IGIHE

Category: Environment

  • Poaching On Agenda at First UN Environment Meet

    Poaching On Agenda at First UN Environment Meet

    {{Poaching among other types of illegal trade in wildlife are set to top the agenda at the first ever United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) to be held in Nairobi in June.}}

    United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner said they are planning to table a report on the growing trade and the threat it poses at the meeting.

    “This is not a small thing. The threat it poses is not to be underestimated,” he reiterated, “because we are confronted with a battle that we’re not winning.”

    And while Steiner admitted that there remains an absence of empirical evidence directly linking poaching to terrorism, he maintained that it did not negate the very real possibility that one fed the other.

    “What we have is anecdotal evidence that poaching has in some instances financed armed conflict which could be extended to terrorism and that is what we will be presenting,” he said.

    Kenya’s Permanent Representative to UNEP Martin Kimani said Kenya was pleased that poaching would top the agenda at the assembly as it hits close to home.

    “Elephant and rhino poaching are something the government is fighting day and night to eradicate so we’re happy to put our heads together with the rest of the world and host this very important conversation,” he said.

    Steiner said while UNEP was already actively involved in the fight against poaching, the Assembly would not only allow for the world to speak and act with a united voice against it, it would inject some much needed impetus into the fight.

    “We need to address the consumer end because there will be no point to poaching if there is no market for the trophies. And with China being one of the biggest consumers of ivory we’re already holding exhibitions there, in train stations and elsewhere, to sensitise the public on the high price there is to pay for that trophy, that mythical cure,” he said.

    Awareness Steiner and his team plan on raising at the highest levels with over 100 government representatives expected at the UNEA between June 23 and 27.

    “None other than UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon will be leading this conversation with Ministers, Chief Justices and Chief Executives, about 1,200 delegates in total,” Steiner enumerated.

    Also top on the agenda is sustainable development; an area in which, both Steiner and Kimani agreed, Kenya was again invested in.

  • Cane Toad Relative Invades Madagascar

    Cane Toad Relative Invades Madagascar

    A relative of the cane toad, which has devastated wildlife in Australia, has invaded Madagascar, scientists report.

    The Asian common toad was first seen on the island in March, and there have been several sightings since.

    In a letter to the journal Nature, researchers warn that the arrival of the amphibian could cause “an ecological disaster” and wreak havoc on the country’s unique fauna.

    They say that urgent action is needed to remove the toads before they spread.

    The fear is that the poisonous amphibians could poison local wildlife and carry diseases, such as the deadly chytrid fungus that has killed amphibians around the world.

    One of the authors, Jonathan Kolby, of James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, said: “It’s worrying because Madagascar has amazing endemic biodiversity – plants, animals and amphibians that are found nowhere else.

    “And this one species has the propensity to damage that.”

    The amphibians were first seen in Toamasina, the main port of Madagascar. It is thought that they arrived in shipping containers from their native home in South East Asia.

    “They are a very hardy and adaptable species,” said Mr Kolby.

    “They can handle a long ride on the ocean in a container, and then hop out wherever they end end up. And this is most likely how they got there.”

    The fear is that the warty brown creatures could repeat the damage that their relative, the cane toad (Rhinella marina), caused in Australia.

    Cane toads, native to Central and South America, were introduced to Australia in the 1930s, initially to control pests, but they are now widespread and number in their millions.

    They produce toxins that are deadly to the local birds, mammals and reptiles that prey on them and they have had a dramatic impact on the country’s wildlife.

    Asian common toads (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) are smaller than cane toads, but they are also venomous – and researchers think Madagascar’s animals could be especially vulnerable.

    “These animals have never been exposed to Asian toad toxins before and will likely not have an evolutionary defence against them,” said Mr Kolby.

    The 11 co-signatories of the letter add that the toads could outcompete other species and potentially spread the deadly chytrid fungus.

    The researchers, from Australia, the US and Madagascar, say that conservationists and Madagascan government need to act quickly to eradicate the toads.

    Mr Kolby said: “The question is, can we still eradicate them? Have we caught it soon enough that eradication could be a feasible option? Obviously we all hope the answer is yes.”

  • UN Says Carbon Dioxide Levels Hit New High

    UN Says Carbon Dioxide Levels Hit New High

    Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have crossed a new threshold, the UN’s weather agency has said, highlighting the urgency of curbing manmade, climate-altering greenhouse gases.

    In April, for the first time, the mean monthly CO2 concentration in the atmosphere topped 400 parts per million (ppm) throughout the northern hemisphere, which pollutes more than the south, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said.

    “This should serve as yet another wakeup call about the constantly rising levels of greenhouse gases which are driving climate change,” WMO chief Michel Jarraud said in a statement.

    “If we are to preserve our planet for future generations, we need urgent action to curb new emissions of these heat-trapping gases. Time is running out,” he warned.

    Spring values in the northern hemisphere had previously spiked over the 400 ppm level, but this was the first time the monthly mean concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere exceeded the threshold.

    The global annual average is set to exceed the 400 ppm level in 2015 or 2016, the agency added.

    The threshold is of symbolic and scientific significance, and reinforces evidence that the burning of fossil fuels is responsible for the non-stop increase in heat-trapping gases, the WMO underlined.

    CO2 stays locked in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, and its lifespan in the oceans is longer still.

    It is by far the most important greenhouse gas emitted by human activities and was responsible for 85 percent of the increase in radiative forcing, the warming effect on the climate, from 2002-2012.

    According to the WMO, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere reached 393.1 parts per million in 2012, or 141 percent of the pre-industrial level of 278 parts per million.

    The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased on average by two parts per million every year for the past decade.

    AFP

  • African Nations Urged to Safeguard Water Resources

    African Nations Urged to Safeguard Water Resources

    {{African nations are being called to approach the concept of water conservation more aggressively, as water resources steadily deplete in quality

    In an interactive session conducted at the African Development Bank Annual Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, Trevor Manuel, co-chair of the Global Ocean Commission (GOC) and Pascal Lamy and former director general of the World Trade Organisation said that activities including fishing and pollution has an adverse impact on water reserves.}}

    “Reversing the degradation of oceans is key to the sustainable development of Africa, yet, it is one aspect that is overlooked.

    As Africans, we must realise that many people depend on water bodies for their daily survival, and we cannot talk of sustainable development unless we tackle these issues,” said Manuel.

    According to the co-chair of the GOC, there is no official system that determines the extent of damage done to the oceans or a set of rules that govern their exploitation, especially in African waters.

    “Lack of commitment to protect the oceans has led to overfishing in many waters that are under African jurisdiction.

    You can find it everywhere – in Gabon, South Africa, Nigeria and many other countries. This is an issue that all countries have to rise up to,” Manuel added.

  • Shallow Quake 6.1 Magnitude Strikes off PNG

    Shallow Quake 6.1 Magnitude Strikes off PNG

    {{A shallow quake measuring 6.1 magnitude struck off Papua new Guinea’s Bougainville Island on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but there were immediate reports of damage and no tsunami warning issued.

    The tremor, centered 110 km (68 miles) southwest of the town of Arawa on Bougainville, was just 1 km (0.6 miles) deep.

    The region has been rocked by numerous strong earthquakes in recent weeks, the strongest measuring magnitude 7.5 on April 19.}}

  • 2,100 Killed in Afghan Landslide

    2,100 Killed in Afghan Landslide

    {{Afghan officials gave up hope on Saturday of finding any survivors from a landslide in the remote northeast, putting the death toll at more than 2,100, as the aid effort focused on the more than 4,000 people displaced.}}

    Officials expressed concern the unstable hillside above the site of the disaster may cave in again, threatening the thousands of homeless and hundreds of rescue workers who have arrived in Badakhshan province, bordering Tajikistan.

    “More than 2,100 people from 300 families are all dead,” Naweed Forotan, a spokesman for the Badakhshan provincial governor, told reporters.

    Villagers and a few dozen police, equipped with only basic digging tools, resumed their search when daylight broke but it soon became clear there was no hope of finding survivors buried in up to 100 meters of mud.

    The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said the focus was on the more than 4,000 people displaced, either directly as a result of Friday’s landslide or as a precautionary measure from villages assessed to be at risk.

    Their main needs were water, medical support, counseling support, food and emergency shelter, said Ari Gaitanis, a spokesman from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

    The impoverished area, dotted with villages of mud-brick homes nestled in valleys beside bare slopes, has been hit by several landslides in recent years.

    {reuters}

  • UNESCO Warns Australia Over Barrier Reef

    UNESCO Warns Australia Over Barrier Reef

    {{Unesco has threatened to list the Great Barrier Reef as a World Heritage in Danger site, amid controversy over a plan to dump dredged sediment.}}

    Reef authorities granted permission for the dumping in January as part of a project to create one of the world’s biggest coal ports.

    But scientists have warned that the sediment could smother or poison coral.

    Unesco said given “significant threats” to the reef, it should be considered for inclusion on the danger list.

    The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral structure, rich in marine life. It stretches for more than 2,600km (1,680 miles) along Australia’s eastern coast.

    ‘Other alternatives’
    The dumping is part of a major development that would allow several companies to export coal reserves from the Galilee Basin area through the Abbot Point port.

    Abbot Point lies south of Townsville on the Queensland coast.

    Late last year, the government approved an application for the coal terminal to be expanded. The dredging is needed to allow ships into the port.

    wirestory

  • Tornado Strike Kills 12 in US

    Tornado Strike Kills 12 in US

    {{A tornado system ripped through the central US and left at least 12 dead in a violent start to this year’s storm season, officials said.}}

    Matt DeCample, a spokesperson for Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe, said 11 in his state were killed Sunday when a tornado carved through several Little Rock suburbs.

    A separate tornado from the same storm system killed one person in Oklahoma.

    The large tornado outside Little Rock, Arkansas, stayed on the ground as it moved north-eastward for at least 48km.

    Emergency workers and volunteers went door-to-door to look for victims. Law enforcement officers checked the damaged and toppled 18-wheelers, cars and trucks on a stretch of Interstate 40, a major thoroughfare in and out of the state’s capital.

    “It turned pitch black,” said Mark Ausbrooks, who was at his parents’ home when the storm arrived. “I ran and got pillows to put over our heads and … all hell broke loose.”

    “My parents’ home, it’s gone completely,” he said.

    Tornadoes also touched down in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas, where dozens of homes in Baxter Springs were destroyed.

    Twenty-five people were injured and one person died, but it wasn’t clear if the death was related to the storm, said Kari West, a spokeswoman for the Southeast Kansas Incident Management Team.

    Forecasters had warned for days that violent weather would strike over the weekend.

    In Arkansas, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Carl Minden said three people were killed when a tornado destroyed a home west of Little Rock. Minden said several others were injured at the scene.

    “I’m standing on the foundation of the house now. It’s totally gone,” Minden told media.

    wirestory

  • Belgian Head of Wildlife Reserve Shot in DR Congo

    Belgian Head of Wildlife Reserve Shot in DR Congo

    {{Emmanuel de Merode, the Belgian head of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, suffered gunshot wounds in an ambush on Tuesday. Park officials say his injuries are serious but not life-threatening.}}

    “We are very relieved that he is in a stable condition,” Joanna Natasegara, a spokesperson for the park, told FRANCE 24 on Wednesday. She added de Merode was in hospital in the regional capital Goma, where he was to remain until his condition allowed him to be transported out of the country.

    De Merode was driving alone at around 4:30pm when his jeep came under fire from unidentified attackers 30km north of Goma.

    “De Merode’s car was attacked by three men with assault rifles as he returned to his home at the park’s headquarters in Rumangabo from Goma. Despite receiving bullet wounds, he reached the HEAL Africa hospital in Goma conscious and was operated on by a UN surgeon,” the British-based NGO Global Witness, which investigates illegal extraction of natural resources in DR Congo, said in a statement.

    Hospital staff said the head of the Virunga park had received several gunshot wounds but that the bullets had missed vital organs.

    {{‘Dedicated conservationist’}}

    Local conservationists issued a statement condemning the attack, which they said was aimed at “discouraging community development and conservation efforts”.

    WWF head of conservation Lasse Gustavsson told AFP de Merode was a “dedicated conservationist” who put his life on the line every day to protect the park and the people who depended on it for their livelihoods.

    Nothing was stolen from his car and authorities in both DR Congo and Belgium have opened investigations into the attack, which appears to have targeted him as director of Africa’s oldest national park.

    Virunga’s deputy director Norbert Mushenzi told FRANCE 24 that de Merode was “not hot-headed” and “always told his staff to be prudent”.

    {{Many enemies}}

    Although the surrounding North Kivu province has been the scene of violent rebellions in recent years and many park rangers lost their lives to armed militias, the site of the shooting is regarded as mostly safe.

    “He was attacked on a major, busy road where there are normally no attacks in broad daylight,” Belgian MP François-Xavier de Donnea told FRANCE 24.

    A long-time supporter of Virunga National Park, de Donnea added that the Belgian conservationist had made many enemies defending the nature reserve, from rebel militias who profit from illegal charcoal manufacturing and fishing to farmers and supporters of oil exploration in the park.

    The Belgian MP said de Merode had called him four hours before the attack to say he was driving to Goma to file a report on activities by the British-based Soco oil company.

    “Two to three years ago, a prosecutor asked the park authority to investigate some facts about Soco,” de Donnea said. “Park rangers collected evidence in the report that was filed yesterday.”

    {{Oil exploration}}

    Soco obtained an oil exploration licence covering part of the park in 2010, but international pressure has put the permit in jeopardy. The world cultural body UNESCO has listed Virunga as a “world heritage site in danger” and repeatedly criticised the Congolese authorities for planning oil exploration there.

    The park features stunning scenery shaped by active volcanoes and a rich wildlife including some of the world’s last mountain gorillas.

    Although Soco has always claimed it would act in accordance with Congolese law and stay away from gorilla habitats, park authorities reported at least one case in which Soco workers forcibly entered Virunga in 2011 despite a legal ban on oil prospection inside the reserve.

    “I am not saying there is a link” between de Merode’s investigation into Soco and the attack, de Donnea said. “But the coincidence can be disturbing.”

    france24

  • EU Blacklist to Stop Spread of Alien Species

    EU Blacklist to Stop Spread of Alien Species

    {{The European Parliament is voting on a bill to draw up a blacklist to fight invasive alien species such as killer shrimp and Japanese knotweed spreading.}}

    There will be a ban on the possession, transport, selling or growing of species deemed as of “Union Concern”.

    The list was going to be restricted to 50, but will now have no limit. It is not clear which species will be banned.

    A deal between EU member states effectively means the bill will pass and become law within a few months.

    This comes as MPs slam current government policy on controlling alien species as “not fit for purpose”.

    {{Biodiversity loss}}

    The economic and ecological damage caused by non-native species such as the so-called killer shrimp and demon shrimp originally from the Black Sea, the Asian Harlequin ladybird or Japanese knotweed are estimated to cost Europe some 12bn euros every year.

    In the UK the bill is at least £1.7bn.

    Experts say such insects, plants and animals are one of the major causes of biodiversity loss and species extinction.

    They can also spread disease and cause health problems such as asthma, dermatitis and allergies.

    The new law will require member states to analyse how troublesome species enter the country and to improve surveillance systems.

    Official checks at EU borders will be stepped up. Action plans on how to manage established invasive species also have to be developed.

    MEP Pavel Poc, who is guiding the legislation through the European Parliament, said: “Efforts are very often not effective simply because those species do not respect geographical boundaries. Co-operation between member states is therefore crucial.”

    BBC