Good News Agency – Year V, n° 16
Weekly - Year V, number 16 – 17
December 2004
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi,
Ph. D.
Rome Law-court registration
no. 265 dated 20 June 2000.
Good News Agency carries positive
and constructive news from all over the world relating to voluntary work, the
work of the United Nations, non governmental organizations, and institutions
engaged in improving the quality of life – news that doesn’t “burn out” in the
space of a day. Editorial research by Fabio Gatti. Good News Agency is
published in English on one Friday and in Italian the next. It is distributed free of charge through
Internet to the editorial offices of more than 3,700
media in 48 countries, as well as to 2,500 NGOs and service associations.
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Buona Volontà Mondiale, NGO associated with the United Nations Department of Public
Information. The Association has been recognized by UNESCO as “an actor
of the global movement for a culture of peace” and it has been included as an
international organization in the web site http://www3.unesco.org/iycp/
International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development
Solidarity – Peace and security – Health
– Energy and
Safety
Environment and
wildlife
– Culture and
education
Brussels, 13 December - On Friday December 10, the Executive Board
of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) elected Sharan
Burrow, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, to the post of
ICFTU President. Burrow will be the first woman to hold the position. The board
was meeting immediately after the close in Miyazaki, Japan of the ICFTU
Congress, the world's largest and most representative meeting of trade union
organisations.
(…) The election of the first woman president of the ICFTU is historically
significant for the global trade union movement and occurs at a time of high
participation for women at the ICFTU Congress with over 25%, the highest ever
number, of positions on the ICFTU's Executive Board now held by women. (…)
A Palestinian will sit on the
ICFTU Executive Board for the first time ever, with the Palestine General
Federation of Trade Unions holding one of the two seats reserved for trade
union organisations from the Middle East. The Federation of Independent Trade
Unions of Russia (FNPR), with 28 million members, takes up seats on the ICFTU
Executive Board and Steering Committee for the first time. (…)
The Congress also considered
issues of concern beyond its own structures and working methods. In addition to
the Prime Minister of Japan, two heads of state addressed the Congress (Finland
and Tanzania) as did the ILO Director-General and the Executive Director of the
Global Fund against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Special sessions
were held on two important global issues for unions - the UN's Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), and the fight against HIV and AIDS. (…)
Geneva, 10 December - To mark
world Human Rights Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) and FIFA (the
Fédération Internationale de Football Association) are joining forces to
address stigma and discrimination in the context of HIV/AIDS. A cartoon booklet
called "HIV/AIDS - Stand Up for Human Rights" is being distributed
via five of FIFA's national football associations: in Botswana, Ghana, South
Africa, Uganda and Zambia. Events will also be organized in these countries to
promote education and awareness-raising among young people.
To raise awareness of the key
linkages between HIV/AIDS and human rights and to combat the myths and taboos
associated with HIV and AIDS, the cartoon booklet “HIV/AIDS - Stand Up for
Human Rights" has been designed to empower young people to promote human
rights in relation to HIV/AIDS. (…)
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2004/pr90/en/
10 December - “ABC: Teaching Human Rights -– Practical
Activities for Primary and Secondary Schools” was the title of an educational
booklet launched at Headquarters this afternoon, in conjunction with a panel
discussion on practical experiences with introducing human rights education
into school systems.
As the United Nations General
Assembly marked the conclusion of the Decade for Human Rights Education
(1995-2004), unanimously proclaiming the establishment of a World Programme for
Human Rights Education, a panel of teachers, students, media professionals and
human rights activists presented the booklet, which offers practical advice to
teachers to foster human rights awareness and action among primary and
secondary school children.
Rather than placing an extra
burden on an already overloaded curriculum, the book aims at infusing human
rights issues into subjects already taught.
It lay out principal human rights concepts and the fundamentals of human
rights education; makes suggestions for nurturing younger children’s sense of
worth and respect for others; and presents more sophisticated activities for
older children. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/hr4806.doc.htm
8 December - In November 2004
four seminars for a total of 96 teachers were held in South Ossetia within the
framework of the ICRC's educational programme for international humanitarian
law. The programme offers the basics of IHL including the rights of victims of
war and the obligations of the parties to conflict.
The first seminar was held on
12 November 2004 for 25 teachers of Russian language and literature in
Tskhinvali. The primary aim of the seminar was to familiarize the teachers with
the manual "World Around You". 746 pupils' books and 34 teachers'
manuals were distributed in 10 schools in Tskhinvali.
The three other seminars were
conducted on November 24-26 for more than seventy teachers in the villages of
Eredvi, Tigvi and Kurta, Georgian communities in South Ossetia. The manuals
"Know Yourself" and "What Enmity Has Destroyed" were
distributed to cover 19 schools in and around these villages.
8 December - The ICRC launched
a new tracing campaign today in cooperation with the Liberia National Red Cross
Society. Entitled “Help us come home,” the campaign will use posters and
booklets showing pictures of 343 Liberian children registered by the ICRC in
Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone to help to
reunite the children with their families.
The materials will be
displayed and distributed in markets, hospitals, schools and refugee camps in
Liberia and surrounding countries. Awareness-raising activities, such as a play
performed by members of the Liberian Red Cross, will clarify the purpose of the
campaign and the use of the printed materials.
ICRC delegations and National
Red Cross Societies throughout West Africa have joined forces with other
humanitarian organizations and community members to trace the relatives of
Liberian children separated from their families during the civil war. In
Liberia alone, over 200 National Society volunteers are involved in tracing
activities. (…)
Rome, 15 December – About 80 000 rural
households in the districts of
Anuradhapura, Badulla, Kurunegala and Moneragala in Sri Lanka will
benefit from a new USD 30.4 million programme. The programme is aimed at
increasing agricultural productivity and production, as well as adding value to
produce in the dry zones of the country.
Of the total amount, the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will provide US$22
million. The loan will be used for assisting vulnerable families in the four
districts to improve their incomes and living conditions through increased
access to water and land, improved agricultural technologies and better access
to markets. (…)
The communities participating
in the programme will identify their needs and set priorities through
participatory assessments. The solutions that will emerge out of discussions
will be implemented, as pilot initiatives, in Farmers Field Schools before its
application by individual farmers. Promoting marketing and enterprise
development will be a key component of the programme. Farmers will learn about
forward sales contracts and inventory credit schemes to improve their business.
(…)
With this loan, IFAD will have
financed 11 programmes and projects in Sri Lanka, totalling approximately
US$134.6 million. Sri Lanka was the first country to receive
an IFAD loan.
For more Information: Farhana
Haque-Rahman, Chief, Media Relations,
Special Events and Programmes f.haquerahman@ifad.org
Vienna, 9 December - The
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today launched a new
initiative aimed at assisting the Governments of Kenya and Nigeria to recover
assets stolen by corrupt officials. In the 90s, corrupt officials in Nigeria
looted and exported at least US$2.2 billion, and embezzled US$5.5 billion.
Similarly, it is estimated that over US$3 billion has been lost to corruption
in Kenya.
Speaking at a press briefing
in Vienna, UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said, “The recovery of
stolen assets is one of the most promising and concrete aspects of the fight
against corruption.” Today marks the first anniversary of the signing
conference of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, in Mérida,
Mexico, and also the commemoration of the first International Anti-Corruption
Day. (…)
UNODC will conduct in-depth
assessments of the institutional and legal frameworks that presently exist in
Nigeria and Kenya, and recommend all necessary measures designed to overcome
obstacles to asset recovery. Asset recovery under the United Nations Convention
against Corruption represents a major breakthrough: it establishes the return of
assets as a “fundamental principle,” and mandates that Member States afford one
another the widest measure of assistance. (…)
http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2004/unisnar872.html
Rome, 9 December - Global
cereal production is expected to hit a record 2.04 billion tonnes in 2004,
which would lead to an increase in cereal stocks for the first time in five
years, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today in the
December issue of Food Outlook.
According to the FAO report: "With this level
of production, even after allowing for an expected increase in global cereal utilization
in 2004/05, a significant surplus is expected, for the first time since
1999/2000." This means that "global cereal reserves should increase
by the end of the 2004/05 seasons, a positive development for world food
security after sharp drawdowns in the past four years," the report says.
(…)
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/51844/index.html
IFAD approves US$ 319.5 million in loans and US$ 6.4
million in grants to combat rural poverty in 17 countries
Rome, 7 December - The
Executive Board of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
approved US$ 319.5 million in loans and US$ 6.4 million in grants to improve
the living conditions of rural poor people in 17 countries.
The 83rd session of the Board,
which met at IFAD’s headquarters in Rome, approved loans and grants to support
rural development projects and programmes in Algeria, Argentina, Armenia,
Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Indonesia,
Jordan, Lesotho, Nepal, the Sudan, Tanzania, Viet Nam and Zambia.
The Board also approved three
grants totalling US$ 3.9 million to support a range of agricultural activities,
including emergency assistance to control the spread of desert locusts in
northern and west Africa. In Rwanda, a grant will strengthen the implementation
of a national agriculture strategy and action plan. In seven Pacific Island
countries, a grant will improve the capacity of poor, rural communities to
address development challenges posed by their remoteness and isolation.
IFAD loans to countries in the
Asia and the Pacific region amount to US$ 88.4 million. (…)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2004/40.htm
7 December - The Palestinian
Authority General Directorate of Customs and Excises and UNCTAD are today
convening a workshop to mark the official handover of the Automated System for
Customs Data (ASYCUDA++) site at Customs Headquarters in Ramallah. (…) With the
opening of this central ASYCUDA data processing site, Palestinian Customs will
benefit from a suite of integrated software modules that will fully automate
the processing of customs declarations and help create a national database on
trade and revenue information. The system also enables the PA to create an
autonomous customs administration and includes flexible arrangements that will allow
that administration to adapt to different trade policy options.
The ASYCUDA system is part of
the PA´s comprehensive programme for modernizing and strengthening its
institutional capacity in the area of customs management. Implementation began
in July 2001 within the context of a three-phased plan aimed at equipping the
Authority with the capacity needed to maintain and upgrade the system. Phase I,
funded by the World Bank, was completed with the development of the ASYCUDA++
Palestinian prototype and the establishment of a core team of Palestinian
Customs IT and functional experts. (…)
New Delhi, 6 December – The
head of the United Nations World Food Programme, James T. Morris, today hailed
the growing cooperation between the UN food aid agency and the Government of
India in their common cause of reducing global hunger and promoting good
nutrition among the poor, especially children. Speaking today on an official
visit to India, Morris said that the Asian economic powerhouse has both large
grain reserves and vast experience in public food security programmes that can
be marshaled for the benefit of the millions of hungry poor in Asia and around
the world. “WFP’s partnership with India has tremendous potential for
identifying innovative solutions to the problems not only of food insecurity
but also the rising HIV rates and the natural disasters endemic to the region,”
Morris said.
During the five-day visit, WFP
and the Government of India signed a cooperation agreement for the prevention
and treatment of HIV and AIDS. Sound nutrition is critical for people who are
HIV-positive. When a patient develops AIDS, family food supplies often plummet.
WFP will supply technical expertise in a three-year project that uses food in a
variety of ways to encourage prevention, care and support of people living with
HIV and AIDS as well as the treatment of opportunistic infections like
tuberculosis. (…)
United Nations, New York, 1
December — The Government of Canada today announced that it would substantially
increase its contributions to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, over
the next four years. The total Canadian support for UNFPA over that period will
reach Can$67.4 million – or almost Can$17 million per year, compared to
Can$13.1 million it gave to UNFPA in 2004. Out of the total amount, Can$9
million will be used to provide reproductive health supplies needed by
developing countries.
UNFPA welcomed the Canadian
decision, announced today by Aileen Carroll, the Canadian Minister of
International Cooperation, during an observance of World AIDS Day. UNFPA was
particularly encouraged by the multi-year funding commitment – the first ever
made by Canada to the Fund – which would provide UNFPA with a more predictable
source of financing. (…)
http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=534
CARE
responds to disaster in the Philippines
Atlanta, Georgia,
USA, 8 December - In response to damage caused by four typhoons that hit
between November 14 and December 3, CARE has helped the government of the
Philippines assist more than 500,000 people with shelter, food and water. CARE
continues to work with local authorities to assess damage and the need for
medical attention, and to distribute relief in hard-to-reach areas of the
country.
In coordination with local
authorities, CARE helped send 4,000 bags of goods to the Quezon Province and
4,000 food relief packs to the Catanduanes Province following the disaster,
which killed more than 600 people and destroyed houses, farmlands, and
infrastructure. Although there appears to be sufficient food to help the people
left homeless by the storms, non-food items such a blankets, mosquito nets,
mats, cooking utensils, fuel, medicine, and emergency shelter materials remain
in short supply in the hardest-hit areas.
While the immediate emergency
is being addressed, CARE urges donors and governments to plan for and support
long-term rehabilitation.
Sister
Cities International Partners Globally With Gifts In Kind International
Nation's
Third Largest Charity to Supply Donations for the Citizen Diplomacy Movement
Washington, 3 December -
Sister Cities International announces a
global partnership with Gifts In Kind International, the nation's
third largest charity, to provide
donations of supplies and equipment for the
growing sister city movement. Now operating in 128 countries, sister
city member organizations will benefit
from Gifts in Kind International's proven record of excellence in securing donations of newly manufactured and
donated products and services that
improve people's lives, say organizers. The partnership was approved by the
Gifts in Kind International board in November. (…)
In 2003, Gifts In Kind
International and its network helped charities
access nearly $800 million worth of newly manufactured, donated
products and services around the world.
(…) Members of Sister Cities International will benefit from this partnership
through access to an extensive database of low-cost high-quality products and services donated by top companies. Gifts
in Kind International's partnership network includes Dell Inc., The Gillette
Company; IBM; HP; Sears, Roebuck and Company; the National School and Office
Supply Association; the General Motors Company; the International Sanitary
Supply Association, Inc. and The Gap, Inc.
Representing more than 2,600
communities in 128 countries, Sister Cities International (www.sister-cities.org) is a citizen
diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between the U.S. and
communities abroad. (…)
Gifts In Kind International (www.giftsinkind.org) is the world leader
in product philanthropy and the 3rd largest product and service philanthropic
provider in the United States. (…)
Media Contact: Ami
Neiberger-Miller, Sister Cities International, amiller@sister-cities.org
Metro Manila, Philippines, 9
December - The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) office in the
Philippines is providing relief items to those affected by three typhoons that
recently raged over northern parts of the country. Items provided include food,
blankets, clothing, and building materials.
With the help of volunteers,
ADRA Philippines is working in three areas, targeting more than 16,000 people.
…) ADRA International, ADRA Asia, and ADRA Philippines funded the response,
valued at $43,000. (…)
To avoid duplication of
assistance or services, the response will be made in collaboration with the
local Social Welfare and Development Office who recommended needy
beneficiaries, and with the Non-governmental Organization (NGO) Network for
Disaster Response, which includes the local Adventist Community Services (ACS).
Bogotá, Colombia, 3 December –
Five cities are to receive United Nations awards for positively promoting the spirit
of volunteerism as a contribution to local development and the achievement of
the Millennium Development Goals. Known as the “City with Heart” prize, the
award was set up by the United Nations and the Inter-American Development Bank
(IDB).
The cities are: Bogotá
(Colombia), Esmeraldas (Ecuador), Falmouth (Jamaica), Natal (Brazil), and
Tegucigalpa (Honduras). (…) In particular, Bogotá is receiving its award
because of the various programmes promoted by the municipality in recent years.
These include: “Think about Others – Feed your Heart”, “Health for the Home”,
“Serving with the Heart”, and “Bogotá against War”. All these programmes have
one feature in common – the promotion of urban volunteerism.
Bogotá was selected as a winner
by a committee of experts from the United Nations Volunteer Programme (UNV),
the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), and the IDB’s
Inter-American Initiative on Social Capital, Ethics, and Development.
To be considered for the award,
Bogotá demonstrated that its volunteers have a high level of commitment, are
agents of change, and offer their services within a sustainable structure that
guarantees the continuity of voluntary action.
http://www.unhabitat.org/un_awards.asp
Rome, 2 December - FAO is
providing vegetable seeds and gardening tools to 35 000 of the poorest and most
vulnerable households in conflict-affected areas of Sudan's Darfur region for
use during the upcoming 2004 winter cropping season.
FAO will also help improve the
health of donkeys belonging to approximately 5 000 households currently living
in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.
The UN agency today announced
that it has directed US$390 000 towards provision of 9 tonnes of vegetable
seeds, more than 35 000 gardening tools, veterinary supplies and technical
assistance by agricultural extension experts in the conflict-stricken region.
(…)
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/51774/index.html
Bujumbura, 2 December –
Supporting the reintegration of former rebels and troops into civilian life
that is vital to Burundi’s peace process, the United Nations World Food
Programme (WFP) today started providing food to ex-combatants being demobilized
at three centres in the war-torn country. In this new programme, which will
expand in coming years to include all 55,000 former combatants identified by
the National Programme for Demobilization, Reinsertion and Reintegration, WFP
gives food to each participant during a mandatory 10-day preparation for
reintegration into civilian life. “Providing food to ex-combatants in the
demobilization centres will enable them to participate actively in the
orientation programme before they go back to their communities of origin,” said
Zlatan Milisic, WFP Country Director in Burundi. (…)
Thousands of youth from six
continents hereby affirm our commitment to this Summit as an opportunity to
celebrate achievements in eradicating the scourge of landmines and to agree on
a practical and ambitious plan of action to finish the task of building a
mine-free world. (…)
It is our challenge to
maintain the momentum of the campaign and propel it into the future.
We
declare our commitment to see that compliance with the Ottawa Treaty becomes
universal, that mine clearance and stockpile destruction obligations are met,
that adequate assistance is provided for all survivors and mine-affected
communities and that donor countries be encouraged to make bold pledges of
assistance. (…)
We, the 39 young people of the
International Youth Symposium, representing 24 different countries affirm the
preceding declaration. We share the vision for a mine-free world and recognize
the progress made by those who have dedicated themselves to the anti-landmine
effort.
(…) We understand there are more challenges ahead, including the
need to encourage states not yet party to join the Ottawa Treaty and for
non-state actors to adhere to its norms. As young leaders with a vision of a mine-free
world we are ready to embrace the challenge. (…)
http://www.icbl.org/news/youth_declaration
Nairobi,
Kenya, 2 December - An ambitious
project to clear deadly land mines from a wildlife sanctuary in southern Africa
is being launched today in a bid to give thousands of elephants and local
villagers new hope. The initiative, backed by the California based ‘Roots of
Peace’, underlines that land mines are an environmental as well as a
humanitarian concern.
It was announced during the
Nairobi Summit for a Mine-Free World taking place at the headquarters of the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The one million US dollar
project initially aims to clear mines, sown during the Angolan civil war, to
help restore an ancient elephant migration route linking Botswana with Zambia
and Angola.
It is part of a wider plan
aimed at creating a vast transfrontier conservation area which is being
supported by the governments of Switzerland and the United States. (…)
Geneva, 1 December - The World
Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) will
enter into force and become part of international law in 90 days, following
ratification by 40 countries in the past 17 months. The WHO Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control will improve health by contributing to the
reduction of tobacco consumption, currently the cause of premature death for
nearly five million people every year.
Peru became the 40th state to
ratify the Treaty on 30 November 2004. In less than a year and a half, forty
countries from all regions of the world have taken the necessary steps to
become Contracting Parties to the Treaty, making it the first international
legally binding public health treaty under the auspices of WHO. (…)
The WHO FCTC was unanimously
adopted by the 56th World Health Assembly in May 2003 following almost three
years of negotiations. During the year that followed, while it was open for
signature, 167 countries and the European Community signed, and 23 countries
became Contracting Parties to the Framework Convention, making it one of the
most rapidly embraced UN Treaties of all time.
The WHO FCTC will enter into
force on 28 February 2005, in 90 days. From that date on, the 40 Contracting
Parties will be legally bound by the provisions of the Treaty. These provisions
set international standards on tobacco price and tax increases, tobacco
advertising and sponsorship, labelling, illicit trade and second-hand smoke.
(…)
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2004/pr89/en/
CARE
and World's Children unite to take action on HIV/AIDS
More
than 3 million children participate in "Lesson for Life," to demand
more support for children and young people affected by the disease
Atlanta, Giorgia, USA, 1
December - Millions of children around the world will participate in a
"Lesson for Life" on World AIDS Day as part of a massive effort to
educate children about HIV/AIDS prevention and spur them, their communities and
governments to accelerate action on behalf of children and young people affected
by HIV/AIDS. (…)
Providing a platform for
children directly affected by HIV/AIDS to share their experiences, concerns and
ideas, the Lesson for Life has been organized by the GMC, the world-wide
movement of organizations and individuals, including children, uniting efforts
to build a world fit for children. In all, tens of thousands of schools and
other venues in more than 50 countries will participate in the initiative.
Children, young people, youth groups and schools will use discussions, plays, dramas,
and writing to learn about HIV/AIDS and find ways to act on behalf of affected
children.
Countries across every
continent are involved: In Honduras, CARE, Oxfam and UNICEF will work with partners
to involve mothers and children, religious leaders and nearly 2,000
institutions, including schools, churches and colleges in the Lesson for Life.
In Ukraine, the Ukraine National Network for Children and the Ministry of
Family, Children and Youth Affairs will join forces with a quarter of a million
children in Lesson for Life activities. And in Africa, hundreds of thousands of
children will take part in Lesson for Life activities. (…)
(top)
Washington, DC, 7 December -
The World Resources Institute (WRI) and members of its Green Power Market
Development Group today announced 62 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy
purchases and projects. The announcement, made at the American Council on
Renewable Energy’s "Renewable Energy in America: The Call for Phase
II" summit on Capitol Hill, brings the total purchases by the Green Power
Group to 174 MW over three years.
The Green Power Group is a
unique commercial and industrial partnership dedicated to building corporate
markets for green power. Its members are Alcoa Inc., Cargill Dow LLC, Delphi
Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, FedEx Kinko’s, General Motors,
IBM, Interface Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Pitney Bowes, and Staples.
"Renewable energy is
available, affordable and offers companies economic and environmental benefits
today," said Jonathan Lash, president of WRI. "Natural gas prices,
electricity reliability issues, and environmental concerns are all driving
companies to diversify their energy purchases."
The 62 MW – enough to power
46,000 homes – represent purchases made in the past year for more than 80 facilities
in 18 states (…)
http://climate.wri.org/newsrelease_text.cfm?NewsReleaseID=313
9 December - WWF-Malaysia has
placed a 'wishing well' in a busy Light Rail Transit (LRT) station in the
capital, Kuala Lumpur, to raise public awareness about the country's
environment.
The wishing well is surrounded
by a special interaction floor sticker that allows the public to learn more
about WWF's activities aimed at conserving Malaysia's unique wildlife and
natural resources. (…) An estimated 170,000 passengers per month use the LRT
system. SPNB, the company managing the LRT system, is working with WWF-Malaysia
in a partnership to raise public environmental awareness.
WWF-Malaysia is currently
planning to test out two more wishing wells in popular shopping malls in Kuala
Lumpur and the eastern province of Sabah. (…)
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/news.cfm?uNewsID=17073
Mafia Island, Tanzania, 7 December
– WWF and telecommunications giant, Vodacom, were instrumental in linking Mafia
Island with mainland Tanzania under a network system for the first time, with
the hope of improving communications and the environment. (…)
WWF, together with the Mafia
Island Marine Park (MIMP), hope that the new telecommunications system will
benefit the small island community through the improved ability of patrol units
to report and prevent illegal fishing incidents, as well as report accidental
turtle and dugong catches back to the authorities in the capital,
Dar-es-Salaam, about 120km away.
Tanzania’s world-renowned
Mafia Island Marine Park — a group of five islands whose coral reefs, sea grass
beds, and mangroves host some of the richest life on the east African coast.
Marine turtles, humpback and sperm whales, 400 species of fish, a host of
corals, sponges, molluscs, starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers, and even
the occasional dugong, all claim the waters as home. Some 15,000 people also
call the islands home. Most people earn their living from harvesting coconuts
and fishing the turquoise seas. (…)
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/news.cfm?uNewsID=16950
Geneva, 3
December - With the ratification by the United States, the Gothenburg Protocol
to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone is now only two
ratifications away from entry into force. The US ratification was announced at
a meeting of the Executive Body of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary
Air Pollution of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in
Geneva this week to mark the Convention’s 25th anniversary.
The United States, together
with the European Community, will also head a new task force to study the
hemispheric transport of air pollution. A new expert group on fine particles,
another priority under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air
Pollution, will be directed by Germany and the United Kingdom. Its work may
lead to either a change to the Gothenburg Protocol or a new protocol
specifically on fine particles. (…)
Another goal for the Executive
Body over the coming years is to push eastwards. It intends to redouble its
efforts to involve East European, Caucasian and Central Asian countries in its
work. At present all except Albania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
are Parties to the Convention, but few have signed up to its Protocols.
Finally, the Convention
continues its practice of “naming and shaming” those Parties that fail to
either fully meet their obligations under the Protocols or to report on their
compliance. Since its introduction in 1997, this practice has greatly improved
compliance. Greece, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain fell short on their
commitments under one or more Protocols. (…)
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2004/04env_p21e.htm
Victory for endangered sea turtles along Florida coast
Emergency Sea Wall Construction Plan could become
statewide model
Tallahassee, FL, USA,
2 December - A long struggle seeking protections for
endangered sea turtle nesting areas has finally ended as the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service approved a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that guards
wildlife and could potentially serve as a model for future emergency sea wall
construction statewide, environmentalists said today. (…)
The conservation plan includes an innovative approach
to counter beach erosion resulting from emergency sea wall construction. Indian
River County will implement provisions that include protections of coastal nesting
areas, controls for predators such as raccoons, a sea turtle monitoring
program, and restriction on beachfront lighting, which disorients baby turtles,
causing them to crawl landward towards parking lots and roads rather than the
ocean. (…)
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/print.html?ID=929
Evanston, IL, USA, December -
Rotary clubs, in cooperation with environmental experts and the government of
Mongolia, today announced a bold project to help reduce the Yellow Wind dust
storms that blow off the Gobi desert into Korea, Japan, other countries in the
region, and even as far as the west coast in United States. The project will
develop a windbreak forest belt consisting of 100,000 newly planted trees and
an irrigation system that will help control desertification in the South Gobi
region of Mongolia. Desertification, the rapid formation of deserts, is a major
factor in the increasing dust storm problem.
The US$360,000 project is
funded by contributions from Korean Rotary clubs and the Rotary Foundation of
Rotary International and is intended to commemorate Rotary’s Centennial in
2005. The government of Mongolia is an integral partner in the effort,
providing US$50,000 funding for the project. Mongolia’s 1996 National Action
Plan calls for efforts to combat desertification through sustainable and
integrated land management and land rehabilitation. Japanese Rotary clubs will
also participate in the project. (…) The project will culminate in May of 2005
when a contingent of Korean Rotarians will travel to Mongolia to help plant the
100,000 young trees. It will also create an estimate 1,000 jobs in the region
to develop, expand and maintain the forest belt.
The size of the windbreak
forest belt will be 1,000 square meters, including a two-hectare tree nursery,
which can produce one million seedlings per year. Sixteen deep wells and an
irrigation system will be built to supply water to the forest belt effectively.
(…)
http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/presscenter/releases/210.html
Abuja/New York, 8 December -
One of the world’s largest girls’ education projects will be launched tomorrow
in Nigeria, supported by a $50 million grant from the UK Government.
The project is a decisive step
forward to achieving gender parity and universal basic education in Nigeria,
the most populous Sub-Saharan African nation. About 7.3 million Nigerian
children of primary school age remain outside the school system, of whom 62%
are girls.
The Federal Ministry of
Education of Nigeria will implement the project with support from the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UK Government, through its Department
for International Development (DFID).
The direct beneficiaries will be more than 360,000 pupils in 720 schools
in 2005. Many more will benefit
indirectly and the project will be scaled up over the following two years to
include 15 different states in the country. (…)
The funds will be used to
increase girls’ access to school and improve the quality of education, through
training, support for policy in favor of girls’ education, community
participation in school management, provision of better facilities for all
students and sensitization of the population on the benefits of educating
girls. (…)
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_24466.html
Enhancing the quality of life
for a “graying society”: 2005 ICT student design competition
Berlin, December 7 - As 1.2 million people monthly turn 60
worldwide, new solutions and products are essential for that “Global Sleeping
Giant: The Agequake,” which is fast approaching. By 2050 the number of people
over 60 will reach 2 billion and older persons will out-number children (1-14)
by a ratio of 2:1. In response to this the International Council for Caring
Communities (ICCC) has organized the first worldwide ICT Competition focused on
“ICT for All Generations”.
The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students and is
concerned to: • Stimulate a bridge
between research and practice. • Promote dialogue and solutions concerning
older persons. Students from around the world are being asked to develop
solutions towards integrating older persons into the fabric of the community
and fully include them in all social, cultural and productive activities. •
Emphasize the message that the next
generation must, and can, proactively plan for a society of diverse ages. •
Harness information technologies as
instruments of social cohesion and social inclusion.
Entry forms are due by May 31, 2005. Competition entries are due by
September 1, 2005.
Awards: first prize: US
$10,000, second prize: US $5,000; third prize: US $2,500.
An exhibition of the project and the winning entries will be held in
various related venues worldwide. The first exhibition is to be held at WSIS in
November 2005. A further exhibition will be held at the UN Headquarters during
the Commission for Social Development February 2006 (attended by 200 Government
delegations from both the public and private sectors).
Cape Town, South Africa, 6
December - The Nelson Mandela Foundation, UNICEF and the Hamburg Society for
the Promotion of Democracy and International Law, today launched a joint
international campaign “Child Friendly Schools for Africa”, which aims to
accelerate access to quality basic education for children, with special focus
on girls, orphans and vulnerable children in six African countries, Angola,
Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe. (…)
In the “Child Friendly Schools
for Africa” programme, UNICEF and the Nelson Mandela Foundation have joined
forces to mobilize villages and communities throughout Africa to take
responsibility for making sure that the schools built are “child-friendly”. At
minimum, a child–friendly school serves children’s education needs better by
adopting a participatory learning methodology and ensuring a safe and
protective environment for children.
Such schools make sure that children learn and play in healthy spaces
and provide access to clean water and sanitation. In addition, they are gender
sensitive, have strong links to surrounding communities and have outreach
services for orphans and other vulnerable children, UNICEF says.
The campaign will support the
construction and rehabilitation of schools and the provision of education
materials. It will develop training programmes for teachers and strengthen
school governance and management. As a first step, “child-friendly” schools
shall be set up as models in the six countries and, together UNICEF and the
Nelson Mandela Foundation, a worldwide call for donations in support of the
school building programme will begin. (…)
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_24442.html
ILO launches electronic library collection of over
1,000 publications
Geneva, 10 December - The International Labour Office today announced
the availability of a new electronic library that will simplify access to
essential ILO publications on globalization, HIV/AIDS, fighting poverty and
other issues concerning the world of work.
The collection, called ILO Insight, is a fully searchable archive of over 1,000
publications covering such issues as labour, employment, social protection,
women at work, occupational safety and health, child labour, management,
training, labour statistics and more.
The ILO has partnered with MyiLibrary, a company specializing in online content, to create
this large and diverse collection. Available on a subscription basis, it
includes key ILO books, monographs, official documents of the annual International
Labour Conference, complete text of Conventions and Recommendations,
reports, working papers, codes of practice and more. Many of the publications
are offered in French and Spanish as well as English.
Further information on this new service can be found at www.myilibrary.com.
(…)
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2004/56.htm
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