion tons), while fire is estimated to contribute around 4 percent of total methane emissions and around 5 percent of nitrous oxide emissions.

The authors say a better understanding of the climate impact of fire will enable scientists develop models to more accurately forecast future future change — important given the rising economic toll from uncontrolled burning. Fires in Southeast Asia and Latin America during the 1997–1998 El Niño event caused some $19-24 billion in losses, including billions of dollars in human health costs.

"There is growing awareness of the deleterious effects of such uncontrolled fires on biodiversity, human health, and the economy. However, there remains a serious lack of knowledge about fire’s fundamental role in Earth system processes, as well as an insufficient appreciation of fire’s interaction with anthropogenic global environmental change," the authors write.

"For example, though the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report concluded that global climate change will increase the risk of extreme fire events (7), its assessment did not quantify potential fire-climate feedbacks. In order to achieve a better understanding of fire, it must be understood as an integral Earth system process that links and influences regional and global biogeochemical cycles, human activity, and vegetation patterns. Failure to develop a coordinated and holistic fire science will slow efforts to adapt to changing fire regimes and manage fire."

Source:http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0423-fire.html

Indigenous forest management and global warming

2009-04-26T02:54:00.000-07:00

A new book written by members of indigenous communities across Indonesia argues that traditional forest management practices can provide important lessons in the effort to slow climate change. The book, titled Forests for the Future, describes "the skills and knowledge used for generations to manage forest ecosystems without destroying them", according to a statement from Indonesia's Indigenous Peoples' Alliance (AMAN) and Down to Earth, the NGOs that published the work. "Forests for the Future, avoids romanticizing the indigenous way of life," the statement continued. "Instead it presents lessons learned from communities striving to meet today's economic and political challenges. It is a testament to the willingness of indigenous peoples to engage with an international audience so that their ways of forest management may be better known and get the recognition and respect they deserve."
Forests for the Future warns that carbon finance schemes that allow industrialized nations to offset emissions by paying for forest conservation in tropical countries present "huge risks" to indigenous communities, including loss of livelihoods and the denial of their right to manage their forests. The book argues that industrial forestry interests in Indonesia will use the mechanism to grab indigenous lands in order to profit from carbon trading. While such concerns are legitimate, there are indeed emerging safeguards for forest carbon projects — including the Voluntary Carbon Standard or the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance — to protect against such injustices.

Source:http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0422-forests_for_the_future.html

Orchard losses 'threaten species'

2009-04-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

Traditional fruit orchards are vanishing from England's landscape - with serious consequences for wildlife, conservationists have warned. The National Trust says 60% have disappeared since the 1950s, putting local varieties of apples, cherries, pears, plums and damsons under threat.
It is launching a £536,000 drive to reverse the decline of the orchards. Their trees provide important habitats for species such as the noble chafer beetle and lesser spotted woodpecker.
The orchards - some with as few as five trees - also offer sources of pollen and nectar to bees, which are thought to be declining partly because of a lack of suitable food. Pressure from commercial fruit growers has led many small-scale producers to develop their orchards or convert them to other uses.
The National Trust's head of nature conservation, Dr David Bullock, said traditional orchards had been "disappearing at an alarming rate over the last 60 years". "We are in real danger of losing these unique habitats - and the wildlife, local fruit varieties and their rich heritage - and if we don't act in some cases we will not even know what local varieties of fruit have been lost," he said.
The trust has teamed up with government advisory body Natural England to launch the project to promote local fruit varieties. It will undertake surveys to get a better understanding of the habitat, work to improve the condition of existing orchards and create new ones, and train people how to plant, prune and propagate trees.
Kate Merry has been appointed as orchard officer to champion the cause. She said: "We now have a real opportunity to reverse the decline of traditional orchards and recognise the important role they play in our cultural and natural heritage; if we don't act there is a real danger they will not survive the 21st Century."
Hollowed and gnarled
Trees in traditional orchards are widely spaced and the sites are often grazed by animals such as sheep, or cut for hay.
They provide a good habitat for wildlife because they are subject to low intensity management, with few or no chemicals used, and the trees are allowed to reach a stage where they are hollowed and gnarled. The noble chafer beetle makes its home in the dead wood of older fruit trees, while the lesser spotted woodpecker can also find nesting and feeding areas in the trees.
A survey by the National Trust last year of more than 100 traditional orchards in its care turned up a number of other species in the habitat, many of them rare.
At the Killerton estate in Devon, where the new programme has been launched, surveys found insects including the orchard park beetle and the apple tree lace bag. It also proved a feeding ground for long-eared bats. Apples - including two varieties unique to the estate - are used to make cider and chutney, with the profits used to maintain the orchards.
Poul Christensen, acting chairman of Natural England, said: "Successful orchards are worth their weight in gold, not just for the valuable contribution they make to the economy but to the subsequent enhancement of these precious wildlife habitats." In 2007, the government prioritised orchards as habitat to protect in recognition of their importance to wildlife.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8014873.stm

World's major rivers drying up

2009-04-21T22:07:00.000-07:00

Water levels in some of the world's most important rivers have declined significantly over the past 50 years, US researchers say. They say the reduced flows are linked to climate change and will have a major impact as the human population grows.
The only area with a significant increase in water flows was the Arctic due to a greater snow and ice melting. The study was published in the American Meteorological Society's (AMS) Journal of Climate.
Rainfall patterns 'altered'
From the Yellow river in northern China to the Ganges in India to the Colorado river in the United States - the US scientists say that the major sources of fresh water for much of the world's population are in decline.
The researchers analysed water flows in more than 900 rivers over a 50-year period to 2004.
They found that there was an overall decline in the amount of water flowing into the world's oceans.
Much of the reduction has been caused by human activities such as the building of dams and the diversion of water for agriculture. But the researchers highlighted the contribution of climate change, saying that rising temperatures were altering rainfall patterns and increasing rates of evaporation.
The authors say they are concerned that the decline in freshwater sources will continue with serious repercussions for a growing global population.
While some major rivers, including the Brahmaputra in South Asia and the Yangtze in China, have larger water flows, there is concern that the increased volume comes from the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas. This means that in future these rivers might decline significantly as the glaciers disappear.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk

Degrading planet: Can feed us?

2009-04-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

As part of Planet Under Pressure, a BBC News series looking at some of the biggest environmental problems facing humanity, Alex Kirby explores the challenge of feeding the world without destroying the planet.

More of us are eating more and better than ever before. World cereal consumption has more than doubled since 1970, and meat consumption has tripled since 1961. The global fish catch grew more than six times from 1950 to 1997.
None of this happened by magic, though, but only by giving Nature a massive helping hand.
The World Resources Institute said in 1999 that half of all the commercial fertiliser ever produced had been applied since 1984. So one question is whether the world can go on increasing its harvests at this rate - or even faster, to cater as well for the extra 75 million people born annually.
Crop increases
Our recent achievements are impressive - while global population doubled to 6 billion people in the 40 years from 1960, global food production more than kept up. The proportion of malnourished people fell in the three decades to the mid-1990s from 37% to 18%. But we may not be able to go on at this rate.
For a start, much of the world's best cropland is already in use, and farmers are having to turn to increasingly marginal land. And the good land is often taking a battering - soil degradation has already reduced global agricultural productivity by 13% in the last half-century. Many of the pesticides on which the crop increases have depended are losing their effectiveness, as the pests acquire more resistance.
A key constraint is water. The 17% of cropland that is irrigated produces an estimated 30-40% of all crops, but in many countries there will be progressively less water available for agriculture.
Many of these are poor countries, where irrigation can boost crop yields by up to 400%. There are ways to improve irrigation and to use water more effectively, but it's not clear these can bridge the gap.

Biotechnology, in principle, may offer the world a second Green Revolution, for example by producing drought-resistant plants or varieties that withstand pest attacks.
But it arouses deep unease, not least because of fears it may erode the genetic resources in thousands of traditional varieties grown in small communities across the world. Nobody knows what the probable impacts of climate change will be on food supplies.
Modest temperature increases may actually benefit rich temperate countries, but make harvests even more precarious across much of the tropics.
Too little space
Another question concerns the huge cost to other forms of life of all the progress we've made in securing our own food supply. The amount of nitrogen available for uptake by plants is much higher than the natural level, and has more than doubled since the 1940s.
The excess comes from fertilisers running off farmland, from livestock manure, and from other human activities. It is changing the composition of species in ecosystems, reducing soil fertility, depleting the ozone layer, intensifying climate change, and creating dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico and other near-coastal seas.
The sheer amount of the Earth we need to produce our food is having an enormous impact.
Globally, we have taken over about 26% of the planet's land area (roughly 3.3 billion hectares) for cropland and pasture, replacing a third of temperate and tropical forests and a quarter of natural grasslands.
Another 0.5 billion ha has gone for urban and built-up areas. Habitat loss from the conversion of natural ecosystems is the main reason why other species are being pushed closer to the brink of extinction. Food security comes at a high price. In any case, it is a security many can only envy.
Increasing hunger
At the moment we are not on course to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving world hunger by 2015. Although the proportion of hungry people is coming down, population increase means the actual number continues to rise.
In the 1990s global poverty fell by 20%, but the number of hungry people rose by 18 million. In 2003, 842 million people did not have enough to eat, a third of them in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Hunger and malnutrition killed 10 million people a year, 25,000 a day - one life extinguished every five seconds. The world does produce enough to feed everyone. But the food is often in the wrong place, or unaffordable, or can't be stored long enough. So making sure everyone has enough to eat is more about politics than science.
But whether we can go on eating the sort of diet we've grown used to in developed countries is far from clear. Much of it travels a long way to reach us, with the transport costs adding hugely to the "embodied energy" it contains. There's a lot to be said for eating local, seasonal food where we can.
And meat usually demands far more than grain - water, land, grain itself (34% of world grain supplies are fed to livestock reared for meat). Yet, worldwide, the richer we grow the more we turn to meat.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4038205.stm

Impacts of illegal trade of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Nepal

2009-04-21T01:59:00.000-07:00

A headline article in the Telegraphnepal discusses the status of several medicinal and aromatic plants in Nepal and concludes that they are endangered because of illegal trade supported by "rampant illiteracy" prevailing in the local villages.
The article focuses on the mushroom Cordyceps sinensis, Fritillaria cirrhosa, (both important in traditional Chinese Medicine); Larix himalaica, (used for construction) and mentions Seabuckthorn (used in cosmetics) as well as essential oils.
The author of the article, Khilendra Gurung, is a Nepalese botanist and researcher in the non-Timber forest products of Nepal, especially including aromatic plants, with a number of published papers on the essential oils of Nepal. Eight of his papers are posted online on Scribd, an article site. They include a 44 page inventory of non timber forest Products (NTFPs) in the Manaslu Conservation Area, an an analysis of wintergreen oils, two papers on Sea Buckthorn, an MS-GC of Rhododendron oil, a specification for Lindera neesiana, and an overview of the the essential oil bearing plants of Nepal.

Source:http://www.aromaconnection.org/2008/09/illegal-trade-a.html

Lichens: Bioindicators of air pollution

2009-04-21T01:46:00.000-07:00

Lichens are considered the result of a symbiotic association of a fungus and an alga.

More precisely the term “alga” indicates either a Cyanobacteriae or a Chlorophyceae; the fungus is usually an Ascomycetes, although on rare occasions it may be either a Basidiomycetes or a Phycomycetes.

In this association, the alga is the part that is occupied with the formation of nutrients, since it contains chlorophyll (Chl), while the fungus supplies the alga with water and minerals.These organisms are perennial and maintain a uniform morphology over time.

They grow slowly, have a large-scale dependence upon the environment for their nutrition, and – differently from vascular plants – they do not shed parts during growth.Furthermore, their lack of cuticle or stoma means that the different contaminants are absorbed over the entire surface of the organism.

As far back as 1866, a study was published on epiphytic lichens used as bioindicators.

Lichens are the most studied bioindicators of air quality. They have been defined as “permanent control systems” for air pollution assessment.

During the last 30 years, many studies have stressed the possibility of using lichens as biomonitors of air quality in view of their sensitivity to various environmental factors, which can provoke changes in some of their components and/or specific parameters.

For indeed, many physiological parameters are used to evaluate environmental damage to lichens, such as: photosynthesis; chlorophyll content and degradation; decrease of ATP; variations in respiration levels; changes in the level of endogenous auxins; and ethylene production.

Furthermore, laboratory exposure to SO2 causes relevant membrane damage to lichen cells.

Many studies show a positive correlation between the sulphur content of lichens and SO2 present in the atmosphere.

Various authors report that the concentration of Chl a + b is altered by vehicle traffic pollution, and by urban emissions.

In general, lichens that are transplanted into areas with intense vehicle traffic show an increase in Chl a + b concentration that is proportional to increases in emissions.

Gift of the Himalayas - high value plants and NTFPs

2009-04-19T03:14:00.000-07:00

The Himalayas are a rich repository of flora with a large number of native plants and high value nontimber forest products.The high topographic complexity and related climatic variability of the Sacred Himalayan Landscape has given rise to significant ecological gradients, and thus, high ecosystem diversity over a relatively small area and due attention for conservation of these natural resources.

In Nepal, the Sacred Himalayan Landscape harbors numbers important flora such as oaks (Castanopsis and Quercus), Rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.) and Himalayan Larch (Larix griffithiana), and globally threatened fauna such as snow leopard (Uncia uncia), red panda (Ailurus fulgens) and musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) and highly important non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs).

Broadly, NTFP may be classified as edible and non-edible plant and animal products.

The former include edible plants and animals, honey, oils, fish, spices and so on. Non-edible products include grasses, bamboo, ornamental plants, insect products, oils for cosmetic use, and medicinal products among others.

From the economic viewpoint, NTFP are equally important as wood-based products. About 150 types of NTFP are significant in international trade. They are also increasingly being acknowledged for their role in sustainable development and conservation of biological diversity. Up to 80% of the population in developing countries depend on NTFP for subsistence, both economically and for nutrition. It is an important asset especially for people living in Nepal's Sacred Himalayan Landscape contributing significantly in their livelihood. In recent year, the use of many NTFP has gone from subsistence collection to large-scale commercial extraction resulting into over-harvesting and degradation of diversity, quality and availability of many valuable species.

Therefore, there is the need to address the sustainable harvesting issues of NTFPs/MAPs in mountains of Nepal for future generation. Though conservation agencies are addressing the issue of sustainable production of NTFP, there are a number of challenges to be met, some of which include the disappearing forest cover, inequitable market access of marginalized populations and the monopoly of high - value NTFP by logging and poaching mafia. This report is a WWF Nepal's initiative to conserve these high value NTFPs of mountains by providing concise information of prioritized species in mountain program areas of the Sacred Himalayan Landscape.

Download
Gift of the Himalayas - high value plants and NTFPs [pdf, 838 KB]

Source:http://www.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/nepal/news/publications/?118460/Gift-of-the-Himalayas-high-value-plants-and-NTFPs

Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol

2009-04-17T02:44:00.000-07:00

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions .These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012.
The major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encouraged industrialised countries to stabilize GHG emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so.
Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.”
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. 184 Parties of the Convention have ratified its Protocol to date. The detailed rules for the implementation of the Protocol were adopted at COP 7 in Marrakesh in 2001, and are called the “Marrakesh Accords.”
The Kyoto mechanisms
Under the Treaty, countries must meet their targets primarily through national measures. However, the Kyoto Protocol offers them an additional means of meeting their targets by way of three market-based mechanisms.
The Kyoto mechanisms are:

Emissions trading – known as “the carbon market"
Clean development mechanism (CDM)
Joint implementation (JI).

The mechanisms help stimulate green investment and help Parties meet their emission targets in a cost-effective way.
Monitoring emission targets
Under the Protocol, countries’actual emissions have to be monitored and precise records have to be kept of the trades carried out. Registry systems track and record transactions by Parties under the mechanisms. The UN Climate Change Secretariat, based in Bonn, Germany, keeps an international transaction log to verify that transactions are consistent with the rules of the Protocol.
Reporting is done by Parties by way of submitting annual emission inventories and national reports under the Protocol at regular intervals. A compliance system ensures that Parties are meeting their commitments and helps them to meet their commitments if they have problems doing so.
AdaptationThe Kyoto Protocol, like the Convention, is also designed to assist countries in adapting to the adverse effects of climate change. It facilitates the development and deployment of techniques that can help increase resilience to the impacts of climate change.
The Adaptation Fund was established to finance adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Fund is financed mainly with a share of proceeds from CDM project activities.
The road ahead
The Kyoto Protocol is generally seen as an important first step towards a truly global emission reduction regime that will stabilize GHG emissions, and provides the essential architecture for any future international agreement on climate change.
By the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012, a new international framework needs to have been negotiated and ratified that can deliver the stringent emission reductions the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has clearly indicated are needed.

Source:http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php

Climate crisis needs empowered people

2009-04-17T01:25:00.000-07:00

By Jacqueline McGlade

People power is at the heart of the effort to beat climate change, says Professor Jacqueline McGlade, head of the European Environment Agency. In this week's Green Room, she says that the task is so great, and the timescale so tight, that we can no longer wait for governments and businesses to act.
It is no longer sufficient to develop passive lists or reports to 'inform' citizens of changes in our environment. The key to protecting and enhancing our environment is in the hands of the many, not the few.
To adapt effectively to the challenges that will come with climate change, including biodiversity loss, water stress and forced migrations of species, we need to harness the information available and will to act at the local level.
That means empowering citizens to engage actively in improving their own environment, using new observation techniques and innovative economic ideas.
Sadly, the political, economic and administrative mechanisms that we design to tackle environmental concerns all too often leave citizens sidelined as silent observers.
Information is made available as lists of figures or spreadsheets that only experts can interpret.
Imagine if all the statistics that inform our evening weather forecasts were presented in this way, or all the data that drives popular software like Google or Windows.
Do you think they would continue to be as popular?
To encourage and benefit from participation we need to present our information in a way everyone can understand. To address this urgent need the European Environment Agency (EEA) is working with the European Union, developing new systems to engage citizens as suppliers and users of environmental data. The Shared Environmental Information System is one such collaboration between the EU and EEA.
The initiative will guide Europe's collection and dissemination of environmental information over the coming years. This new approach supports the shift from paper to web-based reporting, managing information as close as possible to its source and making it available to users openly and transparently.
For Europe's citizens, this will mean both greater access to information and a bigger role in reporting. When EU bodies review members' compliance with environmental standards, they will increasingly refer to national websites where everyone can access the relevant data, rather than relying on confidential submissions.
Meanwhile, data collected pursuant to regulatory obligations will be integrated with information from voluntary, professional and amateur groups as well as from empowered citizens. This will build a much more complete and nuanced picture of the state of Europe's environment.
Silent witnesses
Citizens have a role to play in data gathering the world over. In the Arctic, for instance, indigenous people form part of the EEA's global observation network, providing evidence of the real change taking place to complement our observational data and models.
We know already that the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the globe.
Yet outside the territories, little is understood of the true cost to indigenous people of retreating ice or the impact of seasonal change on hunting. We need to rectify this if we are to make the right decisions.
It is no longer sufficient to develop passive lists or reports to "inform" citizens of changes in our environment. We need to engage with citizens and ask how they can inform us. Obtaining and using local knowledge will help us empower citizens, and will also give us a better indication of what we need to do to be truly sustainable.
To really engage the public, more co-ordinated and timely gathering of complex data needs to be complemented by "real time" delivery of the information, in language that is accessible to all.
The EEA's recently launched online portal, which is called the Global Citizen's Environmental Observatory, will enable European environmental information to be gathered and presented in a single location.
The Observatory will give governments, policymakers and citizens easy access to clear, comprehensible data in real time.
It will provide information on all environmental media - from the global perspective to the view from the street - at levels of detail previously unseen. Water Watch, which provides information on bathing water quality, represents an illustration of the services to come.
Launched by the EEA and Microsoft last summer, it was visited almost 265,000 times in the first three weeks of August; a clear indication of public demand for user-friendly environmental information.
Crucially, the Observatory will afford every one of us a role in the information process by prioritising two-way communication. In the case of Water Watch, local people are encouraged to give their opinion on the quality of the beach and water, thereby supplementing and validating official information.
Information technologies offer new ways to use all available data to the full and to present findings in ways that engage citizens and policymakers alike. An example is the Climate Change Simulator, known as C-ROADS, currently being developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with support from the EEA.
C-ROADS allows users to see how decisions on greenhouse gas emissions made by political leaders today will influence the climate over the next 100 years. If the world cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, 50% or 80%, what impacts will climate change have? The simulator provides some of the answers.
Importantly, it will be available to everyone, and isn't only for super computers and technicians.
That means each of us can use the same data as governments to model the change in his or her country. From personal experience, I have noticed that people find the simulator simple to use and convincing in terms of its output.
It gives immediate feedback, which is essential when we want heads of state and ministers to see the consequences of their actions.
And it gives them and their citizens an insight into the scale of change that is needed.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7893230.stm

Pandas opt for low-cal sweeteners

2009-04-17T01:15:00.000-07:00

Red pandas have surprised researchers by demonstrating a liking of artificial sweeteners.
The Journal of Heredity research was investigating the sweet taste preferences of carnivorous animals. While some of them preferred natural sugars, only pandas favoured aspartame, neotame and sucralose.
The researchers believe the ability to taste such molecules may have evolved because similar ones might exist among the panda's natural foods.
The receptors for sweet substances are formed from a pair of proteins, with the receptors' detailed shapes determining whether they react to natural or artificial sweeteners.
The team demonstrated in 2005 that the carnivore family Felidae - which includes the big cats and the domesticated variety - showed no preference for either natural sugars or sweeteners.
They went on to show that Felidae family animals only expressed one of the two genes that code for proteins that together form sweet receptors on animal tongues.
The new research investigated a number of animals in a similar taste test at two Swiss zoos, followed by genetic profiling. The animals included meerkats, ferrets, genets, mongoose, and lions as well as the pandas.
Over the course of a day, the animals were allowed to choose from two water sources: plain water or water sweetened using one of six natural or six artificial sweeteners.
Message received
In keeping with the prior research, the lions showed no preference for water sweetened in any way. All of the other animals showed some preference for at least one of the naturally sweetened water sources.
But pandas alone favoured the artificially sweetened water. Until now it was thought that only primates could taste aspartame, the pandas' favourite among the artificial sweeteners.
The researchers then looked at the genes that code for sweet receptors. Only the lions suffered from the "pseudogenisation" that prevents formation of the receptors; all of the others had some form of sweet receptors.
However, the genetic analysis showed subtle differences in the fine structure of the pandas' receptors relative to all the other sweet-toothed animals.
"This may explain why the red panda is able to taste artificial sweeteners," said Xia Li, a researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and lead author of the study.
"What we don't know is why this particular animal has this unusual ability. Perhaps the red panda's unique sweet receptor evolved to allow this animal to detect some compound in its natural food that has a similar structure to these sweeteners."
The researchers will continue to study the fine interplay between the genes that code for sweet receptors, the molecules the receptors can bind to, and ultimately how that influences animals' diets.
"This is the essence of molecular science," said Monell's Joseph Brand, senior author of the research, "asking a behavioural question and getting a molecular answer."

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8002978.stm

How to designs eco-friendly garden?

2009-04-17T00:52:00.000-07:00

In our Planet Under Pressure series we've looked at some of the world's biggest environmental problems. But the first steps toward solving these issues can begin at home - which is why we asked you to send us your designs for an eco-friendly garden.
We asked you to design a garden which is a relaxing green space for you, your family and friends, uses natural resources in a sustainable way and encourages a wide range of plants and wildlife.
The winner was Gina Couch, from the UK. Her entry was chosen by a team of experts from the BBC Gardening website, and she wins a copy of the Henry Doubleday Research Foundation's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening.
You can see Gina's winning entry below, as well as some of the best other designs we received.

WINNER

Gina Couch :: Naturally Ours

Gina Couch devoted much of her garden space to encouraging wildlife.
Her design included a "living wall made from recycled pipes and wood, providing bee/wasp hotels, ladybird towers, a hedgehog house plus bird feeders and shelter and nesting sites."
Other features which impressed the judges included a bog garden and pool with shallow, sloping sides to allow easy access for frogs and other amphibians.
Judges comment: A lovely naturalistic, flowing design. There is great attention to detail, taking into account all the environmentally-friendly elements, as well as creating a garden that is very aesthetically pleasing and a harmonious place for humans and wildlife.

RUNNERS UP
Nyske Blokhuis :: A Haven For All
Nyske Blokhuis, from the Netherlands, placed her emphasis on creating a balance between humans, wildlife and plants.

Her design featured a pond and a pergola to provide room for bird boxes and feeders in winter, while stacked branches of the fence and under the benches provide shelter for insects, hedgehogs and amphibians.
The plan includes a wide variety of plants with the aim of ensuring that flowering takes place in some part of the garden almost all year round, providing food for visiting insects.
Judges comment: Good use of the space with a practical design and some interesting features. However, while the planting palette was varied, it would only really look good in the summer months as there is no structural planting to create all-year interest.
Meryl Kelsey Masters :: The Lunch Gathering

Meryl Kelsey Masters designed "a place for lunch in a shady hollow with a wildlife pool and hedges attracting birds and small animals".
Her design features a bog garden fed by shallow pebble-lined channels and a central copper pergola, which catch and divert rainwater, log seats and tables, a small woodland area and a meadow. Judges comment: An interesting garden with lots of different features, but overall a slightly unfocused design.
Philippa Greenwood :: The Wild Side
Philippa Greenwood designed her garden for a modern family to provide "somewhere for relaxation, entertainment and the appreciation of nature whilst caring for the environment."

Designed to be "modern and eye-catching, it is also practical and low maintenance. The garden is as organic and self-sufficient as possible to ensure impact on the environment is small."
Philippa's garden also features a wildflower meadow, nesting boxes for birds and bats, a pond and a log stack sculpture to provide shelter for hedgehogs and frogs.
Judges comment: A very well-executed design, which is modern and user friendly as well as including some good environmental features, but didn't offer enough hiding space and planting cover for wildlife or a wide enough selection of plants.
William Wasey :: KHCTC Eco Garden

William Wasey's garden combined nature with ecologically sound technology.
His design features a buddleia hedge, wind-turbine powered pond planted with reeds and native water plants, a greenhouse and a shed fitted with solar panels.
Other elements include bird baths, long grass to encourage insects, trellises and raised flowerbeds.
Judges comment: A great design, in a distinctive style. The garden addresses all eco-friendly issues, but is perhaps quite busy, with all the different elements. We particularly liked the inclusion of solar panels and a wind turbine however.
Jean Andre Waag Hermann :: A Life In The Trees
Jean-Andre Waag-Hermann from France designed an imaginative and ambitious garden based around a natural pergola created from interwoven tree branches.

His design was set in local countryside in the Vosges region of France, which is characterised by hedged farmlands dotted with small villages.
Jean-Andre wrote: "The pergola could be used as a welcoming place to have a drink or meal with friends. Tree houses could be built to watch nature, or for kids to play in."
Judges comment: We really liked the design concept and it was presented in a professional way with good visuals. However we feel that this is a scheme more appropriate to a large landscaping project, rather than an average back garden.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4225517.stm

Flora and Fauna of Nepal

2009-04-16T23:12:00.000-07:00

Nepal's flora and fauna can be divided into four regions:-
1. Tropical Deciduous Monsoon Forest:
2. Subtropical Mixed Evergreen Forest:
3. Temperate Evergreen Forest:
4. Subalpine and Alpine Zone:
Ranging from the subtropical forests of the Terai to the great peaks of the Himalayas in the north, Nepal abounds with some of the most spectacular sceneries in the whole of Asia, with a variety of fauna and flora also unparalleled elsewhere in the region. Between NepalÕs geographical extremes, one may find every vegetational type, from the treeless steppes of the Trans-Himalayan region in the extreme north and the birch, silver fir, larch and hemlock of the higher valleys to the oak, pine and rhododendron of the intermediate altitudes and the great sal and sissau forests of the south.
The rolling densely forested hills and broad Dun valleys of the Terai along with other parts of the country, were formerly, renowned for their abundance and variety o wildlife. Though somewhat depleted as a result of agricultural settlements, deforestation, poaching and other causes, Nepal can still boast richer and more varied flora and fauna than any other area in Asia. For practical purposes, NepalÕs flora and fauna can be divided into four regions:-
1. Tropical Deciduous Monsoon Forest:
This includes the Terai plains and the broad flat valleys or Duns found between successive hill ranges. The dominant tree species of this area are Sal (Shorea Robusta), sometimes associated with Semal (Bombax malabricum), Asna (Terminalia termentosa), Dalbergia spp and other species, and Pinus rosburghi occurring on the higher ridges of the Churia hills, which in places reach an altitude of 1800m. Tall coarse two-meter high elephant grass originally covered much of the Dun valleys but has now been largely replaced by agricultural settlements. The pipal (ficus religiosa) and the ÔbanyanÕ (ficus bengalensis) are to be noticed with their specific natural characteristics. This tropical zone is NepalÕs richest area for wildlife, with gaurs, buffaloes, four species of deer, tigers, leopards and other animals found in the forest areas rhinoceros, swamp deer and hot deer found in the valley grasslands and two species of crocodile and the Gangetic dolphin inhabiting the rivers. The principal birds are the peacock, jungle fowl and black partridge, while migratory duck and geese swarm on the ponds and lakes and big rivers of Terai. Terai forests are full of jasmin, minosa, accecia reeds and bamboo.
2. Subtropical Mixed Evergreen Forest:
This includes the Mahabharat Lekh, which rises to a height of about 2400m and comprises the outer wall of the Himalayan range. Great rivers such as the Karnali, Narayani, and Sapta Koshi flow through this area into the broad plains of the Terai. This zone also includes the so-called Ômiddle hillsÕ which extend northwards in a somewhat confused maze of ridges and valleys to the foot of the great Himalayas. Among the tree species characteristic of this region are Castenopsis indica in association with Schima wallichii, and other species such as Alnus nepalensis, Acer oblongum and various species of oak and rhododendron which cover the higher slopes where deforestation has not yet taken place. Orchids clothe the stems of trees and gigantic climbers smother their heads. The variety and abundance of the flora and fauna increase progressively with decreasing altitude and increasing luxurance of the vegetation. This zone is generally poor in wildlife. The only mammals, which are at all widely distributed, are wild boar, barking deer, serow, ghoral and bears. Different varieties of birds are also found in this zone. Different varieties of birds are also found in this zone.
3. Temperate Evergreen Forest:
Northward, on the lower slopes and spurs of the great Himalayas, oaks and pines are the dominant species up to an altitude of about 2400m above which are found dense conifer forests including Picea, Tusga, Larix and Abies spp. The latter is usually confined to higher elevations with Betula typically marking the upper limit of the tree line. At about 3600 to 3900m, rhododendron, bamboo and maples are commonly associated with the coniferous zone. Composition of he forest varies considerably with coniferous predominating in the west and eracaceous in the east. The wildlife of this region includes the Himalayan bear, serow, ghoral, barking deer and wildboar, with Himalayan tahr sometimes being seen on steep rocky faces above 2400m. The red panda is among the more interesting of the mammals found in this zone; it appears to be fairly distributed in suitable areas of the forest above 1800m. The rich and varied avifauna of this region includes several spectacular and beautiful pheasants, including the Danfe pheasant, NepalÕs national bird.
4. Subalpine and Alpine Zone:
Above the tree line, rhododendron, juniper scrub and other procumbent woody vegetation may extend to about 4200m where it is then succeeded by t a tundra-like association of short grasses, sedge mosses and alpine plants wherever there is sufficient soil. This continues up to the lower limit of perpetual snow and ice at about 5100m. The mammalian faun is sparse and unlikely to include any species other than Himalayan marmots, mouse hare, tahr, musk deer, snow leopard and occasionally blue sheep. In former times, the wild Yak and great Tibetan sheep could also be sighted in this region and it is possible that a few may still be surviving in areas such as Dolpa and Humla. The bird life at such as lammergeyer, snowcock, snowpatridge, choughs and bunting, with redstarts and dippers often seen along the streams and rivulets. Yaks are the only livestock, which thrive at high altitude. They serve both back and draught animals. The cheeses prepared out of the milk are edible for months. The female Yak provides milk to the Sherpas.
Of the wonderful flora and fauna must suffice to indicate what a paradise Nepal is to the lovers of wild animal and bird life, to the naturalists and to the forester.

Star and Luxury Hotels in Nepal

2009-04-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

Nepal 5 (Five) star hotels and resorts directory. Nepal accommodation choices for 5 star luxury hotels and resorts. See list of Nepal hotels for full list or Nepal hotels for list showing a brief summary, reviews and customer ratings. For hotel information, hotel reviews, the best rates or to make a reservation, select a hotel and let asiahotels.com be your Nepal travel agent.
List of Chitwan hotels
Maruni Sanctuary Lodge Chitwan
List of Dhulikhel hotels
Himalayan Horizon Hotel Dhulikhel
Lodge Resort Dhulikhel
Mirabelle Dhulikhel
List of Kathmandu hotels
Country Villa Kathmandu
Crowne Plaza Kathmandu-Soaltee
Del' Annapurna Hotel Kathmandu
Everest Hotel Kathmandu
Gangjong Hotel Kathmandu
Gokarna Forest Resort Kathmandu
Grand Hotel Kathmandu
Hotel Thamel Kathmandu
Hotel Vaishali Kathmandu
Hotel Yak And Yeti Kathmandu
Hyatt Regency Kathmandu
Kathmandu Guest House Kathmandu
Manang Hotel Kathmandu
Marshyangdi Hotel Kathmandu
Radisson Hotel Kathmandu
Royal Singhi Hotel Kathmandu
Shanker Hotel Kathmandu
Sherpa Hotel Kathmandu
List of Lumbini hotels
Buddha Maya Gardens Lumbini
Yeti Hotel Lumbini
List of Pokhara hotels
Base Camp Resort Pokhara
Blue Bird Hotel Pokhara
Dragon Hotel Pokhara
Fewa Prince Hotel Pokhara
Fish Tail Lodge Pokhara
Hotel Barahi Pokhara
Hotel Kantipur Pokhara
Pokhara View Garden Hotel
Trek-O-Tel Hotel Pokhara

View all cities in Nepal

Ants inhabit 'world without sex'

2009-04-14T23:01:00.000-07:00

An Amazonian ant has dispensed of sex and developed into an all-female species, researchers have found. The ants reproduce via cloning - the queen ants copy themselves to produce genetically identical daughters.
This species - the first ever to be shown to reproduce entirely without sex - cultivates a garden of fungus, which also reproduces asexually.
The finding of the ants' "world without sex" is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Anna Himler, the biologist from the University of Arizona who led the research, told BBC News that the team used a battery of tests to verify their findings.
Unusual evolution
By "fingerprinting" DNA of the ant species - Mycocepurus smithii - they found them all to be clones of the colony's queen.
And when they dissected the female insects, they found them to be physically incapable of mating, as an essential part of their reproductive system known as the "mussel organ" had degenerated.

Asexual reproduction of males from unfertilised eggs is a normal part of some insect reproduction, but asexual reproduction of females is "exceedingly rare in ants", write the researchers.
"In social insects, there are a number of different types of reproduction," explained Dr Himler. "But this species has evolved its own unusual mode."She and her colleagues do not know exactly why this particular species has become fully asexual, and how long ago the phenomenon evolved. They are carrying out further genetic experiments, which will enable them to estimate how long ago the evolutionary change occurred.
No sex please
There are advantages to life without sex, as Dr Himler explained.
"It avoids the energetic cost of producing males, and doubles the number of reproductive females produced each generation from 50% to 100% of the offspring."
But combining genetic material in sexual reproduction gives future generations many more advantages. "If we're more diverse, we're more resistant to parasites and disease," explained Laurent Keller, an expert in social insects from the University of Lausanne.
"In a colony of clones, if one ant is susceptible to a parasite, they will all be susceptible. So if you're asexual, you normally don't last very long.
"But in ants we're seeing more and more reports of unusual methods of reproduction," added Professor Keller, who was not involved in this study.
He also points out that social insects, like ants, may be particularly well suited to this type of reproduction because it enables the queen to control the caste and sex of all the offspring in her colony.
The first farmers
Dr Himler's interest in Mycocepurus smithii was originally sparked not by their unusually biased sex ratio, but by their ability to cultivate crops.
"Ants discovered farming long before we did - they have been cultivating fungus gardens for an estimated 80 million years.

"They collect plant material, insect faeces and even dead insects from the forest floor and feed it to their crops," she said.
Many different species of ant - including the famous leafcutter ants - cultivate fungi, relying on it for nutrition.
But this particular species is able to grow "a greater number of crops than other ant species", she explained.
"When we started to study this species more closely, we just weren't finding any males. That's when we started to look at them in a different way."
Since the fungus crop reproduces asexually, Dr Himler thinks it might give the ants some kind of advantage "not to operate under the usual constraints of sexual reproduction".
"There is certainly more work to be done in this system," she added. "We're quite excited about the direction this research might take us, and its implications."

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7998931.stm

Ancient medicines were alcoholic

2009-04-14T22:53:00.000-07:00

A team of researchers in the US has discovered traces of a medicinal alcoholic drink in bottles that are more than 5,000 years old. The scientists extracted wine compounds and plant-derived ingredients from a jar taken from the tomb of one of the first pharaohs of Egypt, Scorpion I.
This is the earliest sample of a human-made medicine. The researchers report their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Patrick McGovern, professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, led the research. The vessels that he and his team tested came from excavated tombs in southern Egypt - the earliest of which dates from 3150BC. "This is the earliest Egyptian vessel ever found to have wine in it," Professor McGovern told BBC News.
"It shows that, by trial and error, humans were discovering remedies over 5,000 years ago, and that alcoholic beverages were a key part of the discovery process."
Designing medicine
The team used organic solvents to extract residues from inside the jars.

With extremely sensitive chemical techniques, they were then able to separate the different compounds within the residue. The jars tested positive for tartaric acid - a reliable chemical marker for grape and wine in the Middle East.
The scientists also found compounds from a number of herbs, some of which have known medicinal properties, and from tree resin. Professor McGovern pointed out that alcoholic drinks would have been ideal for dissolving these plant-derived substances.
"As well as adding flavour, these compounds were likely to have been used with a medicinal aim in mind," he said.
His team also tested residue from inside a later Egyptian jar, or amphora, dating from between the 4th and 6th Centuries. He now wants to find out if some of the ancient remedies he found could be revived.
Professor McGovern has started a collaboration with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center, testing compounds found in ancient fermented beverages from China, including the earliest chemically confirmed alcoholic beverage in the world, dated to 7000BC.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7992575.stm

Global Water Crisis

2009-04-13T03:13:00.000-07:00

The world's water crisis is simple to understand, if not to solve.
The amount of water in the world is finite. The number of us is growing fast and our water use is growing even faster.
A third of the world's population lives in water-stressed countries now. By 2025, this is expected to rise to two-thirds. There is more than enough water available, in total, for everyone's basic needs.
The UN recommends that people need a minimum of 50 litres of water a day for drinking, washing, cooking and sanitation. In 1990, over a billion people did not have even that.
Providing universal access to that basic minimum worldwide by 2015 would take less than 1% of the amount of water we use today. But we're a long way from achieving that.
Pollution and disease
Global water consumption rose sixfold between 1900 and 1995 - more than double the rate of population growth - and goes on growing as farming, industry and domestic demand all increase.

As important as quantity is quality - with pollution increasing in some areas, the amount of useable water declines.
More than five million people die from waterborne diseases each year - 10 times the number killed in wars around the globe.
And the wider effects of water shortages are just as chilling as the prospect of having too little to drink.
Seventy percent of the water used worldwide is used for agriculture. Much more will be needed if we are to feed the world's growing population - predicted to rise from about six billion today to 8.9 billion by 2050.
And consumption will soar further as more people expect Western-style lifestyles and diets - one kilogram of grain-fed beef needs at least 15 cubic metres of water, while a kilo of cereals needs only up to three cubic metres.
Poverty and water
The poor are the ones who suffer most. Water shortages can mean long walks to fetch water, high prices to buy it, food insecurity and disease from drinking dirty water.

But the very thing needed to raise funds to tackle water problems in poor countries - economic development - requires yet more water to supply the agriculture and industries which drive it. The UN-backed World Commission on Water estimated in 2000 that an additional $100bn a year would be needed to tackle water scarcity worldwide.
This dwarfs the $20bn which will be needed annually by 2007 to tackle HIV and Aids, and, according to the Commission, it is so much it could only be raised from the private sector.
Even if the money can be found, spending it wisely is a further challenge. Dams and other large-scale projects now affect 60% of the world's largest rivers and provide millions with water.

But in many cases the costs in terms of population displacement and irreversible changes in the nearby ecosystems have been considerable.
Using underground supplies is another widely used solution, but it means living on capital accumulated over millennia, and depleting it faster than the interest can top it up.
As groundwater is exploited, water tables in parts of China, India, West Asia, the former Soviet Union and the western United States are dropping - in India by as much as 3m a year in 1999.
Technical solutions
New technology can help, however, especially by cleaning up pollution and so making more water useable, and in agriculture, where water use can be made far more efficient. Drought-resistant plants can also help.
Drip irrigation drastically cuts the amount of water needed, low-pressure sprinklers are an improvement, and even building simple earth walls to trap rainfall is helpful.

Some countries are now treating waste water so that it can be used - and drunk - several times over. Desalinisation makes sea water available, but takes huge quantities of energy and leaves vast amounts of brine. The optimists say "virtual water" may save the day - the water contained in crops which can be exported from water-rich countries to arid ones.
But the amounts involved would be immense, and the energy needed to transport them gargantuan. And affordable, useable energy will probably soon be a bigger problem than water itself.
Climate change
In any case, it is not just us who need water, but every other species that shares the planet with us - as well all the ecosystems on which we, and they, rely.
Climate change will also have an impact. Some areas will probably benefit from increased rainfall, but others are likely to be losers. We have to rethink how much water we really need if we are to learn how to share the Earth's supply.
While dams and other large-scale schemes play a big role worldwide, there is also a growing recognition of the value of using the water we already have more efficiently rather than harvesting ever more from our rivers and aquifers. For millions of people around the world, getting it right is a matter of life and death.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3747724.stm