Good News Agency – Year VI, n° 2
Weekly - Year VI, number 2 – 28
January 2005
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
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Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity – Peace and security
Health – Energy and Safety – Environment and wildlife – Culture and education
The Situation of Child Abandonment in
Romania: this challenge can be overcome
Bucharest / Geneva,
20 January - As new child rights
legislation enters into force in Romania, a report finds that babies are just
as likely to be abandoned in the country’s maternity and pediatric hospitals as
they were three decades ago.
According
to a survey supported by the Ministry of Health and UNICEF and carried out in
over 150 medical institutions, around 4,000 newborn babies were abandoned in
Romanian maternity hospitals immediately after delivery in 2004, or 1.8% of all
newborns. The Situation of Child Abandonment in Romania report finds that many
of the mothers who abandon their children are very young, poorly educated and
living in extreme poverty. The percentage of abandoned babies who are born
underweight (34%) is four times higher than the norm for Romania (8.5%).(…)
The
Situation of Child Abandonment in Romania report follows a commitment by
UNICEF, the Government and NGOs to identify the problem, reveal its underlying
causes and suggest solutions to drastically reduce the phenomenon and its consequences.
The findings confirm that this challenge is not insurmountable and, though
complex, can be overcome. (…)
The
Situation of Child Abandonment in Romania report will be launched (in Romanian
only) by UNICEF Representative Pierre Poupard at the UNICEF offices in
Bucharest at 11.00 (local time) on Thursday, 20 January.
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_24892.html
Says estimated
1 million people lost livelihood
Geneva, 19 January - The
International Labour Office (ILO) today urged that
"employment-intensive" job creation strategies be integrated into the
humanitarian and reconstruction response to the earthquake and Tsunami disaster
in Asia that destroyed the livelihoods of an estimated 1 million persons in
Indonesia and Sri Lanka alone. In a
strategy paper issued by the ILO Regional Office in Bangkok and to be presented
to donors at a five-day U.N. Conference on disaster reduction that opens in
Kobe, Japan Tuesday, the ILO said the response to the Tsunami tragedy requires
"employment-intensive recovery, giving special attention to the needs of
the most vulnerable groups and the reestablishment of social protection mechanisms".
The ILO also pledged to
coordinate its effort with "wider government and multilateral
efforts". (…)
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2005/3.htm
UNFPA
welcomes Millennium Project's emphasis on critical roles of gender and
reproductive health in poverty reduction
Development
experts strongly support programmes that promote reproductive health and
rights, call them "critical to overall success in economic growth and
poverty reduction"
United Nations, New York, 17
January 2005—Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, the Executive Director of UNFPA, the United
Nations Population Fund, has welcomed the recommendations of the report of the
United Nations Millennium Project and urged all development actors to implement
them rapidly to save lives, reduce poverty and promote development in poor
countries. The Millennium Project is an independent group of development
experts, led by Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, New York. (…)
Priorities from Africa to the Middle East to Asia should include efforts to
achieve gender equality, the experts' report stressed, adding that some
countries "need to pay special attention to the situation of girls and
women, who tend to face major legal, social and political barriers and
biases".
Entitled, Investing in
Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the
report was submitted today to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. It
includes practical recommendations and “Quick Win” actions to save and improve
millions of lives, promote economic growth and convert the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) from ambition to concretely achievable actions.
Among the report’s 10 key
recommendations is that developing countries should adopt MDG-based poverty
reduction strategies, and that “specific interventions to address gender
inequality should be an intrinsic part of all MDG-based investment packages.”
(…)
http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=548
Children
should be first in line following Sudanese peace agreement
UNICEF
urges all parties to put children at top of agenda in new era of cooperation in
Sudan
Khartoum/ Nairobi / Amman /
New York, 9 January – Following the historic signing of a comprehensive Peace
Agreement between the Government of the Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation
Movement/Army (SPLM/A) today in Nairobi, UNICEF Executive Director Carol
Bellamy urged that children be given top priority as development programmes
scale up after more than two decades of war.
While congratulating all
parties involved in arriving at the Peace Agreement, Bellamy noted that
children are often forgotten as agencies and governments move ahead with giant
recovery plans. (…)Massive recovery activities are planned to begin in this
vast country in 2005. Progress will depend on many factors. The first is
maintaining the fragile peace between the Government and SPLM/A. Another is
tackling the ongoing conflict in the western region of Darfur. Adequate funding
is also critical. Speaking on her return from a five-day visit to
tsunami-affected countries in Asia, Bellamy noted that Sudan should not be
forgotten. Total financial needs defined by the UN and several partners for
2005 come to US$ 1.48 billion. This amount is needed to assist more than 2
million displaced persons (IDPs and refugees) to return to their homes in the
South and to support another 2 million persons affected by the war. Support to
all war-affected areas will be critical to ensuring a lasting peace. Of the
total amount, UNICEF is requesting almost US$ 289 million for programmes in
water and sanitation, health, nutrition, protection, education and advocacy.
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_24790.html
UN
Millennium Project's "Investing in Development" presented to Secretary-General Annan, welcomed by
experts as cost-effective blueprint for achieving Millennium Development Goals
by 2015
United Nations, 17 January -
In the most comprehensive strategy ever put forward for combating global
poverty, hunger and disease, a blue-ribbon team of 265 of the world's leading
development experts today proposed a package of scores of specific
cost-effective measures that together could cut extreme poverty in half and radically
improve the lives of at least one billion people in poor developing countries
by 2015.
The recommendations of the UN Millennium Project, an independent
advisory body to the UN Secretary-General, are laid out in the report Investing in Development: A Practical Plan
to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The report was presented today
to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today. Secretary-General Annan
has said the fight against extreme poverty should be the top priority of the
world community and the UN system in 2005. (…)
The UN Millennium Project's
report is being released as the Asian tsunami disaster has focused global
attention on the issue of aid to the world's poor - its urgency, its scale, and
its effectiveness. The enormously generous response to the tragedy sent a
powerful message that ordinary citizens in wealthier nations do in fact support
such aid-if they clearly see the need, and if they believe the funds they
provide will reach and help the people in need. The Project's plan addresses
these legitimate concerns-and shows that targeted investments in essential
public services such as health, education and infrastructure make poor
communities less vulnerable to such disasters and to the hardships of disease,
hunger and environmental degradation.
(…)The UN Millennium Project studied countries with high concentrations
of people living in extreme poverty to determine how much investment was needed
to confront hunger, education, gender equality, health, water and sanitation,
slums, energy and roads. In low-income countries, that would mean an increase
to $70-80 per capita in 2006 for investment, rising to $120-160 per capita in
2015. Many middle-income countries will largely be able to finance these
investments on their own-though in many cases they will require adequate debt
relief and specialized technical assistance. But for poorer countries, domestic
resources will not be sufficient. External financing must fill that gap.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/pressrelease/releases/2005/january/pr17jan05.html
European
Commission praises UN Millennium project
Project
launch in Brussels features Michel, Sachs, Malloch Brown
Brussels, 18 January - At the
European launch of the UN Millennium Project’s Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium
Development Goals, Louis Michel, EU Commissioner for Development and
Humanitarian Aid, praised the report and said it gave him cause to feel
“optimistic” for the first time in years about global action against extreme
poverty. Michel launched the report here today with UNDP Administrator Mark
Malloch Brown and Jeffrey D. Sachs, the Director of the UN Millennium Project.
The report was officially presented to the United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan in New York on Monday, who hailed it as “a major intellectual
achievement – a compelling work that contributes greatly to our understanding
of the development process, both the obstacles and the opportunities.” (…)
Michel said the European Commission should make use of the report to lead donor
countries towards the goal of spending 0.7 per cent of their national incomes
on development assistance.
The UN Millennium Project’s
highly detailed report—the product of 265 leading developing experts totalling
some 2,700 pages in 13 volumes—was also praised by the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund as a major contribution to the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals. The report calls for a strengthening of the UN
agencies, fund and programs to better support progress towards the Goals. Mark
Malloch Brown stressed in his remarks today that the strategic partnership UNDP
formed with the European Commission in June 2004 will help both institutions to
work much more effectively in the decade between 2005 and 2015, the target date
for the Goals. (…)
UN
agencies call for immediate action to achieve Millennium Goals
Rome, 18 January - Three
Rome-based UN agencies today called for immediate action by developed and
developing countries to ensure that the goals of the 2000 Millennium Summit are
achieved. (…) The joint statement by Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), James Morris, Executive Director of
the World Food Programme (WFP), and Lennart Bage, President of the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), was issued at the Rome
launch of the Millennium Project Report.
The Report covers all eight
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the first of which includes a pledge to
reduce by half the proportion of people living in extreme poverty and hunger by
2015. This goal is in line with the target proclaimed at the 1996 World Food
Summit in Rome. (…)
The agency heads noted that
three quarters of those living in extreme poverty, about 900 million people,
live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their
livelihoods.(…)
Farmers in poor developing
countries also had difficulty being competitive in selling their produce when
markets were flooded by cheap produce from subsidized producers in wealthier
countries.(…) The statement noted that only a small fraction of ODA goes to
direct food and nutrition support, an amount insufficient for the necessary
targeted interventions in rural areas, which can save lives and build
livelihoods.
The three agency heads
expressed their concern at the finding of the Report that many countries, the
majority of them in sub-Saharn Africa, were falling behind in attempts to
achieve the MDGs.
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/89043/index.html
Geneva, 19 January - The World
Economic Forum today released details on this year’s Annual Meeting in Davos,
including the key participants, themes and goals. The Meeting, taking place
from 26 to 30 January, is being held under the theme “Taking Responsibility for
Tough Choices”. (…) Over the course of the five-day Meeting, more than 2,250
participants from 96 countries will convene in Davos, including more than 20
heads of state or government, 70 cabinet ministers, 26 religious leaders, 15
union leaders and more than 50 heads of non-governmental organizations. Around
50% of the participants are business leaders drawn principally from the Forum's
members – 1,000 of the foremost companies from around the world and across all
economic sectors.
The opening session of the
Annual Meeting 2005 will be a major innovation, the Global Town Hall, which is
an interactive plenary session designed to bring diverse people, voices and
viewpoints together around the Annual Meeting’s theme. The objective is for
participants to focus on the toughest challenges facing us and to prioritize
the six issues that should be at the top of the global agenda in 2005. The
results of the opening Town Hall will be integrated into the relevant sessions
in the official programme.(…)
Habitat
for humanity building center works overtime for reconstruction
Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, January
21 - Habitat for Humanity's five-year-old building and training center in
Batticaloa is running three shifts a day, producing 3,600 concrete blocks every
24 hours to meet the demands for reconstruction following the Dec. 26 tsunami
that devastated the Indian Ocean basin.
The center, originally
established by the Batticaloa affiliate to hold down building costs, has become
an essential tool in the rebuilding plans, providing not only much needed
materials for rebuilding, but providing opportunities for Habitat families who
lost wage-earners to work at the center to earn a wage. In recent days, the
center delivered 10,000 blocks to Habitat homeowners and another 20,000 blocks
are ready to be used. Production will start soon on fence posts, beams and
pillars, as well as frames for windows and doors. The decision has been made to
produce the materials from concrete so "we do not harvest so much wood for
building products," said Justice Gregory, Batticaloa affiliate
coordinator. Typically, building supply companies donate the raw materials,
Gregory said.
The operation is a blueprint
for other centers Habitat for Humanity plans to open in four countries to help
teach skills and provide materials in the aftermath of the earthquake and
tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people and left millions homeless. Plans
are to build four centers each in Sri Lanka and India, two centers in Thailand
and three in Indonesia.
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php
Rome, 20 January – A new IFAD-supported programme will help
reduce the effects of fluctuating commodity prices on the incomes of
smallholder farmers in Ethiopia and thereby contribute to improved incomes and
food security. The US$ 35.1 million programme will be largely financed by a US$
27.2 million loan to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The loan agreement was
signed today at IFAD headquarters in Rome by Dr. Mengistu Hulluka, Ambassador
Extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Ethiopia to Italy and IFAD’s President,
Lennart Båge. (…)
The Agricultural Marketing
Improvement Programme will strengthen national capacity for market research,
intelligence, policy analysis and formulation. Specifically, it will strengthen
capacity to develop and implement appropriate strategies and policies to
stabilize commodity prices as well as improve linkages between smallholder
producers, rural traders, artisans and the marketing chains. The programme will
also support the development of improved post-harvest technologies for
processing, storage and transportation of agricultural outputs in a manner
consistent with a liberalised market economy.
With this loan, IFAD will have
provided funds for 12 development projects in Ethiopia, totalling US$ 190
million.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2005/2.htm
IFAD
commits initial $US 100 million to reconstruction in Tsunami-devastated
communities
Rome, 11 January − IFAD is committed to mobilizing an
initial $US 100 million in new resources for countries affected by the tsunami.
As the UN agency dedicated to eradicating poverty in rural areas, IFAD will be
helping people affected by the disaster to rebuild their communities and their
livelihoods. The goal is not only to help them to recover, but to increase
their capacity to cope with future natural disasters by enabling them to
overcome the desperate poverty that makes them so vulnerable. (…)
When natural disasters strike
it is the poorest people who are most vulnerable who endure greatest hardships
and have the least ability to cope. It is because of poverty that they live in
disaster-prone areas. They live in fragile shelters that are easily destroyed
by natural forces. They have no insurance to help them pay for lost boats,
nets, seeds and other assets they need to earn a living. They have no savings
to fall back on for emergency food and shelter. To make matters worse, many
poor rural communities do not have safe water to drink, healthcare services or
communication systems. Without rapid intervention in emergency aid followed by
long-term support for reconstruction, the toll in death and human suffering in
these communities will continue to climb. (…)
Tsunami
relief: Global Unions launch reconstruction initiative and call for sustained
international effort
Brussels, 11 January - With
trade unions around the world raising millions of dollars for tsunami relief
efforts, the ICFTU and its Global Unions partners today launched an
international trade union initiative to channel funding to sustainable
rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the areas affected by the disaster.
The initiative will identify reconstruction work where trade unions have a
specific role to play and where union expertise is most needed, including
rebuilding trade union infrastructure, and will help ensure maximum cohesion in
the trade union movement's reconstruction activities. (…)
Today’s Global Unions meeting
in Nyon, Switzerland, received reports from Global Union Federations on tsunami
solidarity action in their sectors, from the Trade Union Advisory Committee to
the OECD on development assistance discussions planned at the OECD’s
Development Assistance Committee, and from the ICFTU on pledges received from
national affiliates and on trade union actions in the Asia/Pacific region. (…)
The ICFTU represents 148
million workers in 234 affiliated organisations in 152 countries and
territories. ICFTU is also a partner in Global Unions:
http://www.global-unions.org
http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991221128&Language=EN&Printout=Yes
7 January - To advise on
evaluating the damages caused by natural disasters, a team of experts from the
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is
participating in a World Bank mission in Indonesia to evaluate the
socioeconomic impact of the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia last 26 December
2004.
Ricardo Zapata-Martí, Focal
point for Natural Disaster Evaluation, and Roberto Jovel, a consultant in this
field, make up the ECLAC team whose participation was requested directly by the
World Bank's Hazard Risk Management Unit, to support the Indonesian
government's National Development and Planning Agency (BAPPENAS). The results
of this evaluation will be presented to a consulting group created by the
government.
ECLAC will serve in an
advisory role for this mission, given the extensive experience and knowledge
about evaluating natural disasters accumulated by this regional United Nations
commission, which has developed a methodology that is widely used and highly
respected in Latin America and the Caribbean. (…)
UN-HABITAT and EC sign grant agreement for
Somalia
Nairobi, 5 January -
UN-HABITAT and the European Commission signed a 5 million Euro grant agreement,
on 22 December 2004, for the implementation of the Somalia Urban Development
Programme. The Programme is designed to target all major cities and towns in
the various Somali regions through the implementation of tangible projects and
capacity building activities in the Urban Development Sector. The
implementation of the programme is planned over a period of three years,
starting 1 April 2005, with a possible extension for a further three years.
The total cost of the first
phase of the Programme is approximately 6.15 million Euros. The European
Commission has undertaken to finance 5 million Euro (over 80 per cent) of this
budget, with the remaining part of 1.5 million US Dollars being funded by UNDP,
which also acts as the principal Associate Partner to UN-HABITAT for the
programme implementation.
Other international partners
in the Programme include ILO, UNICEF, the Italian NGO Consortium UNA, and
NOVIB-Oxfam. Furthermore, the programme is designed to benefit from the
comparative advantages of all the partners including the political leadership
and logistic support network of UNDP in the field and the operational expertise
of UN-HABITAT and the other partners.
The proposed initiative
recognizes the growing importance of the urban sector, both demographically and
economically, in the Somali context and aims at promoting an increasingly
democratic, inclusive and accountable system of governance as well as more
efficient and socially effective local management practices. (…)
http://www.unhabitat.org/somalia_agreement.asp
European Commission providing E.
709 million for co-operation and external aid operations
In 2004, the EC is providing,
under the MEDA Programme, E. 709 million for co-operation and external aid
operations with its Mediterranean partners. This assistance illustrates the
EU’s commitment to support development in the region focused on reforms based
on common values. Algeria (55 million), Egypt (164.5 million), Jordan (36.5
million), Lebanon (19.5 million), Morocco (156 million), Syria (55 million),
Tunisia (24 million), and the West Bank and Gaza Strip (73.5 million) and the
region as a whole (125.5 million), are benefiting from this new package
that brings the MEDA assistance to the region to over E. 6.156 billion in
bilateral and regional co-operation programmes since the Barcelona Process was
launched in 1995(source www.emwis.org)
Latin
America and the Caribbean outdo even the most optimistic forecasts by growing
5.5% in 2004
15 December - The economy of
Latin America and the Caribbean grew 5.5% in 2004, outdoing even the most
optimistic forecasts. Thus, the region's per capita GDP rose by about 4% and
for next year GDP is forecasted to grow another 4%, which should improve per
capita GDP again, according to figures from the Preliminary Overview of the
Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2004, presented by
ECLAC today .Except for Haiti, every country posted positive growth. This is
the second time in the past 20 years that the region's six largest economies
(Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela) will all grow more
than 3%. This occurred previously, in 1997.(…)
Big
Picture is a free online tv resource based in London, England. We stream short
talking head video clips of some of the most renowned pioneers in Sustainable
Development and from the environmental, social justice and peace movements. By
offering global leaders in these interrelated fields a fully independent
web-based media platform, we aim to make the big picture a clearer one for the
world’s online community. (…) Our tv clips allow you to hear directly from some
of today’s leading problem solvers and innovators. It is thanks to their
insight and dedication - and to the efforts of many progressive thinkers like
them - that a better, more sustainable world is already happening.
“Jubilee
2000 and the Debt Crisis” (5m 33sec) - Ann Pettifor is the Director of Jubilee
Research at the New Economics Foundation in London and is the former Director
of Jubilee 2000. She talks about the Jubilee 2000 debt relief campaign – the
largest and most successful campaign to cancel third world debt in recent history.
(…)
http://www.big-picture.tv/index.php?id=33&cat=&a=55
“Ecological Debt Relief” (5m 12sec) - Ann Pettifor talks about the way in which the global north is
running up a ballooning legacy of ecological debt. (…)
http://www.big-picture.tv/index.php?id=33&cat=&a=56
Paris, 20 January – Mayors and
local government representatives from around the world have asked their
umbrella body, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), to facilitate
implementation of an action plan to respond to the specific needs of
communities stricken by the tsunami disaster. At an extraordinary meeting in
Paris City Hall at the weekend weekend, the officials mandated UCLG – the
world’s largest local government organization – to have its World Secretariat
act as the focal point for information exchange between local governments. (…)
The mayors expressed their
wish to prioritize assistance to children and the reconstruction of
infrastructure, with particular attention to the provision of clean drinking
water and sanitation. UCLG will facilitate exchange of information on the
different initiatives, and will ensure coordination with the United Nations and
its agencies.(…)
Participants at the Paris
meeting also agreed that UCLG should establish a database of local government
experts to enhance the resources of the United Nations, NGOs and national
authorities, with which UCLG is collaborating. The database will contain
information on the technical expertise available within local government in
order to respond to future requests for international assistance in fields such
as water, sanitation, transport and infrastructure.
http://www.unhabitat.org/world_mayors.asp
WFP
welcomes US$60 million donation from Japan to fellow Asians
Yokohama, Japan, 17
January – The United Nations World Food
Programme (WFP) today welcomed “the most generous” contribution from the
Government of Japan to WFP’s emergency operation to assist people affected by
the tsunami. The donation of US$60 million, confirmed today, is the largest
single contribution made by a donor country to WFP’s US$256 million emergency
appeal, which incorporates emergency food aid and logistics support for six
months.(…)
US$50 million will be spent on
emergency food aid for Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and other countries,
and US$10 million is to be spent on building up logistics support.
WFP Executive Director, James
T. Morris, will visit Japan from 18 to 20 January to attend the UN World
Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, to deliver a statement on WFP’s role
in emergency preparedness and disaster reduction. He will take this opportunity
to personally thank the Government of Japan for their most generous
contribution.
http://www.wfp.org/index.asp?section=2
The
Caritas Internationalis response to the tsunami disaster - Update: 17 January
2005
Total
amount of funds available within the Caritas Confederation for the tsunami
relief effort: Over 70 million USD
Breakdown: Sri Lanka: approx. USD 7,110,000
India: “ USD 4,232,000
Indonesia: “ USD
6,056,00
Thailand: “ USD
324,000
USD
17,722,000
Unearmarked: USD
52,278,000
The
response
Confederation members are
currently working together in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand
assisting those most in need. Immediate relief has come in the form of food,
clothing, medicine, medical care, water purification and sanitation,
psychological counselling, and other services. Caritas is also working on
long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction for affected communities by
building homes, restoring livelihoods through the replacement of destroyed
fishing boats and nets, and offering cash for work programmes.
Volunteers
from the National Youth Services Council packing emergency hygiene kits for
women in stricken areas. Moratuwa, 20 kms south of Colombo.
Colombo, 17 January - In a
quiet, leafy enclave in Sri Lanka’s capital, 35 young volunteers work in
assembly line fashion putting together emergency hygienic supplies. These
supplies are badly needed by women and girls affected by the devastating
tsunami that claimed 30,000 lives in this island country and left over 800,000
homeless.
The workers, mostly between 15
and 25, are members of the National Youth Services Council, a UNFPA (United
Nations Population Fund) partner organization, with representatives in
virtually every community in the country. Some have been working tirelessly
since the 29th of December, when the initiative was launched with funding
provided by UNFPA. (…)
In the first mass shipment,
25,000 packages are being trucked to three of the hardest hit districts – Trincomalee,
Galle and Hambantota – and one township, Moratuwa. Some 300,000 of these
hygienic kits will be sent to survivors in the coming weeks. (…)
http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=547
CARE
earthquake and tsunami update: Responding to the needs of displaced women in
Sri Lanka
Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, January
13 - CARE has been distributing water, food, clothing and other essential items
to almost 90,000 people in the days since the tsunami hit Sri Lanka. At the
same time, emergency teams are giving special attention to the needs of women,
including the distribution of undergarments and sanitary napkins, and offering
psychological support to help them cope during this extremely stressful time. CARE
also will begin rehabilitation activities in Sri Lanka on January 15.
In order to provide an
appropriate response that meets the needs of displaced women, CARE, in addition
to distributing feminine essentials, is working in collaboration with local
partner organizations to organize camp discussion groups to provide women with
psychological support. The discussions focus on women and their children, and
how to survive and adapt to their new reality during this difficult time. (…)
http://www.careusa.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2005/jan/20050113_srilanka_women.asp
Grant
will support tsunami relief in South Asia and victims of conflict in Africa
January 13 - The John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has awarded a grant of $1.5 million to CARE
that will be used for two purposes. The first is for disaster relief and
reconstruction related to the earthquake and tsunami in South Asia. The second
is for work in regions of Africa where disasters caused by humans continue to
take an enormous toll.
CARE will have flexibility to
use the MacArthur funds as it feels best in addressing the immediate needs in
South Asia or the continuing and unmet needs in regions of Africa where
displacement and loss of life are comparable to those caused by last month’s
natural disaster. (…)
http://www.careusa.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2005/jan/20050113_macarthurgrant.asp
European
Commission adopts humanitarian packages for Africa worth more than €80 million
Brussels, 21 January - The
European Commission has adopted a series of humanitarian packages for the
victims of protracted crises in Africa. These include Coastal West Africa
(€31.3 million; €1=US$1.30), Uganda (€20.62 million), Burundi (€20.99 million),
and Tanzania (€13.5 million). Projects will be implemented by humanitarian
agencies operating in the target regions. The funds are managed by the European
Commission’s humanitarian office (ECHO) under the responsibility of EU
Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel. Commented Commissioner
Michel: “It is essential that public aid for new needs resulting from the Asian
Tsunami is not taken from existing crises which have fallen out of the
spotlight. The forgotten crises of Africa need our continued support. As these
funding decisions testify, the European Commission’s humanitarian funding is
allocated where needs are greatest.” (…)
http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/article_4249_en.htm
21 January - Episcopal Relief
and Development is providing emergency assistance to people in the Limon
province of Costa Rica after heavy rains flooded homes and businesses. The
flooding has also damaged crops and communications systems. Rains caused
several of the main rivers in the province to overflow, cutting off several
communities because of landslides and closed highways and bridges. "About
8,000 people have been affected by the torrential rains and the growth of rivers,"
said the Rt. Rev. Hector Monterroso, Bishop of Costa Rica. "Many have lost
crops and their houses and have been evacuated," said Bishop Monterroso.
On behalf of Episcopalians,
Episcopal Relief and Development is supplying emergency assistance to the
Diocese of Costa Rica for families displaced by the floods. ERD's aid will help
the diocese distribute canned foods, water, medicines, diapers, and roofing
materials throughout the region.
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php
12 January, Male, Maldives –
The island of Naalaafushi has been turned into a construction site since
yesterday’s arrival of bags of cement, steel pipes, hammers and other building
tools. All buildings on Naalaafushi were either badly damaged or turned into
rubble when the Tsunami hit the island and left all residents homeless on 26
December.
“The disaster brought
everything to a full stop on the island,” says Moez Doraid, UNDP Resident
Representative in the Maldives. “We are working closely with the government and
the private sector to help those on the island to get roofs over their heads.
Each new home brings hope.”
Earlier this week, two boats
traveled eight hours, carrying 190 tons of building materials provided by UNDP,
from Male, the capital of the Maldives to the island which is situated in the
Meemu Atoll in the south. Carpenters, plumbers and other construction workers
from the private company Banyan Tree Resorts were dispatched to the island to
assist the local residents in the reconstruction efforts on the island.
Through this collaboration,
UNDP aims to have all 291 inhabitants in new houses before the monsoon season
begins in June. The reconstruction efforts in Meemu Atoll marks the beginning
of UNDP’s efforts to reconstruct 400 new houses and repair 2000 housing units
in the Maldives within the next six months. The Tsunami swept away 10 percent
of all houses in the Maldives, leaving more than 12,000 people homeless. (…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/pressrelease/releases/2005/january/pr12jan05.html
European
Commission and Sudanese authorities sign the Country Strategy Paper to resume
co-operation
Bruxelles, January 25 -
Following the signature of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the
Government of the Sudan and the SPLM/A in Nairobi on 9 January 2005, the
European Commission and the Government of the Sudan have finalised the Country
Strategy Paper (CSP) for their cooperation. This document includes the National
Indicative Programme and will be signed at 15h30 on 25 January 2005 by the
Minister for International Co-operation, Mr. Takana, and the European
Commissioner for Development, Mr. L. Michel. The President of the European
Commission, Mr. J.M. Barroso, the Vice-president of the Sudan, Mr. Taha and Mr.
Nhial Deng Nhial, Commissioner for External relations of the SPLM, will witness
the signature.
In November 1999, after 9
years of suspension of co-operation, the EU and the Sudan engaged in a formal
Political Dialogue. Since December 2001, the Dialogue has been intensified with
a view to a gradual resumption of co-operation once a Comprehensive Peace
Agreement would be signed.
The European Union has been
clearly linking its future relations with the Sudan to the signing of a
Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The Agreement is considered in particular as a
basis to integrate in a global process the other marginalised areas of Sudan,
including Darfur. (…)
The CSP creates a framework
structuring the EU contribution to the Sudan of an indicative allocation of
around € 400M (…) Also following the
signature of the CSP a quick disbursement programme of €50M will be launched,
as an immediate peace dividend, benefiting equally North and South (€25M to
each region). The programme foresees mostly community based projects, to be
implemented in partnership with local NGOs and Non State Actors.
http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/article_4259_en.htm
IAEA´s work
singled out by UN Panel on global security
11 January - A high level panel has cited the IAEA as "an extraordinary bargain" for its work to prevent widespread proliferation of nuclear weapons, in a new report on security threats facing humanity, and how policies and institutions must change to beat them.
The report A
More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility includes 101 recommendations
on UN reform and for forging a global response to threats of terrorism,
poverty, disease, weapons of mass destruction and civil violence. Its 16
authors comprise former heads of state, foreign ministers, security, military,
diplomatic and development officials.(…)
Responding to the report, UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan called for urgent action on its recommendations to strengthen the
non-proliferation regime and ward off the possibility of a nuclear attack.
Including:
As importantly, the Panel emphasized the human
dimensions of security, and the need for greater effort for sustainable
development.(…)
The recommendations will help set the agenda for a
special UN summit scheduled for world leaders in September 2005. http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2005/iaea_singledout.html
UNFPA
ships supplies to ensure safe childbirth and meet women's needs in tsunami-hit
countries
Jakarta, 14 January - To protect the lives of Indonesian women affected by last month’s earthquake and tsunami, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, has sent 18 tons of equipment and supplies for maternity care to Aceh Province. Contents range from simple supplies for safe and sanitary home deliveries to hospital equipment needed to re-establish emergency obstetric care for those who experience life-threatening complications during childbirth.
“This equipment will give
expectant mothers in the tsunami-hit region access to basic health care, and
could prevent life-threatening complications from pregnancy,” said Bernard
Coquelin, UNFPA Representative in Indonesia. He stressed that ignoring
reproductive health needs after natural disasters adds to the death toll. (…)
Protecting displaced women and
providing post-disaster counselling are also priorities for UNFPA. With funding
from the Dutch Government, UNFPA is helping Sri Lanka’s National Committee on
Women assess security and counselling needs in camps throughout the country.
In addition, the Fund is
recruiting doctors and technical staff to assist with relief efforts in each of
the affected countries. A key objective is to promote equitable and safe access
to services, recognizing the special situation of women, youth and other
vulnerable populations.
http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=546
Rumours of unsafe fish in tsunami
zone unfounded
No increased risk of fish-borne
diseases
Rome, 14
January - There is no evidence that fish- and seafood-borne illnesses have
increased in Asian countries hit by the tsunami, according to a new FAO
assessment.
Rumours that it
is dangerous to eat fish that have been in proximity to or have fed on victims'
bodies are criss-crossing southern Asia, and reports suggest that fish
consumption is dropping off as a result. However, FAO says that such fears are
unfounded. "In light of the information available, there is no evidence,
epidemiological or of any other nature, of an increased risk of fish- and
seafood-borne illnesses in the affected regions," the Organization said.
This assessment
was based on information gathered from FAO and World Health Organization (WHO)
personnel working on the ground in countries affected by the disaster.
Fish plays a
major nutrition role in all of the countries hit by the tsunami, where the
average annual per capita fish consumption is among the highest in the world.
According to FAO, eliminating fish from the diet could have adverse nutritional
impacts, with possible health consequences -- especially for weakened tsunami
survivors recovering from injuries. (…)
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/88610/index.html
African
health ministers announce 2005 polio strategy at Geneva meeting
by Vukoni Lupa-Lasaga , Rotary International
News
14 January - Health ministers
from the African countries most affected by polio have established an
eradication strategy for 2005, according to a joint press release from Global
Polio Eradication Initiative partners Rotary International, UNICEF, U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization.
Meeting at WHO headquarters in
Geneva on 13 January, the ministers agreed to embark on a series of massive
immunization campaigns across 25 countries as a key aspect of the strategy.
Polio surveillance will also be stepped up. "We, the ministers of the
eight most-polio-affected countries of Africa, together with the global polio
partners, commit to further intensifying polio eradication activities with the
goal of ending transmission by the end of 2005," they announced at the end
of the conference.
According to the press
release, the ministers pledged to conduct at least five rounds of national
immunization campaigns and involve all sectors of their governments in a bid to
reach every child with the polio vaccine.
The polio-endemic countries of
Egypt, Niger, and Nigeria, as well as Burkina Faso, Central African Republic,
Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, and Sudan, which are experiencing a circulation of the
poliovirus originating from a 2003 outbreak in Nigeria, were represented at the
event. (…)
http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/polio/news01.html
UNICEF mobilizes child
trauma experts
To Tsunami-affected areas in Thailand
Phuket,
Thailand, 10 January - UNICEF said today that a team of specially trained child
trauma experts from Thailand have been mobilized and are now commencing work in
provinces hardest hit by the deadly Tsunami. The team of 36 child
psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians and nurses will fan out in four
provinces - Pang Nga, Krabi, Phuket and Ranong - where large numbers of
children have lost parents, relatives and friends, and have witnessed horrific
scenes of destruction. They will be working with teachers and
children in schools, as well as making home visits to families who have borne
the brunt of the disaster, including extended families caring for
orphans. Official government statistics report more than 300 Thai
children have been orphaned. (…) Key messages include the need for special
attention, extra affection and giving children the opportunity to express their
feelings; to talk about their experiences and the importance of keeping to regular
routines, including going to school and maintaining regular eating and sleeping
schedules. This provides children with a sense of security and
normalcy. Other messages for parents include encouraging children
to play and engage in other enjoyable activities to help them deal with stress.
UNICEF
also said today that close supervision of children was important to detect
extreme signs of distress as well as to protect children from any risks of
children being abused.
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_24793.html
Trachoma:
hygiene helps dramatic success in Morocco
Face washing and use of
latrines play a big part in a success story in Morocco where prevalence of the
eye disease trachoma has fallen by 75% since 1999, and eye disease in children
has been reduced by 90%.
More than 150 million people
in 46 developing countries have trachoma, the leading cause of preventable
blindness. In Morocco, a 1992 national survey discovered that 5% of the population
had the disease, concentrated in five poor, rural provinces.
Morocco's National Blindness
Control Program implemented a SAFE strategy (surgery, antibiotics, face
washing, and environmental change). Mobile teams performed simple surgery in
small towns, three million doses of the antibiotic azithromycin were
distributed; face washing and hygiene were promoted, latrines were constructed
and drinking water was made safe.
The trachoma programme was
evaluated by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the
Ministry of Health of Morocco. Now the case studyhas been included in a book of
global success stories. (Source: Source Weekly, http://www.irc.nl/source/)
http://www.trachoma.org/home.asp
(top)
21 January - Nobody likes breathing lungfulls of pollution from big cities. Least of all the citizens of Mexico City, whose air is so contaminated it is a serious health hazard. Now the IAEA, through its Technical Cooperation programme, is helping Mexicans breathe a little easier. The Agency has teamed up with local scientists and regulatory authorities on a project aimed at making the air in the capital safer for its people.
For the past two years nuclear
"knowhow" has been used to analyse air samples collected from across
the city. These nuclear techniques give important new data about the size, type
and level of contaminants in dust particles suspended in the air. Armed with
this knowledge, scientists and health care experts can better understand and
tackle the health dangers associated with pollution, like cancer and
respiratory disease. Air pollution in Mexico City contributes to around 12,000
deaths per year, with trends showing children and the elderly increasingly
treated for respiratory disease. Exhaust fumes from the city´s four million
motor vehicles are a main source of contamination.
Unlike traditional methods for
analysing air samples, nuclear tools are sensitive enough to extract key
information about contaminants in small, fine particles. (…) Regular air
samples taken throughout Mexico City are analysed using a technique known as
PIXE (proton induce x-ray emission). The IAEA is providing around $300,000 in
equipment and training to scientists at the National Nuclear Research Institute
of Mexico (ININ) who conduct the analysis. (…)
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2005/mexicocity.html
19 January - A new
inter-agency initiative aimed at minimizing loss of life and reducing damage
caused by floods was launched here today by UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro
Matsuura. The headquarters for the new project will be based at a planned
Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (CHARM) hosted by the Public Works
Research Institute in Tsukuba, Japan. (…)
The International Flood
Initiative is a response to the increasing number of water related disasters,
deaths and widespread damage to goods and assets. Since 1992, the yearly number
of water-related disasters has risen from slightly over 50 to more than 150. They
claim about 25,000 lives and affect over 500 million others annually, and cost
the world economy more than $60 billion, (up from about $10 billion in 1950).
And this does not include the cost of damage to cultural assets and natural
resources. (…)
The International Flood
Initiative will promote an integrated approach to flood management to maximize
the long-term benefits of floods and to minimize the hardship, loss of life and
damage to goods and assets that result from floods. To achieve this, it will focus
on research, training, information networking, promoting good governance and
providing technical assistance.
Space technology to boost
Africa Water Vision 2025
By Yinka Adeyemi, ECA
14
December -The Africa Water Vision 2025
will be accelerated by a space technology option which is initiated by the
European Space Agency, according to a report of the second TIGER Workshop
recently concluded in South Africa at the invitation of the South African
government. The Africa Water Vision 2025 is "an Africa where there is an
equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for poverty
alleviation, socio-economic development, regional cooperation and the
environment." (…)
To further define structures,
programmes and partnerships of cooperation for the application of space
technology for water resources management in Africa, African institutions were
invited to submit concrete proposals for pilot projects which would provide
leadership in the implementation zone management; hydrological modelling; the
problems of floods; and water issues related to health. The proposals will form
the first wave for TIGER’s programme for human and institutional capacity
building for space-based information to water resources management, said the
report.
12 January - UNESCO is working
towards the establishment of a global tsunami warning system that would be
operational by June 2007, said UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura.
Speaking at a press conference at the Mauritius International Meeting on Small
Island Developing States on Wednesday, Mr Matsuura said that assessment missions
are already being undertaken to concerned countries as a step towards the
creation of the first regional component of the global system, in the Indian
Ocean, foreseen for June 2006. “The estimated cost of the scientific
infrastructure for the Indian Ocean system with a regional centre and properly
equipped national centres is about $30 million,” Mr Matsuura said. “The annual
maintenance costs of a regional centre would probably be in the order of one to
two million dollars, he added.”
The Director-General said that
two meetings of experts will be held in March to analyze the recent Indian
Ocean earthquake and tsunami and to look at exactly what will be required for a
global alert system. They will also seek to harmonize all international efforts
being made towards the establishment of the Indian Ocean early warning system.
(…)
Montreal, Canada, 11 January –
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) today released the first
comparability report on emissions data from over 1000 individual fossil-fuel
power plants in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The report, North
American Power Plant Air Emissions, is a first step towards the possible
development of a shared emissions inventory for North America.
The study finds a small
percentage of facilities release much of the electricity sector's sulfur
dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury and carbon dioxide emissions in North
America. These emissions are known to contribute to acid rain, haze, smog, and
climate change, as well as toxic mercury found in fish and eaten by people.
"This report shows that, site by site, coal-fired power plants are the
dominant source of harmful air emissions from the electricity sector in North
America," says William Kennedy, executive director of the CEC.
The report, which compiles
data from 2002, notes that each nation has a unique mix of fuels and
technologies to produce electricity. Whereas the United States generates half
of its electricity from coal, Mexico only gets about eight percent of its
electricity from coal, while generating more than two-thirds of its power from
oil and natural gas. By contrast, Canada produces the largest share of its
electricity from hydropower. (…)
http://www.cec.org/news/details/index.cfm?varlan=english&ID=2648
Africa prepares for second phase of World
Summit on Information Society
Addis
Ababa, 11 January (ECA) - Approximately 1,000 people from the private sector,
civil society, media, government and international institutions will meet in
Ghana, next month to discuss an “Action Plan on Africa and the Knowledge Economy”
(APAKE), for expanding access to - and use of - information and communications
technologies in Africa.
The
theme of the African Regional Preparatory Conference for the World Summit on
the Information Society (WSIS), is “Access - Africa’s key to an inclusive
Information Society.” The meeting is scheduled for February 2. (…) Government
ministers charged with advancing ICTs in Africa will use the forum to take
stock of the achievements made since the establishment, in April 2004, of an
African Ministerial Committee to act on proposals coming out of the WSIS in
Geneva. The Committee has 13 member countries, with the African Union and ECA
providing institutional and logistical support.
http://www.uneca.org/eca_resources/Press_Releases/2005_pressreleases/pressrelease0105.htm
Water
storage: refreshing the knowledge of centuries
Long before modern dam
building projects, the people of southern India had a centuries old grasp of
hydraulic engineering in tune with the environment. There are 140,000 water
storage tanks in the southern Indian states, the size of football fields or
lakes. This system supported millions of people in southern India and Sri Lanka.
In the dry season, people used the silt to fertilize their fields, allowing
water to percolate deep underground, keeping soils moist when rainfall is
scarce. The tank bottom provided grazing for livestock and clay for bricks.
As the system broke down, water
levels dropped, forcing farmers to leave their fields. As politicians pursue
billion-dollar schemes to bring water from the Godavari River, 200km away, the
Godavari Vedika group, supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), are
looking at restoring the network of tanks. Pilot projects showed productivity
gains of 20-40 per cent for poor farmers and a decline in the need for chemical
fertilizer. (Source Weekly www.irc.nl/source/)
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/features/news.cfm?uNewsID=16550
Desalination is often touted
as one solution to the world's water woes, but current desalination plants tend
to hog energy. Now University of Florida researchers have developed a
technology that can tap waste heat from electrical power plants as its main
source of energy, an advance that could significantly reduce the cost of
desalination in some parts of the world.
"In the future, we have
to go to desalination, because the freshwater supply at the moment can just
barely meet the demands of our growing population," said James Klausner, a
UF professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, whose research was funded
by the U.S. Department of Energy.
"We think this technology
could run off excess heat from utility plants and produce millions of gallons
each day," said Klausner, lead author of an article on the system that
appears in the current issue of the Journal of Energy Resources
Technology. Klausner said the key
feature of his system is that it can tap the warmed water that plants have used
to cool their machines to heat the salt water intended for desalination,
turning a waste product into a useful one. Klausner said a miniature version of
the full-scale system could be run using solar or other forms of heat, which
might be useful for small towns or villages.
UF has applied for a patent on
the technology. Klausner’s research was funded by a $200,000 grant from the
Department of Energy. (Source: European Water Management News, www.nwp.nl )
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/energy_engineering/report-38047.html
14 January - UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan, together with the President of the Seychelles and Vice
President of Palau, announced new commitments to conserve coral reefs and to
preserve the livelihoods of island communities. (…) Pledges of over US$20
million were made by governments and non-governmental organizations, including
WWF, the International Coral Reef Action Network, and the Nature Conservancy,
to support networks of marine protected areas in small island developing states
around the world.
“The financial support will
enable the island states to turn political commitments into actions on the
ground to increase the resilience of natural systems and generate jobs, income
and food security today and for future generations,” said Sian Owen,
Coordinator of WWF's Coral Reef Advocay Initiative. (…)
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/news.cfm?uNewsID=17895
Jakarta, 13 January - Three
hundred displaced and affected people by the tsunami in Indonesia's Aceh
province have been hired today by the Minister of Public Works with the support
of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to remove debris from the
Indian Ocean Tsunami. This rubble removal mass-employment initiative aims to
provide income to displaced people while helping them to begin rebuilding.
"To get normality back into people's lives they need to be given the
opportunity to start reorganizing themselves in ways that benefit them, earning
cash to ensure that they have choice in the market, they can choose what they
want to do", said UNDP crisis recovery team leader in Aceh Kristanto
Sinandang. (…)
The emergency relief effort in
Aceh is growing steadily. UNDP with its partners is working to assist people in
the long process of rebuilding their livelihoods. The disaster has impeded
North Sumatra's development gains and jeopardized the region's ability to meet
the Millennium Development Goals.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/pressrelease/releases/2005/january/pr13jan05.html
Volunteer
Divers to clear tsunami debris -- from deck chairs to kitchen sinks
11 January, Bangkok, Thailand
- A joint assessment mission conducted this week by The United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), The World Bank and The Food and Agricultural
Organization has prompted UNDP to provide clean-up equipment to help
rehabilitate coral reefs off Thailand’s coast affected by the December 26
tsunami. Heavy debris, from deck chairs to kitchen sinks, are putting coral in
harms way.
Equipment including a vehicle
and boat trailer, rubber speed boat, GPS, diving gear, underwater cameras and
underwater lift bags will be delivered to the Department of Marine Resources
(DMR) to begin immediate work on affected areas. (…)
The Department has also asked
for help in mobilizing 100 volunteer divers each Sunday for the next couple of
months. The volunteer teams will help to clean up debris from coral along
Thailand’s west coast. They will also carefully put the reef back in places
where pieces have broken off. (…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/pressrelease/releases/2005/january/pr11jan05.html
Return of the tarpan
3 January - Hundreds and
hundreds of black tyres spread out as far as the eye can see across a forest
clearing, drawing a big black spot on an almost immaculate landscape. This
could easily be the scene of an illegal forest dumping site just about anywhere
in the world, but this particular blemish is found at Lake Pape, on the Baltic
Sea coast of south-western Latvia.
The tyres are relics of the
Cold War. Soviet soldiers used to dispose of them on the lake, floating them in
the shape of mock boats so that Red Army planes could use them for target
practice. This entire area, until 15 years ago, was an off-limit military zone.
Today, it is welcoming bird watchers and nature lovers alike.
With the exception of the tyre
‘cemetery’ — which for some reason has yet be cleared — the Lake Pape area is
an enchanting place. It consists of a rich mosaic of wet meadows, grasslands,
forests, coastal lagoons, bogs, sand beaches, and dunes, which attract many
animals, such as wolf, lynx, otter, beaver, moose, red deer, roe deer, and wild
boar. It is also an important resting area for many migratory birds. In total,
271 bird species have been recorded around the lake, including the endangered
lesser spotted eagle, white-tailed eagle, and the lesser white-fronted goose.
But, what is really attracting
attention these days is the introduction of wild horses and other large
herbivores, such as the European bison (Bison bonasus) and the auroch (Bos
primigenius) — the ancestor of Europe’s domestic breed of cattle. (…) The
auroch, together with the wild horses and bison, have all been reintroduced in
the Lake Pape region by WWF, as part of a project that the global conservation
organization started in 1999 to restore the area’s natural ecosystem. (…)
Kyoto target within EU's grasp if all planned measures
and projects are implemented, projections show
Copenhagen, 21 December - The
European Union will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by slightly more than
required under the Kyoto Protocol provided that Member States implement all the
policies, measures and third-country projects they are planning and several cut
emissions by more than they have to.
Latest projections compiled by the European Environment Agency show that
the 15 pre-2004 EU Member States (the EU-15) should cut their total emissions
to 7.7% below 1990 levels by 2010 on the basis of existing domestic policies
and measures already being implemented and, more importantly, additional
policies and measures currently planned.
Plans by six EU-15 Member
States to use credits from emissions-saving projects in third countries through
the Kyoto Protocol's "flexible mechanisms" would contribute a further
reduction of around 1.1%, taking the total to 8.8%.
This is more than the 8%
decrease from 1990 levels that the EU-15 has committed itself to achieving by
2008-2012 under the Protocol to combat climate change.
Each
of the EU-15 countries also has an agreed, legally binding target for limiting
or cutting its own emissions to ensure the overall 8% reduction is met. But the
projections show that at present Denmark, Italy, Portugal and Spain are on
course for above-target emissions, some by a wide margin, even with use of the
Kyoto mechanisms and additional measures planned. Germany is in danger of
slightly exceeding its emission limit on the basis of existing policies and
measures. (…)
http://org.eea.eu.int/documents/newsreleases/ghg_emissions-trends2004-en
Brazil protects three million hectares of
Amazon forests
Efforts
by WWF in Brazil has helped create three million hectares of protected areas in
the Amazon.
Brasilia, Brazil, 23 December
- The Brazilian State of Amazonas, by far the largest state in the Brazilian
Amazon with some of its most intact forest and diverse landscapes, has
announced the creation of a mosaic of protected areas totalling over three
million hectares in the southern part of the state. WWF carried out technical
and scientific studies that contributed to the design of the protected areas,
provided material support for the development of a biodiversity conservation
strategy, and also funded the public consultations vital to the process. (…)
The Apui mosaic covers a
territory that is slightly less than the size of Belgium. It consists of nine
inter-connected conservation areas that fulfil various management objectives
and afford different levels of protection — two state parks emphasizing nature
protection, four state forests focusing on sustainable forest management, and
three extractive and sustainable use reserves that provide options for
traditional people and resource users to practice sustainable harvesting.
The measure is intended to
protect viable portions of the biological diversity of the region. At the same
time, it will help contain the unregulated advance of the agricultural frontier
and the illegal invasion of public land in the region, thus helping to bring
under control the deforestation that would otherwise occur. (…)
The World Bank launched an
80-million-euro (106-million-dollar) project to fight water pollution along
Croatia's Adriatic coast, the Balkan country's main tourism asset. The project,
to be implemented by the company Croatian Waters, is aimed at improving water
quality and protecting the ecology, public health and the development potential
of the important tourist sector. (…)
Over the next 10 to 15 years a
total of 177 coastal towns and municipalities will benefit from improved
wastewater treatment, discharge infrastructure and sanitary conditions because
of the project. The preservation of Croatia's natural resources is vital for
the local tourism industry, seen as a key to national economic growth in the
medium term. Croatia's tourism industry, which was hard-hit by the 1991-95
independence war, has gradually recovered to its pre-war levels. More than nine
million tourists visited Croatia in the first 10 months of 2004, six percent
more than the same period in 2003. The World Bank has funded 24 projects in
Croatia totalling more than 1.2 billion dollars since 1993. (Source: European
Water Management News, www.nwp.nl )
http://www.seeurope.net/en/Story.php?StoryID=54170&LangID=1
Tsunami
Relief Program: Education International aims to help relaunch the education
systems as soon as possible
11 January - Teachers unions in the region hit by the
tsunami suspect that over 75,000 teachers have been affected by the disaster. (…)
The aid provided by teachers unions worldwide, channeled through Education
International, will prioritise Indonesia and Sri Lanka. EI member organisations
in the region mobilised immediately in response to the disaster. Union members
provided humanitarian relief in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and are
now working to re-establish the education services.
At the initiative of Education
International an international trade union fact-finding mission will visit
Indonesia/Aceh and Sri Lanka on January 16-22. The mission will be led by
Education International's General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen. He will be
accompanied by representatives of EI member organisations and of the
international trade union movement. It is hoped that the mission will obtain
key information for the provision of further support for teachers and children
in the countries affected by the disaster and for the re-establishment of local
education facilities.
http://www.ei-ie.org/pub/english/pressrelease/20050111.htm
Thousands
of adult learners reached through multimedia programming
New York, 3 January – How do
you reach the 70 million adults in America in need of literacy education when
most cannot attend a class because of a job, a lack of transportation, or
childcare? If you are the Adult Literacy Media Alliance (ALMA), you tap the
popularity of television and develop fun programs with celebrities, athletes
and actors to capture viewer interest. (…) ALMA, based in New York and
celebrating its 10-year anniversary this month, created the nationally-televised
TV411 series as the backbone of its multimedia curriculum. That curriculum now
includes an interactive web site, print materials, and hands-on kits which have
helped thousands of adults gain the basic reading, writing, math, and life skills
needed to achieve their goals (…) Since
1994, ALMA has:
Produced 30 half-hour episodes
of TV411, currently being broadcast or cablecast nationwide (…) Joined with
dozens of public broadcasting stations to air TV411 more than 14,000
times.
Seen peak viewership of TV411
reach 85,000 viewers in a single day in New York City—more than all the adults
served by the City's adult literacy programs in a year.
Produced and distributed
700,000 copies of its magazine, "TV411 IN PRINT" (…)
Trained thousands of teachers,
administrators, and community members in 31 states (…)
ALMA receives support from
foundation, government, and industry partners.
http://main.edc.org/newsroom/press_releases/alma2005.asp
The Earth Charter – Progress report from
around the world
International consultation on Education for Sustainable Development
highlights the Earth Charter
Sweden, December - The report
of the International Consultation, Learning to change our world, organized
earlier this year by the Swedish Government in preparation for the UN Decade of
Education for Sustainable Development, was issued this month. The Earth Charter is mentioned a number of
times in this summary report. These include a reference to its role as an
international document of values and principles for sustainable development, a
recommendation to “Explore the use of
the Earth Charter as a major tool for teacher education curricula”, and a note
highlighting the Secretariat’s Online Resource Center (www.earthcharter.org/resources).
This report demonstrates the Earth Charter's significance in the forthcoming
Decade. For the Earth Charter Initiative, borrowing words from the Swedish
Prime Minister Göran Persson, we now need to “gather all the positive forces we
can and sharpen our action plans and practical tools”.
Asia Pacific Forum for Environment and Development
features the Earth Charter in its final report
Japan, December - The Asia Pacific Forum for
Environment and Development (APFED) final report included the Earth Charter
within their Guiding Principles for designing innovative policies, stating: “…that
achieving sustainability is not just a technical problem, but also based on
people's mentality, such policies would be most effectively designed around
ethical principles such as those advocated by the Earth Charter.” APFED aims to
address critical issues facing Asia and the Pacific region and to propose a new
model for equitable sustainable development of the region. More
information.
The Institute of Modern Languages is planning to use the Earth Charter
in Spanish lessons
The University of Queensland is
preparing teaching resources to assist Spanish teachers in the Institute of
Modern Languages and two other independent secondary schools in Queensland to
teach Spanish. The Earth Charter’s text is being used as a source of rich
content that will be at the basis of student learning. More information.
A
network magazine is calling for artistic contributions around the Earth Charter
principles
The Friour Project, a network
magazine based on the principles of the Earth Charter, started at the end of
2002 as a reaction against the war preparations on Iraq. It was conceived as a
zone to link different networks together and also open to individual artists
and poets. It was also conceived as a
shared magazine, meaning that different networkers could produce an issue of
the magazine based on a theme related with peace efforts in the world.
This magazine is now promoting
the participation of all artists around the world in expressing the Earth
Charter principles through visuals, as well as poetry and texts. Reception of documents will end on June 30th,
2005. All works will be published in
the new issue of the Friour Network Magazine. Further
information.
United States, December 2004 - Hillsborough Community College, University
of Tampa and The International Network have recently joined the Earth Charter
Quality of Life Indicators Project.
Part of the methodology of this project is to celebrate community forums
with deeper discussions on the question, "What makes life worthwhile for
you?" in various geographic locations. Student Activities Directors at
each campus will be encouraged to have all student organizations participate in
the indicators' surveys as well as to have students participate in helping with
the project for community hours credit.
More
information.
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