THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWS
Thursday, 21 October, 2010
UNEP and the Executive Director in the News
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UN News Centre: UN study highlights the immense economic and social value of
ecosystems
AP: UN: World's natural assets vital to policymaking
AFP: Change global economic model to save biodiversity
Red Orbit (US): TEEB Report Puts World's Natural Assets On The Global Political
Radar
Telegraph (Blog, UK): 'Biodiversity': the new Big Lie
BBC: India and Brazil head move to 'green' economic future
Reuters: Marine ecosystems at risk from pollution, climate - U.N.
UPI (US): U.N.: Marine life faces growing risks
News Blaze (US): Marine Biodiversity Assessment and Outlook: Global Synthesis
BBC: UN turns to wiki power for wildlife conservation
Thaindian (Thailand): India, Brazil take lead in move to ‘green’ economic future
China.org (China): Carbon mapping to curb climate change
Xinhua (China): Fish population to shrink drastically over next 40 years: UN report
IPS: North-South Divide Again Clouds Biodiversity Talks
Business and Leadership (Ireland): Green schools initiative helps kids protect the
environment
Mediaterre (France): Les Etats sont appelés à adopter un Protocole sur la
biodiversité
Temoignages (France):UICN : 10% des océans doivent être des réserves marines
Eco Diario (Spain): Bruselas aboga por tasar el coste económico de la pérdida de
biodiversidad
Eroski consumer (Spain): La ONU pone en marcha un portal web con información
sobre 150.000 espacios naturales protegidos
Prensa Latina (Cuba): Documentan valor económico de riqueza natural
Finanz Nachrichten (Germany): Klimaneutrales Bürogebäude für Afrika / Energiebau
erhält internationalen Projektauftrag der UNEP in Kenia
RIA Novosti (Russia): Sotschi 2014: Experten verzeichnen Fortschritte beim
Umweltschutz
Other Environment News
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Guardian (UK): Biodiversity summit must tackle destructive impacts of food
production
Reuters: U.N. urged to freeze climate geo-engineering projects
AFP: Climate change could cost US Gulf Coast billions: study
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AFP: Bear attacks surge in Japan, climate change blamed
AFP: Much of planet could see extreme drought in 30 years: study
AFP: India sets up 'green court' to make polluters pay
AP: Schwarzenegger urges voters to protect climate law
Telegraph (UK): Penguins are not gay, they are just lonely
Environmental News from the UNEP Regions
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ROA
ROWA
ROAP
RONA
ROLAC
Other UN News
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Environment News from the UN Daily News of October 20th 2010
Environment News from the S.G.’s Spokesman Daily Press Briefing of October
21st 2010 (None)
UNEP and the Executive Director in the News
UN News Centre: UN study highlights the immense economic and social value of
ecosystems
20th October 2010
Businesses and policy-makers need to recognize the tremendous economic value of
ecosystems, as well as the social and economic costs of losing such natural resources as
forests, freshwater, soils and coral reefs, a new United Nations report released today said.
The report by the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), a body hosted by
the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), seeks to galvanize the world to recognize the
economic consequences of failing to halt the alarming loss of species as a result of habitat
loss, pollution and excessive exploitation of ecosystems for financial gain.
The reported was launched at the conference of parties to the UN Convention on
Biodiversity (CBD) under way in the Japanese city of Nayoya. “TEEB has documented not
only the multi-trillion dollar importance to the global economy of the natural world, but the
kinds of policy-shifts and smart market mechanisms that can embed fresh thinking in a
world beset by a rising raft of multiple challenges,” Pavan Sukhdev, a banker who heads
UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative.
“The good news is that many communities and countries are already seeing the potential
of incorporating the value of nature into decision-making.” The study calls for wider
recognition of nature’s contribution to human livelihoods, health, security and culture by
decisionmakers at all levels.
Countries such as India have already announced plans for implementing the economic
valuation of their natural capital, as well as the value of nature’s services in decisionmaking, according to the study.
“TEEB’s approach can reset the economic compass and herald a new era in which the
value of nature’s services is made visible and becomes an explicit part of policy and
business decision-making. Do nothing, and not only do we lose trillions worth of current
and future benefits to society, we also further impoverish the poor and put future
generations at risk,” said Mr. Sukhdev.
The report spells out three scenarios – a natural ecosystem (forests), a human settlement
(city) and a business sector (mining) – to illustrate how the economic concepts and tools
described in TEEB can help equip society with the means to incorporate the values of
nature into decision-making at all levels.
With more than half of the world’s population now living in urban areas, cities have a
crucial role to play in acknowledging the natural capital required to maintain and improve
the well-being of their residents.
Innovative economic instruments and policies are emerging that reward good practice. For
example, Nagoya has implemented a new system of ‘tradeable’ development rights
whereby developers wishing to exceed existing limits on highrise buildings can offset their
impacts by buying and conserving areas of Japan’s traditional agricultural landscape,
according to the report.
Discounts on bank loans for buildings that receive a higher star rating based on a green
certification system designed by Nagoya city authorities also create incentives for more
green space within city projects.
An important finding of the study is the contribution of forests and other ecosystems to the
livelihoods of poor rural households, and, therefore, the significant potential for
conservation efforts to contribute to poverty reduction.
It has been estimated that ecosystem services and other non-marketed natural goods
account for 47 to 89 per cent of the socalled “Gross Domestic Product of the Poor” – the
total sources of livelihoods of rural and forest-dwelling poor households – in some large
developing countries.
“In the past only traditional sectors such as manufacturing, mining, retailing, construction
and energy generation were uppermost in the minds of economic planners and ministers
of finance, development and trade.
“TEEB has brought to the world’s attention that nature’s goods and services are equal, if
not far more central, to the wealth of nations including the poor – a fact that will be
increasingly the case on a planet of finite resources with a population set to rise to nine
billion people by 2050,” said Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director.
Also appeared in: Spero (US)
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AP: UN: World's natural assets vital to policymaking
20th October 2010
Governments and businesses around the world need to recognize the immense
economic value of preserving species and ecosystems and incorporate that into their
decision-making, a U.N. report said Wednesday.
The study released at a conference of the U.N. Convention on Biodiversity held in
Nagoya, Japan, attempts to show the economic implications of failing to stop the
alarming loss of species and ecosystems due to pollution, overexploitation or habitat
destruction.
The emphasis on traditional economic measures such as manufacturing, mining and
energy generation needs to change, the U.N. Environment Program argues in the report,
the product of two years of research by thousands of experts.
The failure of policymakers and corporations to take into account the natural capital of
"ecosystem services" — such as the role forests play in purifying water or insects in
pollinating crops — is contributing to their degradation and putting future generations at
risk, it said. The poor, who depend heavily on nature for food and shelter, are particularly
vulnerable.
"The time for ignoring biodiversity and persisting with conventional thinking regarding
wealth creation and development is over," Pavan Sukhdev, the study leader, said in a
statement.
As an example, overexploitation of global fisheries leads to an annual loss of $50 billion
every year compared to a more sustainable fishing scenario, the report said. Insect
pollinators provided an economic value of 153 billion euros ($211 billion) in 2005, it
found.
The report, called The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, didn't provide an
overall estimate of annual global costs from biodiversity loss because not enough data is
available from the many different kinds of ecosystems, said Joshua Bishop, chief
economist at the International Union for Conservation of Nature who was involved in the
study.
Bishop said the process of quantifying biodiversity losses is far more complicated than
the British government's Stern Review of climate economics, which estimated the cost of
reducing greenhouse gases.
The two-week U.N. conference aims to come up with 20 targets for 2020 to stop or slow
this biodiversity loss. Scientists say human activities are driving species extinct at a rate
100 to 1,000 times the historical average and threatening ecosystems.
Environmental groups hope the report will convince government ministers gathering next
week to take steps to counter these trends.
"This is building the pressure on the ministers," said Tove Ryding, policy adviser on
biodiversity for Greenpeace. "We're hoping they see this as a strong call for action."
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AFP: Change global economic model to save biodiversity
20th October 2010
The global economy must be radically altered to put a value on forests, reefs and other
elements of nature but the financial benefits of doing so will be enormous, a UN-backed
report said Wednesday.
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) report warned that allowing nature
to remain unaccounted for within the economy would lead to the continuing rapid
extinction of species, and ensuing massive financial costs.
"TEEB's approach can reset the economic compass and herald a new era in which the
value of nature's services is made visible and becomes an explicit part of policy and
business decision making," said banker Pavan Sukhdev, who chaired a study that led to
the report.
After nearly three years of research, the report aims to raise global awareness about the
economic costs of inaction on biodiversity in a similar way to British economist Nicholas
Stern's famous 2006 report on climate change.
The TEEB report was released in Nagoya, Japan, where delegates from 193 countries are
meeting at a UN summit in an effort to map out a strategy to stop humans from driving
species to extinction.
"We hope the next phase after Nagoya... is going to be a change in policy, a change in the
matrix, a change in consumer behaviour, a change in business behaviour," Sukhdev told
AFP ahead of the report's release.
The report highlighted the broad scope of so-called "ecosystem services" that are
generally not valued in the economy.
These included regulation of the environment -- such as through water filtration by
wetlands, pollination and disaster protection -- and as a source of medicines and wild
foods.
Spiritual and recreational values, as well as the environment's role in nutrient recycling and
photosynthesis, also needed to be taken into account, the report urged.
TEEB recommended that businesses and governments reveal in annual reports or
national accounts how they depleted or damaged the environment.
This depletion or damage would have an economic value, and businesses would need to
compensate for their adverse environmental impacts.
The TEEB reported cited a study by Britain-based consultancy TruCost that found the
negative environmental impacts of the world's top 3,000 listed companies were worth 2.2
trillion dollars annually.
But it insisted there were already many examples of how placing a value on natural
services would bring economic windfalls.
It highlighted a decision by New York City to pay landowners in the nearby Catskill
mountains between 1-1.5 billion dollars to improve farm management techniques and stop
run-off of pollutants.
This saved the city from having to build a new water filtration plant, which would have cost
6-8 billion dollars.
It also said fishermen around the world could reap an extra 50 billion dollars a year
annually if the current over-exploitation of fish stocks, caused partly by billions of dollars in
government subsidies, ended.
The TEEB report said the impacts of not giving economic values to ecosystems was most
widely felt in the developing world.
This could be commonly seen when forests were logged, with the economic value placed
only on the trees and not the other immense benefits that the ecosystem provided.
Among the benefits are that forests act as water catchments, provide habitats for valuable
plants and animals, and store carbon so that it is not released into the atmosphere.
Continuing to log forests at current rates until 2050 would lead to natural capital losses of
2-4.5 trillion dollars annually, according to TEEB.
Sukhdev told AFP that India, Brazil and some other developing countries had already
committed to placing values on their natural capital.
"I'm delighted to see the leadership is coming from the developing world, and now it's up to
the developed world to walk the talk," he said.
But Sukhdev warned governments and corporations would not make the enormous
changes needed unless pressured to do so by people around the world.
"People have to get agitated enough to force their governments to act," he said.
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Red Orbit (US): TEEB Report Puts World's Natural Assets On The Global Political
Radar
20th October 2010
The economic importance of the world's natural assets is now firmly on the political radar
as a result of an international assessment showcasing the enormous economic value of
forests, freshwater, soils and coral reefs, as well as the social and economic costs of their
loss, was the conclusion of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) report
launched today by TEEB study leader, Pavan Sukhdev.
"TEEB has documented not only the multi-trillion dollar importance to the global economy
of the natural world, but the kinds of policy-shifts and smart market mechanisms that can
embed fresh thinking in a world beset by a rising raft of multiple challenges. The good
news is that many communities and countries are already seeing the potential of
incorporating the value of nature into decision-making," said Mr. Sukhdev, a banker who
heads up the Green Economy Initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP).
He was speaking at the launch of the two-year study, which has involved hundreds of
experts from around the world, at the Convention on Biological Diversity's 10th
Conference of Parties meeting (CBD COP10) in Nagoya.
The TEEB study calls for wider recognition of nature's contribution to human livelihoods,
health, security, and culture by decision-makers at all levels (local to national and business
to citizens). It promotes the demonstration, and where appropriate, the capture of the
economic values of nature's services through an array of policy instruments and
mechanisms.
Countries such as India have already announced plans for implementing the economic
valuation of their natural capital as well as the value of nature's services in decisionmaking.
"TEEB's approach can reset the economic compass and herald a new era in which the
value of nature's services is made visible and becomes an explicit part of policy and
business decision-making. Do nothing, and not only do we lose trillions worth of current
and future benefits to society, we also further impoverish the poor and put future
generations at risk," said Mr. Sukhdev.
"The time for ignoring biodiversity and persisting with conventional thinking regarding
wealth creation and development is over. We must get on to the path towards a green
economy," he added.
Nature is crucial to prosperity and development
In TEEB's final report, "Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature", there are three
scenarios: a natural ecosystem (forests), a human settlement (city), and a business sector
(mining), to illustrate how the economic concepts and tools described in TEEB can help
equip society with the means to incorporate the values of nature into decision-making at all
levels.
With more than half of the human population now living in urban areas, cities have a
crucial role to play in acknowledging the natural capital required to maintain and improve
the well-being of their residents. Innovative economic instruments and policies are
emerging that reward good practice. For example, the Japanese city of Nagoya (host to
the COP-10 meeting), has implemented a new system of tradeable development rights
whereby developers wishing to exceed existing limits on high-rise buildings can offset their
impacts by buying and conserving areas of Japan's traditional agricultural landscape.
Discounts on bank loans for buildings that receive a higher 'star rating' based on a green
certification system designed by city authorities also create incentives for more green
space within city projects.
An important finding of many studies reviewed by TEEB is the contribution of forests and
other ecosystems to the livelihoods of poor rural households, and therefore the significant
potential for conservation efforts to contribute to poverty reduction. It has been estimated
that ecosystem services and other non-marketed natural goods account for 47 to 89 per
cent of the so-called 'GDP of the Poor' (i.e. the effective GDP or total sources of
livelihoods of rural and forest-dwelling poor households) in some large developing
countries.
"In the past only traditional sectors such as manufacturing, mining, retailing, construction
and energy generation were uppermost in the minds of economic planners and ministers
of finance, development and trade. TEEB has brought to the world's attention that nature's
goods and services are equal, if not far more central, to the wealth of nations including the
poor--a fact that will be increasingly the case on a planet of finite resources with a
population set to rise to nine billion people by 2050," said Achim Steiner, UN UnderSecretary General and UNEP Executive Director.
Failure to account for the value of natural capital poses significant business and social
risks
The report also drives home the message that failure of business to account for the value
of natural capital, particularly in sectors such as mining, can pose significant business and
social risks. The UK-based consultancy, TruCost, estimated that the negative impacts, or
'environmental externalities', of the world's top 3,000 listed companies totals around US$
2.2 trillion annually.
Approaches such as Net Positive Impact, wetland mitigation and bio-banking can help
ensure that developers take responsibility for their environmental footprint. As consumers
and governments opt for greener purchasing choices the business sector also stands to
make considerable gains: by 2020 the annual market size for certified agricultural products
is expected to be US$210 billion; payments for water related ecosystem services US$6
billion; and voluntary biodiversity offsets in the region of US$100 million a year.
Countries give nature the green light
Countries are already taking steps to adopt the TEEB approach. India's Minister for
Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, said today that the TEEB study provides
practical guidance for new economic approaches that India will start to implement.
"TEEB aims to provide strong incentives for countries to ensure decisions are not solely
based on short-term gains, but build foundations for sustainable and inclusive
development. India is planning a TEEB for India study to assess its natural capital. We are
committed to developing a framework for green national accounts that we can implement
by 2015, and we are confident that the TEEB for India Study will be the key facilitator for
the same," said Mr. Ramesh.
The European Commission and Germany saw the benefits of the TEEB study at the
Potsdam G8+5 Environment Ministers meeting in 2007 and applauded its conclusions.
"The European Commission has supported the project from the start and will continue to
work on these issues after COP 10, taking into account the decisions that will be adopted
in Nagoya. We intend to launch a study to examine more in detail the evidence available in
an EU context and areas for implementation of the analyses developed by TEEB in our
policies. The Commission is also willing to support initiatives by other countries, in
particular developing countries, to demonstrate the benefits and costs of investing in the
management of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Notably, we plan to work in
partnership with UNDP for supporting assessments in interested developing countries and
making the links with economic sectors and development plans," said Janez Potočnik,
European Commissioner for the Environment.
Japan, the host country of the 10th Conference of Parties meeting on the Convention of
Biological Diversity (CBD COP10), also welcomed the study.
"The Japanese Government has contributed to the TEEB study, and has conducted
research on economic evaluation and policy responses on Japan's biodiversity in close
cooperation with TEEB. Japan welcomes the launching of TEEB at Aichi-Nagoya, Japan,
in the International Year for Biodiversity. We expect the TEEB study will deliver significant
impacts on global biodiversity policy. To support this new approach, Japan, as COP10
presidency, would like to proactively contribute to national, regional and global initiatives to
implement aspects of the TEEB study," said Mr. Hideki Minamikawa, Vice-Minister for
Global Environmental Affairs in the Ministry of the Environment Japan.
The TEEB study concludes with the following recommendations:
1. Public disclosure of --and accountability for --impacts on nature should be essential
outcomes of the biodiversity assessment.
2. The present system of national accounts should be rapidly upgraded to include the
value of changes in natural capital stocks and ecosystem service flows.
3. An urgent priority is to draw up consistent physical accounts for forest stocks and
ecosystem services, both of which are required, for example, for the development of new
forest carbon mechanisms and incentives.
4. The annual reports and accounts of business and other organizations should disclose
all major externalities, including environmental damage affecting society and changes in
natural assets not currently disclosed in the statutory accounts.
5. The principles of 'No Net Loss' or 'Net Positive Impact' should be considered as
normal business practice, using robust biodiversity performance benchmarks and
assurance processes to avoid and mitigate damage, together with pro-biodiversity
investment to compensate for adverse impacts that cannot be avoided.
6. The principles of 'polluter pays' and 'full-cost-recovery' are powerful guidelines for the
realignment of incentive structures and fiscal reform. In some contexts, the principle of
'beneficiary pays' can be invoked to support new positive incentives such as payments for
ecosystem services, tax breaks and other fiscal transfers that aim to encourage private
and public sector actors to provide ecosystem services.
7. Governments should aim for full disclosure of subsidies, measuring and reporting
them annually in order that their perverse components may be recognized, tracked and
eventually phased out.
8. The establishment of comprehensive, representative, effective and equitably
managed systems of national and regional protected areas should be pursued (especially
in the high-seas) in order to conserve biodiversity and maintain a wide range of ecosystem
services. Ecosystem valuation can help to justify protected areas policy, identify funding
and investment opportunities, and inform conservation priorities.
9. Ecosystem conservation and restoration should be regarded as a viable investment
option in support of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Within the UNFCCC
process, REDD-Plus should be prioritized for accelerated implementation, beginning with
pilot projects and efforts to strengthen capacity in developing countries to help them
establish credible systems of monitoring and verification that will allow for the full
deployment of the instrument.
10. Human dependence on ecosystem services and particularly their role as a lifeline for
many poor households needs to be more fully integrated into policy. This applies both to
targeting development interventions as well as to evaluating the social impacts of policies
that affect the environment.
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Al Jazeera (Qatar): Divisions cloud Biodiversity talks
21st October 2010
With thousands of species at risk, UN body meets in Japan to try to preserve at risk
organisms and ecosystems.
The accelerating destruction of natural habitats will take millions of years to recover from,
scientists have warned. This may be the last chance to apply the brakes, Achim Steiner,
executive director of the UN Environment Programme, reminded delegates representing
the 193 member countries of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
"This meeting is being held to address a very simple fact: we are destroying life on this
Earth," Steiner said at the opening plenary meeting on Monday. "It is absolutely essential
that nations work together here."
Ryu Matsumoto, Japan's environment minister, warned that the world was about to reach
a threshold where the loss of biodiversity would become irreversible.
"We're now close to a tipping point on biodiversity," he said. "We may cross that in the
next 10 years."
With 16,000 participants, the October 18-29 gathering is by far the biggest international
meeting on biodiversity. The term biodiversity refers to the variety of plants, animals and
other species that provide a wide range of services to humanity.
Insect pollinators, including bees, provide services worth an estimated $211bn annually,
representing close to 10 per cent of the world's agricultural output for human food. A new
estimate puts the cost of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems to the human race at $2
trillion to $5 trillion a year.
Despite the trillions of dollars of natural services at risk, countries failed to meet their 2010
target of substantially reversing the rate of loss of species. "Let us have the courage to
look in the eyes of our children and admit that we have failed, individually and collectively,"
said Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the CBD.
"If we allow the current trends to continue we shall soon reach a tipping point with
irreversible and irreparable damage to the capacity of the planet to continue sustaining life
on Earth," Djoghlaf told delegates.
"This is indeed a defining moment in the history of mankind," he concluded.
Despite the high stakes and passionate words, there is no guarantee that countries will
agree to a strong agreement to curb the loss of biodiversity by 2020.
Without a fair and equitable access and benefit-sharing protocol (ABS), there will be no
agreement, said Gurdial Singh Nijar, the Malaysian delegate representing the LikeMinded Asia-Pacific group.
Many drugs, cosmetics and other valuable biochemicals used in the industrial world have
been derived from plants and animals, very often from countries in the developing world.
Everyone agrees countries and communities where these originated should be
compensated. The devil is in the details, and those have been under negotiation for more
than six years and remain contentious and complex.
"We cannot leave out derivative products including biochemicals," Nijar said. In addition to
the materials, the knowledge of the use of such plants and animals in many cases
originates with indigenous people and that must be part of a new agreement.
"If you use traditional knowledge instead of looking for a needle in the haystack you get
the needle put on a pin cushion," said Christine von Weizsacker in reference to benefiting
from indigenous peoples' knowledge.
Thorny issues remain regarding how far down the deriviate chain ought to be
compensated, patent issues, and figuring out a workable system for compliance including
customs checkpoints, von Weizsacker, a spokesperson for the CBD Alliance, an umbrella
of international non-governmental organisations, said in a press conference.
"Poor people need legal protections," she said.
Without an ABS agreement, countries have shut down access to their genetic resources,
says UN Environment Programme spokesperson Nick Nuttall. A fly that is decimating the
Kenyan mango has a natural predator in Asia but researchers can't obtain it until there is
new protocol, he said.
"This is the golden chance to get an ABS agreement," Nuttall said.
But to reach agreement participants need to rise above the complex details and set basic
ground rules. Afterwards adjustments or changes can be made as problems or issues
arise, as has been done under other U.N. agreements.
"Are the risks so high that we can't agree? We're worse off without an agreement, in my
view," Nuttall said.
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Telegraph (Blog, UK): 'Biodiversity': the new Big Lie
20th October 2010
And so it begins. With all the shamelessness of a Goldman Sachser trading in his
middle-aged wife for a hot, pouting twentysomething called Ivanka, the green movement
is ditching “Climate Change”. The newer, younger, sexier model’s name? Biodiversity.
(Mega hat tips to: Hilary Ostrov and Ozboy at Libertygibbet)
When I say shameless, I’m talking so amoral it makes the Whore of Babylon look like
Mother Theresa; so flagrant it makes Al Gore’s, ahem, alleged drunken “Love poodle”
assault on the Portland Masseuse look like an especially delicate passage from Andreas
Capellanus’s The Art of Courtly Love.
Consider this summary of the UN’s two-week Convention On Biodiversity, launched on
Monday:
Delegates from nearly 200 countries are being asked to agree to new 2020 targets after
governments largely failed to meet a 2010 target of achieving a significant reduction in
biological diversity losses, a goal set at the last biodiversity conference in 2002. And one
of the same issues that led to failure the first time around could jeopardize this meeting:
money.
Developing nations say more funding is needed from developed countries to share the
effort in saving nature. Much of the world’s remaining biological diversity is in developing
nations such as Brazil, Indonesia and in central Africa.
Do you see what’s going on here?
OK. Here’s an even bigger clue. Here’s something, unbeknownst to the world’s
taxpayers and free citizens, which the UN technocrats stitched together in June.
Busan/Nairobi, 11 June 2010 - History was made, Friday, in the South Korean port city
of Busan, when governments gave the green light to an Intergovernmental Science
Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
The independent platform will in many ways mirror the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) which has assisted in catalyzing world-wide understanding and
governmental action on global warming.
The new body will bridge the gulf between the wealth of scientific knowledge documenting accelerating declines and degradation of the natural world – and the
decisive government action required to reverse these damaging trends.
Its various roles will include carrying out high quality peer reviews of the wealth of
science on biodiversity and ecosystem services emerging from research institutes
across the globe in order to provide gold standard reports to governments.
“Gold standard”, eh? Now where have I heard that phrase before?
Suddenly it becomes clear why they kept Pachauri on at the IPCC. Because the IPCC
simply doesn’t matter any more. Sure it will go on, churning out Assessment Report after
Assessment Report, bringing pots of money to the usual gang of bent scientists
prepared to act as lead authors. But the world’s mainstream media – especially all those
environment correspondents who so lovingly transcribe the press releases of
Greenpeace and the WWF as if they were holy writ – will have moved on, according to
the dictates of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) fashionable crise
du jour.
“Never mind ‘Climate Change’,” they’ll say to themselves. “Our readers and viewers
aren’t really so into that now all the winters seem to have got so very cold. Biodiversity,
that’s the thing.”
And guess what? Not only does the great big new Biodiversity scam already have its
own IPCC but it even has its own pseudoeconomic, panic-generating Stern Report. This
one is produced by a member of Deutsche Bank which – as Hilary Ostrov tells us in an
excellent post well worth reading in full – has form when it comes to promoting halfwitted, ill-documented, patently political climate change ****ocks.
Hmmm … Deutsche Bank … Oh, yes I’ve heard of that one. Ross McKitrick recently
responded to some misinformation they had included in “a report that aims to rebut
major skeptic arguments on global warming”. But I digress …
Just read how it’s billed and weep:
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)
Nagoya, Japan, 20 October 2010– The economic importance of the world’s natural
assets is now firmly on the political radar as a result of an international assessment
showcasing the enormous economic value of forests, freshwater, soils and coral reefs,
as well as the social and economic costs of their loss, was the conclusion of The
Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) report launched today by TEEB
study leader, Pavan Sukhdev.
“TEEB has documented not only the multi-trillion dollar importance to the global
economy of the natural world, but the kinds of policy-shifts and smart market
mechanisms that can embed fresh thinking in a world beset by a rising raft of multiple
challenges. The good news is that many communities and countries are already seeing
the potential of incorporating the value of nature into decision-making,” said Mr.
Sukhdev, a banker who heads up the Green Economy Initiative of the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP).
He was speaking at the launch of the two-year study, which has involved hundreds of
experts from around the world, at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 10th
Conference of Parties meeting (CBD COP10) in Nagoya.
The TEEB study calls for wider recognition of nature’s contribution to human livelihoods,
health, security, and culture by decision-makers at all levels (local to national and
business to citizens). It promotes the demonstration, and where appropriate, the capture
of the economic values of nature’s services through an array of policy instruments and
mechanisms.
Here’s the UN’s Achim Steiner – you’ll have seen him recently on a BBC news report
where David Shuckman, was it? got to go on a nice freebie to Kenya in the guise of
bigging up, you guessed it, biodiversity – telling us just how SERIAL this business is.
This year’s Global Biodiversity Outlook-3, prepared in close collaboration with UNEP’s
World Conservation Monitoring Centre, points to ‘tipping points’ fast emerging – changes
for example in freshwater systems that soon may be irreversible.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005 concluded that 60 per cent of the
services provided by the world’s ecosystems that support human well being are now
either degraded or heading that way.
Changes in biodiversity as a result of human activities were more rapid in the past 50
years that at any time in human history, it concludes.
The report, the output of more than 1,300 scientists from more than 90 countries
supported by UNEP, the Global Environment Facility and many other partners,
underlined that rather than exercising the brake the world continues to choose the
accelerator.
What? Only 1300 scientists this time, was it? I’m sure the figure which used to be
bandied about with global warming was more like 2,500.
Ah well, what the hell. It’s not like the “little people” are going to be able to do anything
about it. That’s the beauty of the United Nations. The European Union too, come to that.
Democratically unaccountable, lavishly funded, and with over a half a century’s expertise
at spreading big lies round the world before the truth has got his boots on.
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BBC: India and Brazil head move to 'green' economic future
20th October 2010
Governments are increasingly taking the economic value of nature into account in policymaking, with growing interest in results from a UN-backed analysis.
The Brazilian and Indian governments are among those keen to use findings from The
Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (Teeb) project.
Final results from the three-year study were unveiled here at the UN Convention on
Biological Diversity meeting.
Nature's services must be counted if they are to be valued, its leader said.
Pavan Sukhdev, a Deutsche Bank capital markets expert who leads Teeb on secondment
to the UN Environment Programme (Unep), said that if society did not properly account for
services that nature provides, they would be lost.
In an earlier analysis, Teeb calculated that the economic value of services being lost including water purification, pollination of crops and climate regulation - amounts to $2-5
trillion dollars per year, with the poor hardest hit.
Here, Mr Sukhdev and his team concentrated on ideas for implementation - how to turn
the findings of the study into real politics.
And the first thing for governments to do, he said, was to carry out national equivalents of
the global Teeb study - to analyse the real value of ecosystem services to their
economies.
"Conventional methods of accounting such as GDP accounting will not capture them - so
we need... to rapidly upgrade the system of national accounts," he said.
"You cannot manage what you do not measure."
Global uptake
Mr Sukhdev said that so far, 27 governments from Africa and Latin America, and one from
Asia, had approached the Unep team for help in "greening" their economies.
Many of these are looking to translate the global Teeb findings findings into their national
context, with Brazil and India in the vanguard.
India's Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, said his country was
planning a national economic assessment along Teeb lines.
"We are committed to developing a framework for green national accounts that we can
implement by 2015, and we are confident that the 'Teeb for India' study will be the key
facilitator," he said.
And Braulio Dias, secretary for biodiversity and forests in Brazil's Environment Ministry,
said his country was also looking to Teeb for a change of direction - in fact, without the
pending election, it might be happening already.
"The tradition of many countries including Brazil has been one of utilising regulation command and control instruments - and we need to work more on incentive measures and
get the different sectors on board," he told BBC News.
"The Teeb approach is very useful to make them understand the implications of loss of
biodiversity, and also the return on investment in terms of biodiversity conservation.
"We have several bills before the national congress to establish a national mechanism for
payment for ecosystem services - if they're approved, I think we will have a better
possibility of implement some of those economic measures."
But he echoed the concerns of many other developing countries by emphasising that
some kind of international payment system, transferring money from the West to the rest
for conserving resources, might be needed in the long run.
The European Union also supports the Teeb principles, with many countries and the EU
itself set to examine the potential for greening their economies along Teeb lines.
"Teeb can have the same impact for biodiversity as the Stern Review had for climate
change, and will be a useful tool to help reduce the loss of species and habitats," said UK
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman.
"The UK Government has been a major supporter of Teeb since it started and we will be
funding the roll out of the report across the world to communicate the central message
that, economically, we have to take action to reduce the loss of our natural environment
before the cost becomes too high."
Politics of conservation
While a number of countries including Brazil and India do have systems in place to reward
forest conservation, implementing the full Teeb vision would amount to a root and branch
overhaul of economic incentives and taxes.
But some moves could and should be quickly made, said Pavan Sukhdev.
The first thing was to "flatten the footbal field", which currently sees huge subsidies given
to oil and gas production - largely in richer countries.
"Collectively, $650bn of subsidies for oil and gas?
"Surely, this is not a Mother Theresa business - it is not a charity - it doesn't need subsidy,"
he told BBC News.
"I would like governments to look at and start disclosing their subsidies, and gradually
work to reduce them and indeed eliminate them; because if want businesses to arise
which have a better footprint and a lower cost to society, the first thing you have to do is to
stop favouring those that don't."
The draft agreement from this CBD meeting would see countries agreeing to incorporate
biodiversity values into their national accounting by 2020, and eliminating by the same
date subsidies that are detrimental to biodiversity.
But many nations are holding to the point, in negotiations, that "nothing is agreed until
everything is agreed"; and although many developing countries support the Teeb concept,
factional politics could yet prevent the endorsement of such a vision here.
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Reuters: Marine ecosystems at risk from pollution, climate - U.N.
19th October 2010
Marine ecosystems around the world are at risk of substantial deterioration in coming
decades as oceans face growing threats from pollution, over-fishing and climate change, a
U.N. report showed on Tuesday.
The global U.N. Environment Programme report, based on studies of 18 regions,
predicted that productivity would fall in nearly all areas by 2050, with fisheries to be
dominated by smaller species towards the bottom of the food chain.
The report was unveiled as envoys from nearly 200 countries gathered for a U.N. meeting
in Nagoya, Japan, aimed at protecting and restoring ecosystems such as forests, coral
reefs and the oceans that underpin livelihoods and economies.
Surface sea temperatures could rise by 2100 if no steps are taken to address climate
change, affecting coral reefs and other marine organisms, the report said.
Another threat was a continued increase in nitrogen levels, which could trigger algal
blooms and lead to the poisoning of fish and other marine life.
"Multi-million dollar services, including fisheries, climate-control and ones underpinning
industries such as tourism are at risk if impacts on the marine environment continue
unchecked and unabated," Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Programme
(UNEP), said in a statement.
"This global report, based on 18 regional reports, underlines that ambition and actions now
need to match the scale and the urgency of the challenge."
Regional reports outlined steps that could be taken for policymakers, with the study for the
North West Pacific covering China, Japan, South Korea and Russia calling for more
management of ships' ballast water and regulation of fish stocks.
Ballast water from ships can be harmful to seas by transporting marine invasive species to
regions from elsewhere, threatening a rise in extinctions of native marine life, the global
report said.
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UPI (US): U.N.: Marine life faces growing risks
20th October 2010
Marine fish are threatened by pollution and climate change that could wipe out species
across all regions, a United Nations report released in New York says.
Along with overfishing, they are having an increasingly damaging impact on the word's
oceans, the report by the U.N. Environment Program says.
Fish catches are predicted to decrease in nearly all areas by 2050, and fisheries
worldwide will be heavily dominated by smaller species lower down on the food chain, it
says.
A continuing decline in marine biodiversity will leave marine and coastal ecosystems
vulnerable to climate change, the report concluded.
"Decoupling growth from rising levels of pollution is the No. 1 challenge facing this
generation," program Executive Director Achim Steiner said.
"This is nowhere more starkly spotlighted than in the current and future health of the
world's sea and oceans.
"Multitrillion-dollar services, including fisheries, climate-control and ones underpinning
industries such as tourism are at risk if impacts on the marine environment continue
unchecked and unabated."
Also appears in: Money Times (India),
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News Blaze (US): Marine Biodiversity Assessment and Outlook: Global Synthesis
20th October 2010
Pollution, over-fishing and climate change are having an increasingly damaging impact on
the world's oceans, threatening a growing extinction of native marine species across all
regions, a new United Nations report warned today.
Productivity, and with it fish catches, is projected to decrease in nearly all areas by 2050
and worldwide, fisheries will be heavily dominated by smaller species lower down the food
chain, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report - Marine Biodiversity
Assessment and Outlook: Global Synthesis.
Climate change, if unchecked, could see surface sea temperatures rise by 2100 with
important implications for coral reefs and other temperature-sensitive marine organisms,
while other predicted changes include a continued and widespread increase in nitrogen
levels due to discharges of wastewaters and agricultural run-off from land and emissions
from vehicles and shipping.
Nitrogen can trigger algal blooms which in turn can poison fish and other marine creatures
as well as contribute to the development of so-called dead zones - areas of sea with low
oxygen concentrations.
The report also flags concerns over the rise in marine invasive species, transported to
regions from elsewhere, often in ballast water of ships or attached to its hull, highlighting
that the cumulative impacts of all of these factors will have serious consequences in the
rise of extinctions of native marine species across all regions.
The continuing decline in marine biodiversity will compromise the resilience of marine and
coastal ecosystems to the impacts of climate change, as well as their ability to mitigate the
effects of climate change, the report said.
"Decoupling growth from rising levels of pollution is the number one challenge facing this
generation," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said. "This is nowhere more starkly
spotlighted than in the current and future health of the world's sea and oceans. Multi-trillion
dollar services, including fisheries, climate-control and ones underpinning industries such
as tourism are at risk if impacts on the marine environment continue unchecked and
unabated.
"Governments are rising to the challenge through actions under the Regional Seas
Conventions and Action Plans. This global report, based on 18 regional reports, underlines
that ambition and actions now need to match the scale and the urgency of the challenge."
Given that the nature and dynamics of oceans are transboundary, actions must be taken
by all regions, with countries working together to find solutions, and must include crosssectoral approaches such as ecosystem-based management to address activities
affecting marine ecosystems, since the combination of increasing human uses and the
expected effects of rising temperatures and sea acidification threaten marine biodiversity
and human activities that depend upon it.
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BBC: UN turns to wiki power for wildlife conservation
19th October 2010
The UN Environment Programme is turning to the wiki-world in an attempt to improve
protection of the natural one.
Its new venture - protectedplanet.net - aims to help people visit little-known protected
areas, so generating revenue and improving knowledge about them.
The launch at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting came amid
reports warning that protection of the sea needs to be increased rapidly.
A target to protect 10% of oceans by 2012 will be missed by a long way.
Protected areas are one of the most effective ways of safeguarding plants, animals and
ecosystems, said Charles Besancon, head of the protected areas programme at the UN
Environment Programme (Unep).
"We know national parks and protected areas are important for many functions - they
provide fresh water to one-third of the world's largest urban areas, they protect carbon,
they protect endangered species," he told BBC News.
"For example, the last 600 mountain gorillas are in protected areas surrounded by
communities - without the protected areas, we'd lose the mountain gorilla."
Unep maintains a database of protected areas around the world, based on data from
governments and other authorities.
But with an estimated 150,000 sites in existence, data on what is in the sites and how they
are protected is, in many cases, scanty.
"[The database] doesn't get updated as much as we'd like; so we've recognised that the
best way is to reach out to the public," said Mr Besancon.
Park life
Protectedplanet.net links into and from existing web-based resources, such as Google
maps, Wikipedia and the Google-owned photo-sharing site Panoramio.
Species information comes from the less well-known Global Biodiversity Information
Facility (Gbif).
Users can search for sites close to a holiday destination, for example - and may find there
are protected areas or national parks that do not usually feature in tourist itineraries.
Unep hopes this will increase the number of people visiting such sites, generating revenue
that can help with their upkeep.
It will also allow first-time visitors to create Wikipedia entries on the areas, or post photos,
that can attract others.
Meanwhile, public feedback on how sites are managing their wildlife could enhance
standards.
Protecting land and sea features in a number of targets agreed under the Convention on
Biological Diversity.
But whereas about 13% of the Earth's land area is now under some form of protection, the
record for marine areas is barely 1% - way short of the 10% by 2012 target, for example.
In a major report launched here, a number of organisations including the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) say that
needs to be increased rapidly.
Failing to do so, they warn, will make it harder for marine ecosystems to survive in a world
where ocean water is becoming on average warmer and more acidic as a consequence of
greenhouse gas emissions.
As the report was being launched here, scientists were warning that coral reefs in
Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean are seeing a major die-off due to unusually warm
water conditions.
The Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, a network of university research
facilities, said the warming caused coral "bleaching" in Indonesia, the Philippines,
Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Burma and Sri Lanka.
"It is certainly the worst coral die-off we have seen since 1998," said Andrew Baird, a
scientist at James Cook University.
"It may prove to be the worst such event known to science."
Warm water causes coral to expel the algae with which they usually live in a symbiotic
relationship - without which they die.
The unusually high temperatures of 1998 were caused by El Nino conditions in
combination with the gradual warming attributable to greenhouse gas emissions.
Francois Simard, deputy head of IUCN's Marine Programme and an author on the new
report, suggested the issues of climate change and marine protection were closely linked.
"Marine life is under threat, that's absolutely clear - and (with warming and acidification) it's
not a matter of management of the sea, it's a matter of management of our activities as
human beings, of our emissions.
"But at least we should take care of what we have in a proper way."
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Thaindian (Thailand): India, Brazil take lead in move to ‘green’ economic future
21st October 2010
The governments of Brazil and India are keen to use the economic value of nature in
policy-making.
So far, 27 governments from Africa and Latin America, and one from Asia, had
approached the UNEP team for help in “greening” their economies.
According to a UN-backed analysis, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
(TEEB) project unveiled at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting, says
nature’s services must be counted if they are to be valued.
Many of these are looking to translate the global TEEB findings into their national context,
with Brazil and India in the vanguard.
India’s Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, said: “We are committed to
developing a framework for green national accounts that we can implement by 2015, and
we are confident that the ‘TEEB for India’ study will be the key facilitator.”
Braulio Dias, secretary for biodiversity and forests in Brazil’s Environment Ministry, said his
country was also looking to TEEB for a change of direction - in fact, without the pending
election, it might be happening already.
“The tradition of many countries including Brazil has been one of utilising regulation command and control instruments - and we need to work more on incentive measures and
get the different sectors on board,” he told BBC News.
He added: “The TEEB approach is very useful to make them understand the implications
of loss of biodiversity, and also the return on investment in terms of biodiversity
conservation. We have several bills before the national congress to establish a national
mechanism for payment for ecosystem services. If they’re approved, I think we will have a
better possibility of implement some of those economic measures.”
In an earlier analysis, TEEB calculated that the economic value of services being lost including water purification, pollination of crops and climate regulation at 2-5 trillion dollars
per year, with the poor hardest hit.
“Conventional methods of accounting such as GDP accounting will not capture them - so
we need… to rapidly upgrade the system of national accounts,” an official said.
“You cannot manage what you do not measure,” he added. (ANI)
Also appeared in: Daily India (India)
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China.org (China): Carbon mapping to curb climate change
19th October 2010
Mapping where a country's carbon stocks overlap with areas that are rich in wildlife and
important for local peoples' livelihoods is underway in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The aim is to support international efforts to conserve forests in order to combat climate
change. But in a way that delivers other benefits including conservation of economicallyimportant ecosystems linked with water, fertile soils and other crucial services.
Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), governments are
negotiating a mechanism to provide payments for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation
and forest Degradation plus additional forest "activities" (REDD+), with the aim of halving
deforestation by 2020.
It is estimated that currently close to 18% of greenhouse gas emissions-equivalent to
around six Gigatonnes (Gt) of C02- are linked with land use change, mainly through forest
loss. In 2004, this amounted to more greenhouse gas emissions than those of the
transport sector.
The maps, being compiled by a partnership led by the UN Environment Programme's
World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), are overlaying the carbon held in
the vegetation and soils of a country's terrestrial ecosystems with other key features.
These include population densities; economic activities such as honey and gum
production; the location of existing Protected Areas and biodiversity.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "The aim
is to assist governments in setting priorities for carbon investments. In Tanzania for
example, several carbon rich parts of the country are in areas where the ranges of almost
70% of the country's mammal species overlap".
"The mapping also reveals that almost a quarter of Tanzania's total carbon stocks are in
high carbon density areas that are not formally protected. This is the kind of science and
analysis that governments from Ecuador to Cambodia are also now looking at to maximize
the benefits of investments in REDD+ and accelerate a transition to a low carbon,
resource efficient Green Economy," he added.
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Xinhua (China): Fish population to shrink drastically over next 40 years: UN report
21st October 2010
A report released by the United Nations Environment Programme predicted that the fish
populations in the world will decline drastically in the next 40 years due to the factors
including overfishing, rises in sea surface temperatures, and marine pollution, local
media reported on Thursday.
It warns that larger species such as tuna will almost disappear, leaving fisheries
dependent on smaller species measuring around 20 centimeters, the public broadcaster
NHK reported.
The release of the report on marine ecosystems coincided with an ongoing international
conference on biodiversity in the central Japanese city of Nagoya.
Representatives from all corners of the world gathered in the central Japanese city of
Nagoya on Monday for the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP10.
If the marine environment continues to deteriorate at the current rate, multi-million dollar
services including fisheries and tourism could be adversely affected, UNEP officials were
quoted as saying. They called for urgent countermeasures.
According to a separate UN report released at the meeting on Wednesday, the world will
suffer an annual economic loss of some 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars if no measures are taken
to protect ecosystems and maintain biological diversity.
Also appears in: People’s Daily (China), CRI (China),
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IPS: North-South Divide Again Clouds Biodiversity Talks
19th October 2010
The accelerating destruction of natural habitats will take millions of years to recover from,
scientists have warned. This may be the last chance to apply the brakes, Achim Steiner,
executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme, reminded delegates representing
the 193 member countries of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
"This meeting is being held to address a very simple fact: we are destroying life on this
Earth," Steiner said at the opening plenary meeting Monday. "It is absolutely essential that
nations work together here."
Ryu Matsumoto, Japan's environment minister, warned that the world was about to reach
a threshold where the loss of biodiversity would become irreversible.
"We're now close to a tipping point on biodiversity," he said. "We may cross that in the
next 10 years."
With 16,000 participants, the Oct. 18-29 gathering is by far the biggest international
meeting on biodiversity. The term biodiversity refers to the variety of plants, animals and
other species that provide a wide range of services to humanity.
Insect pollinators, including bees, provide services worth an estimated $211 billion
annually, representing close to 10 percent of the world's agricultural output for human
food. A new estimate puts the cost of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems to the
human race at $2 trillion to $5 trillion a year.
Despite the trillions of dollars of natural services at risk, countries failed to meet their 2010
target of substantially reversing the rate of loss of species. "Let us have the courage to
look in the eyes of our children and admit that we have failed, individually and collectively,"
said Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the CBD.
"If we allow the current trends to continue we shall soon reach a tipping point with
irreversible and irreparable damage to the capacity of the planet to continue sustaining life
on Earth," Djoghlaf told delegates.
"This is indeed a defining moment in the history of mankind," he concluded.
Despite the high stakes and passionate words, there is no guarantee that countries will
agree to a strong agreement to curb the loss of biodiversity by 2020.
Without a fair and equitable access and benefit-sharing protocol (ABS), there will be no
agreement, said Gurdial Singh Nijar, the Malaysian delegate representing the LikeMinded Asia-Pacific group.
Many drugs, cosmetics and other valuable biochemicals used in the industrial world have
been derived from plants and animals, very often from countries in the developing world.
Everyone agrees countries and communities where these originated should be
compensated. The devil is in the details, and those have been under negotiation for more
than six years and remain contentious and complex.
"We cannot leave out derivative products including biochemicals," Nijar said. In addition to
the materials, the knowledge of the use of such plants and animals in many cases
originates with indigenous people and that must be part of a new agreement.
"If you use traditional knowledge instead of looking for a needle in the haystack you get
the needle put on a pin cushion," said Christine von Weizsacker in reference to benefiting
from indigenous peoples' knowledge.
Thorny issues remain regarding how far down the deriviate chain ought to be
compensated, patent issues, and figuring out a workable system for compliance including
customs checkpoints, von Weizsacker, a spokesperson for the CBD Alliance, an umbrella
of international non-governmental organisations, said in a press conference.
"Poor people need legal protections," she said.
Without an ABS agreement, countries have shut down access to their genetic resources,
says U.N. Environment Programme spokesperson Nick Nuttall. A fly that is decimating the
Kenyan mango has a natural predator in Asia but researchers can't obtain it until there is
new protocol, he told IPS.
"This is the golden chance to get an ABS agreement," Nuttall said.
But to reach agreement participants need to rise above the complex details and set basic
ground rules. Afterwards adjustments or changes can be made as problems or issues
arise, as has been done under other U.N. agreements.
"Are the risks so high that we can't agree? We're worse off without an agreement, in my
view," Nuttall said.
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Business and Leadership (Ireland): Green schools initiative helps kids protect the
environment
21st October 2010
A new Green Schools programme has been launched that teaches children the
importance of conserving and protecting our environment.
HSBC and the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) has launched the second
year of the three-year global programme, Eco Schools - known as Green Schools in
Ireland.
The programme, backed by a financial commitment from HSBC of $2.5m (around
€1.7m), teaches five to 18-year-olds about protecting the environment.
The HSBC Eco-Schools Climate Initiative programme was launched by pupils from St
Mary’s Star of the Sea National School, Sandymount, Dublin, and students from two
schools in the United Arab Emirates via a live video conference at HSBC Ireland’s
offices.
Tackling climate change
The work completed by schools that took part – from Russia, Japan, France, Malta and
England -was shared with each respective country to achieve the goal of tackling
climate change.
The programme encourages schools to enhance their local surroundings, save money
and reduce their carbon footprint through the efforts of children, staff and volunteers.
Eco-Schools are recognised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
and schools can also work towards attaining Green Flag status, managed by An Taisce.
Patricia Oliver, director of education, An Taisce, described the climate initiative as “an
excellent way for schools to reduce their carbon footprints and carbon emissions and
lead the way in tackling climate change”.
Simon Wainwright, chief executive of HSBC Ireland added: “It is important we equip our
children with the knowledge to understand the challenges and the ability to make
informed decisions about climate change.”
TheHSBC Eco-Schools Climate Initiative, which aims to see 100,000 children in its first 3
academic years, will see HSBC staff in 18 countries work with schools to address a
variety of environmental themes ranging from energy, transport and waste to water and
biodiversity in relation to climate change.
Countries currently involved include:
- Brazil
- China
- England
- France
- Ireland
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Malta
- New Zealand
- Northern Ireland
- Poland
- Russia
- Slovakia
- South Africa
- United Arab Emirate
- United States
- Wales
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Mediaterre (France): Les Etats sont appelés à adopter un Protocole sur la
biodiversité
21st October 2010
Le 11 octobre dernier, le directeur exécutif du PNUE, Achim Steiner, a appelé les États
à adopter le Protocole sur la biodiversité portant, plus précisément, sur la responsabilité
et la réparation des dommages causés à la biodiversité.
Ce Protocole vient compléter le Protocole de Cartagena sur la prévention des risques
biotechnologiques relatifs à la Convention sur la diversité biologique, adopté en 2000 et
entré en vigueur le 11 septembre 2003.
Après avoir rappelé que " des progrès réels et tangibles ont été accomplis par les
Parties dans le domaine du développement durable ", le directeur exécutif du PNUE a
insisté sur l'importance pour les Etats, afin d'assurer un impact réel du Protocole, de
mettre en place les mêmes instruments institutionnels.
Il a conclu en soulignant la nécessité d'une " impulsion nouvelle ", " dans un monde qui
souffre de multiples défis dus au changement climatique, de la perte de la biodiversité à
l'effondrement de la pêche en passant par les pollutions chimiques des États ".
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Temoignages (France):UICN : 10% des océans doivent être des réserves marines
21st October 2010
Mardi à Nagoya lors de la seconde journée de la Conférence des Nations Unies sur la
biodiversité, l’UICN a tenu une conférence de presse au cours de laquelle l’ONG a
présenté son dernier ouvrage, "Global Ocean Protection : Current Trends and Future
Opportunities", fruit d’une coopération avec le Programme des Nations Unies pour
l’Environnement et The Nature Conservancy. L’UICN rappelle un engagement de la
communauté internationale : 10% des océans doivent être des réserves marines.
À l’heure actuelle, seulement un pour cent des océans du monde sont protégés, alors
que la communauté internationale s’était engagée à relever ce chiffre à 10 pour cent en
2010. Pour renverser rapidement la tendance, il est impératif que nous montrions une
plus grande volonté politique et changions notre gestion du capital marin si nous voulons
préserver les océans de la planète pour le bien-être des générations à venir.
Le Chili a annoncé ce mois-ci la création d’une grande réserve marine autour de l’île
Sala y Gómez, dans le Pacifique. Cependant, les projets mondiaux actuels pour
accroître le nombre d’aires marines protégées sont dramatiquement insuffisants par
rapport aux besoins qui seraient nécessaires à la préservation des océans du monde,
selon un nouveau rapport publié par l’UICN, “The Nature Conservancy” et le Programme
des Nations Unies pour l’environnement.
« La préservation de notre système de survie et sa bonne santé sont en jeu, et c’est
maintenant ou jamais », affirme Carl Gustaf Lundin, responsable du programme Marin et
Polaire de l’UICN. « Toutefois, la création de lieux d’espoirs — des endroits particuliers
dans l’océan requérant une protection spéciale — serait la preuve tangible que la
communauté internationale se soucie enfin de ce qui constitue les deux-tiers de la
planète ».
5.880 aires protégées
Le nouveau livre publié conjointement par l’UICN, “The Nature Conservancy”, le PNUE
et divers autres partenaires*, "Global Ocean Protection : Current Trends and Future
Opportunities", sort aujourd’hui à la Convention des Nations Unies sur la diversité
biologique. Il offre un état des lieux des océans et propose des solutions pour restaurer
nos ressources marines tout en répondant aux demandes futures des populations. Plus
de 30 auteurs experts dans le domaine de la conservation y présentent les
connaissances scientifiques et économiques les plus récentes afin d’encourager la
communauté internationale à agir, sans s’arrêter à la seule création d’aires individuelles
protégées.
Il existe actuellement 5.880 aires marines protégées dont la plupart sont situées dans
des zones côtières. Cependant, elles ne sont pas représentatives de toutes les régions,
de tout(e)s les espèces et habitats vitaux pour la conservation, et manquent cruellement
de capacités financières et humaines.
Objectif : une aire protégée mondiale
Enfin, peut-on lire dans l’ouvrage, il est possible d’obtenir une amélioration spectaculaire
de la conservation marine par une gestion et une planification spatiale de l’océan
adéquates, et l’intégration de paramètres comme la sécurité alimentaire, le bien-être et
la santé humaine.
Une gestion traditionnelle des ressources marines pourrait être une autre réponse aux
menaces grandissantes qui pèsent sur la santé des océans.
« Cette fois-ci, les pays ne peuvent se permettre d’ignorer l’appel lancé pour sauver nos
océans », souligne Manny Mori, président des États fédérés de Micronésie. « Si les
aires protégées sont inefficaces au niveau des villages ou des communautés, nous ne
réussirons jamais à créer une aire protégée mondiale pour les océans ».
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Eco Diario (Spain): Bruselas aboga por tasar el coste económico de la pérdida de
biodiversidad
20th October 2010
La Comisión Europea ha respaldado hoy el informe sobre la economía de los
ecosistemas y la biodiversidad (TEEB, por sus siglas en inglés) que apuesta por incluir el
coste social y económico de la pérdida de biodiversidad en el diseño de las políticas de
los gobiernos y sostiene que la conservación de la naturaleza se traduce en beneficios
económicos para los países.
"Es evidente que valoramos la naturaleza en sí misma, pero reconocemos también su
valor económico en la lucha para detener la pérdida de biodiversidad. La Comisión
Europea ha apoyado el proyecto TEEB desde el principio y seguirá haciéndolo en el
futuro, y estudiaremos la manera de integrar los análisis desarrollados en nuestras
políticas", ha dicho el comisario de Medio Ambiente, Janez Potocnik.
El TEEB es un proyecto liderado por el Programa de Medio Ambiente de Naciones Unidas
(PNUMA) y financiado por Bruselas y varios países -entre ellos Alemania, Reino Unido,
Países Bajos, Suecia, Noruega, Bélgica y Japón-. El objetivo es ofrecer justificaciones
económicas para modificar nuestra manera de evaluar y gestionar los recursos naturales.
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Eroski consumer (Spain): La ONU pone en marcha un portal web con información
sobre 150.000 espacios naturales protegidos
21st October 2010
El Programa de la ONU para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA) y la Unión Internacional para la
Conservación de la Naturaleza han puesto en marcha un sitio web interactivo
(www.protectedplanet.net) que recopila información sobre 150.000 espacios naturales
protegidos. El objetivo de la iniciativa es promocionar el turismo en estos lugares y
contribuir a aportar los ingresos que requieren las comunidades que los habitan, a
menudo pobres. Estos pueblos, además, están enclavados en su mayoría en áreas
remotas del mundo.
El portal web recoge las últimas imágenes de satélite de los espacios protegidos, lo que
permitirá a los usuarios identificar áreas protegidas individuales, como parques nacionales
o reservas marinas. También podrán obtener datos sobre las especies en peligro de
extinción, la vida de plantas nativas o tipos de terreno.
Además, los visitantes de la web tendrán la oportunidad de subir fotografías de sus viajes
a las áreas protegidas, escribir diarios de viaje y recomendar lugares de interés en las
inmediaciones. Esta información puede compartirse a través de los sitios de redes
sociales como Facebook, Twitter y Flickr, destaca Naciones Unidas.
La ONU recuerda que la industria del ecoturismo ha crecido de manera rápida y en la
actualidad capta 77.000 millones de dólares del mercado mundial del turismo. Recurre
también a datos de la revista Travel Weekly que indican que el turismo sostenible podría
suponer el 25% del mercado de viajes del mundo para el año 2012, lo que significaría
473.000 millones de dólares anuales.
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Prensa Latina (Cuba): Documentan valor económico de riqueza natural
21st October 2010
Nagoya, Japón, 20 oct (PL) El valor económico multimillonario de la riqueza natural del
planeta fue documentado en un informe presentado hoy en la X Conferencia de las Partes
del Convenio sobre Biodiversidad Biológica (COP 10) que sesiona aquí.
Según Pavan Sukhdev, quien dirige la Iniciativa de Economía Verde del Programa de las
Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA), el enfoque del informe "la Economía
de los Ecosistemas y Biodiversidad (TEEB)" puede establecer una brújula económica que
haga visible el valor de los servicios de la naturaleza.
"De no hacer nada, perdemos billones de dólares en beneficios actuales y futuros para la
sociedad, y también se empobrece aún más a los pobres y ponemos en riesgo a las
futuras generaciones", alertó Sukhdev.
La diversidad biológica no puede continuar siendo ignorada, no se puede insistir más en
el pensamiento convencional de la creación de la riqueza, hay que desarrollar una
economía verde, sentenció el experto.
En el documento, cuya elaboración demoró dos años, son propuestos conceptos
económicos y herramientas que pueden proporcionar a la sociedad los medios para
incorporar los valores de la naturaleza en la toma de decisiones a todos los niveles.
Los estudios revisados por TEEB revelan la contribución de los bosques y otros
ecosistemas a la supervivencia de hogares rurales y, por tanto, su potencialidad para
luchar contra la pobreza.
Se estima que los servicios de ecosistemas y bienes naturales no comercializados
constituyen en algunos países en vías de desarrollo entre el 47 y el 89 por ciento de lo
que se conoce como Producto Interno Bruto (PIB) de los más necesitados.
El PIB de ellos es el Producto Interno Bruto efectivo o el total de las fuentes de medio de
vida de los hogares rurales sin recursos y de los que viven en los bosques, aclara el texto.
"TEEB ha traído a la atención del mundo que los bienes y los servicios de la naturaleza
son igual de importantes, sino más relevantes, para la riqueza de las naciones incluyendo
a los pobres", dijo Achim Steiner, Subsecretario General de Naciones Unidas y Director
Ejecutivo del PNUMA.
Esto es cada vez más esencial en un planeta donde los recursos merman y donde la
población aumentará a nueve mil millones de personas para el año 2050", añadió.
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Finanz Nachrichten (Germany): Klimaneutrales Bürogebäude für Afrika /
Energiebau erhält internationalen Projektauftrag der UNEP in Kenia
21st October 2010
Das Kölner Unternehmen Energiebau Solarstromsysteme GmbH erhält den Auftrag, eine
leistungsstarke Photovoltaik-Anlage auf dem Dach des neuen UNEP-Bürogebäudes in
Nairobi/Kenia zu errichten. Im Dezember 2010 soll das moderne Bauwerk fertig gestellt
sein. Es wird dann von einer der größten Solarstromanlagen Afrikas mit sauberem und
emissionsfreiem Strom versorgt.
Wenn im Februar 2011 die Umweltminister aller Staaten der Erde in Nairobi im neuen
Bürokomplex der UN-Umweltorganisation UNEP zusammenkommen, werden hier bereits
über 1000 Menschen arbeiten. Die Mitarbeiter verfügen dann über modernste
Innenausstattung im Bereich Beleuchtung, Klimatisierung und Kommunikation. Energieeffiziente Technik ist dabei von größter Bedeutung, denn die elektrische Energie zur
Versorgung des Gebäudes wird durch das eigene Photovoltaik-Kraftwerk erzeugt. Ziel ist,
dass die Solaranlage auf dem Dach im Verlaufe eines Jahres die Menge an Strom
produziert, welche für den Betrieb des Gebäudes benötigt wird.
Das erste energieneutrale Gebäude in Afrika
Der neue Bürokomplex in Nairobi wird laut UNEP das erste energieneutrale Gebäude auf
dem afrikanischen Kontinent sein. "Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, wurde das Solarkraftwerk
auf dem Dach auf eine Gesamtleistung von 515 Kilowatt peak (kWp) ausgelegt. Zum
Vergleich können damit über 150 europäische Haushalte mit Strom versorgt werden",
erklärt Projektleiter Bernd Wolff.
Generalunternehmer Energiebau beweist seine Projektkompetenz
Unter der Leitung von Energiebau arbeitet zurzeit ein deutsch-afrikanisches Team an dem
zukunftsweisenden Projekt. Die einzelnen Systemkomponenten kommen von den
deutschen Herstellern und Energiebau-Partnerfirmen SCHOTT Solar, der SMA Solar
Technology AG sowie dem japanischen Unternehmen KANEKA.
Energiebau engagiert sich seit 1994 auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent und realisiert
seitdem in Zusammenarbeit mit privaten, kirchlichen und staatlichen Projektpartnern
hochwertige Solarstromsysteme.
Originaltext: Energiebau Solarstromsysteme GmbH Digitale Pressemappe:
http://www.presseportal.de/pm/71622 Pressemappe via RSS :
http://www.presseportal.de/rss/pm_71622.rss2
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RIA Novosti (Russia): Sotschi 2014: Experten verzeichnen Fortschritte beim
Umweltschutz
21st October 2010
Vertreter des UN-Umweltprogramms UNEP haben eindeutige Fortschritte im
ökologischen Bereich bei der Vorbereitung der Olympischen Winterspiele 2014
festgestellt. Das teilte UNEP-Experte Herve Letier am Mittwoch RIA Novosti mit.
Die UNEP-Experten weilen seit dem 18. Oktober im Rahmen der Zusammenarbeit mit
dem Organisationskomitee der Spiele 2014 am Austragungsort an der russischen
Schwarzmeerküste. Sie besuchten mehrere Olympia-Objekte, sprachen mit russischen
Beamten, Politikern, Unternehmern und Umweltschützern und trafen sich mit
Einwohnern der Region.
„Ich bin nicht zum ersten Mal in Sotschi und kann feststellen, dass der Dialog mit den
Ortseinwohnern mit jedem Besuch immer positiver verläuft“, sagte er.
Zugleich betonte der Experte, dass die Öko-Programme bei den OlympiaVorbereitungen langfristig ausgelegt werden müssen. Der Umweltschutz und die
Beseitigung der infolge der Olympia-Vorbereitungen entstehenden Umweltschäden sei
als eine Priorität anzusehen.
Die UNEP arbeitet mit dem Organisationskomitee von Sotschi 2014 auf der Grundlage
eines am 5. Juni 2009 unterzeichneten Memorandums über das Einvernehmen.
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Other Environment News
Guardian (UK): Biodiversity summit must tackle destructive impacts of food
production
21st October 2010
Governments from around the world will arrive in Nagoya, Japan next week for the high
level ministerial segment of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting. Their
task is daunting. Even the modest target set in 2002 of reducing the rate of biodiversity
loss by 2010 has proved beyond the reach of current strategies. But rather than wringing
their hands over the tide of species loss that has swept the planet, delegates should turn
their attention to the root cause of the problem: the ways in which we meet our need for
food.
What does food supply have to do with conserving species? Everything. It is a leading
factor in the five principal pressures causing biodiversity loss (habitat change,
overexploitation, pollution, invasive species and climate change).
Ironically, while producing food relies on harvesting nature's bounty, food production often
degrades the very ecosystems it depends on. The Brazilian Amazon, for example,
provides critical water and climate regulation services that the region's agricultural sector
depends upon for its survival. Yet one-fifth of the Brazilian Amazon has been deforested,
primarily by farmers and ranchers.
Delegates at the conference face a paradox. Dramatic increases in food production over
the past 50 years have supported significant improvements in human wellbeing, but at the
same time have diminished Earth's diversity and capacity to provide ecosystem services
(including fish, food, freshwater, pollination, and water regulation).
The Amazon, for example, could reach a tipping point due to deforestation, where it dies
back and changes into savanna-like vegetation. The reduction in rainfall would devastate
efforts to raise crops and cattle in the region.
Adding to the challenge, population growth and rising per capita incomes are expected to
double the demand for food in the next 40 years, according to the UN's food and
agriculture chief, Jacques Diouf. To devise a successful new strategy to preserve the
diversity of life on Earth, the CBD needs to take a quantum leap in its partnership with food
producers, to change how the world achieves food security, before ecosystems reach
critical tipping points in the face of ever growing demands for food and a changing climate.
The new 2020 global biodiversity strategy under discussion at Nagoya must focus first and
foremost on reducing the pressure of food production on biodiversity and ecosystems.
Three key strategies can help meet the goal of maximising use of existing land for food
and minimising further ecosystem loss.
• Restore degraded lands
Globally, over 1bn hectares of land is believed to have restoration potential. Restoring
even a small part of this for food production would help reduce pressure on natural
ecosystems. In Indonesia, for example, the World Resources Institute (WRI) is seeking to
develop a scalable model for diverting new oil palm plantations that would otherwise
replace virgin forests on to degraded land.
• Increase productivity on existing farmland
While intensification doesn't immediately come to mind when thinking about conservation,
it is nevertheless a key strategy to reduce stress on natural ecosystems. We need to
deploy proven technologies that use ecosystem services much more efficiently such as
new varieties of seeds, drip irrigation, integrated pest management and conservation
agriculture.
• Manage demand for food
Opportunities for managing demand for food include promoting the use of vegetable
protein over meat, reducing food waste – estimated to be around 40% of food produced in
the United States – and advancing certification programmes and other types of incentives
for sustainable food production. For example, Fairtrade is paying Afghan farmers almost
double the going rate for providing raisins that meet environmental criteria such as the
sustainable use of water – and making a viable business of it.
The proposed 2011-2020 strategic plan that ministers will be discussing in Nagoya does
include some targets to address the destructive impacts of food production - such as
reducing pollution from nutrient run-off and promoting sustainable farm management. But
a much greater and more holistic effort is needed. Too much of the strategy takes a
"remove-the-impacts" approach, a recipe for repeating the disappointment of not meeting
the 2010 targets to reduce biodiversity loss.
If, by 2050, the world celebrates success in providing food security and in navigating
ecological tipping points, it will be because of the ingenuity of farmers and
conservationists, agricultural experts and ecologists in finding ways of learning and acting
together.
• Janet Ranganathan is vice-president for science and research at the WRI. Frances Irwin
is a former associate in WRI's institutions and governance programme
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Reuters: U.N. urged to freeze climate geo-engineering projects
21st October 2010
The United Nations should impose a moratorium on "geo-engineering" projects such as
artificial volcanoes and vast cloud-seeding schemes to fight climate change, green groups
say, fearing they could harm nature and mankind.
The risks were too great because the impacts of manipulating nature on a vast scale were
not fully known, the groups said at a major U.N. meeting in Japan aimed at combating
increasing losses of plant and animal species.
Envoys from nearly 200 countries are gathered in Nagoya, Japan, to agree targets to fight
the destruction of forests, rivers and coral reefs that provide resources and services
central to livelihoods and economies.
A major cause for the rapid losses in nature is climate change, the United Nations says,
raising the urgency for the world to do whatever it can to curb global warming and prevent
extreme droughts, floods and rising sea levels.
Some countries regard geo-engineering projects costing billions of dollars as a way to
control climate change by cutting the amount of sunlight hitting the earth or soaking up
excess greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide.
"It's absolutely inappropriate for a handful of governments in industrialized countries to
make a decision to try geo-engineering without the approval of all the world's support," Pat
Mooney, from Canada-headquartered advocacy organization ETC Group, told Reuters on
the sidelines of the October 18-29 meeting.
"They shouldn't proceed with real-life, in-the-environment experimentation or the
deployment of any geo-engineering until there is a consensus in the United Nations that
this is okay."
Some conservation groups say geo-engineering is a way for some governments and
companies to get out of taking steps to slash planet-warming emissions.
The U.N. climate panel says a review of geo-engineering will be part of its next major
report in 2013.
SOLAR REFLECTORS
Some of the geo-engineering schemes proposed include:
-- Ocean fertilization. Large areas are sprinkled with iron or other nutrients to artificially
spur growth of phytoplankton, which soak up carbon dioxide. But this could trigger harmful
algal blooms, soak up nutrients and kill fish and other animals.
-- Spray seawater into the atmosphere to increase the reflectivity and condensation of
clouds so they bounce more sunlight back into space.
-- Placing trillions of tiny solar reflectors out in space to cut the amount of sunlight reaching
the Earth.
-- Artificial volcanoes. Tiny sulfate particles or other materials are released into the
stratosphere to reflect sunlight, simulating the effect of a major volcanic eruption.
-- Carbon capture and storage. Supported by a number of governments and involves
capturing CO2 from power stations, refineries and natural gas wells and pumping it deep
underground.
Mooney said the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) should expand its de-facto
moratorium on ocean fertilization agreed in 2008 to all geo-engineering, although the
proposal was resisted by some countries, including Canada, earlier this year.
Canada said in Nagoya that it would work with the CBD.
"Canada was simply concerned about the lack of clarity on definitions including what
activities are included in 'geo-engineering'," Cynthia Wright, head of the delegation, said in
an email response.
"Canada shares concerns of the international community about potential negative impacts
of geo-engineering on biodiversity and is willing to work with other CBD Parties to avoid
these impacts," she said.
Environmentalists said geo-engineering went against the spirit of the Nagoya talks, which
aims to set new targets for 2020 to protect nature, such as setting up more land and
marine protected areas, cutting pollution and managing fishing.
"We are certainly in favor of more (geo-engineering) research, as in all fields, but not any
implementation for the time being because it's too dangerous. We don't know what the
effects can be," said Francois Simard of conservation group IUCN.
"Improving nature conservation is what we should do in order to fight climate change, not
trying to change nature."
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AFP: Climate change could cost US Gulf Coast billions: study
20th October 2010
The US Gulf Coast, battered by hurricanes and a devastating oil spill, faces cumulative
losses of 350 billion dollars if it fails to address the effects of climate change, a new study
said Wednesday.
The joint research by insurance firm Swiss Re and energy company Energy Corporation
warns that Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama face annual losses of two to three
percent of GDP by 2030 if they fail to act.
"Wind and storm surge damage today already amounts to an average 14 billion dollars per
year in the region," said the study, which was released as the Gulf region commemorated
six months since the start of the BP oil spill.
"Severe climate change, coupled with economic growth and land subsidence, could drive
up expected annual losses by up to 65 percent," the study warned.
The research looked at assets across 77 coastal parishes and counties in the four states,
and assessed the potential impact of natural disasters on the region's economy,
particularly the electric, gas and oil sectors.
It warned that the three main current risks to the region -- hurricanes, subsidence and
rising sea level -- were only likely to increase in coming decades.
"However, a key point is that regardless of climate change, the Gulf Coast faces an
increase in risks from natural hazards going forward," the study said, because economic
growth in risk-prone areas and land subsidence unrelated to climate change are expected
to increase regardless.
The study recommends nine "no-regrets measures" that could mitigate the financial impact
of future natural hazards, including better building codes, "beach nourishment," wetland
restoration and levee systems.
"By investing 50 billion dollars in cost-effective measures over the next 20 years... Gulf
Coast communities can avert up to 135 billion dollars in annual losses," the study said.
"There are potentially attractive measures that can keep the risk profile of the Gulf Coast
constant over the next 20 years," said Andreas Spiegel, Swiss Re's senior climate change
advisor.
The firm also said remaining risks in the region could be mitigated by increased insurance.
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AFP: Bear attacks surge in Japan, climate change blamed
20th October 2010
Bear attacks have shot up in Japan this year and sightings of the animals have spiked, a
trend blamed on climatic changes and shifting land use patterns, officials and media
reports said on Wednesday.
At least four people were killed and 80 wounded in bear attacks between April and
September in the island-nation, much of which is covered in mountain forests, topping
last year's total of 64 attacks, said broadcaster NHK.
Some 400 bears were shot dead near human-populated areas by authorised hunters on
Japan's far-northern island of Hokkaido alone, where two people were mauled to death
by bears earlier this year, a local official said.
In the mountainous central prefecture of Fukushima, northeast of Tokyo, more than 150
bears were shot dead after they encroached on residential areas.
Some wildlife experts have blamed a record heat wave this summer which impacted the
omnivores' natural food sources and sent the Asiatic black bears foraging for food in
more densely populated farming and residential areas.
"The extremely hot summer and other climatic factors may have led to a shortage of
acorns or nuts in woodlands this year," said Tatsuo Sato, an official of the Fukushima
prefectural government.
In some areas habitat destruction is blamed for forcing the bears into closer contact with
humans. In other parts, farms are being abandoned and reclaimed by nature, reducing
buffer zone with the bears' natural habitats.
In the latest reported encounter, police and hunters went on the hunt Wednesday in
Fukuchiyama, Kyoto prefecture, after a one-metre (three-foot) tall bear was sighted in a
residential area. No-one was injured.
Another bear was hit by a train on Tuesday in Shiga prefecture, central Japan, a railway
company official said.
"We should be fully aware that bears are expanding their range into our living areas,"
said an official in Hokkaido, which is home to 1,800-3,600 bears.
He also offered some safety advice to local residents: "In the unfortunate case of a bear
encounter, all we should do is look steadily into its eyes and move away slowly without
running".
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AFP: Much of planet could see extreme drought in 30 years: study
19th October 2010
Large swathes of the planet could experience extreme drought within the next 30 years
unless greenhouse gas emissions are cut, according to a study released Tuesday.
"We are facing the possibility of widespread drought in the coming decades, but this has
yet to be fully recognized by both the public and the climate change research
community," said National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) scientist Aiguo Dai,
who conducted the study.
"If the projections in this study come even close to being realized, the consequences for
society worldwide will be enormous," he said.
Parts of Asia, the United States, and southern Europe, and much of Africa, Latin
America and the Middle East could be hit by severe drought in the next few decades,
with regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea seeing "almost unprecedented" drought
conditions, the study says.
"Severe drought conditions can profoundly impact agriculture, water resources, tourism,
ecosystems, and basic human welfare," says the study, published in Wiley
Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change.
In the United States, drought causes six to eight billion dollars in damages a year on
average, and drought-related disasters killed more than half a million people in Africa in
the 1980s, the study says.
While vast areas of the world will become extremely dry for long periods, higher-latitude
regions from northern Europe to Russia, Canada, Alaska and India could become
wetter.
Increased moisture in those regions would not, however, make up for the drier
conditions across much of the rest of the world.
"The increased wetness over the northern, sparsely populated high latitudes can't match
the drying over the more densely populated temperate and tropical areas," Dai said.
Dai used results from 22 computer models used by the Nobel Prize-winning
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to make projections about
temperature, precipitation, humidity and other climate factors based on current
projections of greenhouse gas emissions.
Maps of the world that Dai produced using the data show "severe drought by the 2060s
over most of Africa, southern Europe and the Middle East, most of Americas (except
Alaska and northern Canada, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina), Australia, and
Southeast Asia," the study says.
The maps also show that most of central and northern Eurasia, Alaska and northern
Canada, and India would become wetter over the same period.
The study's predictions are based on current projections of what greenhouse gas
emissions will be this century.
What actually happens in the next few decades will depend on several factors, including
the actual future level of greenhouse gas emissions and natural climate cycles such as
El Nino, which often reduces precipitation over low-latitude land areas.
The study follows on from earlier research, including by Dai and the IPCC, that found
that global warming will probably alter precipitation patterns as the subtropics expand.
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AFP: India sets up 'green court' to make polluters pay
19th October 2010
India launched a "green" court Tuesday to make polluters pay damages as it steps up its
policing of the country's environmental laws.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said India was only the third country in the world
after Australia and New Zealand to set up such a tribunal.
"This is the first body of its kind (in India) to apply the polluter pays principle and the
principle of sustainable development," Ramesh told reporters in New Delhi.
"Anybody and everybody can approach the tribunal to claim civil damages arising out of
inadequate implementation of environment laws," said Ramesh, who has been carving
out a reputation as a green crusader.
Ramesh has insisted that India's desire for fast economic growth must not come at the
expense of the environment.
The tribunal, which will operate around India, is to be made up of members who are
environmental experts and has powers to "try all matters related to and arising out of
environmental issues", said a government statement.
The move to launch the tribunal was the latest sign of a tougher approach by India to
improving its green track record as concerns mount about the impact of growing
industrialisation on air and water quality, forests and wildlife.
On Monday a government panel urged that clearance granted to South Korean steel
giant POSCO for the construction of a 12-billion-dollar plant in eastern India be scrapped
due to environmental concerns.
In August, the government rejected plans by British-based Vedanta Resources to mine
bauxite in an area held sacred by Indian tribespeople and also cited "serious violations"
of environmental rules.
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AP: Schwarzenegger urges voters to protect climate law
19th October 2010
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday he doesn't just want to defeat the November
ballot measure that would suspend the state's greenhouse gas emissions law — he
wants voters to trounce it to prompt Washington to create a new national energy policy.
Speaking in San Francisco, Schwarzenegger characterized Proposition 23 as a battle
between out-of-state oil interests and environmental progress.
"Now, there's some Texan oil companies, they don't like our environmental laws," the
Republican governor told the audience at the Willie L. Brown Jr. Institute annual
breakfast. "And so I want to ask all of you to do everything you can to make everyone
vote 'no' on this proposition."
The petroleum industry has spent millions to promote the measure, which would
indefinitely suspend AB32, California's 2006 law mandating significant emissions
reductions by 2020. Supporters say such a move is necessary to protect small
businesses and save jobs in a state where unemployment is at 12.4 percent.
Critics say that argument masks greed and self-interest among oil industry executives.
They contend AB32, which is scheduled to take effect in 2012, ultimately would create
more jobs than it eliminates in the short term.
Schwarzenegger called for voters to send a clear message to Proposition 23's backers.
"It's very important that we push back, and it is important that we do it with a huge
victory, a huge margin," he said Tuesday. "Then we can go to Washington and say,
'Let's go and set a national energy policy.'"
The governor's remarks kicked off a series of events organized by Proposition 23
opponents. Later in the day, a group of 68 venture capitalists and investors issued a joint
statement against the measure, calling it "shortsighted and counterproductive" and a
threat to the state's position as a clean-energy leader.
In the four years since AB32 was approved, $9 billion has been invested in clean
technology in California and more than a million Californians are employed in clean-tech
jobs, the statement said.
"This isn't about wearing hemp and adopting a totally new kind of lifestyle," said Alan
Salzman, CEO and managing partner of the California-based VantagePoint Venture
Partners. "Through this innovation, we are driving to make the energy, water and
materials we use cheaper and better than today's fossil fuel-based solutions."
The investors, who collectively manage more than $415 billion in assets, warned that
Proposition 23 could put that innovation in jeopardy.
"Proposition 23 is a classic example of short-term thinking that could destroy long-term
opportunity and growth in California," said Chris Davis, director of investor programs at
Ceres, a Boston-based investment network that focuses on environmental sustainability.
A spokesman for Valero Corp. of Texas, one of three oil companies that have
contributed the bulk of the money to Proposition 23, said that if the measure fails,
California's independent refiners will suffer and the state's reliance on cheap overseas
oil will increase — the exact outcome Proposition 23 opponents say they want to
prevent.
"That's why we're saying this is not the right time for AB32," said the spokesman, Bill
Day.
Day also noted that the campaign to defeat Proposition 23 is currently outspending the
oil companies by a large margin.
The No on 23 campaign reported $12.6 million in donations as of Sept. 30, with
significant backing from the Natural Resources Defense Council and several Northern
California investors.
So far this month, it has brought in an additional $10.6 million, thanks in part to major
donations from the National Wildlife Federation and movie director James Cameron.
The Yes on 23 campaign, meanwhile, reported raising $8.3 million in the first nine
months of this year and has raised at least $724,000 since then. In addition to Valero,
the main contributors have been Tesoro Corp. of Texas, and Flint Hills Resources, a
Wichita, Kan., company owned by Koch Industries.
Some Proposition 23 opponents are using humor to call attention to the serious issues at
stake. Actor David Arquette, who is known for his oddball antics on and off screen,
appeared in Sacramento on Tuesday with green-technology advocates to premiere a
series of short films critical of the initiative.
The spots will run on YouTube and other websites and aim to appeal to young voters,
producers said. One of the videos, "Don't Mess with California," depicts Arquette as
California, knocking out a group of thugs who represent Texas oil companies.
"California has green jobs, and special interests and people from out of state and big
corporations are trying to stop these green jobs," said Arquette, clad in an Americanflag-print karate uniform. "And it's up to us as people, as citizens, to stand up and not
take it."
The latest efforts come on the heels of two recent polls that paint an unclear picture of
Proposition 23's chances. A Field Poll released Sept. 26 found 45 percent of likely voters
opposed the measure, while 34 percent supported it.
A Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California poll released the previous week
showed 40 percent of voters favoring the measure and 38 percent opposing it. One in
five people surveyed said they had not yet taken a position on the initiative.
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_________________________________________________________________
Telegraph (UK): Penguins are not gay, they are just lonely
The homosexual behaviour of male king penguins has already been noted in zoos.
Now in a new study, scientists have found the evidence of male pairs in the wild. The
research found that more than a quarter of the colony in Antarctica were in same sex
partners, mostly two males.
In the past, it was claimed that penguins could not discern between the sexes because
they looked alike. Male pairs in zoos in the US and Germany have hatched and reared
‘adopted’ chicks.
However the new study by the Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology in
Montpellier, France found that the penguins are only pairing up with other males because
they are “lonely”.
There are not enough females in the colony and the males have high levels of
testosterone, which drives them to engage in mating displays - even if it is with other
males.
During the mating season king penguins “flirt” with potential partners by closing their eyes,
stretching their heads skyward and moving them in a half-circle to "take peeks" at one
another.
The male pairs engaged in the displays for short periods of time but did not bond in the
same way as a heterosexual pair would, by learning each other’s calls or caring for eggs.
Professor F Stephen Dobson, one of the authors of the study published in the journal
Ethology, said the number of same sex pairs was actually lower than expected. When the
colony was studied over time he found all the ‘gay’ penguins chose a heterosexual
partner. A female pair also ‘split up’ to raise an egg with male partner.
"I found that the rate of homosexually displaying pairs was significantly lower than one
would expect by chance," he said.
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ROA MEDIA UPDATE
THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWS
Thursday, 21 October, 2010
General Environment News
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Kenya: Plastics to Stay With Us for Much Longer, Says Michuki
Sierra Leone: CRM Concludes Workshop on the Environment
Sudan: South Admits Challenges to Handle Disastrous Oil By-Products
Kenya: Plastics to Stay With Us for Much Longer, Says Michuki
Daily Nation (Nairobi) - The use of plastics, blamed for environmental damage, cannot
be eliminated, the Environment minister John Michuki recently admitted. "While there are
still many questions left unanswered on the environment and plastic uses, it is clear that
the product is here to stay," said Mr. Michuki. He added that plastics are gradually
replacing the expensive metal, rubber, ceramic products used especially in the building
and construction industry and consumer household products. "The results are an
unsanitary environment, which affects a large part of the population, contaminates water
sources and spreads diseases with consequent costs to the economy and society," he
said.
Speaking during the launch of Coca-Cola East and Central Africa's PET Initiative, Mr.
Michuki said stepping up public awareness campaigns and education is necessary if
recycling has to achieve its intended purpose of contributing to waste management in
the country. http://allafrica.com/stories/201010180686.html
Sierra Leone: CRM Concludes Workshop on the Environment
Concord Times (Freetown) - Child Rescue Mission Sierra Leone (CRM-SL), a
community based organization operating in the eastern region of Sierra Leone, has
concluded a one-day sensitization campaign on the theme "Addressing the Unfriendly
Environmental Measures" within communities in post war Sierra Leone and the control of
waste management in rural areas. The campaign was funded by Disney Friends for
Change, a youth service programme in the United States of America. In his statement,
the community health officer Sulaiman Kanneh commended the initiative of the
organizers and for the kind consideration of their chiefdom. He admonished all and
sundry about the hazards of lack of proper sanitation, stating that it is better to prevent
the disease than curing it.
Regent Chief Jusu of Koindu admonished all to put filth aside, as it is a health hazard.
He also stressed on the need for the community to enforce it by-laws on sanitation and
advise all to stop forthwith on throwing dirt all over the town.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201010180874.html
Sudan: South Admits Challenges to Handle Disastrous Oil By-Products
Sudan Tribune (Juba & Bentui) - Authorities from the oil producing region of South
Sudan on Friday admitted facing serious challenges to handle dangerous waste
products from oil. Garang Diing Akuong, minister of energy and industry in the semi
autonomous government of southern Sudan, said the ministry has drawn clear and
simple regulatory policies to protect environment from what he regards as "odious oil
products" around areas from where the oil is drilled.
The report came following reports and influential voices from environmental protection
professionals, expressing dangers associated with oil products to local people in drilling
areas. Professor, Spencer Kenyi, an academic specializing in environmental protection,
observed that authorities from most of the oil producing areas give little attention to
environmental
threats
to
the
local
population.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201010181581.html
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ROWA MEDIA UPDATE
THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWS
Wednesday, 20 October, 2010
UAE
Judges highlight need for environment courts
Judges who are environmental activists say that the community needs to be reassured
on environmental issues.
Abu Dhabi: The UAE should have courts dedicated to environment issues to implement
green justice and boost environmental awareness among the people, a group of judges
who are also environmental activists said.
"Only with an effective environmental court system will we be on our way to providing
our children the legacy of a better place to live," said Dr Magdi Ebrahim Qasim, former
chief justice of the Court of Appeals in Egypt and lecturer at the Institute of Training and
Judicial Studies.
The call comes in the backdrop of a record rise in temperatures worldwide, devastating
droughts in Russia and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis wrought severe floods in
Pakistan.
Dr Qasim told the audience at a seminar at the Ministry of Environment and Water that
an environmental court system will help nurture a unique partnership between local
government organisations and the community that solves old problems with innovative,
new solutions and strengthens the environmental consciousness.
"Only with an environmental court system, will law enforcement officials and citizens no
longer battle a system that is incapable of following through on their recommendations
and needs," he said.
Dr Mohammad Mahmoud Al Kamali, director of the institute, agreed and said green
courts are needed to look into pressing environmental concerns that impede our efforts
to promote a clean and healthy environment. "The UAE should keep pace with the
international trend in having environmental courts and specialised judges to look into
environment-related case."
Dr Yassir Mohammad Nabeel Mustafa, adviser for chemical and hazardous waste at the
Ministry of Environment and Water, also said dedicated courts would bring about a
positive change in public behaviour. "Knowing they can be charged and punished will
deter people from doing things that harm the environment, such as littering in public
places and throwing waste matter in waterways, using smoke-belching vehicles and
causing noise pollution," he said.
Justice Juma Bu Rashid of the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeals, warned against "poor
environmental law enforcement".
Civil defence: Big responsibility
Major General Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, director general of Dubai Civil Defence and
acting commander in chief of the UAE Civil Defence, said the civil defence is tasked with
the protection of life and property from the hazards of all environment-related hazards
and not just fire.
The type of violations reported to green courts may include failure to remove hazardous
materials, dangerous accumulation of waste, failure to instal smoke detectors, arson and
failure to install proper fire protection systems, he said.
How effective do you think this initiative will be in fast tracking environmental issues?
Would stricter regulations help curb the number of such cases?
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/environment/judges-highlight-need-for-environmentcourts-1.699023
Jordan
AMMAN - The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is continuing with a programme to
uproot trees planted in pavements to make the capital more pedestrian friendly, an
official said on Tuesday.
Under the “Rehabilitation of Amman’s Pavements” project, which was launched in 2006,
GAM uproots trees blocking sidewalks and rehabilitates pavements to facilitate
pedestrian movement and reduce road accidents.
“The project is ongoing; we have started a new phase that includes rehabilitating the
pavements of Jubeiha, while work on Abdullah Ghosheh Street, which commenced in
mid-2008, is on track,” project director Mohammad Rahahleh told The Jordan Times
over the phone yesterday.
Neighbourhoods characterised by dense pedestrian traffic due to commercial or tourist
sites, as well as areas housing public institutions are given priority for pavement
rehabilitation, he noted.
The uprooting of some fruit-bearing olive trees will be temporarily suspended until the
harvesting season is over in December to avoid damaging the trees, he added.
Most of the capital’s sidewalks are planted with olive trees and Washingtonians, which
block people’s access. GAM launched the project after studies conducted by its teams in
cooperation with the Traffic Department indicated that scores of pedestrians are killed
and hundreds are injured every year as a result of having to walk on roads due to
sidewalks being blocked by trees.
In addition, Ministry of Health studies show that olive trees are a major cause of
allergies, with approximately 25-30 per cent of the capital’s inhabitants suffering from
allergy-related health problems. The roots of the trees also damage pavements,
according to GAM.
“A total of 60,000 trees have been uprooted from Amman’s sidewalks since the
beginning of the year,” a statement issued yesterday by the GAM press centre indicated.
The uprooted trees were replanted on state-owned land near the Queen Alia
International Airport, the Royal Polo Club in Zarqa and two public parks in Amman.
The municipality also encourages citizens to replant the uprooted trees in their
backyards and gardens.
According to GAM regulations, all olive trees and Washingtonians planted on sidewalks
of less than two metres in width are removed, while two-metre wide pavements will be
replanted with trees according to specific standards that facilitate pedestrian movement.
Tree trunks should be a minimum of 2.10 metres high, adapt to the surrounding
environment, be non-blossoming and have no branches sticking out that could harm
pedestrians.
In addition, there should be a minimum space of six metres and a maximum of 12
metres between the trees, while taking into consideration curves and traffic signs.
http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=31106
COP 10-Biodiversity
The international conference on biodiversity in Nagoya, Japan
http://www.sana.sy/ara/8/2010/10/18/313932.htm
http://arabic.peopledaily.com.cn/31657/7169439.html
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ROAP MEDIA UPDATE
THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWS
Wednesday, 20 October, 2010
UNEP or UN in the News
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Asahi Shimbun-COP10: Biodiversity offsets can help fund conservation
The Japan Times-Biodiversity parley finding goals elusive
The Daily Yomiuri-Developing nations wary of plant seed exploitation
The Yomiuri Shimbun-COP10 participants ready for crucial talks
The Yomiuri Shimbun-COP10--Biodiversity / Clams muscle in on Tokyo Bay
china dialogue-Why Nagoya matters
People's Daily Online-Talks begin in central Japanese city for global biodiversity
targets
Sydney Morning Herald-UN calls for immediate action to save life on Earth Kyoko
Hasegawa
Radio New Zealand-Biological diversity summit at 'defining moment'
COP10: Biodiversity offsets can help fund conservation
BY YOSHIKAZU HIRAI THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
2010/10/19 - An international group of blue-chip companies and organizations is moving
to establish a mechanism to counterbalance environmental impacts as a means to
pressure businesses to fund conservation efforts.
The Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program (BBOP) is preparing guidelines for the
system under which companies would compensate for biodiversity lost through
development by investing in protection in a different area.
In Japan, a study group led by Tohoku University is looking into the possibility of
introducing the program, while Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) has
expressed concern that the discussions might spawn regulations.
Biodiversity offsets will also be on the agenda at the 10th meeting of the Conference of
the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10), which started in Nagoya
on Monday.
The BBOP's members include mining developer Rio Tinto, oil giant Shell, the United
Nations Environment Program, and Conservation International, a U.S.-based
environmental nongovernmental organization.
The group plans to announce voluntary international guidelines for biodiversity offsets in
2011 based on the results of pilot projects it has carried out since 2004 in six locations
around the world.
Kerry ten Kate, director of the BBOP, said the objective is to ensure development
projects result in "no net loss" to the environment.
One of the pilot projects involves the expansion of platinum mining operations in South
Africa.
Anglo Platinum, a member company of the BBOP, is developing about 2,200 hectares to
double output. To make up for damage to biodiversity, the company will protect about
5,400 hectares of forest about 8 kilometers west.
The development is taking place in an area where residents gather firewood and plants
for medicinal purposes.
Anglo Platinum was concerned tensions with residents might impede operations. It
presented residents with a biodiversity offset plan after carrying out a survey of the
area's vegetation and economy in cooperation with a local university and the BBOP.
The company agreed to employ residents as environmental wardens for the area. It also
agreed to fund the establishment of an eco-tourism company, the management of which
will be passed on to the local village.
BBOP members that accumulate experience in biodiversity offsets could gain a
competitive advantage over their rivals.
Mizuho Corporate Bank is Japan's only member of the BBOP.
The bank joined the group in March, after it learned that the BBOP's principles would be
incorporated into the revised loan criteria of the International Finance Corp., a World
Bank organization responsible for aid to developing countries.
"If things continue the way they are, the BBOP's ideas will gain a status similar to
international certification in the near future," says Osamu Odawara, who heads Mizuho
Corporate Bank's Sustainable Development Department. "We wanted to join the group
before things were finalized."
The biodiversity offsets study group set up in June at the initiative of Tohoku University
has brought together about 60 individuals from general contractors, megabanks, NGOs,
universities, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Tokyo
metropolitan government.
Over the course of a year, the group will analyze overseas examples and examine the
problems that might arise if the method is introduced in Japan and the potential impact
on the economy and society.
It will conduct experiments and put together a report including policy suggestions for the
government.
The Environment Ministry also began investigations into overseas cases in the current
fiscal year.
"Japan needs to seriously study methods suitable to the country although there has
been next to no discussion about biodiversity offsets," said Akira Tanaka, an associate
professor of landscape architecture at Tokyo City University, who has been researching
overseas cases for about 20 years.
Nippon Keidanren is wary of new regulations, however.
In its Declaration of Biodiversity released in March 2009, the business organization
expressed doubts about evaluating the value of natural environments in different areas
based on certain standards.
It said that each area has its own unique ecosystem that cannot be replaced.
In many overseas cases, comprehensive judgments are made after yardsticks are
created for calculating the land area, the number of rare species and the utility value for
humans.
Australia, Germany and some U.S. states have established markets where credits for
the conservation or destruction of wetlands and other ecosystems can be sold and
bought.
In a proposal released in June, Nippon Keidanren warned against creating a market for
tradable credits for offset programs.
It said that the introduction of compensation measures such as buying credits could lead
to an acceleration of biodiversity destruction.
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201010180262.html
Biodiversity parley finding goals elusive
Grand accord means naught if nations balk
By ERIC JOHNSTON
Staff writer
NAGOYA — The Monday start of the COP10 conference was marked by strong
differences over how to ensure fair access to genetic resources and how to demarcate
terrestrial and marine areas for protection under a new environmental protocol.
The two-week 10th conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity,
involving delegates from more than 190 countries, is expected to adopt new,
internationally binding rules for access to biological resources, in particular plants and
other organisms, and the knowledge associated with them, that form the basis of
modern medicine and other products.
In addition, the conference is expected to establish specific targets for conserving land
and marine areas threatened by biodiversity loss.
Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto opened COP10 by saying the goal established by
the convention in 2002 to significantly reduce biodiversity loss by 2010 has not been
met, as evidenced by species losses occurring at more than 1,000 times their natural
rate of extinction.
He warned delegates that the planet was now close to the point of no return in terms of
reversing biodiversity loss.
"We must create a future of the planet based on living in harmony with nature, and we're
in Nagoya to create such a future. It's important to agree on an international regime on
access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing, to develop medical products, and to
connect these benefits to conservation of biodiversity," Matsumoto said.
At the heart of the debate over a new access and benefit-sharing agreement are several
issues related to the rights of indigenous peoples, especially the question of how much
compensation they should receive by international corporations that use both their
resources and associated knowledge for commercial drugs and biotech products when
they are patented.
Another issue awaiting hot debate is the historical compensation to such peoples for
resources on their lands that have already been turned into patented products, and for
the biodiversity lost in this pursuit, as well as how they might be included in future
arrangements.
"Issues that remain contentious include the scope of the new protocol, and whether or
not it will cover future developments in genetic research. The new agreement must also
be such that only legally acquired genetic resources and traditional knowledge can be
used and marketed, for example, through a system of customs checkpoints," said
Christine von Weizsacker, spokeswoman for CBD Alliance, an umbrella organization of
international nongovernmental organizations attending the conference.
CBD officials remain hopeful the protocol will be finalized by the time COP10 ends Oct.
29. Nearly 120 senior ministers and a number of heads of state are expected to be in
Nagoya to conclude the agreement.
As for preservation targets over the coming decade, countries have indicated they will
support different conservation goals.
The current text being debated includes a target to set aside either 15 or 20 percent of
the world's land areas and inland waterways, and an unspecified percentage of coastal
and marine areas for protection.
Asked how COP10 could reach a significant agreement on these numbers, Ahmed
Djoghlaf, executive secretary of CBD, said the real issue was what delegates will do with
the strategic plan for post-2010 biodiversity protection goals in their own countries after
the conference ends.
"I don't think the issue is numbers. The issue is ownership. Ownership by the
governments, civil society and by the private sector. The parties will be requested to
translate this strategic plan (to be adopted at COP10) into national plans. The targets
are not implemented at the COP. They are implemented at the national level," he said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20101019a1.html
Developing nations wary of plant seed exploitation
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The following is the third installment of a three-part series on major challenges facing
COP10, the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity,
which opened in Nagoya on Monday.
A large-scale plant conservation project in Britain is working to preserve seeds from 25
percent of the world's wild plants by 2020, but some developing nations are apparently
wary of its motives.
The Millennium Seed Bank located at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in a London
suburb has frozen the seeds of about 24,200 plant species, or about 10 percent of the
world's seed plants.
Standing in a storage freezer where the temperature is kept at minus 20 C, Dr. Michiel
van Slageren, 55, said human activities have driven many plants into extinction.
The seed bank was established 10 years ago. It collects plant seeds in cooperation with
the countries of origin and stores them in both those countries and the London seed
bank.
Joint research by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources and the seed bank revealed last month that one-fifth of the 380,000 plant
species on Earth are on the verge of extinction. The storage of plant seeds far from their
original countries is insurance against this risk.
Ghilliean Prance, former head of the Kew botanic gardens, said the main purpose of the
seed bank was to preserve plant seeds from developing countries where biodiversity is
diminishing dramatically.
At the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora held in Doha in March--where
participants discussed regulations on catches of bluefin tuna--numerous proposals were
made that plants be added to the list of wildlife in danger of extinction on which
international trade is restricted.
Suggestions included rosewood, from which balms and perfume essences are extracted.
As a result of a proposal from Brazil, rosewood was added to Appendix II of the
convention, which requires government permission for export and import.
Dr. Niro Higuchi of Brazil's National Institute for Research in the Amazon said rosewood
trees were abundant 50 years ago but now are nearly extinct in some states. Although
the trees are slow to grow and artificial cultivation is difficult, young trees have also been
cut down, Higuchi said.
However, the seed bank in the London botanic gardens does not store rosewood seeds
from Brazil.
Higuchi said Britain once took away seeds of gum trees from original sites in the
Amazon, and cultivated them on plantations in Southeast Asia to make huge profits.
According to Higuchi, many Brazilians are wary of Britain's intentions.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain expanded its colonies and collected plants across
the globe. It transplanted and cultivated the plants to produce medicines, fragrances and
food, as well as using them for ornamental purposes.
The Kew botanical gardens were at the heart of these activities, and even in the 21st
century, developing countries may associate the facility with depriving people of their
biological resources.
Eighteen countries have sent seeds to the Kew seed bank after signing agreements that
prohibit it from using the seeds for commercial purposes. Among South American
countries, only Chile has done so.
Ecology researcher Prof. Jose Sarukhan of the National Autonomous University of
Mexico said it is important to preserve plants in the places they currently exist.
The seed bank is considering a new cooperative plan in which countries of origin will
store seeds only inside their own borders.
Can industrialized and developing countries overcome the past and build cooperative
relations for the future at the COP10 meeting? Efforts to find a compromise continue.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T101018004051.htm
COP10 participants ready for crucial talks
The Yomiuri Shimbun
COP10 delegates gather at the conference room in the Nagoya Congress Center on
Monday morning.NAGOYA--Delegates of governments, nongovernment groups and
companies from around the world are arriving in Nagoya for an international conference
on biodiversity, a meeting one participant said could decide the fate of the planet.
The opening ceremony of the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on
Biological Diversity, or COP10, was held at the Nagoya Congress Center on Monday.
A 38-year-old Colombian delegate said Earth's fate hinges on the conference. She said
she hoped negotiations on biological genetic resources and agriculture will be thorough
and well-considered.
A 55-year-old participant from South Africa was optimistic some agreements would be
reached during the conference.
The Aichi-Nagoya Cop10 CBD Promotion Committee, comprising local governments and
other entities in Aichi Prefecture, is urging meeting participants to make greater use of
public transportation to cut CO2 emissions during the event. The committee is giving
7,800 free subway tickets to event participants.
A 60-year-old delegate from Turkey said Nagoya's subways were convenient. Although
he could not read some signs, passersby had pointed him in the right direction, he said.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T101018003931.htm
COP10--Biodiversity / Clams muscle in on Tokyo Bay
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Hard clams, the basis of clam chowder, are native to the eastern shores of North
America but a thriving population now exists in Tokyo Bay.
Also known as quahogs or hard-shell clams, hard clams were was first found in the bay
in the mid-1990s, likely having arrived in ballast water of commercial ships. They have
colonized in the bay's less-than-pristine water, which is uninhabitable even for some
indigenous species.
The biodiversity of coastal areas is scheduled to be discussed at the ongoing 10th
meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity
(COP10) in Nagoya, but typically much more attention is paid to conserving landdwelling creatures than to marine species.
While fishermen who work on Tokyo Bay welcome the arrival of the new species,
regarding them as a new fishing resource, marine experts say steps should be taken to
preserve the "normal" state of the bay's ecosystem.
Commercial ships traveling without cargo take in a certain amount of water at port for
stability, and dump it after loading at the next port. In this way, alien species can be
introduced to faraway marine ecosystems.
A survey compiled in 1997 by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry,
found that about 17 million tons of ballast water were discharged in coastal waters of
Japan annually, and that commercial ships carried about 300 million tons of ballast water
from Japan to other countries.
The International Maritime Organization adopted an international convention to curb the
number of aquatic organisms carried in ballast water. It requires all commercial ships to
be fitted with water-purifying machines for use when discharging ballast water.
The ministry said, however, the convention has yet to take effect because three of the 30
nations concerned had not ratified it as of the end of September, Japan being one of
them.
On Friday morning at Funabashi Port in Chiba Prefecture, a total of about one ton of
hard clams was unloaded from five ships.
"The hard clams have become widely known as Funabashi's new specialty. They don't
have any negative impact on original species or other species," said a 30-year-old
fishing broker at Funabashi Port.
"It's a new addition to the types of clams we can make a living from," he smiled.
In Japan, hard clams, which are typically a few centimeters wide, are widely enjoyed
roasted or boiled in soy sauce or steamed with sake.
In Tokyo Bay, they cluster in Futtsu tideland and Sanbanze tideland in Chiba Prefecture-areas with a habitat density of about a few hundred per square meter.
Koichi Goka, a researcher at the National Institute for Environmental Studies, said more
than 90 percent of species cannot adapt when introduced to a new environment and die
out. The hard clams, however, have proliferated because they can prosper in dirty water
with little oxygen.
Toshio Furota, professor of Toho University Tokyo Bay Ecosystem Research Center,
warned of the dangers of introducing new species to the bay.
"Foreign species may exacerbate the problem of insufficient oxygen, damaging the
quality of water [in Tokyo Bay]," Furota said.
For example, a large number of murasakigai, or Mediterranean mussel, cluster on the
concrete walls of Tokyo Bay. When they die, bacteria need a large amount of oxygen as
they consume the mussels.
"In Tokyo Bay, an influx of sewage water [which raises the water temperature] and the
decreasing tideland area have made it difficult for indigenous species," Furota said.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T101018003910.htm
Why Nagoya matters
Mike Shanahan, October 18, 2010
As global governments gather in Japan to negotiate a new path for fighting species loss,
Mike Shanahan explains how human welfare and biodiversity are intricately entwined.
“Tropical forests have given us chemicals to treat or cure diabetes and malaria, heart
conditions and skin diseases. More than two-thirds of all medicines with cancer-fighting
properties come from rainforest plants.”
In the late 1990s, I spent 18 months living in Lambir Hills National Park in Sarawak, in
the Malaysian part of Borneo, where I was studying the rainforest for my PhD. Tropical
rainforests are incredible places. They throb with life, and each day brings a new
encounter with something spectacular.
The forest where I worked was small, at just under 70 square kilometres, and its wild
animals had been hammered by hunting and habitat loss in the surrounding area. But
the richness of its trees was second to none. In that forest you could mark out an area
just 100 metres by 100 metres and enclose 800 different species of trees. By contrast,
there are just 36 native tree species in the whole of the British Isles.
Sarawak’s indigenous people know their forests inside out – every tree has a name, a
use and a value. There is the gaharu tree, whose wood produces a resin that smells so
good that it can sell in the Middle East for thousands of dollars per kilogram. There are
dozens of species of meranti, one of the most important timber trees of south-east Asia
and dozens of species of wild fruit trees too.
There is the tapang tree, in which honey bees build their hives because it grows up to 80
metres tall and has smooth bark that the honey-loving sun bear cannot climb. Local Iban
people are not deterred by this tree’s great height. They climb it and use smoke to scare
off the bees while they harvest the honey.
The forest brings other, less immediate benefits to local communities too. Each night
small bats that live in the forest take to the air and consume millions of insects, including
commercially important crop pests and mosquitoes that transmit dengue fever. By day,
bees, butterflies and beetles leave the forest and fly to farmers’ fields where they
pollinate important food crops. Birds, fruit bats and monkeys disperse the seeds of many
of the plants that local people have used for generations as traditional medicines;
medicines that Western science is now showing to have measurable therapeutic effects.
Forests also help to regulate the local climate, ensure clean water supplies and protect
communities from flooding.
But Sarawak’s politicians – like those in all parts of the world – have not factored the
value of these environmental goods and services into their policymaking. Until just a few
decades ago, Sarawak was almost entirely cloaked in forests like the one I worked in.
Today just 10% of the original forest cover remains – and that is mostly found in national
parks, where local people are forbidden from using the resources within.
This month the scale of deforestation in Sarawak became clear. Malaysia’s biggest river
– the Rajang, which runs for 563 kilometres from the heart of Borneo to the South China
Sea – was blocked by thousands upon thousands of dead trees that had been washed
into the river by heavy rain. The log-jam extended for 50 kilometres. One experienced
sawmill manager estimated that there was 300,000 cubic metres of wood in the water.
To put things in perspective, Sarawak sells that volume of plywood for about US$120
million (797 million yuan) every couple of months. This was no natural disaster. The
trees were already cut. They had come from the highlands where the last remnants of
loggable forest remain.
This is all bad news for Sarawak of course – its political elite have become millionaires
through logging, while the majority of its people are not only still poor but also no longer
have the resources their communities were sound custodians of for generations. But the
benefits of tropical forests extend far beyond the borders of countries like Malaysia.
Forests absorb and store vast quantities of carbon that would otherwise contribute to
climate change. The richer, more diverse the forest is, the more carbon it stores.
Tropical forests are also the source of many of the medicines we take for granted. They
have given us chemicals to treat or cure diabetes and malaria, heart conditions and skin
diseases. More than two-thirds of all medicines with cancer-fighting properties come
from rainforest plants. When you consider that Sarawak’s original forests had up to 800
tree species in a single hectare (100 metres by 100 metres) but have now been almost
totally deforested, it becomes clear that human actions carry a huge cost that rarely gets
counted.
And forests are not the only source of natural benefits under threat. The same applies to
our coral reefs and dryland savannahs, our coastal mangroves forests and our deep
oceans. The environment and human wellbeing are two sides of the same coin, and
because of this biodiversity offers immense opportunities to reduce poverty and increase
people’s resilience to climate change. But poor policies and legal frameworks governing
how biodiversity is used and by whom mean that this potential is not being tapped.
To put a price-tag on what these things are worth, the Deutsche Bank analyst Pavan
Sukhdev has spent the past two years running “The Economics of Ecosystems and
Biodiversity” study. It concludes that the goods and services nature provides are worth
between US$2 trillion (13.3 trillion yuan) and US$4.5 trillion (29.9 trillion yuan) annually.
Sukhdev says the pollination service that insects and other animals provide alone is
worth US$190 billion (1.3 trillion yuan) each year. But, because these benefits are not
included in economic valuations and in policymaking, they tend to be overexploited. We
expect finite resources to fuel infinite growth, and scientists warn that if we continue to
bite the hand that feeds us it will slap us in the face.
That’s why this week’s big UN meeting in Japan is so important. Governments from
around the world are gathering in Nagoya to make three key decisions that will
determine whether current and future generations continue to benefit from nature’s
riches.
On the table is a comprehensive ten-year strategy with 20 measurable targets. If
approved and enacted it could revolutionise the way we manage and interact with the
world about us, and bring immense social and economic benefits to people worldwide.
Also up for agreement in Nagoya are large flows of finance that will be needed to enact
the strategy — for instance, to support developing countries that are asked to protect
large areas of wilderness for the good of all of humanity. The costs will be high but the
returns on the investment will be far greater because of the high value of the
environmental goods and services that biodiversity provides us with.
The third piece of the puzzle is a new set of international rules that would provide
transparent access to the world’s biological resources while ensuring that their countries
of origin get a fair share of any benefits that arise from their use – such as when
companies develop commercial medicines from plants or other life-forms.
This new “protocol” on access and benefit-sharing could create major incentives for
countries to protect their forests and other natural capital while enabling businesses to
use biological resources to develop useful new products in a sustainable way.
The meeting in Japan – known as COP10 – will bring together 193 parties to the UN
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), an international law that was created at the
Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Since then, there has been growing awareness of how
important nature is to human health, livelihoods and national economies. But at the
same time the state of the natural world has continued to decline steeply, as revealed in
the Global Biodiversity Outlook 3 report which was released in May.
In 2002 governments agreed to reduce significantly the loss of biodiversity by 2010. But
they failed, in large part because they did not address the underlying causes of
biodiversity loss – such as a lack of awareness of the true value of biodiversity and a
failure to include the true costs of biodiversity loss in policies and plans. With a new,
more ambitious and better-designed strategy, governments now have another chance to
create a global agreement to preserve and wisely use our planet’s living resources in
ways that bring benefit to all.
Key to this will be better communication about biodiversity, conveying why it is important,
what its decline means and what can be done about it. For this to happen, we need to
focus on how the fate of biodiversity will affect our health, our wealth and our children’s
future. We need to remember that people are part of the web of life, not apart from it. We
need to focus on the benefits biodiversity can provide if we manage it well instead of
telling doom-and-gloom stories of extinction and destruction.
To this end, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has
teamed up with BirdLife International and Pavan Sukhdev to produce Banking on
Biodiversity, a free pocket-sized guide that explains how nature’s riches can play a major
role in poverty eradication. And in Nagoya on October 27, IIED, Internews and the
International Union for Conservation of Nature will formally launch the Biodiversity Media
Alliance, which aims to strengthen the quality and quantity of media coverage of this
under-reported story, which has profound implications for livelihoods, health and
businesses the world over – the silent decline in the planet’s biological resources.
Mike Shanahan is press officer at the International Institute for Environment and
Development.
http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/3882
Talks begin in central Japanese city for global biodiversity targets
October 18, 2010 - Representatives from all corners of the world gathered in the central
Japanese city of Nagoya on Monday for the 10th meeting of the Conference of the
Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP10.
A record number of 15,000 people representing the 193 Parties and their partners took
part in the meeting to finalize the negotiation on a new Strategic Plan on biodiversity for
the next 10 years and a biodiversity vision for 2050.
A broad range of issues like access and benefit-sharing, climate change,
geoengineering and biodiversity, and finance, economic instruments will also be
discussed in the meeting.
Ryu Matsumoto, minister of the Environment of Japan, said at the opening ceremony
that the nature was in serious danger and he urged for a new global target, which should
be ambitious and realistic. The minister, who is also the president of COP10, noted that
the 2010 goal had not been achieved.
The 2010 biodiversity target was endorsed in 2002 with the goal of achieving by 2010 a
significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and
national levels to contribute to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth.
"However, based on the result of the 3rd edition of Global Biodiversity Outlook, which
was released in May this year, we were unable to achieve the target," Matsumoto said.
This year marks the international year of biodiversity with a lot of activities going on
around the world. The negotiations in Nagoya will last until Oct. 29.
A ministerial meeting in the last three days will be the highlight of the event. Negotiations
will be conducted toward the adoption of a new protocol, an international regime on
access to genetic resources such as medicinal plants and benefit-sharing for the
countries concerned.
But analysts said the talks will not be easy because members of COP10 are divided on
key issues including the benefit-sharing and financial support.
The loss and destruction of biodiversity is taking place at an unprecedented rate in the
history of the biological life. Currently, some 40,000 species have become extinct every
year, reports said.
Experts said loss of biological resources might threaten the survival of human beings by
declining their living quality. In addition, the generations to come would no longer enjoy
the benefit from the ecosystem and biological resources.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7169598.html
UN calls for immediate action to save life on Earth Kyoko Hasegawa
October 18, 2010 - 11:24PM
The world must act immediately to stop the rapid loss of animal and plant species that
allow humans to exist, the United Nations warned on Monday at the start of a major
summit on biodiversity.
Delegates from the 193 members of the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
are gathering in the central city of Nagoya to try to work out strategies to reverse a manmade mass extinction.
"The time to act is now and the place to act is here," CBD executive secretary Ahmed
Djoghlaf said as the meeting opened, describing the 12-day event as a "defining
moment" in the history of mankind.
Advertisement: Story continues below "Business as usual is no more an option when it
comes to life on Earth... we need a new approach, we need to reconnect with nature and
live in harmony with nature."
Delegates were told human population pressures were wiping out ecosystems such as
tropical forests and coral reefs, killing off animal and plant species that form the web of
life on which humanity depends.
"This meeting is part of the world's efforts to address a very simple fact. We are
destroying life on Earth," the UN Environment Programme's executive director Achim
Steiner said in a speech at the opening ceremony.
"We are destroying the very foundations that sustain life on this planet."
Delegates in Nagoya plan to set a new target for 2020 for curbing species loss, and will
discuss boosting medium-term financial help for poor countries to help them protect their
wildlife and habitats.
But similar pledges to stem biodiversity loss have not been fulfilled, and Djoghlaf said
governments around the world had to acknowledge that failure.
"Let's have the courage to look into the eyes of our children and admit that we have
failed individually and collectively to... to substantially reduce the rate of loss of
biodiversity by 2010," Djoghlaf said.
"Let us look into the eyes of our children and admit that we continue to lose biodiversity
at unprecedented rates."
At the start of the decade, UN members pledged under the Millennium Development
Goals to achieve "a significant reduction" in the rate of wildlife loss by 2010, the
International Year of Biodiversity.
Instead, habitat destruction has continued unabated, and some experts now warn that
the planet faces its sixth mass extinction phase -- the latest since dinosaurs vanished 65
million years ago.
Nearly a quarter of mammals, one third of amphibians, more than one in eight birds, and
more than a fifth of plant species now face the threat of extinction, said the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In May, a UN report warned of looming "tipping points" that could irreversibly damage
ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest, through logging and land clearance, and
coral reefs through global warming and overfishing.
The Earth's 6.8 billion humans are effectively living 50 percent beyond the planet's
biocapacity in 2007, according to a new assessment by WWF that said by 2030 humans
will effectively need the capacity of two Earths.
Meanwhile, disputes between rich and poor nations that have plagued efforts to curb
greenhouse gases threaten to similarly hamper biodiversity negotiations.
The European Union is calling for a target of halting biodiversity loss by 2020, while
many developing nations only support a weaker goal of "taking action" on the issue.
There are also tensions over efforts to forge an accord on the "equitable sharing" of the
benefits from natural resources -- for example a medicine derived from a jungle plant -under a so-called Access and Benefits Sharing Protocol (ABS).
Under a proposal backed by developing nations, companies would pay a "gene fee" if
scientists find plants or animals that have been used by indigenous groups and have
commercial use such as in the pharmaceutical industry.
Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira warned this month that "for us, it is not
acceptable to go to Nagoya and not have an agreement for (the) ABS Protocol... We
need a deal."
Some developing countries have warned that a plan to set up an international scientific
panel to assess biodiversity issues and advise policy makers could be blocked if there is
no deal on the ABS protocol.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/un-calls-for-immediate-action-to-save-lifeon-earth-20101018-16qnv.html
Biological diversity summit at 'defining moment'
Updated at 9:32pm on 18 October 2010
New ways of combating the destruction of the natural world will be sought by delegates
from almost every government at a two-week meeting now under way in Nagoya, Japan.
The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) came into being 17 years
ago, the BBC reports, and in 2002 governments promised an improvement in the
situation by this year - but it hasn't happened.
The latest gathering on the convention has opened with warnings that the ongoing loss
of nature is hurting human societies as well as the natural world.
Japanese environment minister Ryo Matsumoto says biodiversity loss will become
irreversible unless curbed soon.
The executive secretary of the CBD, Ahmed Djoghlaf, has described the meeting as a
"defining moment" in the history of humankind.
"[Buddhist scholar] Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki said 'the problem of nature is the problem of
human life'," he told delegates in his opening speech. "Today, unfortunately, human life
is a problem for nature."
'Admit that we have failed'
Referring to the target set at the UN World Summit in 2002, Mr Djoghlaf said:
"Let's have the courage to look in the eyes of our children and admit that we have failed,
individually and collectively, to fulfil the Johannesburg promise made by 110 heads of
state to substantially reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010.
The gathering aims to set new targets for conserving life on Earth.
Earlier this year, the UN published a major assessment - the Global Biodiversity Outlook
- indicating that virtually all trends spanning the state of the natural world were heading
downwards, despite conservation successes in some regions.
It showed that the loss and degradation of forests, coral reefs, rivers and other elements
of the natural world were having an impact on living standards in some parts of the world
- an obvious example being the extent to which loss of coral affects fish stocks.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/59860/biological-diversity-summit-at-'definingmoment'
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RONA MEDIA UPDATE
THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWS
Wednesday, 20 October, 2010
UNEP or UN in the News
USA:
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Washington Post: U.N. report stresses the value of nature to world’s economies
Washington Post: UN: World’s natural assets vital to policymaking
NY Times: Nagoya has to do better
Reuters: U.N. study highlights price of nature to mankind
Reuters: Putting a value on nature to preserve its riches
Greenwire: BIODIVERSITY: Global economy must tally environmental costs -report
 ClimateWire: SCIENCE: Groups move to fill a ‘policy vacuum’ on geoengineering
rules
CANADA:
 Montreal Gazette: UN calls for immediate action on saving species
 Digital Journal: Major U.N. Report: Failure to Price Nature's Value Undermines the
Economy
U.N. report stresses the value of nature to world’s economies
Washington Post, October 20, 2010, BY Juliet Eilperin
The world has vastly underestimated the economic value of nature in developing
nations, according to a report the United Nations is releasing Wednesday.
Ecosystems such as fresh water, coral reefs and forests account for between 47 percent
and 89 percent of what the U.N. calls "the GDP of the poor," meaning the source of
livelihoods for the rural and forest-dwelling poor, according to the study.
"Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature" is the last of four reports produced by the U.N.
Environmental Program over the past two years and aims to capture how habitats such
as tropical forests and coral reefs contribute to countries' economic bottom lines. The
authors - led by Pavan Sukhdev, a banker who heads UNEP's Green Economy Initiative
- released their findings just as signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity
began meeting Monday in Nagoya, Japan .
"The economic invisibility of nature is a problem," Sukhdev told reporters in a phone call
Tuesday. "This is not just an issue for one species. This is actually a problem for human
well-being."
Sukhdev cited the example of coral reefs, on which as many as 500 million people
worldwide depend for fisheries and tourism. Economists now value reefs at between $30
billion and $172 billion per year, he said, even as they are being threatened by warmer
and more acidic seas as a result of climate change.
If reefs collapse because of warming and other factors, he added, this could prompt
huge numbers of people to move in Southeast Asia, Africa and other regions, causing
political instability and strife. "There is a serious risk there will be significant migrations
away from coastal areas," he said.
Some of the environmental benefits that economists have begun to calculate could
disappear soon, the authors noted. The pollination that forests in Sulawesi, Indonesia,
provide are worth nearly $26 per acre, according to a 2007 study, but ongoing forest
conversion in the region is expected to cut pollination- and by extension, coffee yields in
Sulawesi - by up to 18 percent over the next 20 years.
At least two major developing countries - India and Brazil - announced Wednesday that
they would embrace this method of calculating the value of natural capital when charting
national policy.
The idea of incorporating ecosystem benefits into policymaking has yet to gain the same
level of traction in the United States, however, where a proposal to cap greenhouse gas
emissions collapsed this year after critics said it would damage the nation's economy.
"I'm not seeing, as of yet, anything firm coming from the North American continent, but
I'm hoping it's a matter of time," Sukhdev said.
Andrew Deutz, who directs international government relations for the Nature
Conservancy , an advocacy group, said the report could be "the Rosetta stone" for the
conservation community by helping them translate concerns over species loss and
habitat degradation into economic terms for policymakers.
"Our only hope to save the world's biodiversity is to help the world understand that
lasting economic growth and security are wholly bound to the health and security of our
natural resources," Deutz said.
UN: World’s natural assets vital to policymaking
Washington Post, October 20, 2010, BY Malcolm Foster
TOKYO -- Governments and businesses around the world need to recognize the
immense economic value of preserving species and ecosystems and incorporate that
into their decision-making, a U.N. report said Wednesday.
The study released at a conference of the U.N. Convention on Biodiversity held in
Nagoya, Japan, attempts to show the economic implications of failing to stop the
alarming loss of species and ecosystems due to pollution, overexploitation or habitat
destruction.
The emphasis on traditional economic measures such as manufacturing, mining and
energy generation needs to change, the U.N. Environment Program argues in the report,
the product of two years of research by thousands of experts.
The failure of policymakers and corporations to take into account the natural capital of
"ecosystem services" - such as the role forests play in purifying water or insects in
pollinating crops - is contributing to their degradation and putting future generations at
risk, it said. The poor, who depend heavily on nature for food and shelter, are particularly
vulnerable.
"The time for ignoring biodiversity and persisting with conventional thinking regarding
wealth creation and development is over," Pavan Sukhdev, the study leader, said in a
statement.
As an example, overexploitation of global fisheries leads to an annual loss of $50 billion
every year compared to a more sustainable fishing scenario, the report said. Insect
pollinators provided an economic value of 153 billion euros ($211 billion) in 2005, it
found.
The report, called The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, didn't provide an
overall estimate of annual global costs from biodiversity loss because not enough data is
available from the many different kinds of ecosystems, said Joshua Bishop, chief
economist at the International Union for Conservation of Nature who was involved in the
study.
Bishop said the process of quantifying biodiversity losses is far more complicated than
the British government's Stern Review of climate economics, which estimated the cost of
reducing greenhouse gases.
The two-week U.N. conference aims to come up with 20 targets for 2020 to stop or slow
this biodiversity loss. Scientists say human activities are driving species extinct at a rate
100 to 1,000 times the historical average and threatening ecosystems.
Environmental groups hope the report will convince government ministers gathering next
week to take steps to counter these trends.
"This is building the pressure on the ministers," said Tove Ryding, policy adviser on
biodiversity for Greenpeace. "We're hoping they see this as a strong call for action."
Nagoya has to do better
NY Times, October 19, 2010
In 1992, delegates from 193 countries, meeting in Rio de Janeiro, agreed to a treaty
intended to protect biodiversity. The world has since fallen far short of those
commitments. As those countries meet in Nagoya, Japan, this week and next, they need
to acknowledge what went wrong and come up with better strategies.
All indicators show that poor countries are using natural resources at a faster rate than
they were in 1992 and rich countries are leaving a larger ecological footprint. The result
is putting intolerable pressure on the variety of life on the planet. According to recent
estimates, a fifth of plant and mammal species are threatened with extinction in the near
future, and the numbers for corals and amphibians are worse. Since 1992, an area of
rainforest the size of California has been lost.
In 2002, most of the treaty’s signers announced a set of goals to achieve a “significant
reduction” of biodiversity loss by 2010, including protecting 10 percent of their national
habitats and making substantial financial commitments to conservation. Those have not
been met, according to a review by the World Wildlife Fund.
Among the even more ambitious commitments being weighed in Nagoya are protecting
20 percent of national habitats by 2020 and reaching a state of zero net deforestation.
Without real follow-through, they will never happen. This conference needs to lay the
groundwork for a system to identify threatened regions and species and rigorously
monitor the progress, or lack of progress, toward the treaty’s goals by each of the
signatories.
Wealthy countries also need to make firm pledges to help poorer members toward
sustainable development that protects and makes equitable use of the vast potential of
remaining forests and coastal and marine areas. They must also provide financial
support to tide those countries over. Years of international conferences on climate
change have yielded little more than promises to help poor nations save their forests.
Deforestation rates in many countries remain alarmingly high.
The United States, which signed the convention in 1993, is the only one of 193
signatories that has failed to ratify it. (It was defeated in the Senate in 1994 largely by a
coalition of property-rights advocates.) That means that we are observers at Nagoya, not
participants in decision-making or planning. That is an embarrassment.
U.N. study highlights price of nature to mankind
Reuters, October 20, 2010, BY: Chisa Fujioka
(Reuters) - Governments and businesses need an overhaul of policies and strategies to
respond to the rapid loss of nature's riches, worth trillions of dollars but long taken for
granted, a U.N.-backed study said on Wednesday.
Damage to natural capital including forests, wetlands and grasslands is valued at $2-4.5
trillion annually, the United Nations estimates, but the figure is not included in economic
data such as GDP, nor in corporate accounts.
That "invisibility" needs to change so steps can be taken to save ecosystems that are a
vital source of food, water and income, said Pavan Sukhdev, study leader for The
Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), a U.N.-backed initiative.
"We can not treat this lightly," he told a news conference on the sidelines of an Oct 1829 U.N. meeting in Nagoya, Japan, where envoys from nearly 200 countries are aiming
to set targets for 2020 to fight losses in biological diversity.
"Unfortunately, the lack of an economic lens to reflect these realities, has meant that we
have treated these matters lightly, that they are not center-stage when it comes to policy
discussions nor center-stage when it comes to business discussions."
Sukhdev, on secondment from Deutsche Bank, unveiled the final installment of several
TEEB reports that analyze the value of nature, including forests that clean the air, bees
that pollinate crops and coral reefs that are home to millions of species.
For example, halving deforestation rates by 2030 would cut damage from climate
change estimated at more than $3.7 trillion, while Swiss bee colonies ensured yearly
agricultural production worth $213 million by providing pollination, the report said.
SAME COIN
Destruction of coral reefs was not only damaging to marine life but also posed risks to
communities, the report said. Some 30 million people are reliant on reef-based
resources for food production, incomes and livelihoods.
"It has exacerbated the suffering of human beings, especially of those at the bottom of
the economic pyramid," Sukhdev said.
"Development and biodiversity cannot be seen as competing choices. They are not only
the same coin but they are literally the same side of the same coin."
The report highlighted recommendations for policymakers, such as the need to include
the value of nature and the role of ecosystems in national accounts. Businesses must
disclose values in their annual reports and accounts, it said.
Emerging economies Brazil and India threw their support behind the U.N. effort, saying
they would use the TEEB findings as a guide.
"At a national level we are in discussion to implement a TEEB study of our natural
capital, and the Brazilian business sector is also in planning to move toward this
practical and sustainable approach to decision-making," Braulio Dias, secretary for
biodiversity and forests at Brazil's environment ministry, said in a statement.
Putting a price on the role of nature has been a major focus at the Nagoya talks on
biodiversity, an issue that environmental groups say has so far received far less
attention from policymakers and the public than climate change.
"The conservation community has a translation problem," said Andrew Deutz, director of
international government relations at The Nature Conservancy.
"We've spent decades talking about habitat degradation and species loss. The people
who run the world talk in terms of economic growth and employment rates. This report
could be our Rosetta Stone."
(Reporting by Chisa Fujioka; Editing by David Fogarty)
Putting a value on nature to preserve its riches
Reuters, October 20, 2010
(Reuters) - Putting a value on nature and the services it provides is crucial to protect the
world's forests, oceans, reefs and rivers from destruction, a major United Nationsbacked report said on Wednesday.
The report by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, a research initiative also
backed by the European Commission, highlights the multi-trillion dollar benefits nature
provides to farmers, businesses, cities and entire economies.
Yet much of these benefits are taken for granted, TEEB says, leading to incentives that
are perpetuating the destruction of nature and raising the risks of an environmental crisis
that could harm livelihoods, human health and food and water supplies.
Following are examples of the services nature provides and some of the key
recommendations from the report released on the sidelines of a major U.N. conference
in Japan aimed at combating accelerating losses of plant and animal species. WHAT
DOES NATURE PROVIDE?
-- Forests: Cover about a third of the Earth's land surface and are estimated to contain
more than half of all land species, mainly in the tropics.
Provide livelihoods to rural communities, help regulate the climate by soaking up large
amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide, control erosion, act as water storages for
rivers, filtering water in the process and provide pollination for nearby crops such as
coffee and fruit trees.
-- Coral reefs: About 30 million people are wholly reliant on reefs for food and other
goods for income. Reefs also provide protection from storms, are valuable for tourism
and can boost local real estate prices.
-- Wetlands: Can reduce pollution by acting as filters, boost flood protection from storms,
act as breeding grounds for fish.
-- Rivers: Lifelines for agriculture, towns and cities. Used to generate electricity and
transport goods and people.
TEEB'S SOLUTIONS
* Make nature visible:
Decision makers need to assess the role of nature's richness and ecosystem services in
economic activity. They also need matching analysis of how costs and benefits of
ecosystem services are spread across society, with public disclosure and accountability
for impacts on nature.
* The bottom line and beyond:
Better accounting of business impacts and benefits from nature can spur change in
business investment and operations.
Annual reports and accounts should disclose details such as environmental liabilities
and changes in natural assets not currently included in the statutory accounts.
* Mainstreaming the economics of nature:
Full value of biodiversity and ecosystem services in decision making can be achieved if
their sustainable management is recognized as an opportunity and not a constraint on
development.
The value of nature's services needs to be included in:
Economic, trade and development policies; transport, energy and mining; agriculture,
fisheries and forestry; corporate financial and social responsibility management and
reporting; development policies and local, regional and national planning; and public
procurement and private consumption
* Using nature to fight climate change:
Maintaining, restoring or enhancing services provided by ecosystems, such as
mangroves, other wetlands and forest watersheds can compare favorably with manmade infrastructure, such as wastewater treatment plants or dykes, TEEB says.
* Valuing protected areas:
The benefits from setting up and managing protected areas on land and ocean reserves
can outweigh the loss of economic activity. Ecosystem valuation can help to justify
protected areas, identify funding and investment and guide conservation priorities.
(Editing by Alex Richardson)
BIODIVERSITY: Global economy must tally environmental costs –report
Greenwire, October 20, 2010, BY Laura Petersen
The price tag for corn is easy to grasp, but what about the price of pollination?
The value a healthy environment provides is invisible in the global economy, leading to
ecosystem degradation and species loss, according to the Economics of Ecosystems
and Biodiversity (TEEB) study released today. For example, bees and other insects
jumping from flower to flower provide an essential service for crop production, valued at
a whopping $200 billion.
"Not a single bee has ever sent you an invoice," said Pavan Sukhdev, leader of the
study. "And that is part of the problem, because most of what comes to us from nature is
free, because it is not invoiced, because it is not priced, because it is not traded in
markets, we tend to ignore it."
The "broken" financial system must be reformed so that the environment and the
valuable services it provides are incorporated into every decision and transaction, the
report concludes. That is vital not only for slowing environmental destruction and species
loss, but for modern economies to flourish, Sukhdev said.
The TEEB report was commissioned in 2007 by the Group of Eight countries, plus five
emerging economies. It was released during the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity
in Japan.
While most cost-benefit analyses look at natural resources that can be extracted, such
as gold, timber and food, those products only account for one-third of the total economic
value provided by the environment, the report said. Other "ecosystem services," such as
pollination, forests filtering drinking water and wetlands providing flood protection, make
up the other two-thirds.
Currently, businesses do not pay for the loss of services caused by production or
development. Estimated at $2.2 trillion annually for the top 3,000 listed companies, those
costs are passed onto society, or externalized.
"We are at a stage now where the rate of loss of ecosystem services and the rate of loss
of biodiversity is so severe we cannot treat them as mere externalities of economics,"
said Sukhdev, who is on sabbatical from Deutsche Bank while working for the U.N.
Environment Programme on green economics initiatives.
To slow the alarming rates of biodiversity loss, environmentalists need not pull on the
public's heart strings with images of cute baby polar bears, the study said. They need to
lay out the cold, hard impacts on the bottom line.
To internalize environmental values and costs, the TEEB report recommends
implementing a variety of financial tools, such as charging for services, creating
environmentally friendly markets with eco-labeling and providing financial incentives and
subsidies for environmentally friendly businesses.
Normal business practices should report negative environmental externalities and offset
their impacts so they have a net zero impact, or even a net positive impact, the report
said. And subsidies for industries harming the environment, such as fossil fuels, should
be phased out.
Environmental protection can also save money, according to the TEEB report. For
example, New York saved more than $6 billion by paying farmers about $1 billion to
change management of runoff to reduce the water pollution, rather than build a $6 billion
to $8 billion wastewater treatment plant that would have cost between $300 million and
$500 million a year to operate.
But convincing board rooms and consumers across the globe to start paying for things
that have been free in the past is not going to be easy. Sukhdev said it is not going to
happen overnight -- new, emerging models will begin to compete with old, lingering
ones.
"It could happen, but not in today's environment," said Patrick Michaels, a senior fellow
in environmental studies at the Cato Institute, a free-market think tank. "Right now,
people -- and it's not just the U.S. -- people are worried about economic contractions
more than they are about environmental protection."
Dominic Waughray, the senior director of environmental initiatives at World Economic
Forum, estimates it will take 20 years, but environmental externalities will eventually be
internalized into a new economic model. The biggest challenge will be changing the
mindset of politicians and consumers, since many investors are already beginning to
look at environmental risks and costs, such as carbon and water scarcity, Waughray
said.
"It could be a very academic, technical debate within the high-level United Nations
circuitry, or it could play out quite quickly and practically among investor networks
because of the real challenge of the resource scarcity that companies and others are
facing," Waughray said. "I suspect it will be a mixture, but I think it will be the second
issue that will really drive this."
The report was released at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan,
which is bringing together almost 200 countries to discuss targets to slow the rate of
biodiversity loss by 2020, some of which mirror recommendations of the TEEB report.
Species are disappearing 1,000 times faster than historic rates, on par with extinction of
the dinosaurs.
"We expect the TEEB study will deliver significant impacts on global biodiversity policy,"
Hideki Minamikawa, Japan's vice minister for global environmental affairs, said in a
statement.
The Nature Conservancy, one of many environmental organizations sounding the alarm
about biodiversity loss for years, welcomed the framing of its fight in a new light. The
nonprofit pledged to work to implement some of the recommendation of the report.
"We've spent decades talking about habitat degradation and species loss," said Andrew
Deutz, the group's director of international government relations, in a statement. "The
people who run the world talk in terms of economic growth and employment rates. This
report could be our Rosetta stone."
SCIENCE: Groups move to fill a ‘policy vacuum’ on geoengineering rules
ClimateWire, October 20, 2010, BY Laren Morello
Delegates from 193 nations are meeting in Nagoya, Japan, this week. On their agenda
is a proposal for a moratorium on field experiments in potential geoengineering solutions
for global warming.
It is a continuation of a controversial debate among the group, usually focused on
discussions of ensuring the survival of endangered species and the loss of key habitats.
They are parties to the U.N. Convention on Biodiversity.
A draft agenda for the meeting, dated Oct. 1, includes a proposal that "no climate-related
geoengineering activities take place until there is an adequate scientific basis on which
to justify such activities and appropriate consideration of the associated risks."
It's not clear that the broadly worded prohibition will meet with approval from delegates,
but it isn't the first time the Convention on Biodiversity waded into the emerging field.
Two years ago in Bonn, Germany, nations that participate in the convention backed a
ban on one geoengineering technique -- seeding the ocean with tiny particles of iron to
encourage the growth of algae that consume carbon dioxide.
Environmental groups were able to use the ban to persuade the German government to
temporarily halt one large-scale field test of ocean iron fertilization -- known as
LOHAFEX -- in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica.
The Canada-based ETC Group is among those pushing for the new ban over concerns
that field tests or implementation of geoengineered climate fixes will disproportionately
harm developing nations and dilute support for an international effort to cut the world's
greenhouse gas output, said program manager Diana Bronson.
A Plan B for the planet?
"In 2008, this really was seen by everybody as a nutcase sci-fi thing and now,
regrettably, people are starting to take it a lot more seriously," she said.
Major scientific organizations -- including the American Meteorological Society, the
American Geophysical Union and the U.K. Royal Society -- have issued cautious calls
for more research, though warning that geoengineering approaches shouldn't supplant
efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Many experts who support geoengineering research say it should be considered a
planetary "Plan B," an option to exercise if cutting greenhouse gas emissions can't stave
off severe climate change effects.
Policymakers are starting to take notice, judging by a number of reports on
geoengineering that are nearing completion.
The House Science and Technology Committee is "hopeful" it will release a report coauthored with the science committee in the U.K. House of Commons by the end of the
month, said a spokeswoman for Chairman Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.).
"Geoengineering is controversial and something I hope will never take place, but it's
irresponsible to at least not start looking into areas of potential research," Gordon said at
a congressional hearing he convened earlier this year. "Any implementation would be
decades out, but you have to start somewhere."
The Government Accountability Office is also preparing a geoengineering report, as is a
task force created by the bipartisan National Commission on Energy Policy. That group
aims to release its report early next year, said NCEP's research manager, Sasha
Mackler.
The commission will weigh in with recommendations for a federal geoengineering
research program and principles for governing the emerging technology at a time when
geoengineering's profile is rising rapidly.
"There is now a sort of a policy vacuum in the climate space because of what we've
seen happen over the course of this Congress," Mackler said, referring to Democrats'
failed effort to pass a climate bill. "There's an appetite for fresh ideas. Geoengineering is
very unknown in policy circles, really, and that's almost a dangerous position to be in for
an issue like this ... it can be picked up and politicized very easily."
UN calls for immediate action on saving species
Montreal Gazette, October 18, 2010 BY Kyoko Hasegawa
TOKYO - The world must act immediately to stop the rapid loss of animal and plant
species and the habitats they live in, the United Nations warned on Monday at the start
of a major summit on biodiversity.
The 193 members of the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) began
gathering in the central city of Nagoya to try to work out strategies to head off a manmade mass extinction.
"The time to act is now and the place to act is here," CBD executive secretary Ahmed
Djoghlaf said as the meeting opened, describing the event as a "defining moment" in the
history of mankind.
"The savings from a coordinated ecosystems approach to climate change, biodiversity
loss, avoiding deforestation and land degradation are incalculable."
The 12-day conference aims to throw a spotlight on a global environmental issue that
has drawn less attention in recent years than the related problem of man-made climate
change, blamed on a surge of greenhouse gas emissions.
Scientists say worldwide human population pressures are wiping out ecosystems such
as tropical forests and coral reefs, killing off animal and plant species that form the web
of life which humanity depends on.
"Our prosperity and indeed our survival depend on healthy ecosystems," said Jim
Leape, the chief of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). "The Earth’s forests,
oceans and rivers are the very foundation of our society and economy.
"Even in purely economic terms, it is far, far more cost effective to conserve or restore
healthy ecosystems than to artificially provide natural services that we currently take for
granted."
Delegates in Nagoya plan to set a new target for 2020 for curbing species loss, and will
discuss boosting medium-term financial help for poor countries to help them protect their
wildlife and habitats.
But similar pledges to stem biodiversity loss, first made when the UN biodiversity
convention was adopted in 1992, have not been fulfilled.
At the start of the decade, UN members pledged under the Millennium Development
Goals to achieve "a significant reduction" in the rate of wildlife loss by 2010, the
International Year of Biodiversity.
Instead, habitat destruction has continued unabated, and some experts now warn that
the planet faces its sixth mass extinction phase -- the latest since dinosaurs vanished 65
million years ago.
Nearly a quarter of mammals, one third of amphibians, more than one in eight birds, and
more than a fifth of plant species now face the threat of extinction, said the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In May, a UN report warned of looming "tipping points" that could irreversibly damage
ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest, through logging and land clearance, and
coral reefs through global warming and overfishing.
The Earth’s 6.8 billion humans are effectively living 50 percent beyond the planet’s
biocapacity in 2007, according to a new assessment by WWF, adding that by 2030,
humans will effectively need the capacity of two Earths.
Meanwhile, disputes between rich and poor nations that have plagued efforts to curb
greenhouse gases threaten to similarly hamper biodiversity negotiations.
The European Union is calling for a target of halting biodiversity loss by 2020, while
many developing nations only support a weaker goal of "taking action" on the issue.
There are also tensions over efforts to forge an accord on the "equitable sharing" of the
benefits from natural resources -- for example a medicine derived from a jungle plant -under a so-called Access and Benefits Sharing Protocol (ABS).
Under a proposal backed by developing nations, companies would pay a "gene fee" if
scientists find plants or animals that have been used by indigenous groups and have
commercial use such as in the pharmaceutical industry.
Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira warned this month that "for us, it is not
acceptable to go to Nagoya and not have an agreement for (the) ABS Protocol... We
need a deal."
Major U.N. Report: Failure to Price Nature's Value Undermines the Economy
Digital Journal, Ocotber 19, 2010
The largest-ever global study on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)
is being released today in Nagoya, Japan, at the Convention on Biodiversity's 10th
Conference of the Parties. The study, Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature, was led
by a top international banker (Pavan Sukhdev) and sponsored by the U.N. and a host of
countries. It finds that nature provides trillions of dollars in 'free', life-supporting services
to us each year, and that failing to count the value of those services is having major
effects on the environment and the economy - including in Canada.
The study makes clear the enormous economic importance of the world's natural assets
- such as forests, freshwater, soil, wildlife and wetlands - as well as the social and
economic costs of their loss. It also offers solutions: demonstrating how economic tools
(such as eco-taxes, greening GDP, or biodiversity 'offsets') can harness market forces to
better conserve and manage our natural capital endowment, which is rapidly
diminishing.
"Nature is the most valuable asset we have - worth more than all human economic
activity - yet we are squandering this priceless resource," said Professor Stewart Elgie,
Chair of Sustainable Prosperity, a green economy think tank based at University of
Ottawa. "Because we get nature's services for free, we tend to use them wastefully much like a tenant who doesn't pay for electricity leaves the lights on."
The highlights of the TEEB study include:
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Reducing forest loss by half would generate $3.7 trillion worth of greenhouse gas
reductions
Depletion of natural capital will cost an estimated 7% of global GDP by 2050
(TEEB interim report)
The largest 3,000 companies cause $2.2 trillion in uncounted environmental
costs: ⅓ of their profits
The rural poor are particularly hard hit by loss of natural capital (it affects 47-89%
of their income)
This global study has important lessons for Canada. "Canada is blessed with one of the
richest natural endowments of any country on Earth, yet we have not been very good
stewards to date," said Professor Elgie. A recent OECD report ranked Canada 29th of 33
countries in creating economic incentives to reduce pollution and conserve nature. "This
report is a wake-up call for Canada," said Elgie, "we need to develop our own action
plans - at the national and provincial levels - to value our wildlife and nature, and create
economic incentives to conserve them. If we undervalue the life-supporting services that
nature provides, we mortgage our future."
Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature proposes that economic instruments can be
used to provide the right incentives: to reward ecosystem conservation, promote
development of cleaner technologies, and foster sustainable resource management.
Canada already has some experience with such approaches, which will be surveyed in
the forthcoming Sustainable Prosperity report, Advancing the Economics of Ecosystems
and Biodiversity in Canada. Highlights include:
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Canada's northern boreal forest provides ecosystem services worth $191
billion/year: 14 times more than the value of all oil, minerals and timbers
extracted there each year.
Southern Ontario's Greenbelt provides ecosystem services worth $2.6
billion/year.
Using economic incentives, Ducks Unlimited and its partners have conserved or
restored more than 6 million acres of wetland habitat in Canada.
Sustainable Prosperity hosted Pavan Sukhdev, a banker who leads the TEEB study and
the UN's Green Economy Initiative, for a speaking tour to Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto
in May 2010.
To view the UN TEEB Report, please visit sustainableprosperity.ca.
General Environment News
USA:
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Washington Post: 6 months after oil spill, much remains unknown
ClimateWire: TECHNOLOGY: Bringing clean light to poor nations and moving
beyond charity
ClimateWire: A rice farming method that helps crops adapt to combat climate
change
ClimateWire: SCIENCE: IPCC reforms hindered by Pachauri controversy – panel
member
ClimateWire: CHEMICALS: EPA requests business input on formaldehyde rules
CNN: Six months later, what did we learn from the oil disaster in the Gulf?
CANADA:
 Planet Ark: Local Opposition Kills C$5 Billion Canadian Dam Plan
 Globe and Mail: Green picks for blue-chip investors
 Globe and Mail: Why the OECD tore a strip off Alberta
 Globe and Mail: Can Canada afford the oil sands?
 Montreal Gazette: These scientists see a need to be worried
Montreal Gazette: Feds never tried to hush ecosystem report: minister
Montreal Gazette: Mining industry owes Quebec a better deal
 Vancouver Sun: Surrey moves to shrink its carbon footprint
6 months after oil spill, much remains unknown
Washington Post, October 20, 2010, BY Brian Skoloff & Harry Weber
NEW ORLEANS -- The crude has stopped gushing and coastlines are largely clear of
the thick goo that washed ashore for months, but the impact of the worst offshore oil spill
in U.S. history will no doubt linger for years.
Six months after the April 20 Deepwater Horizon explosion, the environment and
economy of the entire northern Gulf of Mexico region remain in a state of uncertainty,
with overturned livelihoods, out-of-work fishermen, reluctant tourists, widespread
emotional anguish and untold damage to the sea and its shores.
It could be years before the spill's true effects are understood. The science is largely
scattered about what the roughly 200 million gallons of oil that spewed from BP PLC's
blown-out well - some 170 million gallons of which actually spilled into the Gulf - will
ultimately mean for the animals and plant life that inhabit one of the world's most diverse
bodies of water.
"There are some things that are starting to reveal themselves already," said Steve
Murawski, chief fisheries scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. "But it's going to take a while for us to gain some perspective."
Murawski predicted scientists will be studying the region for years, as they have been
doing since 1989's much smaller Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.
"This will be with us for decades for sure," he said.
The doomsday scenarios feared during the worst period of the gushing well did not play
themselves out, as much of the oil is believed to have evaporated or been dispersed,
marshes have sprung back to life and fewer dead animals than feared have been found.
But that good news does not mask concerns that the country might be turning its
attention away prematurely, considering the very real damage that has been done.
"I can honestly say, I guess, I'm very pessimistic about it," said Byron Encalade,
president of the Louisiana Oystermen Association, whose oyster beds are all dead or
dying. "We don't know where we're at. We don't even have a complete assessment of
the damage or how long it's going to take to correct it. This is our life, though. We have
nowhere else to go."
The government has reopened about 90 percent of Gulf federal waters to fishing, and
says all seafood caught in the newly opened areas is safe to eat. Yet the commercial
fishing industry remains in turmoil, suffering from an acute image problem.
Loads of shrimp and fish are hauled in, but processors are finding little demand from a
wary public.
The federal government maintains much of the oil is now gone from the Gulf of Mexico.
But independent researchers say they are discovering significant amounts of crude
below the sea's surface, including on the ocean floor. They fear the oil that remains
could harm species lower down the food chain and affect reproduction rates of fish such
as bluefin tuna, which were spawning in the area at the time of the spill.
Oil is still buried in the sand on beaches across the coast, and crude continues to plague
some of Louisiana's shores. Some marshes of Barataria Bay - home to productive
shrimp nurseries and oyster beds, and thousands of sea birds and migratory species are still being soiled.
A $20 billion BP compensation fund has so far paid out nearly $1.5 billion to business
owners and fishermen along the coast suffering from a summer of lost revenues. But
many are still waiting for checks and struggling to pay bills.
BP will be facing billions of dollars in fines once a damage assessment is complete.
Meanwhile, the six months since the spill began have brought many changes to the
offshore drilling industry.
The federal government swiftly imposed new regulations on the business following the
spill. It recently lifted a moratorium on deep water drilling in the Gulf, but it could be
weeks before rigs that are able to meet the tougher standards can get back to work.
The danger of a future catastrophe persists as oil companies continue to drill in deep
water even though many measures that could help head off future spills - better capand-siphon containment systems to choke off leaks, for instance, or more thorough
testing and analysis to prevent blowouts - are not yet in place.
TECHNOLOGY: Bringing clean light to poor nations and moving beyond charity
ClimateWire, October 20, 2010, BY Lisa Friedman
Ask a developer of off-grid lighting about a solar lantern and he'll tell you about a
kerosene tragedy.
A child killed in Benin. A dormitory burned to the ground in Tanzania. Countless men
and woman across Asia, Africa and elsewhere suffering -- and some dying -- from
respiratory ailments.
The poorest people on the planet together spent almost $40 billion last year on kerosene
and other rudimentary and dangerous fuel-based lighting. Scientists say fuel-burning
lanterns release 190 million tons of carbon dioxide each year: about the equivalent of 30
million cars.
Now leaders in the field of solar portable lighting believe they can push kerosene lamps
out of markets in much of the developing world and make a profit while they're at it.
"If you compare what the poor spend on kerosene, it's 10,000 times more than what we
pay when we use basic electricity from the grid. It's crazy when you think that the
poorest people spend the most, and get so much poor light and poor health in return"
said Patrick Avato, an energy specialist in Kenya with the International Finance Corp.
(IFC).
Avato manages a 3-year-old program called Lighting Africa, based in Kenya, that tries to
help the private sector provide clean and affordable lighting on the electricity-starved
continent. The organization -- like the Lumina Project, which is based out of Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory -- is part of a small but growing field of market-based
initiatives targeting what economists call the "bottom of the pyramid" consumers.
Ned Tozun, president and co-founder of the portable solar lighting company D.Light,
said nonprofit groups have done tremendous work bringing solar lighting to poor villages.
But he also argued that the charity route can't sustain the infrastructure communities
need -- like maintenance education or supplies of new batteries -- if they are going to
stick with the clean lighting.
"It's inherently non-scalable," Tozun said. He described visiting villages where people
had been given free solar lamps, only to return to kerosene when the batteries ran out
and no one in the village sold new ones.
A market reaching a tipping point
"What we're seeking to do is to create a sustainable, long-scale solution to the problem,"
he said. "This is a very high-tech product for people living in rural areas, so it requires a
lot of education and monitoring."
Tozun said he his partner Sam Goldman have delivered solar lamps to about 1.7 million
customers at an average price of $20 apiece. The company's goal is lighting the homes
of 50 million people by 2015.
Avato said he's convinced it can happen. Companies already are well on their way to
helping Lighting Africa meet its short-term goal of delivering 500,000 high-quality
lanterns by 2012. World Bank officials note that just two years ago, there were only a
handful of products available for the African market, most costing more than $50. Today,
there are 79 products, a growing number of them costing less than $25.
According to a marketing trends report issued this year, the World Bank estimates that
the African market for off-grid renewable lighting will double by 2015, and as many as 6
million households on the continent will own solar portable lights.
"These products have momentum and are reaching a tipping point in a number of
African markets which justifies focused study and effort in commercializing their use," the
authors wrote, adding: "The solar portable light market is poised for rapid growth over
the next five years."
Still, the hurdles are big. Among them: a dearth of hard data on the health hazards of
kerosene lighting, which experts said would help make the case to investors about why
solar lighting is necessary.
Removing indoor smog and soot
Dustin Poppendieck led one recent study at Humboldt State University that found an
employee in Kenya working with a simple wick kerosene lamp -- the cheapest lighting
option -- can experience levels of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns of 250
micrograms per cubic meter. That's seven times the EPA 24-hour limit and 17 times the
annual limit. Graduate student assistants spent months in Kenya collecting data, while
researchers back in California built a rooftop structure that mimicked conditions in an
African market kiosk.
The study is one of just a few that try to quantify the respiratory benefits of solar lamps
over kerosene, and Poppendieck said even the scant $10,000 the project obtained for
the research was hard to come by.
"It's hard to get money to look at emissions from kerosene lamps in Africa," he said. But,
Poppendieck added, so far, the studies do show that "if you can get people to move from
a kerosene lamp to an LED lamp, they're going to have health benefits."
But the technology of portable solar lighting has advanced considerably over the past
decade. From flashlights and torches to desk lamps, solar lighting has undergone a sea
change due to the emergence of LED lighting. That, researchers said, has allowed for
the expansion of advanced battery options that increasingly are replacing low-cost, lowenergy lead acid batteries. The result: less expensive lanterns that burn brighter and last
longer.
Still, Lighting Africa warned in its report, the solar lantern market has what it calls
"spoilage" problems: that is, an abundance of cheap but shoddy quality lanterns that
threaten to turn potential consumers away from the industry altogether. And, analysts
admit, even with technology costs coming down, price remains a major barrier in selling
high-quality lanterns.
A well-designed solar lantern these days costs between $25 and $90. On the lower end
of the scale, it might not seem like much -- but in countries where villagers earn less
than $1 a day, that's nearly a month's salary up front.
Shedding light on financing difficulties
"When you think about people spending $10 or $15 a month on kerosene, that's a
running expense for them," Avato said. "When they have money, they can buy it, and
when they don't, they don't. And they can buy kerosene in tiny little sachets to meet their
available money." A solar lantern, on the other hand, can take up to a year to amortize.
Lighting Africa predicts a 40 percent decline in solar lantern costs by 2015. A more
optimistic scenario envisions developing countries lifting tariffs and other trade barriers
as well as the introduction of a carbon offset market for solar lantern abatement. If that
happens, the cost can decline even further, allowing someone in a rural village to
amortize the costs of portable lighting in just two months.
Other challenges the industry is trying to overcome include lack of credit for business
expansions; the high price of distributing operations in rural regions; and prohibitive
tariffs on solar lanterns, particularly in Africa and other places like Bangladesh.
"Solutions are on the horizon, but will require concerted investment and coordination,"
authors of the Lighting Africa study said.
But Stewart Craine, co-founder of Barefoot Power, which has sold solar desk lamps and
other clean lighting products to 120,000 households in Africa and elsewhere, said it's
also important to remember that portable lighting can't be a permanent solution.
"We don't want the poor to be living on batteries for the rest of their lives," he said. "We
still need those energy loans to scale up the energy access from 1 or 2 watts to 20 or 30
or 50 watts." Crane said he believes the portable solar lighting industry will pave the way
for wider access, showing investors that there is little to fear and much to gain from
investing in the rural poor.
In the meantime, he noted, the industry, while worth less than $1 billion now, is about the
same size of the African mobile phone industry in the 1990s. Africa is now the fastestgrowing mobile phone market in the world.
Said Crain, "We would expect precisely the same behavior from the microenergy market
in the next five or 10 years, and that's what's going to reach a lot of people, even if we
haven't reached a whole lot just yet."
A rice farming method that helps crops adapt to combat climate change
ClimateWire, October 20, 2010, BY Dina Fine Maron
A trio of international development and environmental groups are championing a rice
farming technique they say requires less water while simultaneously boosting crop
yields.
The System of Rice Intensification, or SRI, will make rice farms more resilient to climate
change and will also free up needed freshwater resources for other purposes, finds a
new report co-authored by Oxfam, Africare and the World Wildlife Fund.
The report, which details the organizations' successes with SRI on the ground, calls for
more aid dollars to go toward promoting its use. It lays out a target goal of converting 25
percent of conventional irrigated rice farms to SRI by 2025 and ensuring all new
irrigation schemes are designed to support SRI farming.
SRI involves planting rice seedlings further apart, planting them sooner, and only
intermittently watering the paddies. Though the shift in methods does not require farmers
to purchase different types of seed or finance different equipment, making the transition
would require financing by governments or aid organizations to train workers on SRI.
Rice continues to be a major food staple for half the world's population and "is the single
largest source of employment and income for rural people," the report states. And rice
needs are expected to rise in the next decades to meet the demands of a growing
population. Meanwhile, climate change, with the possibility of prolonged droughts, is
poised to make rice farming difficult, the report says.
A technique that requires a 'change in mentality'
The SRI method was first developed for use in Madagascar in the 1980s as part of an
effort to increase output on small plots of land, but it was slow to catch on there because
farmers were hesitant to stray from farming techniques used for generations. "Growing
rice is one of the most central and sacred agricultural practices, and it is almost unMalagasy to think of changing it," said Norman Uphoff, a professor of government and
international agriculture at Cornell University.
Since then, SRI has also snagged on academic resistance because it seemed almost
counter to science that less resources could yield greater results, said Uphoff.
Uphoff himself was skeptical of SRI until he saw Malagasy rice crops increase fourfold
for three years in a row, he said. "Those results can't be explained away by
measurement error," he said. Universities and nongovernmental organizations around
the world have since validated SRI's successes, he said.
In areas as diverse as Africa, India and Mali, the organizations behind today's report
found that SRI increased rice crops by 50 percent or more using 25 to 50 percent less
water. At the same time, SRI has been shown to cut almost 25 percent of costs, it found.
Minh Le, Oxfam's representative for Vietnam, said that current resistance to SRI most
often stems from pushback against the needed "change in mentality" for farming rice.
Moreover, seed and fertilizer suppliers oppose it since it cuts into their profits, she said -SRI involves planting fewer seeds and does not require synthetic fertilizer.
Opposition to SRI also comes from local and federal government in some developing
countries like Cambodia and Vietnam because progress is often equated with more
machinery use, Le said. Under SRI, more people would be doing the labor in the fields
instead of emulating developing countries that utilize more machinery, she said.
When farmers do change to SRI, however, it can have some impressive results.
On average, the practice pulls in a 47 percent yield increase, 40 percent water savings,
23 percent reduction in long-term costs per hectare and 68 percent increase in income
per hectare, according to the report's analysis of SRI farms in eight Asian countries.
A reduction in methane emissions
Another fringe benefit of SRI is reductions in methane, the report says. When rice fields
are flooded, anaerobic microbes are deprived of oxygen and produce methane -- a
potent greenhouse gas. If those paddies had more opportunity to breathe, methane
emissions would drop, according to the authors of the report.
To date, there has not been a rice cultivation site where some aspect of SRI did not
prove beneficial, Le said.
Forty-two countries have reported positive results after using SRI, with more than 1
million farmers using some or all of the recommended techniques.
But the system has not yet been perfected. While SRI-grown rice has more exposure to
oxygen and can grow stronger roots, weeds have the opportunity to prosper, as well.
"We need to be able to get good hand-weeders available cheaply," said Uphoff.
SRI has already garnered favor with some of the top rice producers in the world. "The
governments of Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam -- where over twothirds of the world's rice is produced -- have given explicit endorsement of SRI methods
in their national food security program," the report says.
Biksham Gujja, the team leader for SRI projects at WWF, said that even in those cases,
there may be a long way to go. India has 45 million hectares of rice, 25 million of which
is irrigated, he said. His analysis of NGO and government figures, however, indicates
that only about 1 million hectares of rice in that country is grown through SRI.
SCIENCE: IPCC reforms hindered by Pachauri controversy – panel member
ClimateWire, October 20, 2010, BY Quirin Schiermeier
While critics have called for the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) to step down, there was no attempt made to force Rajendra Pachauri to
resign at the panel's meeting last week, according to a member of the panel.
However, Pachauri is now on notice, said Ottmar Edenhofer, chief economist at the
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and co-chairman of the
IPCC's working group on climate change mitigation.
"Governments made it very clear that they expect him to make changes" to improve the
IPCC's scientific reports and to foster greater confidence in its work, Edenhofer said.
Pachauri came under fire after the IPCC incorrectly reported that Himalayan glaciers
were going to melt by 2035, and after accusations of conflicts of interest.
Delegates seemed to dance around the issue of Pachauri's future role with the
organization, not wanting to discuss it out of fear of sparking a fight between rich and
poor nations, IPCC officials said. This made it cumbersome for the panel of climate
scientists to negotiate on reforms for management structures, review procedures,
communication strategies and conflict-of-interest policies. Instead, they assigned task
forces to investigate these issus and provide recommendations, which the panel will
review in May 2011.
The slow pace of reform frustrated some members.
"I think the IPCC needs to go further to restore its credibility with the public, policymakers
and other scientists," said Judith Curry, a climate researcher at the Georgia Institute of
Technology in Atlanta. The organization needs to undergo "continued self-reflection on
how to ensure the highest-quality assessments and that the entire process is transparent
and free from conflicts of interest," she said (Quirin Schiermeier, Nature News, Oct. 19).
-- LP
CHEMICALS: EPA requests business input on formaldehyde rules
ClimateWire, October 20, 2010, BY Elana Schor
U.S. EPA today asked small businesses to volunteer for a federal interagency panel
aimed at incorporating the private entities' concerns during implementation of a new law
curbing formaldehyde emissions from furniture products.
The agency opened the floor for industry "self-nomination" to the Small Business
Advocacy Review Panel that will aid in the drafting of rules that bring the national
standard for formaldehyde in processed-wood items in line with California state limits on
the hazardous chemical.
The panel -- which also will include representatives from the White House Office of
Management and Budget and the Small Business Administration -- is open to
government officials serving areas with 50,000 residents or fewer and smaller nonprofit
groups potentially affected by the formaldehyde rules, according to an EPA release.
The formaldehyde law in question (S. 1660) would require that composite wood
products, including popular furniture items such as shelving, emit an average of no more
than 0.09 parts per million of formaldehyde by 2012 (E&E Daily, June 24). The statute
also gives EPA authority to assist customs officials in enforcing the limits on imported
products.
Formaldehyde emissions from particleboard furniture and other household products
became a front-burner issue in the wake of a scandal over elevated levels of the
chemical found in temporary government trailers that were distributed to Gulf Coast
residents in the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina. An EPA draft assessment that
designates formaldehyde as a human carcinogen remains under review by the National
Academy of Sciences.
Six months later, what did we learn from the oil disaster in the Gulf?
CNN, October 20, 2010, BY John Sutter
(CNN) -- It was May when a fishing boat carrying Ed Overton and other scientists pulled
away from what would become the largest accidental oil spill in history. The ocean was
soupy and brown. The air tasted like gas. Some reporters looked green in the face. The
oil stretched nearly from horizon to horizon.
Overton, sitting on a beanbag in the back of the boat, was upset.
"It just irritates the piss out of me that we were not prepared for a situation like this and
didn't have studies on these issues," the Louisiana State University professor said as the
boat skipped waves through the coastal marshes, heading back to shore. He added that
he "should have raised more hell" about how the U.S. was unprepared to deal with a
disaster of this magnitude.
But, even then, Overton saw a sparkle in the muck:
Maybe we all will learn something from this experience, he said.
Gulf journals: Read stories from people directly affected by the spill
Six months after a BP-owned offshore oil rig exploded, setting off a violent leak 5,000
feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, there is still much debate about what the
United States has or hasn't learned from this disaster. As other issues -- like November
elections and Chilean miner rescues -- dominate news cycles, there are also
accusations that we've all turned a blind eye to the nagging problems that caused such
an enormous spill in the first place.
Some things have changed in the past half-year, though.
Spill prevention
Much of the focus has been on preventing another oil spill.
The Obama administration has issued a number of rules that aim to prevent offshore
drillers from chasing petrol profits at the expense of safety.
The Department of the Interior, for example, now requires oil companies to get
independent audits of their blowout prevention systems, those hulking metal
contraptions that are supposed to snap oil risers in the case of an underwater explosion,
and which failed on the Deepwater Horizon rig. Oil rigs also will be subjected to surprise
inspections by federal regulators, according to Reuters.
The administration also restructured the Minerals Management Service, the federal
regulatory agency charged with making offshore drilling safe.
Chalk up part of the change to marketing, perhaps, since that troubled agency has been
rebranded as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. But the administration also
separated the agency into two pieces: one that acts as a watchdog on offshore drilling,
enforcing safety regulations and conducting inspections, and another that profits from
issuing more offshore drilling leases.
That situation still creates a conflict of interest at the agency that has direct responsibility
for keeping the risky offshore drilling industry safe, said Steven Cohen, executive
director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University in New York. But, he said, it's better
than what happened before the spill.
"What's clear is that they weren't even enforcing the regulations on the books, and
what's particularly striking about this incident is that the corporations that were running
this [deepwater drilling] well really weren't subject to significant and serious inspections
and regulations," he said.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in July that would have addressed and
funded these issues, Cohen said, but it did not make it to the Senate. Current efforts to
regulate the industry are underfunded, he said.
The Obama administration appointed a task force to re-evaluate the country's regulation
of offshore oil exploration. A final report from that commission is due out on January 12.
Energy 'addiction'
Others say the spill has taught us that we should aim for the root of the problem here:
the United States' addiction to oil and fossil fuels.
Reduce the amount of energy the country uses, and you inherently reduce the risk of
another spill, said Peter Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense
Council, an environmental advocacy group.
If energy consumption is cut, "we won't have to push quite so hard to get the oil, whether
it's from foreign sources or from drilling somewhere," he said.
Cohen, of Columbia, said this lesson is harder-learned.
"We are completely addicted to fossil fuels. Our economy requires it, and we don't have
any real plausible alternatives at this point," he said. "We're basically junkies. So, yeah,
one junkie [overdosed]. That doesn't convince the other junkies not to shoot up."
Out of that sentiment has come an unfortunate lesson, he said: "In general, people have
learned that [offshore drilling for oil] is a riskier and short-term strategy, but as of right
now, there's no alternative."
Both Cohen and Lehner bemoaned the fact that the U.S. Congress has failed to pass
energy legislation that addresses this fossil-fuel dependence. The oil spill appears not to
have been enough to sway public opinion -- or politicians -- on the matter.
Emergency response
Other efforts focus on responding to future spills.
Erik Milito, director of upstream and industry operations at the American Petroleum
Institute, a lobbying and trade group, said the oil industry is better equipped to deal with
another spill after its experience in the Gulf.
"We really were facing a situation that we had not faced before," he said of the Gulf spill,
which was unprecedented both in the amount of oil that was spilled and in that the spill
happened more than a mile below the ocean surface. "We believe we're in a situation
now to be able to cap a well a heck of a lot quicker."
Milito referenced a $1 billion commitment from four major oil companies -- Exxon Mobil,
Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell -- to create a rapid-response system to
be used in the case of a future spill.
He said another spill like BP's is unlikely.
"This event, hopefully, was an aberration. We believe it was. It was a freak occurrence,"
he said. "It was tragic. But we believe it was an isolated event."
Cohen said the public relations pressure exerted on oil companies after the BP disaster
also creates an incentive for them to operate more safely.
Overton, the LSU professor, agreed.
"It's a staggering amount of money that this thing is going to end up costing BP," he said,
"so I think everybody has learned their lesson pretty strongly."
He said he hopes the spill inspires a U.S. clean energy policy.
"We really don't have a good sustained energy policy for the this country. Everybody
says we've got to go to renewables, but you and I won't see that in our lifetime," he said.
"But the step toward that starts now. If we don't come up with reasonable ideas and
reasonable efforts, we won't be there in 20 years or 30 years or 40 years."
Local Opposition Kills C$5 Billion Canadian Dam Plan
Planet Ark, October 20, 2010 BY Scott Haggett
TransCanada Corp and Atco Ltd have abandoned plans to build a C$5 billion ($4.85
billion) dam on the Slave River in northern Alberta after a local native group refused to
back the project.
The planned dam was a run-of-river project that would have generated 1,200 to 1,300
megawatts of electricity from the Slave, an undeveloped river that carries more that twothirds of Alberta's waterflow north to Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories.
The project, first proposed two years ago, was still being studied, but the partners could
not win the support of regional aboriginal groups.
"Atco and TransCanada will not be advancing any further studies on the Slave River as
Smith Landing First Nation has determined that their vision for the Slave River is not
compatible with large scale hydro development," Terry Cunha, a spokesman for
TransCanada said in an email."
TransCanada is the country's biggest pipeline company, and owns generating plants in
Canada and the United States. It is a partner in Bruce Power LP, which operates the
Bruce nuclear facility in Ontario, which supplies a fifth of the province's electricity.
Diversified energy and utilities company Atco owns generating plants in Canada, Britain
and Australia.
Green picks for blue-chip investors
Globe and Mail, October 19, 2010 BY Richard Blackwell
Want to clean up your portfolio by shifting some money into “green” Canadian stocks?
It’s a tough call, especially if you’re a conservative investor looking for stability.
The pickings are slim, but there are a handful of companies specializing in renewable
energy, or other clean technologies, that can fit comfortably among your blue-chip bank,
energy and industrial stocks.
John McIlveen, research director at Jacob Securities Inc. in Toronto, says the Canadian
clean-tech universe is divided up into two galaxies. First there is a group of relatively
large “yield” stocks and trusts – most of which hold portfolios of energy projects – that
are less risky and pay dividends.
Second, there is a group of much smaller “project” companies, many of which generate
little or no profit but could end up hitting pay dirt with a successful venture or by getting
gobbled up by a larger player. These are not for the faint of heart, but can be part of a
portfolio holding for those willing to take the risk in return for the prospect of a big payoff.
Bargains
As a result, however, there are some bargains to be had among the project firms. Mr.
MacIlveen said he would look for companies that will not have to raise money in the near
future, further diluting the equity. His top pick is Ram Power Corp., a TSX-listed
company with a portfolio of geothermal energy projects across North and Central
America. “It has sufficient cash to bring hundreds of megawatts online,” he said.
MacMurray Whale, an analyst at Cormark Securities Inc. in Toronto, said in the coming
months some of the smaller players will be absorbed by bigger companies, or specific
projects will be purchased by firms with stronger balance sheets. “We’re going to see
mergers and acquisitions,” Mr. Whale said.
That dynamic will mean that the smaller firms’ stock performance – at least on average –
could catch up or pass that of the bigger companies, he said.
An alternative for investors looking for green investments is to buy one of the handful of
clean technology mutual funds available in Canada. One of the most mature is the 19year-old Acuity Clean Environment Equity fund, which has more than half its holdings in
Canada. It has gained 1.7 per cent in the year to Sept. 30.
ETF in the Offing
At some point there may also be an ETF based on the S&P/TSX clean technology index,
a benchmark created just last March that tracks 23 domestic firms that develop and
deploy green technologies. Many of these firms have renewable energy projects, while
others are “clean” for other reasons. Cascades Inc. is a paper company that makes
widespread use of recycled fibres, for example, while Ruggedcom Inc. makes
communications equipment for harsh environments.
Patti Dolan, senior investment adviser with Mackie Research Capital Corp. in Calgary,
noted that several large Canadian energy companies have dramatically increased their
own renewable portfolios in the past few years, so just maintaining a position in one of
these firms can give an investor some exposure to the green sector.
TransAlta Corp., for example, bought Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. last year and
absorbed its large portfolio of wind and hydro power projects into an already robust
group of renewable plants.
Suncor Energy Inc., which some might shun for its oil sands involvement, also has
several wind farms and biofuel facilities. And pipeline company Enbridge Inc. owns
interests in wind, solar and geothermal projects.
“There has been a huge focus by some of these companies to look at alternative energy
and their sustainability practices,” said Ms. Dolan, who specializes in socially responsible
investing.
Why the OECD tore a strip off Alberta
Globe and Mail, October 20 BY Jeffrey Simpson
Forget Hollywood director James Cameron, who swept through Alberta recently to draw
attention to the environmental problems of the oil/tar sands. He came and went,
cameras in tow, his visit largely (if wrongly) dismissed by defensive locals as a publicity
stunt.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, however, can’t
be so easily dismissed. In diplomatic language, the organization tore a strip off Alberta
for its short-sightedness in energy policy. In contrast to Norway and Chile, the OECD
found that Alberta isn’t building up a fund from oil and gas revenues to be used for the
benefit of future generations.
Worse, the government transferred $3.6-billion from its Alberta Sustainability Fund to
pay for its deficit this year. Worse still, said the OECD, the government intends to keep
drawing down the fund until it has fallen to $4.7-billion from the $16.8-billion it reached in
the 2007-2008 fiscal year.
Norway, by contrast, saves all its oil and gas royalties, drawing down just 4 per cent of
the fund’s value each year – so future generations of Norwegians will benefit from
today’s bounty. Today’s generation of Albertans, however, is hogging the revenues and
building up a pittance for the future. Me, me, now, now seems to be the attitude of
Albertans and their government.
Serious people in Alberta have bemoaned this approach, including those at the Canada
West Foundation and the Alberta Financial Investment and Planning Advisory
Commission that the government itself established in 2007. Both wanted a much bigger
long-term fund with yearly contributions and no easy access to the piggy bank.
To no avail, because Alberta’s Conservatives aren’t really conservatives in the classic
sense of the word – they’re just governing for the short term, scared by the appearance
on their political right of the Wildrose Alliance.
If the government’s failure to save for tomorrow is sad, so is its much-touted policy on
reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Here, it’s fooling people and perhaps itself, as
simple math shows.
The government has made a huge bet on burying carbon emissions through carbon
sequestration schemes. It’s put $2-billion into projects that will start in the 2013-2015
range. Spread out over that period, the cost will be $400-million to $700-million a year.
If all goes well, Alberta would eliminate four million to five million tonnes of carbon
dioxide a year. Great, but the government says it plans to use carbon capture and
storage to get rid of 139 million tonnes by 2050. Do the math. If $2-billion spread over
three to five years achieves a reduction of four million to five million tonnes, Alberta
would need $60-billion to $70-billion between now and 2050 to get 135 million more
tonnes out of the atmosphere – or $1.5-billion to $1.75-billion each year (in today’s
dollars) instead of $400-million to $700-million.
Do Albertans realize how expensive carbon capture and storage will be, considering that
schemes such as the ones now being planned also take big dollops of cash from Ottawa
and the companies? Chances are they don’t, because politicians don’t like to talk about
the long-term financial challenge. It’s good enough for the government in a province with
many climate-change deniers to waive the $2-billion fund and say the province leads the
world. It’s also easy to say, yes, today’s costs are high, but they’ll come down as carbon
sequestration technology improves. Maybe it will is the only plausible response, because
there are industry representatives who doubt that all four of the identified projects will
actually materialize.
The government also heralds energy intensity reduction targets that allow companies
unwilling or unable to reduce emissions to put $15 a tonne into a technology fund. Great
again, except that, in the first year, the fund earned $122-million – which, given the
immense costs of developing new technologies, would mean a decade or more to scale
up to something significant.
There are Albertans such as Satya Das and Peter Silverstone who’ve written intelligent
books proposing other tax and royalty policies to “green” the oil/tar sands. Inside the
industry, those who think something should be done about emissions want a serious
carbon tax. Predictably, the politicians aren’t listening; they’re dug into policies that look
good on the surface but are certain to expensively fail.
Can Canada afford the oil sands?
Globe and Mail, October 20, 2010 BY Jeff Rubin
America is banking on a lot more Canadian bitumen exports to supply it with oil in the
future. Already the single largest source of imported oil, the Alberta oil sands’ supply
could soon form almost a third of America’s total oil imports—apart from the fact that it’s
far from clear whether or not the rest of the Canadian economy could afford the
consequences.
Whether Canadians like it or not, their dollar has become a petro-currency. Currently
trading near parity against the greenback, it wasn’t that long ago that the Canadian
dollar was trading as low as 61 cents against its bigger cousin. But of course back then
oil was trading at close to $20 (U.S.) per barrel, and at that price Alberta’s tar sands
were a marginal energy resource.
At $80 per barrel, the oil industry is pumping one and a half million barrels per day, and
the once-marginal Canadian resource has suddenly become second only to Saudi
Arabia in proven reserves. At triple-digit prices, the oil sands will produce three to four
million barrels per day. In turn, the tandem of soaring oil prices and soaring oil
production will propel the Canadian dollar to heights it’s never seen.
A soaring currency may bring long-lost NHL franchises back to Winnipeg, Quebec City
and maybe even Hamilton from Dixie and the desert, but that’s about all the Canadian
economy can expect from its major trading partner. Other than Canadian bitumen
exports, American consumers won’t be buying much from their northern neighbor.
That won’t pose much of a problem for Alberta, whose exports are almost all energybased. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the rest of the Canadian economy:
shipments to the U.S. market account for three quarters of the country’s total exports. Or
at least they do—for now.
How long can Ontario remain the single largest producer of motor vehicles in North
America if the Canadian dollar is trading at a double-digit premium to the greenback?
For that matter, what segments of the Canadian manufacturing sector are likely to
survive that exchange rate in the first place?
Will the morphing of the Canadian dollar into a petro-currency be Alberta’s revenge for
the still-loathed National Energy Program? Back in the early 1980’s, Ottawa transferred
billions of dollars of petro-wealth from Alberta to subsidize manufacturing in Ontario and
Quebec by forcing domestic oil prices below world levels. Are the tables about to turn?
Will the price for more mega-projects in the oil sands spell the end of the manufacturing
sector in Ontario and Quebec? If so, what will the political feedback be from a region of
the country that still controls the majority of seats in Canada’s parliament?
As more and more Canadian auto and steel plants are closed in the wake of a soaring
currency, America may have to look elsewhere for its future oil supply.
These scientists see a need to be worried
Montreal Gazette, October 20, 2010 BY Bill Brownstein
One wishes Scientists Under Attack was ... well ... science fiction. Doubtless, there will
be detractors who will attempt to dismiss the findings of German director Bertram
Verhaag in this chilling documentary as the stuff of fiction.
But Verhaag has gone to great lengths to furnish facts and testimony, and to prove his
case that scientists are indeed under attack when they dare to challenge those more
concerned about matters monetary than the greater good of mankind.
The story may now be a familiar one, but it gets increasingly more terrifying. And that
would be the story of genetically modified foods and their impact on all critters great and
small as well as the environment.
Scientists Under Attack - being screened Friday and Saturday at the Festival of Nouveau
Cinema -is a followup to Verhaag's aptly titled doc David Versus Monsanto. His latest is
no one's notion of upbeat, but it is must-see viewing for all, and particularly for those
under the illusion that big business (hello Monsanto once again!) and government
always act in the best interests of those who populate this planet.
Verhaag focuses on, among other scientists, microbiologists Arpad Pusztai and Ignacio
Chapela. They had the temerity to speak up about the potential hazards of rushing
genetically modified foods on to the market before testing for such trifling matters as,
say, toxicity.
In Pusztai's case, he lost his job at a respected research institute in Britain after talking
about his findings in a lab experiment on TV in 1999. He noted 36 significant differences
-affecting everything from immune systems to mental states -between rats eating
genetically modified potatoes and those chowing down on regular potatoes. His research
had the support of 23 renowned scientists in the field. No matter, Pusztai was blacklisted
and labelled a nutbar.
Chapela has so far held on to his gig at Berkeley, but he has incurred the wrath of many,
simply for stating that humans should not be guinea pigs for experimentation. This came
on the heels of his shocking studies on corn in Mexico that was mysteriously genetically
modified.
Chapela merely has to live with being discredited. He points out that some nameless
group invested much time and money to invent two bogus doctors to post blogs on the
web stating his findings were false and flawed. So now when his name is googled, that's
what emerges at the top of the list.
He, too, has learned that if a scientist finds a problem with genetically modified foods,
they invariably get mugged by the bio-tech and pharmaceutical empires.
Small wonder that the full title for this film is Scientists Under Attack: Science in the
Magnetic Field of Money. (And that is about as powerful a magnetic field as there is.)
Yes, but we have democratically elected governments to come to our rescue. Not
necessarily. And certainly not when some of our political leaders depend on the largesse
of these empires.
One-line reviews by Jeff Heinrich, Page C4
Not that we need reminders on this front, but director Verhaag does produce a
frightening example with then-U. S. vice-president Dan Quayle announcing in 1992
"reforms to speed up and simplify the process of bringing" genetically modified products
to market without "being hampered by unnecessary regulation." (A few days later, the
FDA policy on non-regulation was unveiled.)
Perhaps the most major concern addressed in this documentary is that fewer and fewer
scientists will dare to challenge the well-oiled and well-funded biotech and
pharmaceutical empires. That they will be stifled by fear of lawsuit. That they will be
tarnished by negative PR through a well-orchestrated viral attack on the Internet. Or that
they will simply be co-opted and bought by the system.
And that eventually there will be no more real independent science. That we will live in a
world where scientists are beset by conflicts of interest and commitment. And that the
biotech boys and girls will have a free hand in manipulating life, all the while fattening
their wallets.
Be alarmed. Be very alarmed.
Scientists Under Attack: Science in the Magnetic Field of Money screens Friday at 3
p.m. and Saturday at 7:15 p.m. at the NFB Cinema, 1564 St. Denis St.
Krzysztof Komeda could be one of the most brilliant film composers few have ever heard
of. His scores enhanced the works of fellow Polish countrymen Roman Polanski, Andrzej
Wajda and Jerzy Skolimowski. In all, he scored 65 films, a staggering figure for a fellow
who passed away -in a bizarre accident -in his prime at 37 and who, for much of his
career, had to contend with a political regime who disproved of his "counterrevolutionary" art.
German director Claudia Buthenoff-Duffy sheds significant light on the tormented and
sadly forgotten composer's life and times in the documentary Komeda: A Soundtrack for
a Life, which is being shown tomorrow and Sunday at the Festival du Nouveau Cinema.
Obsessed with American jazz, Komeda was a physician who abandoned a potentially
successful practice to pursue a career as a composer. After achieving notoriety for both
the right and wrong reasons in Poland, he left his homeland for Hollywood, where he
teamed up again with Polanski -for whom he had previously scored Knife in the Water
and The Fearless Vampire Killers and for whom he would score the hit Rosemary's
Baby. Ironically, though, Komeda never did rise creatively to the occasion, even without
fear of political constraints in the U.S.
Clearly, Komeda's story didn't have the patented Hollywood fairy-tale finish. Which may
explain why it has been shrouded in so much mystery -until now.
Feds never tried to hush ecosystem report: minister
Montreal Gazette, October 20, 2010 BY Mike Desouza
Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice slammed critics yesterday for suggesting the
government was trying to hide some alarming findings from a major national report on
the state of Canada's ecosystems by quietly publishing it online last Friday.
"We posted it on our website for heaven's sake," Prentice said in an interview. "I think
that's a ridiculous assertion."
He said Environment Canada released the report, the contents of which were first
reported by Postmedia News, before beginning its negotiations at a United Nations
biodiversity summit this week in Japan. It's being billed as one of the most important
environmental conferences since the Kyoto climate change summit in 1997, which
resulted in a binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"So I think that speaks for itself," Prentice said. "We posted it publicly and I'm prepared
to answer any questions that anyone has about it."
The 102-page report, Canadian biodiversity: ecosystem status and trends 2010, lists
numerous areas of Canada where "natural processes are compromised or increased
stresses are reaching critical thresholds." This includes fishing stocks, grasslands that
support bird populations, and fragmented forests that place caribou at risk.
It also states that ice-associated species such as polar bears are at risk from a "dramatic
loss of sea ice in the Arctic."
Environment Canada did not publicly announce that the report was available. It is billed
as the first assessment of Canada's biodiversity from an ecosystem perspective and was
prepared for federal, provincial and territorial governments based on technical reports
from more than 500 experts across the country.
Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae and environment critic Gerard Kennedy accused the
government of downplaying the assessment to avoid talking about its position at the UN
summit.
"It's just not looking at how we balance development around the world, but also not
looking at how we engage with the United Nations and how we engage on these
important international multilateral efforts," Rae said. "It's clear that the Conservative
(government) doesn't take its international responsibilities seriously."
But Prentice said that the biggest challenges in protecting global biodiversity are in
threatened tropical forests, such as those in the Amazon. He said there is optimism
about negotiating an agreement at this week's summit and a December summit on
climate change to provide support for developing countries in order to protect those
forests.
Countries at this week's conference are negotiating measures to protect species that are
threatened with extinction because of pollution and a lack of sustainable development.
Mining industry owes Quebec a better deal
Montreal Gazette, October 20, 2010
Until recently, Quebec topped Canada's list of the financially friendliest places for mining
companies to do business. But Quebecers are coming to realize that the province has
often been an easy mark.
Being friendly to mine-owners is fine, but what about being friendly to the owners of the
province's mineral wealth -Quebecers? And what about being friendly to the
environment?
Revenue figures suggest that Quebecers have been all but giving away their birthright.
One study published last year by environmental groups showed that in 2008-09, mining
companies in Quebec paid a mere $31 million in royalties on revenue of over $6 billion.
Newfoundland and Labrador, meanwhile, collected $303 million on revenue of $5.3
billion; other provinces take comparable amounts.
Change began in last year's Quebec budget, which modestly increased the mining
duties rate from 12 per cent to 16 over the next few years, and tightened deduction
rules, which are very significant. The Liberals note that it was a PQ government, in the
1990s, that cut the rate from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.
The government has also introduced Bill 79, requiring stiffer cleanup deposits and
otherwise bolstering regulatory oversight.
These are steps in the right direction, but there is much farther to go. The government
must not let its eagerness for jobs in remote regions, which after all are not long-term
anyway, tempt it to give away our non-renewable resources.
There does seem to be some growing awareness of the need for more balance between
public and private benefit. This is especially true in shale gas, an easy target because
this new-to-Quebec extraction industry is, fairly or not, alarming many Quebecers.
That has made it easy for Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois to take a hard line: A
PQ government, she says, would ensure that half the wealth generated by oil and gas
exploration ended up in provincial coffers. She cites several ways to do that: royalties,
taxes, fees, even a government equity position.
Currently, Quebec charges a relatively modest 12.5-per-cent royalty on natural gas, and
gives producers a holiday from royalties for the first five years.
No matter which party is in office, the mining industry knows how to resist pushy
governments. The Charest government is no doubt mindful of what happened to Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd in Australia:
Saying the industry had shortchanged Australians by $35 billion, Rudd set out to get
much more revenue from resources. But mining firms warned of job cuts and economic
disruption, and Rudd's Labour Party soon dumped him, for that and other reasons. Julia
Gillard, Rudd's successor, backed down a long way on resource taxes.
In Quebec, there should be room for a win-win resolution. Key elements of a sound new
mining policy would include sensible and stable royalty rates; reasonable and wellenforced rules on what costs can be deducted, and strict rules to make sure played-out
sites do not linger as toxic blights on our map. Oh, and no government ownership, thank
you.
For policy-makers, academics, journalists, and others who normally take great interest in
such maters, mining is remote and complicated; there's an out-of-sight, out-of-mind
factor which has left the industry under the radar. That's not good enough any more.
Surrey moves to shrink its carbon footprint
Vancouver Sun, October 19, 2010 BY Kelly Sinoski
The City of Surrey has vowed to shrink its carbon footprint by 20 per cent over the next
decade by making its civic buildings and transport fleet more energy-efficient.
The city on Tuesday approved a new "corporate emissions action plan," which outlines
13 steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions at its pools, arenas, transport fleet and civic
offices over the next five years and help propel Surrey on the way to becoming carbon
neutral. Measures include testing more alternative or hybrid vehicles, upgrading lighting,
reducing fuel consumption and introducing new green corporate policies.
"These are good initiatives because if we're really cognizant of where our carbon
footprint is and how to reduce it, that only serves to have a better environment for our
kids," Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts said.
The BC Climate Action Charter has called on municipalities to become carbon neutral by
2012, but Watts acknowledges there's still a long road ahead, especially as
municipalities are unsure of how they can use carbon credits to offset the costs of
becoming carbon neutral.
"That's virtually an impossibility," Watts said, but added Surrey will continue to work on
piggybacking on its current policies to reduce emissions further while waiting to hear
from the provincial government on accessing carbon credits or using carbon offsets. The
city is also seeking funding for energy efficiency through programs run by corporations
such as BC Hydro.
Under the plan, the city is proposing to cut emissions by 20 per cent from a proposed
baseline target of energy consumption and GHG emissions level of 445,000 gigajoules
of energy and 14,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. This figure is based
on average taken from between 2005 and 2009.
In 2009, the City of Surrey consumed a total of 417,079 GJ of energy and emitted
15,225 tonnes of GHG emissions in the delivery of its services. Of this total energy
consumption, electricity accounted for about nine per cent; natural gas about 47 per
cent, and fuel consumed to run the city's fleet about 44 per cent. The total expenditure
on energy in 2009 was $10,515,984.
But Watts noted the city has already been working toward more green buildings and
facilities. The city's four indoor pools, for instance, now have been upgraded with
dehumidification and heat recovery systems, while most of Surrey's five ice arenas have
seen lighting retrofits.
Surrey is in an enviable position, she added, because it is developing so rapidly and can
build new facilities with more energy-efficient fixtures such as LED lighting and artificial
turf fields and controlled lighting at its sports facilities.
The city is also using more hybrid and natural gas vehicles, and recently announced a
proposal to use biofuels generated from organic waste to power waste collection trucks.
The new policy, which is intended to help the city define and measure its targets for
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, will be updated every three to five years.
Back to Menu
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ROLAC MEDIA UPDATE
THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWS
Wednesday, 20 October, 2010
UNEP or UN in the News


TEEB Report Puts World’s Natural Assets on the Global Political Radar
El Informe TEEB pone los activos del Capital natural del mundo en el radar político
mundial
UNEP - TEEB Report Puts World’s Natural Assets on the Global Political Radar
10 – 20 – 10
Nagoya, Japan – The economic importance of the world's natural assets is now firmly on
the political radar as a result of an international assessment showcasing the enormous
economic value of forests, freshwater, soils and coral reefs, as well as the social and
economic costs of their loss, was the conclusion of The Economics of Ecosystems and
Biodiversity (TEEB) report launched today by TEEB study leader, Pavan Sukhdev.
"TEEB has documented not only the multi-trillion dollar importance to the global
economy of the natural world, but the kinds of policy-shifts and smart market
mechanisms that can embed fresh thinking in a world beset by a rising raft of multiple
challenges. The good news is that many communities and countries are already seeing
the potential of incorporating the value of nature into decision-making,” said Mr.
Sukhdev, a banker who heads up the Green Economy Initiative of the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP).
He was speaking at the launch of the two-year study, which has involved hundreds of
experts from around the world, at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 10th
Conference of Parties meeting (CBD COP10) in Nagoya.
The TEEB study calls for wider recognition of nature’s contribution to human livelihoods,
health, security, and culture by decision-makers at all levels (local to national and
business to citizens). It promotes the demonstration, and where appropriate, the capture
of the economic values of nature’s services through an array of policy instruments and
mechanisms.
Countries such as India have already announced plans for implementing the economic
valuation of their natural capital as well as the value of nature’s services in decisionmaking.
“TEEB’s approach can reset the economic compass and herald a new era in which the
value of nature’s services is made visible and becomes an explicit part of policy and
business decision-making. Do nothing, and not only do we lose trillions worth of current
and future benefits to society, we also further impoverish the poor and put future
generations at risk,” said Mr. Sukhdev.
“The time for ignoring biodiversity and persisting with conventional thinking regarding
wealth creation and development is over. We must get on to the path towards a green
economy,” he added.
Nature is crucial to prosperity and development
In TEEB’s final report, “Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature”, there are three
scenarios: a natural ecosystem (forests), a human settlement (city), and a business
sector (mining), to illustrate how the economic concepts and tools described in TEEB
can help equip society with the means to incorporate the values of nature into decisionmaking at all levels.
With more than half of the human population now living in urban areas, cities have a
crucial role to play in acknowledging the natural capital required to maintain and improve
the well-being of their residents. Innovative economic instruments and policies are
emerging that reward good practice. For example, the Japanese city of Nagoya (host to
the COP-10 meeting), has implemented a new system of tradeable development rights
whereby developers wishing to exceed existing limits on high-rise buildings can offset
their impacts by buying and conserving areas of Japan’s traditional agricultural
landscape. Discounts on bank loans for buildings that receive a higher ‘star rating’ based
on a green certification system designed by city authorities also create incentives for
more green space within city projects.
An important finding of many studies reviewed by TEEB is the contribution of forests and
other ecosystems to the livelihoods of poor rural households, and therefore the
significant potential for conservation efforts to contribute to poverty reduction. It has
been estimated that ecosystem services and other non-marketed natural goods account
for 47 to 89 per cent of the so-called ‘GDP of the Poor’ (i.e. the effective GDP or total
sources of livelihoods of rural and forest-dwelling poor households) in some large
developing countries.
"In the past only traditional sectors such as manufacturing, mining, retailing, construction
and energy generation were uppermost in the minds of economic planners and ministers
of finance, development and trade. TEEB has brought to the world’s attention that
nature's goods and services are equal, if not far more central, to the wealth of nations
including the poor--a fact that will be increasingly the case on a planet of finite resources
with a population set to rise to nine billion people by 2050,” said Achim Steiner, UN
Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director.
Failure to account for the value of natural capital poses significant business and social
risks
The report also drives home the message that failure of business to account for the
value of natural capital, particularly in sectors such as mining, can pose significant
business and social risks. The UK-based consultancy, TruCost, estimated that the
negative impacts, or ‘environmental externalities’, of the world’s top 3,000 listed
companies totals around US$ 2.2 trillion annually.
Approaches such as Net Positive Impact, wetland mitigation and bio-banking can help
ensure that developers take responsibility for their environmental footprint. As
consumers and governments opt for greener purchasing choices the business sector
also stands to make considerable gains: by 2020 the annual market size for certified
agricultural products is expected to be US$210 billion; payments for water related
ecosystem services US$6 billion; and voluntary biodiversity offsets in the region of
US$100 million a year.
Countries give nature the green light
Countries are already taking steps to adopt the TEEB approach. India’s Minister for
Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, said today that the TEEB study provides
practical guidance for new economic approaches that India will start to implement.
“TEEB aims to provide strong incentives for countries to ensure decisions are not solely
based on short-term gains, but build foundations for sustainable and inclusive
development. India is planning a TEEB for India study to assess its natural capital. We
are committed to developing a framework for green national accounts that we can
implement by 2015, and we are confident that the TEEB for India Study will be the key
facilitator for the same,” said Mr. Ramesh.
The European Commission and Germany saw the benefits of the TEEB study at the
Potsdam G8+5 Environment Ministers meeting in 2007 and applauded its conclusions.
“The European Commission has supported the project from the start and will continue to
work on these issues after COP 10, taking into account the decisions that will be
adopted in Nagoya. We intend to launch a study to examine more in detail the evidence
available in an EU context and areas for implementation of the analyses developed by
TEEB in our policies. The Commission is also willing to support initiatives by other
countries, in particular developing countries, to demonstrate the benefits and costs of
investing in the management of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Notably, we plan to
work in partnership with UNEP and UNDP for supporting assessments in interested
developing countries and making the links with economic sectors and development
plans,” said Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for the Environment.
Braulio Dias, Secretary for Biodiversity and Forests, Ministry for Environment, Brazil,
welcomes the TEEB study saying it offers sound guidance and a powerful message to
reset the economic compass. “As one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, Brazil’s
government and business sectors are taking the TEEB recommendations very seriously
and can see that the era of the invisibility of the value of nature must end. At a national
level we are in discussion to implement a TEEB study of our natural capital, and the
Brazilian business sector is also in planning to move towards this practical and
sustainable approach to decision-making,” he commented.
Japan, the host country of the 10th Conference of Parties meeting on the Convention of
Biological Diversity (CBD COP10), also welcomed the study.
“The Japanese Government has contributed to the TEEB study, and has conducted
research on economic evaluation and policy responses on Japan’s biodiversity in close
cooperation with TEEB. Japan welcomes the launching of TEEB at Aichi-Nagoya,
Japan, in the International Year for Biodiversity. We expect the TEEB study will deliver
significant impacts on global biodiversity policy. To support this new approach, Japan, as
COP10 presidency, would like to proactively contribute to national, regional and global
initiatives to implement aspects of the TEEB study,” said Mr. Hideki Minamikawa, ViceMinister for Global Environmental Affairs in the Ministry of the Environment Japan.
The TEEB study concludes with the following recommendations:
1. Public disclosure of --and accountability for --impacts on nature should be essential
outcomes of biodiversity assessment.
2. The present system of national accounts should be rapidly upgraded to include the
value of changes in natural capital stocks and ecosystem service flows.
3. An urgent priority is to draw up consistent physical accounts for forest stocks and
ecosystem services, both of which are required, for example, for the development of new
forest carbon mechanisms and incentives.
4. The annual reports and accounts of business and other organizations should disclose
all major externalities, including environmental damage affecting society and changes in
natural assets not currently disclosed in the statutory accounts.
5. The principles of ‘No Net Loss’ or ‘Net Positive Impact’ should be considered as
normal business practice, using robust biodiversity performance benchmarks and
assurance processes to avoid and mitigate damage, together with pro-biodiversity
investment to compensate for adverse impacts that cannot be avoided.
6. The principles of ‘polluter pays’ and ‘full-cost-recovery’ are powerful guidelines for the
realignment of incentive structures and fiscal reform. In some contexts, the principle of
‘beneficiary pays’ can be invoked to support new positive incentives such as payments
for ecosystem services, tax breaks and other fiscal transfers that aim to encourage
private and public sector actors to provide ecosystem services.
7. Governments should aim for full disclosure of subsidies, measuring and reporting
them annually in order that their perverse components may be recognized, tracked and
eventually phased out.
8. The establishment of comprehensive, representative, effective and equitably
managed systems of national and regional protected areas should be pursued
(especially in the high-seas) in order to conserve biodiversity and maintain a wide range
of ecosystem services. Ecosystem valuation can help to justify protected areas policy,
identify funding and investment opportunities, and inform conservation priorities.
9. Ecosystem conservation and restoration should be regarded as a viable investment
option in support of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Within the UNFCCC
process, REDD-Plus should be prioritized for accelerated implementation, beginning
with pilot projects and efforts to strengthen capacity in developing countries to help them
establish credible systems of monitoring and verification that will allow for the full
deployment of the instrument.
10. Human dependence on ecosystem services and particularly their role as a lifeline for
many poor households needs to be more fully integrated into policy. This applies both to
targeting development interventions as well as to evaluating the social impacts of
policies that affect the environment.
It is envisaged that the TEEB study will continue with ongoing work on outreach and
capacity building. The TEEB reports are available at www.teebweb.org.
For further information please contact:
Georgina Langdale, UNEP-TEEB Tel: +49 228 815 0572, Mobile: +49 1707 617 138
(20-29 October - +81 90 5006 3182) Email: georgina.langdale@unep-teeb.org
Nick Nuttall, Spokesperson/Head of Media UNEP, Mobile in Japan, +81 80 3660 1001
and Roaming: +41 7959 65737, Email: nick.nuttall@unep.org
Notes to Editors:
In addition to the launch of the final synthesis Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature,
TEEB Ecological and Economic Foundations is published today by Earthscan. The
volume synthesizes state-of-the-art knowledge on a range of issues that are central to
applying economic valuation to ecosystem services and biodiversity. A further three
volumes based on the TEEB reports will be published by Earthscan over the next 15
months.
TEEB is an independent study, led by Pavan Sukhdev, hosted by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), with financial support from the European
Commission, Germany, UK, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Sweden and Japan.
Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature is the last in a series of interconnected reports:
TEEB Ecological and Economic Foundations, coordinated by Pushpam Kumar of the
University of Liverpool; TEEB for Policy Makers coordinated by Patrick ten Brink of the
Institute of European Environmental Policy (IEEP); TEEB for Local and Regional Policy
Makers coordinated by Heidi Wittmer of the UFZ Helmholtz Research Centre and
Haripriya Gundimeda of the Indian Institute of Technology; and TEEB for Business
coordinated by Josh Bishop of IUCN. A TEEB for citizens website can be found at
www.teeb4me.com.
US$ 50 billion
The annual loss of opportunity due to the current over-exploitation of global fisheries.
Competition between highly subsidized industrial fishing fleets coupled with poor
regulation and weak enforcement of existing rules has led to over-exploitation of most
commercially valuable fish stocks, reducing the income from global marine fisheries by
US$50 billion annually, compared to a more sustainable fishing scenario (World Bank
and FAO 2009).
Euros 153 billion
Insect pollinators are nature’s multi-billion dollar providers. For 2005 the total economic
value of insect pollination was estimated at Euros 153 billion. This represents 9.5% of
world agricultural output for human food in 2005. (Gallai et al. 2009)
US$30 billion – US$172 billion
The annual value of human welfare benefits provided by coral reefs. Although just
covering 1.2% of the world’s continent shelves, coral reefs are home to an estimated 1-3
million species including more than a quarter of all marine fish species. (Allsopp et al.
2009). Some 30 million people in coastal and island communities are totally reliant on
reef-based resources as their primary means of food production, income and livelihood.
(Gomez et al. 1994, Wilkinson 2004) Estimates of the value of human welfare benefits
provided by coral reefs range from US$30 billion (Cesar et al. 2003) to US$172 billion
annually (Martinez et al. 2007)
US$20 -US$67 million (over four years)
The benefits of tree planting in the city of Canberra. Local authorities in Canberra,
Australia, have planted 400,000 trees to regulate microclimate, reduce pollution and
thereby improve urban air quality, reduce energy costs for air conditioning as well as
store and sequester carbon. These benefits are expected to amount to some US$20US$67 million over the period 2008-2012, in terms of the value generated or savings
realized for the city. (Brack 2002)
US$6.5 billion
The amount saved by New York, by investing in payments to maintain natural water
purification services in the Catskills watershed (US$1-US$1.5 billion) rather than opt for
the man-made solution of a filtration plant (US$ 6-8 billion plus US$300-500 million/year
operating costs). (Perrot-Maitre and Davis 2001).
50
The number of (rupees) millionaires in Hiware Bazaar, India, as the result of
regenerating 70 hectares of degraded forests. This led to the number of active wells in
the surrounding area doubling, grass production increasing and income from agriculture
increasing due to the enhancement of local ecosystem services (a TEEB case mainly
based on Neha Sakhuja).
Further examples available at www.teebweb.org
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=649&ArticleID=6
791&l=en
UNEP - El Informe TEEB pone los activos del Capital natural del mundo en el radar
político mundial
20 – 10 – 10
Nagoya, Japón - La importancia económica de la riqueza natural del mundo está ahora
firmemente en el radar político como resultado de una evaluación internacional que
muestra el enorme valor económico de los bosques, el agua dulce, los suelos y los
arrecifes de coral, así como los costos sociales y económicos que resultan de su
pérdida. Esta es la conclusión del informe titulado La Economía de los Ecosistemas y
Biodiversidad (TEEB por sus siglas en inglés), dado a conocer el día de ho y por el líder
del estudio TEEB, Pavan Sukhdev.
"TEEB ha documentado no sólo la importancia multibillonaria del mundo natural en la
economía global, sino también el tipo de cambios en políticas y el tipo de mecanismos
inteligentes de mercado que pueden integrar nuevas ideas en un mundo acosado por
un número creciente de múltiples desafíos. La buena noticia es que muchas
comunidades y países ya están viendo la posibilidad de incorporar el valor de la
naturaleza en la toma de decisiones ", dijo el Sr. Sukhdev, banquero que dirige la
Iniciativa de Economía Verde del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio
Ambiente (PNUMA).
A esto se refirió en el lanzamiento del estudio que llevó dos años y que ha involucrado a
cientos de expertos de todo el mundo, en el marco de la 10 ª Conferencia de las Partes
del Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica (CDB COP 10) en Nagoya.
El estudio TEEB hace un llamado a un mayor reconocimiento, por parte de los
tomadores de decisiones de todos los niveles (desde el local hasta el nacional y desde
los empresarios hasta los ciudadanos), de la contribución de la naturaleza para la
supervivencia, la salud, la seguridad y la cultura. Asimismo, promueve la demostración,
y según sea apropiado, la captura de los valores económicos de los servicios de la
naturaleza a través de una serie de instrumentos y mecanismos de política.
Países como la India ya han anunciado planes para la aplicación de la valoración
económica de su capital natural, así como el valor de los servicios de la naturaleza en la
toma de decisiones.
"El Enfoque TEEB puede restablecer la brújula económica y anunciar una nueva era en
la cual el valor de los servicios de la naturaleza se hace visible y se convierte en una
parte explícita de la política y la toma de decisiones empresariales. De no hacer nada, y
solo hacer, perdemos billones de dólares en beneficios actuales y futuros para la
sociedad, y también se empobrecen aún más a los pobres y ponemos en riesgo a las
futuras generaciones ", dijo Sukhdev.
"El tiempo de ignorar la diversidad biológica y persistir con el pensamiento convencional
sobre la creación de riqueza y el desarrollo se ha terminado. Tenemos que llegar a la
ruta hacia una economía verde ", añadió.
La naturaleza es crucial para la prosperidad y el desarrollo
En el informe final TEEB "Incorporación de la Economía de la Naturaleza", hay tres
escenarios: un ecosistema natural (bosques), un asentamiento humano (ciudad), y un
sector empresarial (minería), a través de los cuales se ilustra cómo los conceptos
económicos y herramientas descritas en TEEB pueden ayudar a proporcionar a la
sociedad los medios para incorporar los valores de la naturaleza en la toma de
decisiones a todos los niveles.
Con más de la mitad de la población humana viviendo en áreas urbanas, las ciudades
tienen un papel crucial a la hora de reconocer el capital natural necesario para mantener
y mejorar el bienestar de sus residentes. Instrumentos económicos y políticas
innovadoras que recompensan las buenas prácticas están emergiendo. Por ejemplo, la
ciudad japonesa de Nagoya (sede de la COP-10), ha implementado un nuevo sistema
de derechos de desarrollo negociables, a través del cual los desarrolladores que deseen
superar los límites existentes respecto a la altura de los edificios pueden compensar los
impactos mediante la compra y la conservación de las áreas del paisaje agrícola
tradicional de Japón. Los descuentos en los préstamos bancarios para los edificios que
reciben un mayor “número de estrellas”, de acuerdo al sistema de certificación verde
diseñado por l as autoridades de la ciudad, también crean incentivos para contar con
más espacios verdes dentro de los proyectos de la ciudad.
Un hallazgo importante de muchos estudios revisados por TEEB es la contribución de
los bosques y otros ecosistemas a la subsistencia de los hogares rurales pobres, y por
lo tanto, el significativo potencial de los esfuerzos de conservación para contribuir a la
reducción de la pobreza. Se ha estimado que los servicios de los ecosistemas y otros
bienes naturales no-comercializados representan, en algunos países en desarrollo
grandes, entre el 47 y el 89 por ciento del conocido como "PIB de los pobres" (es decir,
el PIB efectivo o el total de las fuentes de medios de subsistencia de los hogares pobres
rurales y los que viven en los bosques).
"En el pasado, solo los sectores tradicionales como la manufactura, la minería, el
comercio minorista, la construcción y la generación de energía se encontraban en la
mente de los planificadores económicos y de los ministros de finanzas, el desarrollo y el
comercio. TEEB ha traído a la atención del mundo que los bienes y los servicios de la
naturaleza son iguales a, sino que más relevantes, para la riqueza de las naciones
incluyendo a los pobres - un hecho que será cada vez más el caso, en un planeta de
recursos finitos, con una población que aumentará a nueve mil millones de personas
para el año 2050 ", dijo Achim Steiner, Subsecretario General de Naciones Unidas y
Director Ejecutivo del PNUMA.
No tomar en cuenta el valor del capital natural plantea riesgos significativos a los
negocios y a la sociedad
El informe también incluye el mensaje de que el fracaso de los negocios para tomar en
cuenta el valor del capital natural, sobre todo en sectores como la minería, pueden
suponer importantes riesgos de negocios y sociales. La consultora británica, TruCost,
estimó que los impactos negativos, o "las externalidades ambientales", de los 3.000
empresas listadas como las más importantes alcanzan un total de 2.2 miles de millones
de dólares al año.
Enfoques, tales como Impacto Neto Positivo, la mitigación de los humedales y el biobanco, pueden ayudar a asegurar que los desarrolladores asuman la responsabilidad de
su huella ecológica. Conforme los consumidores y los gobiernos opten por opciones de
compra más verde, el sector empresarial también se podría obtener ganancias
considerables: para 2020 se espera que el volumen de mercado anual de productos
agrícolas certificados alcance los 210 miles de millones de dólares; los pagos por los
servicios hidrológicos de los ecosistemas alcanzarán los 6 mil millones de dólares; y las
compensaciones voluntarias por biodiversidad en la región, los 100 millones de dólares
al año.
Países dan la luz verde a la naturaleza
Los países ya están tomando medidas para adoptar el enfoque de TEEB. El Ministro de
Medio Ambiente y los Bosques de India, el Sr. Jairam Ramesh, dijo hoy que el estudio
TEEB proporciona orientación práctica para nuevos enfoques económicos que la India
comenzará a aplicar.
"TEEB tiene como objetivo proporcionar fuertes incentivos a los países para garantizar
que las decisiones no se basan únicamente en las ganancias de corto plazo, sino
construir las bases para el desarrollo sostenible e inclusivo. India está planeando un
estudio TEEB para la India, a fin de evaluar su capital natural. Estamos comprometidos
a desarrollar un marco para tener cuentas nacionales verdes, que podemos
implementar para el año 2015, y estamos seguros de que el estudio TEEB para la India
será el factor clave que lo favorezca ", dijo Ramesh.
La Comisión Europea y Alemania vieron los beneficios del estudio TEEB en la reunión
de Ministros de Medio Ambiente del G8+5, en Potsdam en 2007 y aplaudieron sus
conclusiones.
"La Comisión Europea ha apoyado el proyecto desde el principio y seguirá trabajando
sobre estas cuestiones después de la COP 10, teniendo en cuenta las decisiones que
se adoptarán en Nagoya. Tenemos la intención de poner en marcha un estudio para
examinar más en detalle la evidencia disponible en el contexto de la UE y las áreas de
aplicación de los análisis desarrollados por TEEB en nuestras políticas. La Comisión
también está dispuesta a apoyar las iniciativas de otros países, en particular los países
en desarrollo, para demostrar los beneficios y costos de invertir en la gestión de los
servicios de la biodiversidad y los ecosistemas. En particular, tenemos la intención de
trabajar en asociación con el PNUMA y el PNUD para apoyar la evaluación de países
en desarrollo interesados y establecer los vínculos con los sectores económicos y los
planes de desarrollo ", dijo Janez Potocnik, Comisario Europeo de Medio Ambiente.
Braulio Dias, Secretario de Biodiversidad y Bosques del Ministerio de Medio Ambiente
de Brasil, acogió con satisfacción el estudio TEEB comentando que ofrece una
orientación sólida y un poderoso mensaje para restablecer la brújula económica. "Como
uno de los lugares críticos (hotspots) de biodiversidad del mundo, el gobierno de Brasil
y los sectores empresariales están tomando muy en serio las recomendaciones de
TEEB y se puede ver que la era en el valor de la naturaleza era invisible debe terminar.
A nivel nacional, estamos en la discusión sobre la implementación de un estudio TEEB
sobre nuestro capital natural, y el sector empresarial brasileño está también
planeandoMO su avance hacia este enfoque práctico y sostenible para la toma de
decisiones ", comentó.
Japón, el país anfitrión de la 10 ª Conferencia de las Partes sobre el Convenio de
Diversidad Biológica (CDB COP 10), también acogió con agrado el estudio.
"El Gobierno del Japón ha contribuido al estudio TEEB, y ha realizado investigaciones
sobre la evaluación económica y las respuestas de política con relación a la diversidad
biológica de Japón, en estrecha cooperación con TEEB. Japón acoge con beneplácito la
puesta en marcha de TEEB en Aichi, Nagoya, Japón, en el Año Internacional de la
Diversidad Biológica. Esperamos que el estudio TEEB tenga un impacto significativo
sobre la política para la diversidad biológica mundial. Para apoyar este nuevo enfoque,
Japón, como Presidente de la COP10, desea contribuir activamente a las iniciativas
nacionales, regionales y globales para implementar los aspectos del estudio TEEB," dijo
el Sr. Hideki Minamikawa, Viceministro de Asuntos Ambientales Mundiales en el
Ministerio de Medio Ambiente de Japón.
El estudio TEEB concluye con las siguientes recomendaciones:
1. La divulgación pública de - y la responsabilidad por - los impactos sobre la naturaleza
deben ser resultados esenciales de la evaluación de la biodiversidad.
2. El sistema actual de cuentas nacionales deben ser rápidamente actualizado, a fin de
incluir el valor de los cambios en las existencias de capital natural y los flujos de
servicios ambientales.
3. Una prioridad urgente es la elaboración coherente de las cuentas e inventarios físicos
de las reservas forestales y servicios de los ecosistemas, los cuales son requeridos, por
ejemplo, para el desarrollo de nuevos mecanismos forestales de carbono e incentivos.
4. Los informes anuales y las cuentas de las empresas y otras organizaciones deben
revelar las externalidades más importantes, incluidos los daños ambientales que afectan
a la sociedad y los cambios en los activos naturales no consignados en las cuentas
reglamentarias.
5. Los principios de "Sin Pérdida Neta" o "Impacto Positivo Neto" deberían ser
considerados como una práctica comercial normal, utilizando puntos de referencia sobre
desempeño robusto de la biodiversidad y procesos de aseguramiento para evitar y
mitigar los daños, junto con inversiones en favor de la biodiversidad para compensar los
impactos adversos que no pueden ser evitados.
6. Los principios de «quien contamina paga» y «recuperación total de los costos" son
directrices de gran alcance para la realineación de las estructuras de incentivos y la
reforma fiscal. En algunos contextos, el principio de «el beneficiario paga" puede ser
invocado en apoyo de nuevos incentivos positivos tales como pagos por servicios
ambientales, incentivos fiscales y otras transferencias fiscales que tienen por objeto
alentar a los agentes del sector público y privado a proporcionar servicios
ecosistémicos.
7. Los gobiernos deben aspirar a la divulgación completa de las subvenciones, midiendo
e informando anualmente sobre éstas, para que sus componentes perjudiciales puedan
ser reconocidos, monitoreados y, eventualmente, desaparecer.
8. El establecimiento de sistemas de áreas protegidas nacionales y regionales, que
sean gestionados de manera integral, representativa, eficaz y equitativa deberían
llevarse a cabo (sobre todo en la alta mar), con el fin de conservar la biodiversidad y
mantener una amplia gama de servicios de los ecosistemas. La valoración de
ecosistemas puede ayudar a justificar la política de áreas protegidas, identificar
oportunidades de financiamiento e inversión, y sustentar las prioridades de
conservación.
9. La conservación y la restauración de ecosistemas deben ser consideradas como una
opción de inversión viable en apoyo de la mitigación del cambio climático y la
adaptación. Dentro del proceso de la CMNUCC, REDD-plus debería ser priorizada para
su implementación acelerada, comenzando con proyectos piloto y esfuerzos para
fortalecer la capacidad de los países en desarrollo a establecer sistemas confiables de
control y verificación que permitan el pleno despliegue del instrumento.
10. La dependencia humana de los servicios de los ecosistemas y, en particular, su
papel como una línea de vida para muchos hogares pobres tiene que ser plenamente
integrada en las políticas. Esto aplica tanto para orientar las intervenciones de
desarrollo, así como a la evaluación de los impactos sociales de las políticas que
afectan el medio ambiente.
Se prevé que el estudio TEEB continuará con el trabajo en curso con relación a la
construcción de capacidades y la difusión. Los informes TEEB están disponibles en:
www.teebweb.org.
Para más información póngase en contacto con:
Langdale Georgina, PNUMA-TEEB Tel: +49 228 815 0572, móvil: +49 1707 617 138
Correo electrónico: @ georgina.langdale PNUMA-teeb.org
Nick Nuttall, Vocero / Director de Medios del PNUMA, móviles en Japón, 81 80 3660
1001 y Roaming: +41 65 737 7959,: nick.nuttall@unep.org
Notas a los redactores:
Además del lanzamiento de la síntesis final del documento “Integrando la Economía de
la Naturaleza”, el documento “Los Fundamentos económicos y ecológicos” es publicado
hoy por Earthscan. El volumen sintetiza el conocimiento del estado del conocimiento en
una serie de cuestiones que son centrales para la aplicación de la valoración económica
de los servicios de los ecosistemas y la biodiversidad. Otros tres volúmenes sobre la
base de los informes TEEB serán publicados por Earthscan en los próximos 15 meses.
TEEB es un estudio independiente, dirigido por Pavan Sukhdev, auspiciado por el
Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA), con el apoyo
financiero de la Comisión Europea, Alemania, Reino Unido, los Países Bajos, Noruega,
Bélgica, Suecia y Japón.
“Integrando la Economía de la Naturaleza” es el último de una serie de informes
relacionados entre sí: “TEEB Fundamentos Ecológicos y Económicos”, coordinada por
Pushpam Kumar de la Universidad de Liverpool; “TEEB para responsables de políticas”,
coordinado por Patrick ten Brink del Instituto de Política Ambiental Europea (IEEP);
“TEEB para Resdponsable de Políticas a nivel local y regional”, coordinado por Heidi
Wittmer del UFZ Helmholtz Centro de Investigación y Gundimeda Haripriya del Instituto
Indio de Tecnología; y, “TEEB para Negocios”, coordinado por Josh Obispo de la UICN.
Un TEEB para el sitio web los ciudadanos pueden encontrar en www.teeb4me.com.
EE.UU. 50 mil millones dólares
La pérdida anual de oportunidad debido a la actual sobreexplotación de las pesquerías
mundiales. La competencia entre las flotas industriales pesqueras altamente
subvencionadas, junto con la falta de regulación y la débil aplicación de las normas
existentes, ha llevado a la sobreexplotación de los recursos pesqueros de mayor valor
comercial, disminuyendo los ingresos de la pesca marina mundial en 50 mil millones de
dólares anualmente, en comparación con un escenario de pesca más sostenible (Banco
Mundial y la FAO 2009).
153 mil millones de euros
Los insectos polinizadores son proveedores de miles de millones de dólares a la
naturaleza. Para 2005, el valor total económico de la polinización de insectos se estimó
en 153 mil millones de euros. Esto representa el 9,5% de la producción agrícola mundial
para la alimentación humana en 2005. (Gallai et al. 2009)
30 miles de millones de dólares – 172 miles de millones de dólares
El valor anual de los beneficios para el bienestar humano proporcionados por los
arrecifes de coral. Aunque sólo cubren el 1.2% de las plataformas continentales del
mundo, los arrecifes de coral son el hogar de 1 a 3 millones especies, incluyendo más
de la cuarta parte de todas las especies de peces marinos. (Allsopp et al. 2009). Unos
30 millones de personas en las comunidades costeras e insulares son totalmente
dependientes de recursos basados en los arrecifes como su principal medio de
producción de alimentos, ingresos y medios de subsistencia. (Gómez et al. 1994,
Wilkinson 2004) Las estimaciones del valor de los beneficios proporcionados para el
bienestar humano por los arrecifes de coral oscila entre 30 mil millones de dólares
(Cesar et al. 2003) y 172 mil millones dólares al año (Martínez et al. 2007).
20- 67 millones de dólares (más de cuatro años)
Los beneficios de la plantación de árboles en la ciudad de Canberra. Las autoridades
locales en Canberra, Australia, han plantado 400,000 árboles para regular el microclima,
reducir la contaminación y con ello, mejorar la calidad del aire urbano, reducir los costos
de energía derivado del uso de aire acondicionado, así como almacenar y secuestrar
carbono. Se espera que estos beneficios asciendan a unos 20 a 67 millones dólares
durante el período 2008-2012, en términos del valor generado o de los ahorros logrados
por la ciudad. (Brack, 2002)
6.5 miles de millones de dólares
El total ahorrado por Nueva York, mediante la inversión de los pagos para mantener los
servicios naturales de purificación de agua de la cuenca Catskills ( 1 ay 1.5 miles de
millones de dólares), en lugar de optar por la solución artificial de una planta de filtración
( 6-8 miles de millones más 300 a 500 millones por costos de operación al año). (PerrotMaitre y Davis 2001).
50
El número de (rupias) millonarios en Hiware Bazar, India, como resultado de la
regeneración de 70 hectáreas de bosques degradados. Esto llevó a duplicar el número
de pozos activos en los alrededores, aumentando la producción de pastos y de los
ingresos procedentes de la agricultura debido a la mejora de los servicios de los
ecosistemas locales (un caso TEEB basado principalmente en Neha Sakhuja).
Otros ejemplos disponibles en www.teebweb.org
http://www.pnuma.org/informacion/comunicados/2010/20Octubre2010/1cpb35n_i.htm
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Perú - Agua y desarrollo, malos vecinos en el sur de Perú
Bolivia - Incendios forestales en Bolivia superan récord histórico
Dominican Republic - 5th Latin American Carbon Forum : Latin & Caribbean
leaders discuss Carbon and climate change
St Kitts-Nevis - St Kitts-Nevis delegation discusses national security and
disaster mitigation with Guadeloupe officials
Bolivia - El presidente boliviano recibe al asesor británico sobre el cambio
climático
Nicaragua - Nicaragua frena construcción de hidroeléctrica por r iesgo ambiental
Colombia - Conch project nets conservation prize
México - México busca acuerdos más concretos en la COP16
Global - PNUMA lanza sitio web promotor de turismo a escenarios naturales
protegidos
Global - PNUMA recomienda prohibición de pesticida
Global - Clima extremo azota a campesinos indios
Global - Fate of Earth's Living Beings Nears 'Tipping Point'
Global - Pérdida de diversidad biológica = futuro hipotecado
Global - ONU se vale de internet para la conservación de la vida silvestre
Global - Conservation scientists release global strategy to halt extinctions as
nations meet to decide future of biodiversity
Global - El cambio climático amenaza la may or parte del planeta con graves
sequías
Global - Atún rojo podría ser afectado por vertido del Golfo de México
Global - E.ON Pulls Out of Carbon-Capture, Storage Project at Kingsworth
Station
Global - U.K. Corporate CO2-Cutting Targets Have Risen About Half, RBS Study
Shows
Global - EU Plan to Expand CO2 Market by 2015 Infeasible, Climate Strategies
Says
Global - Biodiversity: Variety as the spice of life
Perú - Agua y desarrollo, malos vecinos en el sur de Perú
19 – 10 – 10
LIMA (IPS) - Un muerto y varios heridos después, dos regiones del sur de Perú siguen
entrampadas en un conflicto por el agua de uno de los mayores ríos del país, que en su
paso por una de ellas, Cusco, se pretende trasvasar a su vecina, Arequipa.
Apurímac, el río de 700 kilómetros cuyo nombre en quechua significa "gran hablador" y
que forma parte de la cuenca amazónica, mantiene enfrentadas a las autoridades y
habitantes de los dos departamentos vecinos, mientras desarrollistas y ambientalistas
difieren sobre los pros y los contras del plan.
La disputa, enmarañada también por recursos jurídicos interpuestos por las dos
regiones, podría resolverse con un estudio sobre el balance hídrico del río. Pero las
autoridades regionales y municipales en conflicto exigen al gobierno de Lima que se
haga en forma independiente.
El origen del enfrentamiento está en el proyecto de riego y energía Majes Siguas II de
Arequipa, al suroeste de Cusco, que depende del trasvase de aguas del Apurímac.
El jueves 21, el gobierno de Alan García tendrá una nueva reunión con autoridades y
líderes de la provincia de Espinar, en Cusco, con la promesa de evaluar si esta zona del
país realmente tiene agua suficiente para trasvasar al proyecto de Arequipa.
Un estudio de balance hídrico permitiría analizar de manera detallada la disponibilidad
de la fuente de agua: la cuenca alta del río Apurímac desde su nacimiento en el andino
Nevado Mismi hasta su confluencia con el río Salado.
El ministro de Producción y cabeza de la comisión de Alto nivel del gobierno, Jorge
Villasante, "se ha comprometido a realizar el estudio y le exigimos que cumpla", dijo a
IPS Eloy Chancayauri, alcalde de Espinar, la provincia situada en el extremo suroriental
de Cusco y la más afectada por el desvío hídrico.
El alcalde provincial precisó que otra demanda es que el estudio "lo haga una institución
independiente y haya total transparencia". Espinar sería el área más afectada y las
protestas de la población contra el proyecto se saldaron en septiembre con una persona
muerta y más de una decena de heridos.
Villasante se reunió con las autoridades de Espinar el día 14 y recorrió parte de la
cuenca del Apurímac. Dos días antes prometió que sólo se ejecutará el proyecto si
existen "las garantías de contar con los recursos que se requiere".
El proyecto contempla el trasvase de las aguas de las altas cordilleras, desde la cuenca
del Apurímac vía túneles y canales hasta las Pampas de Majes y Siguas, en Arequipa,
una región con amplia costa sobre el océano Pacífico.
La obra significa una inversión de 404 millones de dólares e incluye la construcción de
la represa de Angostura, que según las autoridades de Arequipa tendría una capacidad
de almacenamiento de 1.000 millones de metros cúbicos (mmc) de agua.
La alarma de la provincia de Espinar por el proyecto tiene su causa. Ya tienen
problemas con el agua y temen quedarse sin ella por el proyecto Majes Siguas II, en la
colindante provincia arequipeña de de Caylloma.
Según su alcalde, el caudal histórico del río Apurímac que abastece a los municipios de
Espinar es de 3,8 metros cúbicos por segundo y con la represa se reduciría a 1,14
metros cúbicos por segundo. "Esto sería insuficiente para nosotros", remarcó.
Arequipa y Cusco han acudido a instancias judiciales. La municipalidad de Espinar
presentó una medida cautelar al juzgado mixto de la provincia que emitió una
resolución, en 2008, en que exige que se realice un estudio de impacto ambiental y otro
de balance hídrico, antes de ejecutarse el proyecto Majes Siguas II.
En septiembre pasado, las autoridades de Cusco lograron que dos juzgados ordenaran
suspender el proceso de concesión del proyecto y la firma del contrato.
Desde el otro lado, el gobierno regional de Arequipa presentó una acción de amparo
ante la Corte Superior del departamento para que se firme el contrato con quien ganó la
licitación, el privado Consorcio Angostura – Siguas. La solicitud ya fue admitida.
Para la estatal Autoridad Nacional del Agua (ANA) hay suficiente agua para ambas
regiones.
Un estudio de confrontación de oferta y demanda, que realizó la consultora Agua y Agro
por encargo de ese organismo, indica que el caudal de recursos hídricos de la Cuenca
Alta del Apurímac en época de lluvia es de 1.000 mmc por año, desde su naciente hasta
su confluencia con el río Salado.
El reporte asegura que si se toman en cuenta las descargas naturales de la cuenta alta
del río hasta la bocatoma Canchipuquio, que capta parte de su agua, la oferta hídrica
anual es de alrededor de 500 mmc.
Los representantes de la ANA aseguraron que la demanda hídrica de Espinar es de 5
mmc para uso agrícola y poblacional, por lo que habría "un excedente de 495 mmc de
recursos hídricos por año", que actualmente terminan por caer en el en el océano
Atlántico, con el que Perú no tiene costas.
Pero las autoridades del Cusco y algunos expertos aseguran que no es lo mismo un
estudio de confrontación que un balance hídrico, mediante el cual "a lo largo de un año
(se) puede determinar de manera detallada la disponibilidad del agua en época de
lluvias y de sequía". "Además, ese estudio tampoco recogió nuestras observaciones",
aseguró Chancayauri.
"Una confrontación de oferta y demanda es un estudio primario porque te da
información general y no certezas. Puede servir para proyectos pequeños", explicó el
ingeniero agrícola Francisco Soto, director ejecutivo de la no gubernamental Iprogra.
Técnicos de la ANA aseguraron a IPS que para el estudio de confrontación se trabajó
con un historial hídrico en la zona que va de 1962 a 2006. "De ahí, se sacó un caudal
promedio para ver cómo es la variación. Se ha hecho un informe detallado, sólo hay una
diferencia por el nombre", aseguraron.
En diálogo con IPS, representantes de la consultora Agua y Agro dijeron a título
personal y bajo anonimato que, debido al conflicto, en forma adicional debería
"buscarse otras fuentes de agua (nuevos embalses) para abastecer la solicitud de los
usuarios cusqueños".
Hasta el momento, la ANA ha identificado tres estructuras de almacenamiento de agua
con una capacidad de 90 millones metros cúbicos.
La agencia estatal reconoce que las zonas rurales de Espinar se abastecen del río
Apurímac, cuyas aguas se trasvasarán al proyecto, pero asegura que éste no es el caso
de las áreas urbanas que tienen otras fuentes de agua.
La ley de recursos hídricos de Perú establece que "la prioridad de uso debe ser el
consumo humano. Las autoridades no deben olvidar esto", aseguró a IPS Francisco
Soto.
Luis Calle, coordinador del comité técnico regional de Arequipa, insistió a IPS que el
proyecto Majes Siguas II generará desarrollo para toda la zona sur del país.
"Los del Cusco están especulando, su temor no tiene fundamento", dijo Calle y aseguró
que en la zona de 38.000 hectáreas que será regada con las aguas del proyecto habrá
una ciudad de 250.000 habitantes, entre ellos agricultores de Cusco.
http://www.ipsnoticias.net/nota.asp?idnews=96688
Bolivia - Incendios forestales en Bolivia superan récord histórico
19 – 10 – 10
La Paz (PL) En lo que va de año, Bolivia registró 53 mil 600 incendios forestales con
daños a cuatro millones de hectáreas, lo que supera el récord histórico de 2004, cando
los focos de calor llegaron a 53 mil, señaló hoy una fuente oficial.
En declaraciones a la prensa, el director de la Autoridad de Bosques y Tierras (ABT),
Cliver Rocha, precisó que los fuegos son consecuencia en su mayoría de la más
intensa sequía de los últimos 30 años.
A inicios de 2010,agregó, los incendios fueron causados por campesinos en los
llamados chaqueos, técnica ancestral en la nación andina de preparar la tierra para la
siembra mediante la quema de los pastizales.
Según Rocha, la región más afectada del país es todo el oriente, sobre todo la zona
amazónica de Beni y Pando, así como el departamento de Santa Cruz, limítrofe con
Brasil y Paraguay.
El funcionario manifestó que la próxima llegada de la época de lluvias podría paliar lo
que calificó de catástrofe ecológica, y adelantó que el legislativo valorará nuevas vías
para endurecer sanciones a los responsables de los incendios.
http://www.prensalatina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=230375&Itemid=1
Dominican Republic - 5th Latin American Carbon Forum : Latin & Caribbean
leaders discuss Carbon and climate change
10 – 20 – 10
SANTO DOMINGO, Philipsburg - The 5th Latin American and Caribbean Carbon Forum
(LACF), October 13 – 14 “the first time hosted in the Caribbean” by the Government of
the Dominican Republic and co-organized by UNEP, OLADE, IETA, UNCTAD, IDB and
the World Bank.
His Excellency Leonel Fernandez Reyna, President of the Dominican Republic opened
the meeting with an address stressing the importance of Caribbean nations to start
working towards a green economy, a major development in reducing the worlds carbon
emissions and opportunities in the Carbon Market’s.
Top experts, policymakers, government representatives from more than 50 countries
met to share experiences and best practices which focus on sectors and technologies,
such as energy efficiency, tourism and transport, as well as financing.
A major topic of the event was the promotion of CDM projects.
However, it will not only provide important insights to CDM authorities and carbon
buyers, but also to actors who are part of the wider environment for carbon projects,
such as financial institutions, venture capitalists, public authorities, municipalities and
technology suppliers.
Representatives from MangoGreen, a Caribbean power electronic engineering company
met with Caribbean Climate representatives in discussing renewable energy
opportunities in the OSES islands.
Discussions were also made with representatives from the De Rijksoverheid voor
Netherland a major, CDM project opportunities for the Windward & Leeward Island.
http://news.caribseek.com/Dominican_Republic/article_89923.shtml
St Kitts-Nevis - St Kitts-Nevis delegation discusses national security and disaster
mitigation with Guadeloupe officials
10 – 20 – 10
BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- St Kitts and Nevis can look forward to closer
collaboration with the French Overseas Department of Guadeloupe in the areas of
national security and disaster mitigation.
St Kitts and Nevis Minister of Education and Information, Sen. Nigel Carty, who led a
delegation to Guadeloupe, has described the series of meetings as fruitful.
Carty said opportunities for cooperation in the areas of training, drug traffic control
(supply reduction); general law enforcement and information sharing resulted from the
dialogue.
The Federation’s security team also witnessed demonstrations and presentations on the
Civil Security Master Plan in Guadeloupe and secured commitment for cooperation in
this area, given the Federation’s exposure to similar vulnerabilities.
The National Disaster Coordinator, Carl Herbert, who was in the delegation held
discussions with Guadeloupe officials at the seismic and volcanic observatory and
received first hand information on the technology of early warning systems for tsunami.
Both islands agreed to further explore the possibilities for inclusion of St Kitts and Nevis
in the deployment of emergency resources after a disaster.
In disaster management, discussions were held with officials of the Guadeloupe Fire
Department on building capability in Land Search and Rescue and to address hazardous
materials including chemical spills in St Kitts and Nevis.
In meeting with the official responsible for regional cooperation, discussions and
cooperation for collaboration centered around economic generation through trade,
transportation (air taxi and maritime shipping) to remove the barrier to trade and
facilitation of movement; renewable energy (especially geothermal energy which
currently exists in Nevis). Other areas of cooperation include the resurrection of the
sailing regatta, cultural exchanges as well as training opportunities in selected areas of
sports (basket ball, athletics etc)
Describing the discussions as fruitful, Carty expressed profound appreciation for the
assistance of the Prefect of Guadeloupe, Jean Fabre; the Ambassador of France to St
Kitts and Nevis, Michel Prom.
He visit he said will build on the historical ties and forge closer collaboration with the
neighbouring French speaking island and made reference to the existing economic
challenges facing the global community that necessitate that small developing countries,
such as St Kitts and Nevis, attempt to engage those nations that are endowed with the
requisite resources and capabilities to make a meaningful contribution to our national
development efforts.
The St Kitts and Nevis officials responded to the invitation of Ambassador Prom,
Cooperation and Cultural Advisor, Fred Constant, which was extended during their initial
visit to the Federation earlier this year.
The delegation was guests of the Prefect and also met with the Vice Presidents of the
National Council as well as the President of the Regional Council, the President of the
Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Carty also received a medal of recognition by the Deputy Mayor as a symbolic gesture of
the twinning of the two cities of Basse-Terre and Basseterre.
http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-St-Kitts-Nevis-delegation-discussesnational-security-and-disaster-mitigation-with-Guadeloupe-officials-2825.html
Bolivia - El presidente boliviano recibe al asesor británico sobre el cambio
climático
19 – 10 – 10
La Paz (EFE).- El asesor del Gobierno británico sobre el Cambio Climático, John
Ashton, dialogó hoy con el presidente boliviano, Evo Morales, en busca de una alianza
de cara a la conferencia mundial que se celebrará en Cancún en diciembre próximo.
La reunión se realizó en la madrugada en el Palacio de Gobierno de La Paz, pero las
partes no han dado detalles de lo conversado.
La embajada británica anticipó el lunes que Ashton esperaba intercambiar con Morales
"ideas sobre las metas ambiciosas" de ambos países sobre un acuerdo mundial para
combatir el cambio climático, pese a que el mismo día la canciller mexicana, Patricia
Espinosa, dijo que "no están dadas las condiciones" para alcanzarlo en Cancún.
Tras la reunión, el funcionario británico viajó a Chacaltaya, montaña de 5.395 metros
que tenía una de las pistas de esquí más altas del mundo, que desapareció por el
calentamiento global.
Ashton se reunió ayer con las ministras bolivianas de Planificación, Viviana Caro, y
Medio Ambiente, María Esther Udaeta, y con representantes de organizaciones no
gubernamentales, y dictó la conferencia "Construyendo un consenso global para la
transición hacia una economía de bajo carbono" en la Universidad Católica.
Según un comunicado de la universidad, dijo que Bolivia está "en primera fila" sobre los
efectos del calentamiento global, así como en la defensa de los indígenas y la relación
con la "madre tierra".
Ashton agregó que el Reino Unido pretende que las inversiones en industrias de baja
producción de carbono superen a las actuales, altamente contaminantes, y destacó que
las metas del Protocolo de Kioto se deben cumplir, pese a que en la última conferencia
de la ONU en Copenhague no se avanzó lo suficiente.
http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/9/20101019/tsc-el-presidente-boliviano-recibe-al-as23e7ce8.html
Nicaragua - Nicaragua frena construcción de hidroeléctrica por riesgo ambiental
19 – 10 – 10
El presidente nicaragüense, Daniel Ortega, frenó hoy un proyecto que prevé la
construcción de una represa hidroeléctrica en el sur del país, hasta tanto no se analice
el impacto ambiental del mismo, informaron fuentes oficiales
MANAGUA, Nicaragua - El mandatario explicó a los directivos del consorcio brasileño
Gutiérrez-Andrade, a cargo del llamado proyecto Brito, que la iniciativa será retomada
luego de un estudio ambiental, dijo la ministra de Ambiente y Recursos Naturales,
Juana Argeñal.
Asimismo, señaló que la construcción de la represa queda a merced de los resultados
del análisis de sus riesgos para el lago Cocibolca, el más grande del país, y el limítrofe
río San Juan.
"Nuestro Gobierno es coherente con su política ambiental y el presidente ha reiterado
que se van a preservar las aguas de las cuencas de los lagos porque es el futuro del
país", afirmó Argaña.
Organizaciones ecologistas advirtieron sobre el peligro de que la iniciativa cause un
daño irreversible a ambas reservas de agua.
Por su parte, el diputado de Costa Rica Claudio Monge denunció en fecha reciente que
el Proyecto Brito podría afectar los humedales y la vida económica de la ribera del San
Juan, debido a la considerable reducción del volumen de agua.
La empresa brasileña presentó en junio de este año una solicitud formal para la
construcción de la represa, que tendrá un costo de 600 millones de dólares y una
capacidad de generación de 250 megavatios de electricidad en 2015.
http://www.planetaazul.com.mx/www/2010/10/19/nicaragua-frena-construccion-dehidroelectrica-por-riesgo-ambiental/
Colombia - Conch project nets conservation prize
10 – 20 – 10
Convention on Biological Diversity meeting The prize will be given at this week's
Convention on Biological Diversity meeting
A Colombian project aimed at preserving sea life while providing employment has taken
top prize in a contest marking the International Year of Biodiversity.
Coralina's Seaflower Marine Protected Area was judged to have protected a "vast
territory" of ocean, while helping fishermen make a better living.
Projects in Ghana, Japan, the US and several European countries were also lauded in
the Countdown 2010 awards.
Prizes will be given at the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting here.
They mark the end of the Countdown 2010 project run by the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - the title being a reference to the declared but unmet
international target of reducing the loss of biodiversity by 2010.
Despite the global failure on that target, the IUCN's deputy director-general Bill Jackson
said the successes of Coralina and the other recipients showed what could be and was
being done locally.
"Countdown 2010 has brought together more than 1,000 very diverse organisations to
help conserve biodiversity," he said.
"Partners have shown, on the ground, how we can really stop biodiversity loss. These
are the type of actions that need to be scaled up for us to make real progress globally by
2020."
Umbrella opening
Coralina, a Colombian government agency, set up the Seaflower Reserve in 2005.
The 200,000-hectare reserve centres on San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina a Colombian-owned archipelago located about 200km east of the Central American
coast.
The seas and coastal fringes support coral, mangroves, turtles, fish, sea birds and
crabs.
The conservation plan is designed to support all of these - but notably to restore stocks
of queen conch, which in decades gone by was plundered from the archipelago's waters
for food and for its shells.
Elizabeth Taylor Jay Coralina's Elizabeth Taylor Jay is making the archipelago profitable
for people as well as sea life
Coralina's approach has been to work with fishing communities, ensuring that some
fishing can continue while closing other areas important for nature.
"We have no-take and no-entry zones - also special use and artisanal fishing zones, and
general use zones," related Elizabeth Taylor Jay, Coralina's general director.
"We're trying to work on alternative livelihoods seeking some options compatible with the
lifestyle of the archipelago.
"The intention is to open an umbrella of possibilities of livelihoods, including low-impact
aquaculture, and some alternatives on land such as iguana farming which is done by the
fishers in some places, and also creating interpretation trails (for tourism)."
The conch, meanwhile, are raised inside pens for protection, and released into the wider
environment when they reach maturity.
Other Countdown 2010 projects judged by an IUCN panel to be especially meritorious
include:
* Hero Productions of Ghana, cited for an awareness campaign that included mounting a
national youth conference on biodiversity and launching a tree-planting initiative that has
won government support
* Belgium's Limburg Province, which encouraged every municipality to adopt a plant or
animal, then established action plans to conserve them
* Natural England, for supporting local voluntary projects working on animals such as
bees, birds, crayfish and juniper
The awards are made here as government delegates discuss whether to endorse a
comprehensive set of targets for biodiversity protection running to 2020 and beyond,
along with a draft agreement on equitable exploitation of the planet's natural genetic
resources.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11583117
México - México busca acuerdos más concretos en la COP16
19 – 10 – 10
El tema de reforestación y recuperación de suelos será uno de pilares donde México
buscará financiamiento por parte de los países en desarrollo
Adriana Estrada
CIUDAD DE MÉXICO.— Aunque en la próxima Cumbre de las Partes para el Cambio
Climático (COP16) no se espera llegar a un acuerdo vinculante, México buscará
acuerdos más concretos en esquemas de financiamiento.
En conferencia de prensa, el titular de la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos
Naturales (Semarnat), Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, dijo que en la COP16 se abordarán
temas como la mitigación, adaptación al cambio climático, transferencia de tecnología,
además de reforestación y recuperación de suelos, y financiación.
Aseveró que lograr un acuerdo vinculante sobre cambio climático en la próxima COP16
no será el punto más importante, sino lograr nuevos esquemas de financiamiento.
“Si logramos tener un financiamiento por parte de los países en desarrollo para la
conservación de bosques y selvas será un paso fundamental.”
Elvira Quesada subrayó que México buscará en Cancún trabar en el “Fondo Verde”,
que fue creado para adaptación al cambio climático y se espera sea gestionado por una
institución mundial, para que tenga una operatividad mucho mayor.
Por su parte la secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores, Patricia Espinosa Cantellano,
planteó que es importante dar atención al tema de transferencias financieras que
servirán de instrumentos a los países emergentes en la lucha contra el cambio
climático.
http://www.teorema.com.mx/cambioclimatico/mexico-busca-acuerdos-mas-concretosen-la-cop16/
Global - PNUMA lanza sitio web promotor de turismo a escenarios naturales
protegidos
19 – 10 – 10
El Programa de la ONU para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA) y la Unión Internacional para
la Conservación de la Naturaleza lanzaron el sitio web interactivo protectedplanet.net
para brindar información sobre 150.000 lugares naturales protegidos y promover el
turismo a ellos.
El sitio web usa las últimas imágenes de satélite y los usuarios pueden identificar áreas
protegidas individuales –como parques nacionales o reservas marinas – y capturar
datos sobre las especies en peligro de extinción, la vida de plantas nativas o tipos de
terreno.
Protected Planet también ofrece a los visitantes la oportunidad de subir fotografías de
sus viajes a las áreas protegidas, escribir diarios de viaje y recomendar lugares de
interés en las inmediaciones, información que puede ser compartida a través de los
sitios de redes sociales como Facebook, Twitter y Flickr.
El PNUMA explicó que la intención del sitio es inspirar a los viajeros a visitar esos
lugares y así contribuir a aportar ingresos que requieren las comunidades, a menudo
pobres, y muchas veces en áreas remotas del mundo.
La industria del ecoturismo está creciendo rápidamente y en la actualidad capta 77.000
millones de dólares del mercado mundial del turismo. Según la revista Travel Weekly, el
turismo sostenible podría aumentar a 25% del mercado de viajes del mundo para el año
2012, lo que significaría 473 mil millones de dólares anuales.
http://www.un.org/spanish/News/fullstorynews.asp?newsID=19486&criteria1=ambiente&
criteria2=turismo
Global - PNUMA recomienda prohibición de pesticida
19 – 10 – 10
Un comité especializado en revisar la utilización de productos químicos contaminantes
recomendó prohibir el pesticida “endosulfán”, informó hoy el Programa de la ONU para
el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA).
En una evaluación de riesgos, los expertos acordaron que se incluya ese producto en el
índice de sustancias prohibidas, señaló la portavoz del PNUMA en Ginebra, Kei Ohno.
“El endosulfán se usa mucho en las cosechas de soja, algodón, arroz y té.
Es altamente tóxico para las personas, para los animales y para el medioambiente. Ha
sido hallado incluso en el Ártico”, dijo la portavoz.
Agregó que la recomendación de incluir ese químico en la lista de sustancias prohibidas
será estudiada el año que viene en la Conferencia de las Partes de la Convención de
Estocolmo sobre contaminantes orgánicos persistentes.
http://www.un.org/spanish/News/fullstorynews.asp?newsID=19485&criteria1=pesticida&
criteria2=
Global - Clima extremo azota a campesinos indios
19 – 10 – 10
LEH, India (IPS) - Cuando las nubes negras se avecinan, cunde el miedo entre los
habitantes de esta aldea, ubicada a 3.048 metros por encima del nivel del mar en la
norteña provincia india de Ladakh.
A más de 1.000 kilómetros de Nueva Delhi, Ladakh se encuentra en la zona occidental
de la cordillera del Himalaya y de la Meseta Tibetana, donde son comunes las
condiciones climáticas extremas, frías y secas.
Por lo general, las precipitaciones en Ladakh ni si quiera alcanzan los 20 centímetros en
todo un año.
Sin embargo, el 6 de agosto se desataron fuertes chaparrones que volcaron 250
centímetros de lluvia sobre la provincia en apenas una hora, causando deslaves e
inundaciones, provocando la muerte de al menos 233 personas y dejando a otras miles
sin hogar.
"Nunca habíamos escuchado de un desastre así en la historia de Ladakh", dijo Pintto
Narboo, uno de los muchos residentes de Leh traumatizados por la tragedia.
Pero incluso antes de la intensa lluvia de agosto, los residentes de las 241 aldeas de
Ladakh se preguntaban sobre los curiosos cambios en el clima y las temperaturas, que
estaban transformando su vida diaria.
Chewang Norphel todavía recuerda vívidamente cómo ella y sus vecinos podían
caminar por la superficie del glaciar Khardungla. Pero ahora éste "se ha desvanecido
por completo, mientras que los otros, como el de Stok Kangri, retroceden rápidamente",
contó.
De hecho, Norphel recibió el mote de "Hombre de hielo", no por sus hazañas sobre
superficies congeladas, sino por su pionera contribución para crear glaciares artificiales
para el uso de agricultores en la etapa inicial de la temporada de cultivos.
"Se lo llame cambio climático o se lo atribuya a cualquier otro proceso natural, estamos
experimentando muchas transformaciones en torno nuestro", dijo a IPS el director
ejecutivo del no gubernamental Proyecto de Nutrición para Leh, Lobzang Tsultim.
"Nuestra región es conocida como árida, y tenemos pequeños glaciares, de los cuales
extraemos el agua", explicó. "Pero en los últimos años, muchos de estos han
retrocedido. Como si fuera poco, hemos visto nuestras limitadas pasturas secarse
debido a la escasez de agua".
"Los inviernos se hacen más cortos y calientes", dijo el agricultor Tashi Namgiyal. "La
nieve se derrite rápido".
El campesino señaló que la popular "ruta de Chadar", como se le llama al cruce del río
Zanskar cuando está congelado y que han realizado generaciones durante el invierno,
ahora se puede hacer por apenas dos meses. Antes, "solía ser desde diciembre a
marzo".
"Ahora sufrimos pestes incluso en las aldeas más altas, mientras que antes se
producían solamente en las más bajas", añadió Namgiyal. "También estamos viendo un
cambio en las nevadas y en las cosechas de cebada"
Los residentes no están imaginando cosas. S.N. Mishra, del Departamento
Meteorológico Indio, confirmó que la temperatura media en Ladakh entre noviembre y
marzo se había incrementado un grado, mientras que la máxima para los meses de
verano aumentó 0,5 grados centígrados.
Las lluvias de agosto arruinaron las plantaciones y otras tierras cultivables. Según datos
oficiales, 1.420 hectáreas fueron afectadas por las inundaciones, y 51 por ciento de las
siembras, incluyendo de cebada y de verduras, fueron severamente dañadas.
Hasta agosto, "sólo nos preocupaba que faltara el agua, al ver que los glaciares
retrocedían rápidamente", señaló Narbo. "Pero ahora también tememos por nuestra
superviviencia", añadió.
"El daño es muy vasto", confirmó Robert Folkes, jefe de emergencias de la organización
no gubernamental Save the Children, refiriéndose a las últimas inundaciones.
"Los campesinos sin duda necesitan… maquinarias y trabajo manual para limpiar las
capas de cieno de sus campos", indicó.
"También necesitan ayuda de los gobiernos locales y de las organizaciones no
gubernamentales para reparar el daño causado a los sistemas de irrigación, de los que
depende en gran medida la agricultura de Ladakh", añadió.
El geógrafo Mohammad Sultan, profesor en la Universidad de Cachemira, opinó que un
solo evento como las lluvias de agosto no representaba necesariamente una señal del
recalentamiento planetario, pero admitió que "el aumento de los eventos extremos
sugiere que las condiciones climáticas están cambiando".
"Debido a que los inviernos se hacen más cortos y más calientes, y también ante el
hecho de que muchos glaciares pequeños retroceden rápidamente, no sólo la gente
común, sino también expertos en el cambio climático ven esto con preocupación", dijo
por su parte Badrinath Balaji, quien ha trabajado por varios años en este lugar como
silvicultor.
La tragedia de agosto generó el temor entre los agricultores de que algún día deban
abandonar Ladakh, y están hoy especialmente preocupados por la escasez de agua.
"La agricultura es el único arte que conocemos, y obviamente nuestros hijos
dependerán de ella", dijo Sonam Tundup, campesino de la aldea de Stakmo. "Si no
queda agua, no habrá agricultura, y eso significa que nuestros hijos tendrán que
abandonar esta tierra".
Tsultim, del Proyecto de Nutrición de Leh, sostiene que adaptarse al cambio climático
es la mejor opción.
"O te adaptas o te extingues", dijo. "Aunque estoy seguro de que no estamos pagando
por ninguna falta nuestra, tenemos que pensar en adaptarnos a los cambios, que
ocurren debido a acciones del mundo industrializado" que liberan gases de efecto
invernadero, sostuvo
http://www.ipsnoticias.net/nota.asp?idnews=96690
Global - Fate of Earth's Living Beings Nears 'Tipping Point'
10 – 19 – 10
NAGOYA, Aichi, Japan (ENS) - A new strategy to halt the loss of the Earth's diverse
living beings is expected to emerge from a United Nations conference that opened
Monday in Nagoya. As 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity, there is an urgency
to these negotiations because species are disappearing in unprecedented numbers.
Species extinction rates are now as high as a thousand times the natural rate, and the
world is nearing a "tipping point" where there could be irreversible loss, warned Ahmed
Djoghlaf, the executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biodiversity, in his opening
speech to the delegates.
Of the world's 5,490 mammals, 78 are Extinct or Extinct in the Wild, with 188 Critically
Endangered and 450 Endangered, according to the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature. Habitat loss, over-exploitation, pollution, disease and humaninduced climate change are the factors driving these extinctions, the IUCN says.
Although more than 16,000 delegates representing the 193 Parties to the Convention
and their partners are attending, this is "not just another UN conference," said Djoghlaf,
but "the most important meeting on biodiversity in the history of the United Nations."
He called on delegates "to address the unprecedented loss of biodiversity seriously
compounded by global warming."
Although the world failed to meet its 2010 target of slowing the loss of global biodiversity,
the delegates gathered at Nagoya are tasked with setting another target, to be embodied
in the Aichi-Nagoya Strategic Plan for the next decade, with a vision for 2050.
"This is not another plan," said Djoghlaf. "It will be, as recommended by last month's
historic New York summit on biodiversity, the overarching coordinated global biodiversity
framework of the whole biodiversity family, including the United Nations system."
The Aichi-Nagoya Strategic Plan hammered out by delegates over the next nine days
will be submitted October 27 to the high-level segment of the conference, which will be
attended by several world leaders and more than 100 environment ministers.
"Here there is an opportunity to shape the landscape and the trajectory of humanity's
response to the loss of its natural and nature-based assets in profound and
transformational ways," Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment
Programme, told delegates on opening day. "Here and together we can begin to put in
place the kinds of far sighted policy-responses and smart mechanisms that have been
incubating for years in many countries and communities."
"The plants and animals, fungi and micro-organisms that produce and clean our air,
generate drinking water, hydro-power and irrigation; provide food, shelter and medicines
and also bring to many joy and a spiritual dimension to our daily lives need a big helping
hand from this 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties - if not for their sakes, for
ours," Steiner said.
BirdLife International, the world's foremost bird conservation group with partners in more
than 100 countries and territories, outlined five essential goals the Nagoya conference
must meet to be successful.
The conference must:
1. adopt a comprehensive, ambitious and achievable strategic plan with associated 2020
targets that take us well beyond business as usual
2. agree mechanisms to ensure that each country has access to the resources it needs
for effective implementation of the Convention on Biodiversity
3. conclude negotiations on the international Access and Benefit Sharing, ABS, regime
resulting in a Protocol to the Convention with legally binding provisions
4. agree to expand protected area networks, particularly in marine areas
5. agree clear actions to promote synergies between the Convention on Biological
Diversity and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change at national and
international levels
"The ongoing decline of the world's biological resources - such as rainforests, coral reefs
and agricultural biodiversity - threatens to increase poverty and people's vulnerability to
climate change," said Dr. Dilys Roe, a senior researcher at International Institute for
Environment and Development and co-author, with BirdLife, of a new, free book,
"Banking on biodiversity: a natural way out of poverty."
"These challenges must be tackled together rather than in isolation," said Roe.
Djoghlaf, Steiner and nongovernmental organizations appealed urgently to all
government delegates in Nagoya to finalize a legally-binding protocol on access to
genetic resources and sharing of the benefits of that access, known as Access and
Benefits-Sharing or ABS.
The Convention establishes that a person or institution seeking access to the genetic
material of a biological resource in a foreign country should seek the prior informed
consent of that country. The person or institution seeking access must also negotiate
and agree on the terms and conditions of access and use of this resource.
Genetic resources are used by research institutes, universities and private companies in
pharmaceuticals, agriculture, horticulture, cosmetics and biotechnology for research and
to develop products.
For example, an appetite suppressant has been derived from species of Hoodia,
succulent plants indigenous to southern Africa and long used by the San people to stave
off hunger and thirst. One brand of Hoodia pills includes a San-approved certification
process.
In February 2006 an agreement was signed between the San and the Southern African
Hoodia Growers, empowering the SAHG as the exclusive, legal, approval body for
growers and purveyors of natural Hoodia gordonii grown in South Africa. The San
receive six percent of the revenue from Hoodia sales made through this group.
The certification process allows traceability of the San-endorsed Hoodia with all legal
documents in place under the national Nature Conservation Ordinance and Biodiversity
Act and international rules under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species, CITES.
An ABS protocol could include these elements.
Djoghlaf explained to delegates how their work at the conference would shape
biodiversity conservation at all levels of government.
"The Aichi Nagoya Strategic Biodiversity Plan will need to be translated before the New
Delhi Biodiversity Summit [in 2012] into national biodiversity strategies and action plans
tailored to the needs and circumstances of the Parties and their partners," he said.
"It will be also translated into action plans at the municipal level. This is the objective of
the first-ever City Biodiversity Summit to be held at the end of this week," Djoghlaf
explained. "The expected 300 mayors from all over the world will have before them the
Urban Biodiversity Index specially designed with the support of Singapore and testbedded by 34 cities."
"Based on the experience gained by Aichi Prefecture and Ishikawa, prefectural
strategies and action plans will be also promoted," he said. "Based on the experience of
our host, biodiversity basic law will be encouraged. This is the objective of the summit on
Parliamentarians and Biodiversity to be held in partnership with Globe International."
On October 25-26, just before the opening of the high-level segment at Nagoya, 122
legislators from around the world will convene a forum co-hosted by GLOBE
International, GLOBE Japan and the CBD Secretariat. It will focus on the concept of
natural capital as a means to mainstream biodiversity and ecosystems services into
policy making.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2010/2010-10-19-01.html
Global - Pérdida de diversidad biológica = futuro hipotecado
19 – 10 – 10
Nagoya, Japón (PL) La pérdida de biodiversidad a causa de la acción humana es mil
veces superior a la considerada natural, preocupación que reúne aquí a expertos en el
tema provenientes de más de 190 países.
La X Conferencia de las Partes del Convenio sobre la Biodiversidad Biológica (COP 10),
que se efectúa del 18 hasta el 29 de octubre próximo, tiene el objetivo de fomentar
acuerdos internacionales para reducir a la mitad el ritmo de desaparición de hábitats
naturales, eliminar la deforestación y asegurar una agricultura sostenible para el 2020.
"Esta reunión es parte del esfuerzo mundial por abordar un hecho muy simple: estamos
destruyendo la vida en la Tierra", declaró aquí Achim Steiner, director del Programa de
Medio Ambiente de Naciones Unidas.
La Convención sobre Biodiversidad se acordó en la Cumbre de Río de Janeiro en 1992
y 10 años después en Johannesburgo, Sudáfrica, se pactó la meta de reducir a la mitad
de forma significativa la pérdida de diversidad biológica, pero ese proceso fracasó,
coinciden expertos de todo el mundo.
Muestra de ello son los datos que difunde la Unión Internacional para la Conservación
de la Naturaleza (IUCN) en su página web: 17 mil 291 especies han desaparecido y 47
mil 677 se encuentran amenazadas de extinción.
De las cinco mil 490 especies de mamíferos registradas, 79 están extinguidas, 188 se
hayan en peligro crítico, 449 en peligro y 505 en estado vulnerable.
Los anfibios son los más amenazados, de las seis mil 285 especies que se conocen, mil
895 se hayan en riesgo de desaparecer.
Asimismo, casi la cuarta parte de las especies de plantas se encuentran en peligro de
extinción. Más de 70 mil son utilizadas por la medicina tradicional y la moderna.
Precisamente, una de las cuestiones que deben ser respondidas en esta conferencia es
si las compañías farmacéuticas que crean medicamentos a partir de árboles de lugares
habitados por poblaciones aborígenes, deben compensar a la comunidad que descubrió
las propiedades curativas o terapéuticas de la variedad vegetal.
La pérdida de los arrecifes de coral es otro problema grave a enfrentar.
Ellos protegen contra las tormentas, son fuente de alimentos, recreación y recursos
para más de 500 millones de personas en el mundo, pero ya el 20 por ciento han sido
destruidos, reportó la IUCN.
La biodiversidad resulta esencial para la seguridad alimentaria, principalmente, durante
las épocas de crisis, acota ese organismo.
Significa la amplia variedad de seres vivos, así como los patrones naturales que lo
forman.
Tal definición comprende igualmente la diversidad de ecosistemas y diferencias
genéticas dentro de cada especie que permite la combinación de múltiples formas de
vida.
La COP 10 sobre diversidad biológica es una oportunidad para poner freno a su
galopante pérdida. Si fracasa, los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio no podrán
cumplirse, reconoció Janez Potočnik, Comisaria de Medio Ambiente de la Unión
Europea.
Los servicios que la naturaleza nos brinda son gratuitos, pero el hombre tiene una
inconciencia profunda de lo que representa su destrucción, opinan expertos.
Si la humanidad no pone freno a la degradación de la biodiversidad, el legado para las
generaciones futuras quedará hipotecado, advirtió Ahmed Djoghlaf, secretario ejecutivo
de la Convención.
"Tengamos el coraje de mirar a nuestros hijos a los ojos y admitir el fracaso... admitir
que continuamos perdiendo biodiversidad a un ritmo sin precedentes, hipotecando su
futuro", apostilló.
http://www.prensalatina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=230278&Itemid=1
Global - ONU se vale de internet para la conservación de la vida silvestre
20 – 10 – 10
El programa de Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente entra al mundo virtual en un
intento de mejorar la protección del mundo.
El nuevo sitio — protectedplanet.net — tiene como objetivo ayudar a la gente a visitar
áreas protegidas poco conocidas, generar ingresos y mejorar el conocimiento que hay
de ellos.
El lanzamiento se llevó a cabo durante la Convención de las Naciones Unidas sobre la
Diversidad Biológica (CDB), justo en medio de informes de alerta de que hay que
aumentar rápidamente la protección del mar.
El objetivo de proteger el 10% de los océanos para el año 2012 será recordado por un
largo camino.
Áreas protegidas
Las áreas protegidas son una de las maneras más eficaces de salvaguardar plantas,
animales y ecosistemas, dijo Charles Besançon, jefe del programa de áreas protegidas
del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA).
"Sabemos que los parques nacionales y áreas protegidas son importantes para muchas
funciones —proporcionan agua potable a un tercio de las áreas urbanas más grandes
del mundo, nos protegen del carbono, protegen especies en peligro de extinción", dijo a
la BBC.
"Por ejemplo, los últimos 600 gorilas de montaña están situados en áreas protegidas
rodeadas por comunidades —sin las áreas protegidas perderíamos al gorila de
montaña."
El PNUMA mantiene una base de datos de las áreas protegidas en todo el mundo,
sobre la base de datos de los gobiernos y otras autoridades.
Sin embargo, con un estimado de 150.000 sitios existentes, los datos sobre qué hay en
los sitios y la forma en que están protegidos es, en muchos casos, escasa.
Para el público
Protectedplanet.net enlaza desde y hacia los recursos existentes en la red, tales como
los mapas de Google, Wikipedia y el sitio para compartir fotos Panoramio, propiedad de
Google.
La información de especies proviene de la menos conocida Global Biodiversity
Information Facility (GBIF).
Los usuarios pueden buscar sitios cerca de sus destinos de vacaciones, por ejemplo —
y pueden encontrar áreas protegidas o parques nacionales que no suelen figurar en los
itinerarios turísticos.
El PNUMA espera que esto aumente el número de personas que visiten estos sitios y
genere ingresos que pueden ayudar en su mantenimiento.
También permitirá a quienes los visiten por primera vez crear las entradas de Wikipedia
sobre las áreas o publicar fotos, que pueden atraer a otros.
Mientras tanto, la opinión del público sobre cómo están manejando esos sitios de vida
silvestre podría mejorar las normas.
Los mares
Los espacios protegidos en tierra y mar aparecen en una serie de objetivos acordados
en el Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica.
Pero mientras que alrededor del 13% de la superficie terrestre del planeta está ahora
bajo algún tipo de protección, para las áreas marinas es apenas el 1% — muy poco
para el objetivo del 10% para el año 2012, por ejemplo.
En un importante informe, una serie de organizaciones como la Unión Internacional para
la Conservación de la Naturaleza (UICN) y The Nature Conservancy (TNC) dicen que
deben ser protegidos rápidamente.
De no hacerlo, advierten, hará más difícil a los ecosistemas marinos sobrevivir en un
mundo donde el agua del océano se está poniendo más caliente y más ácida, como
consecuencia de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero.
Mientras se daba el informe, otros científicos advirtieron que los arrecifes de coral en el
sudeste asiático y el océano Índico están sufriendo alta mortandad debido a las
condiciones del agua inusualmente cálida.
El Centro de Excelencia para Estudios de Arrecifes de Coral, una red de centros de
investigación universitarios, dijo que el calentamiento es causado por el "blanqueo" del
coral en Indonesia, Filipinas, Malasia, Tailandia, Singapur, Birmania y Sri Lanka.
"Es sin duda el peor nivel de mortandad de coral que hemos visto desde 1998", dijo
Andrew Baird, científico de la Universidad James Cook.
"Puede llegar a ser el peor caso reconocido por la ciencia."
El agua caliente hace que el coral expela a las algas con las que suele vivir en una
relación simbiótica, sin la cual mueren.
Las temperaturas inusualmente altas de 1998 fueron causadas por las condiciones de
El Niño en combinación con el calentamiento gradual atribuible a las emisiones de
gases de efecto invernadero.
François Simard, jefe adjunto de Marina de la UICN y autor del nuevo informe, sugirió
que los problemas del cambio climático y la protección del medio marino están
estrechamente vinculados.
"La vida marina está en peligro, eso es absolutamente claro —y (con el calentamiento y
la acidificación) no es una cuestión de gestión del mar, es una cuestión de gestión de
nuestras actividades como seres humanos, de nuestras emisiones.
"Pero al menos debemos cuidar lo que tenemos en una manera apropiada."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2010/10/101019_onu_internet_wiki_conservacion_
vida_salvaje_jrg.shtml
Global - Conservation scientists release global strategy to halt extinctions as
nations meet to decide future of biodiversity
20 – 10 – 10
Alliance for Zero Extinction Partners Identify 587 Sites
Worldwide that are Home to 920 Species on the Brink
Washington, D.C., Sixty-eight biodiversity conservation institutions from twenty countries
aligned in the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) today released new data that pinpoint
587 single sites where 920 of the world’s most endangered wildlife species are
restricted—places that if properly protected could help to avert an imminent global
extinction crisis.
The AZE data (click “Download the list of sites and species”) are accompanied by a map
that graphically illustrates the location of each of the sites around the world. The new
data result from the efforts of a network of hundreds of scientists and conservationists
around the world.
“AZE enables us to instantly pinpoint the locations of the world’s key wildlife extinction
epicenters. It allows us to see at a glance where we need to focus efforts to prevent
imminent extinctions and preserve Earth’s precious biodiversity,” said American Bird
Conservancy Vice President and AZE Chair, Mike Parr.
At the present time, only half of the sites identified enjoy any formal protection, and of
those, half are only partially protected. “Protecting the remaining unprotected AZE sites,
through locally appropriate means, is an urgent strategic global biodiversity conservation
priority” added Parr.
"Identifying where species are at greatest risk will help all of us engaged in the fight to
save biodiversity" said Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on
Biological Diversity. "AZE is a key partner in implementation of the Convention and the
achievement of the soon to be adopted Aichi-Nagoya Strategic Plan. This is why we
found it important to establish a memorandum of cooperation with them. This is why they
are a key partner."
The new AZE data and map are being released in conjunction with the October 18-29
conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, in Nagoya, Japan
which includes 193 of the world’s governments. Together, these conservation tools
represent a straightforward means for countries and international donors such as the
Global Environment Facility and the World Bank to cost-effectively address the issue of
imminent and predictable species loss, a central component of biodiversity conservation.
AZE was formed in 2000 to further efforts to prevent imminent species extinctions by
identifying and safeguarding the places where species evaluated to be Endangered and
Critically Endangered by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature)
for inclusion on their Red List of Threatened Species, are restricted to single remaining
sites. To date, AZE has identified sites for mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles,
conifers, and reef-building corals, providing a strategic tool to defend against many of
the most predictable species losses. Country-based initiatives, representing partnerships
of government agencies and non-government organizations, have been developed in
Brazil and Colombia to accelerate the protection of AZE sites. Other countries, such as
Mexico and Peru, are in the process of developing similar initiatives.
Protecting an AZE site can often prevent multiple extinctions, since some of these sites
host more than one highly threatened species. Studies show that AZE sites are
particularly important for providing ecological services too, so their protection brings an
even wider range of benefits.
“Urgent action to safeguard these sites makes sense in so many ways,” said Parr.
“Decisions taken at the Nagoya meeting need to provide the momentum to make this
happen.”
The sites with the most AZE species are the Sierra de Juarez with 22 species, and
Veracruz Volcanoes with 16 species, both in Mexico. Massif de la Hotte, Haiti is third
with 15 species, followed by Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Natural Park,
Colombia, with 12 species. Japan, the host nation for the Convention on Biological
Diversity meeting this month, has six AZE sites; one of which, Yambaru, hosts five AZE
species, including the Okinawa Rail and Okinawa Woodpecker. The countries with the
most AZE sites are: Mexico (68), Colombia (46), Peru (34), Indonesia (31), Brazil (27),
and China (23). Having a large number of sites does not necessarily reflect on a nation’s
environmental performance, however, since a disproportionate wealth of biodiversity,
such as that found in countries with a broad array of ecoregions in a small range,
ultimately poses an extraordinary conservation challenge.
The new map provides an update to AZE’s first global data set that was issued in 2005.
To learn more about the Alliance for Zero Extinction, and identify sites in each country,
go to: http://www.zeroextinction.org/index.htm
Global - El cambio climático amenaza la mayor parte del planeta con graves
sequías
20 – 10 – 10
WASHINGTON — Estados Unidos y un gran número de países muy poblados se
enfrentan a una amenaza creciente de grave y prolongada sequía en los próximos
decenios, según un estudio del Centro Nacional estadounidense de investigación
atmosférica (NCAR) publicado el martes.
El análisis detallado de esta investigación concluye que el aumento de las temperaturas,
combinadas con el cambio climático, creará probablemente un ambiente más seco a
nivel del planeta en los próximos 30 años, escribió el científico Aiguo Dai, principal autor
de estas proyecciones. Según él, existe una posibilidad que en ciertas regiones la
sequía no solo alcance proporciones inusuales, sino nunca vistas en los tiempos
modernos.
Esta investigación se apoya en 22 modelos climáticos informáticos, un extenso índice
de medidas de condiciones de sequía, así como en el análisis de estudios ya
publicados.
Este trabajo concluye que la mayor parte de América, Europa, Asia, África y Australia,
podrían estar amenazadas por sequías extremas durante este siglo. Por el contrario, las
regiones situadas en latitudes elevadas de Alaska a Escandinavia, se transformarán
probablemente en zonas más húmedas, según las proyecciones.
"Nos enfrentamos a la posibilidad de extensa sequía en los próximos decenios, pero
esto aún no es plenamente reconocido por el público y la comunidad que investiga
sobre el cambio climático", advirtió Aiguo Dai. "Si las proyecciones de este estudio
están cerca de concretarse, las consecuencias para las sociedades en el mundo serían
gigantescas", predijo este climatólogo.
Previno, sin embargo, de que las conclusiones de su estudio se fundan en las mejores
proyecciones actuales de emisiones de gas de efecto invernadero sobre la Tierra.
Lo que verdaderamente sucederá en los próximos decenios dependerá de numerosos
factores, entre los cuales figuran las futuras emisiones de CO2, así como los ciclos
climáticos naturales, como el de la corriente marina de El Niño, señaló este experto.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5isweusoSv19n_KnQrl3Vpd7yuy6
A?docId=CNG.d44d7008a3f30eb26c0704b08f0bbd23.c21
Global - Atún rojo podría ser afectado por vertido del Golfo de México
19 – 10 – 10
La presencia del crudo en la superficie del agua podría perjudicar a los huevos del atún
MADRID.— La Agencia Espacial Europea (ESA) estima que el vertido en el Golfo de
México podría haber afectado a un 20 por ciento de crías de atún rojo del Atlántico,
especie que acude a desovar cada año a la zona.
El atún rojo se acerca a dos puntos del Golfo de México (en el noroeste y noreste) entre
los meses de enero a junio para realizar el desove, siendo abril y mayo el pico de mayor
actividad de esta especie. Precisamente en abril fue cuando diez millones de litros de
petróleo comenzaron a llegar diariamente a la zona tras la explosión de la estación de
BP, afectando al futuro de la especie.
Según la ESA, la presencia del crudo en la superficie del agua podría perjudicar a los
huevos, las larvas (que tras la eclosión buscan alimento en la superficie) e incluso a los
adultos que nadan hasta allí para continuar con su ciclo vital.
Por ello, la agencia ha utilizado el radar de Envisat y algunos de sus satélites para
estudiar la situación en la zona e intentar evitar el sufrimiento de esta especie que,
explicó, se ha reducido un 82 por ciento en los últimos 30 años.
http://www.teorema.com.mx/biodiversidad/especies/atun-rojo-podria-ser-afectado-porvertido-del-golfo-de-mexico/
Global - E.ON Pulls Out of Carbon-Capture, Storage Project at Kingsworth Station
10 – 20 – 10
E.ON AG, Germany’s biggest utility, scrapped plans to compete for U.K. funding to
demonstrate the capture and storage of carbon dioxide from a new power station at its
Kingsnorth site in Kent, southeast England.
E.ON U.K. and Iberdrola SA’s Scottish Power were part of a contest to fund Britain’s first
commercial-scale project to capture carbon-dioxide emissions and store them
underground. E.ON won’t take the next step in the government’s competition after it
delayed construction of the plant, the company said today in an e-mailed statement.
“We cannot proceed with the competition timescales,” Paul Golby, chief executive officer
of Coventry, England-based E.ON U.K., said in the statement. “Having postponed
Kingsnorth last year, it has become clear that the economic conditions are still not right
for us to progress the project and so, simply put, we have no power station on which to
build a CCS demonstration.”
E.ON wanted to demonstrate the technology on a new 1,600- megawatt coal-fired power
station to be built next to its existing plant at Kingsnorth. E.ON shelved the new-build
plans because they said the economic turndown had sapped demand for power.
The Conservative-Liberal Democrat government is seeking to cut government spending
while securing energy supplies and reducing carbon-dioxide emissions. Britain could
host four CCS projects by 2020, Charles Hendry, the country’s energy minister, told
lawmakers yesterday. The government adopted a plan by the former Labour government
to fund the demonstration of capturing carbon-dioxide post combustion and then piping it
underground for storage in depleted North Sea gas fields as well as subsidizing a further
three CCS projects.
Scottish Power was not immediately available to comment on the next stage of the CCS
competition. The company plans to add CCS technology onto its 2,300-megawatt
Longannet coal plant in Fife, Scotland.
E.ON’s existing 2,000-megawatt Kingsnorth plant is due to close by the end of 2015
under European environmental regulations.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-20/e-on-u-k-abandons-plan-to-compete-withkingsnorth-carbon-capture-project.html
Global - U.K. Corporate CO2-Cutting Targets Have Risen About Half, RBS Study
Shows
10 – 19 – 10
The number of U.K. companies implementing carbon-dioxide reduction targets has risen
by about 50 percent since 2008, a study by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc
showed.
Some 73 percent of companies based in the U.K. with annual revenue of more than 25
million pounds ($35 million) are working toward reducing CO2 emissions, the RBS study
said in an e-mailed statement. The study cited expectations of higher demand for lowcarbon goods and services as the reason for the increase.
The European Union operates the world’s largest carbon trading scheme. At the same
time, delegates from more than 190 countries are working to draft a global climate treaty
that would limit emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
“With the global market for low-carbon goods and services expected to grow
considerably in the next few years, there will be an abundance of commercial
opportunities for businesses to exploit,” Tim Boag, managing director of structured
finance at RBS, said in the statement.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-19/u-k-corporate-co2-cutting-targets-hasrisen-by-about-half-rbs-study-says.html
Global - EU Plan to Expand CO2 Market by 2015 Infeasible, Climate Strategies
Says
10 – 20 – 10
The European Union’s ambition to create a carbon market embracing 33 nations in the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development within five years is infeasible,
according to Climate Strategies.
“By 2015 an OECD-wide carbon market is not going to happen,” said Richard Folland,
managing director at Climate Strategies, a group of climate policy specialists based at
Cambridge University in the U.K. “But progress can be made toward harmonization over
the longer term.”
Emissions-trading systems in various countries can be harmonized through fungibility of
credits, assisted by bilateral and regional policy cooperation, Folland told a Platts
seminar in Brussels today.
The EU carbon market, set up in 2005, is the world’s largest emissions cap-and-trade
program. It covers about 12,000 facilities that produce energy or goods ranging from
paper to cement, requiring them to have an allowance for each metric ton of CO2 they
let off.
“Countries looking to introduce carbon trade may learn from the European experience,”
Folland said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-20/eu-plan-to-expand-co2-market-by-2015infeasible-climate-strategies-says.html
Global - Biodiversity: Variety as the spice of life
10 – 20 – 10
Conservation is quite literally vital. This is a challenge that calls for serious science,
serious action – and serious money
This has been the International Year of Biodiversity and a UN gathering in Nagoya,
Japan, is getting under way, charged with launching a 10-year strategy to avert the
collapse of fisheries, conserve the Amazon rainforest and check the spread of invasive
species.
The auguries are not good. A few weeks ago, the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature confirmed the capture and subsequent death of a rare antelope
from the mountains of Vietnam and Laos. This animal – Pseudoryx nghetinhensis – was
discovered only in 1992 and last spotted by an automatic camera in 1999. It has,
however, never been seen alive by a working zoologist. So, it has been named and
pronounced critically endangered by researchers who know almost nothing about it.
Researchers know a little more about the crested gibbons that live in south-east Asia.
They know that there are seven species in the genus, and that one is now down to 100
individuals, and another to about 20. These species have just been declared the world's
rarest apes.
The story is no happier closer to home. In March IUCN confirmed that 9% of Europe's
435 butterfly species and 11% of the saproxylic beetles that live in rotting wood are
threatened with extinction, for the same reason that the crested gibbons could swing
through the trees into oblivion: human pressure on habitat. Likewise, last year more than
1,200 bird species were classified by IUCN as threatened with extinction. Does it
matter? Yes: civilisation is built on life's diversity. We survive only on the bounty of the
living world and the rocks beneath, and even coal and oil were once living things.
Biodiversity delivers fuel, fibres, fabrics, all food and most medicines: it also hums away
unobserved, pollinating crops and recycling the planet's air, water and nutrients. Without
the saproxylic beetles, the forests would be full of dead trees, and soon there would be
no forests. So conservation is quite literally vital.
Extinction is a natural companion to evolution, but mass extinction is a dangerous
strategy. Yet humans are unthinkingly obliterating the planet's species at a rate at least
1,000 times faster than normal, unthinking because this obliteration is accompanied by
massive ignorance. Around 1.9 million species have been described, but nobody knows
whether the world is home to seven million of them, or 70 million. This is a challenge that
calls for serious science, serious action, and of course, serious money. Will this
challenge be met? Britain once led the world in such science. The word from Whitehall is
that scientific research which is "not commercially useful" is at risk in today's spending
review. Such an attitude could hardly be more short-sighted, or more dangerous.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/20/editorial-biodiversityconservation-money
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ENVIRONMENT NEWS FROM THE
UN DAILY NEWS
20th October 2010
UN study highlights the immense economic and social value of ecosystems
Businesses and policy-makers need to recognize the tremendous economic value of
ecosystems, as well as the social and economic costs of losing such natural resources as
forests, freshwater, soils and coral reefs, a new United Nations report released today said.
The report by the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), a body hosted by
the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), seeks to galvanize the world to recognize the
economic consequences of failing to halt the alarming loss of species as a result of habitat
loss, pollution and excessive exploitation of ecosystems for financial gain.
The reported was launched at the conference of parties to the UN Convention on
Biodiversity (CBD) under way in the Japanese city of Nayoya. “TEEB has documented not
only the multi-trillion dollar importance to the global economy of the natural world, but the
kinds of policy-shifts and smart market mechanisms that can embed fresh thinking in a
world beset by a rising raft of multiple challenges,” Pavan Sukhdev, a banker who heads
UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative.
“The good news is that many communities and countries are already seeing the potential
of incorporating the value of nature into decision-making.” The study calls for wider
recognition of nature’s contribution to human livelihoods, health, security and culture by
decisionmakers at all levels.
Countries such as India have already announced plans for implementing the economic
valuation of their natural capital, as well as the value of nature’s services in decisionmaking, according to the study.
“TEEB’s approach can reset the economic compass and herald a new era in which the
value of nature’s services is made visible and becomes an explicit part of policy and
business decision-making. Do nothing, and not only do we lose trillions worth of current
and future benefits to society, we also further impoverish the poor and put future
generations at risk,” said Mr. Sukhdev.
The report spells out three scenarios – a natural ecosystem (forests), a human settlement
(city) and a business sector (mining) – to illustrate how the economic concepts and tools
described in TEEB can help equip society with the means to incorporate the values of
nature into decision-making at all levels.
With more than half of the world’s population now living in urban areas, cities have a
crucial role to play in acknowledging the natural capital required to maintain and improve
the well-being of their residents.
Innovative economic instruments and policies are emerging that reward good practice. For
example, Nagoya has implemented a new system of ‘tradeable’ development rights
whereby developers wishing to exceed existing limits on highrise buildings can offset their
impacts by buying and conserving areas of Japan’s traditional agricultural landscape,
according to the report.
Discounts on bank loans for buildings that receive a higher star rating based on a green
certification system designed by Nagoya city authorities also create incentives for more
green space within city projects.
An important finding of the study is the contribution of forests and other ecosystems to the
livelihoods of poor rural households, and, therefore, the significant potential for
conservation efforts to contribute to poverty reduction.
It has been estimated that ecosystem services and other non-marketed natural goods
account for 47 to 89 per cent of the socalled “Gross Domestic Product of the Poor” – the
total sources of livelihoods of rural and forest-dwelling poor households – in some large
developing countries.
“In the past only traditional sectors such as manufacturing, mining, retailing, construction
and energy generation were uppermost in the minds of economic planners and ministers
of finance, development and trade.
“TEEB has brought to the world’s attention that nature’s goods and services are equal, if
not far more central, to the wealth of nations including the poor – a fact that will be
increasingly the case on a planet of finite resources with a population set to rise to nine
billion people by 2050,” said Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director.
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S.G’s SPOKESPERSON DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
21 October 2010 (None)
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