Sabah Softwoods: Model For Human-wildlife Co-existence

Nashir Mansor, Bernama 22 Mar 10;

TAWAU, March 22 (Bernama) -- These days, it is common to hear about wild elephants foraging and rampaging into villages, destroying crops including rubber and oil palm trees.

There were also reports about tiger attacks on villagers in their rubber orchards and incidences of flash floods and landslips that damaged properties apart from causing fatalities.

These phenomena are actually consequences of the conflict between mankind and mother nature that have created debates particularly at the international level when it is linked to the economy of a certain nation.

Entry of tropical wood or its products and derivatives are facing stricter conditions in Europe, United States and Japan as it is linked to the non-environmental friendly logging of timber and other forest resources.

The campaign against palm oil and its products are being aggressively carried out in Europe and Japan as the exporting countries are believed to have cleared forests for the creation of oil palm estates, endangering the wildlife habitat.

CO-EXISTENCE

Can the conflict between man and nature be halted? Can they co-exist?

Maybe it is easier said than done, but Sabah Softwoods Berhad (SSB), a Sabah government investment agency involved in rapid-growing wood (softwood) plantation since 1973, has taken steps to find a solution to this conflict.

SSB, one of the subsidiaries of Sabah Foundation's Innoprise Corporation Sdn Bhd that ventured into planting fast-growing trees such as Acacia mangium, Albizia falcataria and Gmelina arborea, has been trying to create the harmonious co-existence between man and wildlife.

For this matter, SSB had set aside 2,680 hectares of the agency's more than 60,000 hectares of land in Tawau (of which 27,533 hectares are planted with wood for commercial purposes) for the High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) that must be left untouched.

The move is to conserve the flora and fauna ecology in that area apart from protecting the water catchment and wildlife sanctuary.

With the existence of the HCVF, SSB has created the wildlife corridor that enables wildlife like elephants and Orang Utan to move freely in and out of the wood estate.

MAN AND NATURE

According to SSB general manager (Timber Operations) Dominic Rusman Dambul, HCVF represents some 10 per cent of the whole wood estate and its presence is an attempt to create a balance between man and nature.

The SSB officers that carried out an inventory of flora and fauna in that area found more than 60 species of reptiles and birds there.

There are also various wood of value such as 'kayu bulian', 'seraya' and 'kayu selangan batu' growing well in that particular area.

The softwoods plantation is itself a forest as the trees take nine to 10 years to be fully grown before harvesting, the area also benefits wildlife such as the elephants and Orang Utan that make the plantation their habitat apart from the HCVF.

THREAT BY JUMBOS

"So far we have detected the presence of three herds of wild pygmy elephants that frequent the plantation. The elephants, that number no less than 40, have their own route.

"We do not disturb their paths in order to prevent them from following new tracks. We also do not disturb these elephants if we see them. So far they have not threaten people in the estate and did not damage the properties," he said.

According to Dominic, one of the wild elephant herds that frequent the plantation had earlier numbered only two but now there are three including a calf.

"This means the number of elephants is increasing," he said.

"We have also came across the Orang Utan on the acacia trees while others also carry their young. It appears that the wildlife is getting used to the estate workers," said Dominic.

He said even though the wild animals were fequently seen in the plantation, they did little or insignificant damage to the SSB trees.

Dominic said in 2006, the SSB with the assistance from Sabah Wildlife Protection Department had relocated seven pygmy elephants to Kuamut Forset Reserve at the cost of RM200,000.

However, even after the relocation the pygmy elephants still frequented the estate with the possible inclusion of the jumbos moved earlier.

Taking into account that the mammals did little damage to the estate nor did they threaten the safety of workers there, the SSB management decided to leave alone the elephants.

NATURE COMES FIRST

The compliance on environmental conservation apart from the commercialisation of estate resources are among the factors that enabled the SSB to be accorded the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certificate by the United State's-based Scientific Certification System (SCS) on Set 25, 2007.

With this certificate, SSB's wood and wood products such as sawn wood and woodchips are accepted and free to enter the market in Europe, United States and Japan without the imposition of any ban related to environmental destruction issue.

Dominic said there are 10 principles that need to be adhered by the SSB before being accorded the certificate and among them are the preservation of the natives' rights, community relations and the workers' rights, benefit from the forest, environmental impact, estate management plan, monitoring and maintenance of the HCVF.

He said it took four years before the SSB was awarded the certificate. The effort was initiated in 2003 and since then officers of the accrediting body had visited the plantation regularly to observe, monitor and analyse whether the agency had adhered to the conditions required.

"In Malaysia, maybe the SSB is the only agency that receives this international recognition," said Dominic.

FACILITIES

The SSB estate is located between Tawau and Kalabakan, some one hour journey from Tawau town. The estate employs 1,257 workers including eight who are disabled.

Apart from being compliant to environmental conservation requirements, the agency also places importance on the welfare of its workers by providing the basic facilities such as free housing, power and treated water supply for their comfort.

Among the other facilities available are school, kindergarten, field and playground, place of worship for different religions, nine-hole golf course, rest house for guests and a stadium which is under construction.

The first harvest was made in 1982 and up to last year, SSB had harvested 6.65 million cubic metres of wood and retains its sustainable wood production of 360,000 cubic metres of wood a month.

SSB was awarded the Caring Employer Award by the Sabah Manpower Department and the national-level 'Ladang Bahagia' Award from the Human Resources Ministry presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on May 2, 2009 at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

-- BERNAMA

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70 percent of mangrove forests in Pohuwato damaged

Antara 22 Mar 10;

Gorontalo (ANTARA News) - Some 70 percent of the total 25,688 hectares of mangrove forest in Pohuwato district, Gorontalo, were damaged, a source of the local community said.

"The opening of fish ponds in Pohuwato has contributed to the damage of mangrove forests in he area," Iwan Abbay, chairman of the local community concerned about the condition of the mangrove forests area, said here on Monday.

Iwan said Pohuwato district were used to own a large scale of mangrove area. In fact, Pohuwato was claimed as the biggest buffer zone for Tomini bay area which includes Gorontalo province and half part of North Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi provinces respectively.

According to data from local managing board for river basins s (DAS) in 2007, of the total 25,688 hectares of mangrove forests in Pohuwato district, 14,017 hectares were heavily damaged and 7,546 hectares slightly damaged. Only 4,123 hectares of the mangrove forests are still on good condition.

Mangrove forests protect coastal areas against erosion, storms (hurricanes), and the tsunamis. The mangrove`s massive root system is efficient at dissipating wave energy. Likewise, they slow down tidal waves so that sediment is deposited as the tide comes in, leaving all except fine particles during low tide.

In this way, mangrove crops build their own environment. Because of the uniqueness of mangrove ecosystems and the protection against erosion that they provide, they are often the object of conservation programs including national Biodiversity Action Plans.
(*)

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"One billion Indonesian trees for world" launched

Antara 22 Mar 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government has launched a more massive tree planting program called "One Billion Indonesian Trees for the World", according to the forestry ministry.

The new program was kicked off following successes in previous programs such as `Indonesian Contemporaneously Planting Action` (2007 and 2008), `Women`s Movement of Tree Planting and Caring` (2007), `Indonesian Tree Planting Day launching` and `the National Planting Month (2008)`, and `One Man One Tree`, the forestry ministry said in a statement received by ANTARA here on Monday.

The government has allocated a DIPA BA budget for procurement of 36 million seedlings this year and hopes to get 300 million more from the private sector, state companies, NGOs, regional governments and other donors.

Additional 320 million seedlings are expected to be received from Community and Rural Forest program, 300 million from Forest and River Basin Rehabilitation program, and 50 million from People`s Forest Partnership program.

The "One Billion Indonesian Trees for the World" program is also aimed at improving the welfare of the people especially those living near forest areas, according to the forestry ministry.

The ministry urged the Indonesian people to participate in the program.

"In the next five to 10 years, the Indonesian people will enjoy the beauty of a green Indonesia with prosperous and disaster-free people," the statement said.(*)

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Bangladesh Needs Action On Arsenic-Tainted Water: U.N.

Ruma Paul, PlanetArk 23 Mar 10;

Bangladesh must act quickly to combat arsenic contamination in water and food affecting at least 20 million people, a U.N. agency said Monday, decades after a well-meant plan for clean water became a public health disaster.

A recent survey by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and the United Nations children's fund (UNICEF) showed that 12.6 percent of Bangladesh households, or about 20 million people, still drink water containing arsenic above the government's recommendation of no more than 50 micrograms per liter.

Arsenic is a naturally occurring chemical poisonous to humans and is known to cause skin lesions and cancers of the bladder, kidney, lungs and skin.

Bangladesh has set a target of supplying safe water for all its people by 2011. A report by environment experts on arsenic contamination was released in Dhaka Monday.

"Urgent action is needed to re-focus the attention of the nation toward an arsenic-safe environment," said Renata Lok Dessallien, U.N. resident coordinator in Bangladesh.

"Concerted efforts by the government and all stakeholders are necessary to reinvigorate arsenic monitoring and mitigation efforts and conduct comprehensive research on emerging threats."

Millions of small tube wells were dug across Bangladesh from the late 1970s, with the help of international agencies like UNICEF, as an answer to dirty surface water which caused widespread gastrointestinal diseases.

Organic carbon can trigger the release of arsenic from sediments into groundwater. Studies have recommended against using groundwater in man-made ponds and rice fields.

"We have taken steps to ensure the proper management of surface water, including rainwater conservation," agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury told reporters.

"We will have to augment the use of surface water and simultaneously limit the use of both surface and groundwater to reduce accumulation of arsenic in crops and food sources," Chowdhury said.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh suffer from skin lesions and experts have warned for years that Bangladesh can expect more cases of cancer if its people continue drinking arsenic-contaminated water.

According to the World Health Organization, arsenic-contaminated water directly affects the health of 35 million people in Bangladesh.

Arsenic is widely distributed throughout the earth's crust and is introduced into water through the dissolution of minerals and ores.

(Editing by Anis Ahmed and Paul Tait)

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More deaths from unsafe water than from war: UN

Yahoo News 22 Mar 10;

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – More people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Monday in a message to mark World Water Day.

"These deaths are an affront to our common humanity, and undermine the efforts of many countries to achieve their development potential," the UN boss added.

"Day after day, we pour millions of tons of untreated sewage and industrial and agricultural wastes into the world's water systems," he said, noting that clean water has become scarce and would be even scarcer as a result of climate change.

The theme of this year's World Water Day, "Clean Water for a Healthy World," highlights the fact that both the quality and the quantity of water resources are at risk.

Ban stressed that the world has the know-how to solve the challenge and urged nations to "become better stewards of our water resources."

The issue was also discussed at a high-level interactive dialogue of the UN General Assembly here Monday.

"Without water, there will be no prospects for achieving all MDGs (Millennium Development Goals)," UN under secretary general for economic and social affairs Sha Zukang told the gathering.

At a 2000 summit here, world leaders set a 2015 deadline for achieving key poverty-reduction millenium development goals.

These include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases and ensuring environmental sustainability.

Over 155 million without potable water in West, central Africa: UNICEF
Yahoo News 22 Mar 10;

DAKAR (AFP) – More than 155 million people, or 39 percent of the population in West and Central Africa, do not have access to potable water, the UN's children's agency UNICEF said Monday on World Water Day.

This region has the lowest coverage of potable water in the world, housing 18 percent of the world's population with no access to drinking water.

"Five years to the 2015 deadline for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the water and sanitation situation in West and Central Africa remains a major concern," UNICEF said in a statement.

According to the organisation only eight of 24 countries in the region are on track to meet water target goals -- Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cap Verde, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea et Mali).

"The total number of people in the region without access to improved drinking-water sources actually increased over the 1990-2008 period from 126 million people to 155 million."

This means that despite an improvement in coverage from 49 percent in 1990 to 61 percent in 2008 -- countries needed to reach 75 percent by 2015.

"More than 155 million people (39 percent) were without access to improved drinking-water sources in 2008 and the small pace of increase failed to keep pace with the expanding population in the region," read the statement.

Six countries have less than 50 percent drinking water coverage: Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Niger, Mauritania and Sierra Leone.

Also of concern is the fact that 291 million people in West and Central Africa have access to no sanitation at all - in the region with the highest under-five mortality rate of all developing regions at 169 child deaths per 1,000 live births.

World Water Day 2010 Highlights Solutions and Calls for Action to Improve Water Quality Worldwide
UNEP 22 Mar 10;

Nairobi (Kenya), 22 March 2010 - Investment in safe water will have high returns in ensuring a healthy ecosystem and human society, says a new report released today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) during the global World Water Day celebrations in Nairobi.

An investment of US$20 million in low-cost water technologies, such as drip irrigation and treadle pumps, could lift 100 million poor farming families out of extreme poverty, according to the report, Clearing the Waters: A Focus on Water Quality Solutions'.

It adds that repairing leaky water and sewage networks can also secure not only supplies but reduce pollution and generate employment. In some developing countries, 50-60 per cent of treated water is lost to leaks and globally an average of 35 per cent is lost. By some estimates, saving just half of this amount would supply water to 90 million people without further investment.

But while there are solutions, much more needs to be done, notes the UNEP report. The facts are:

* Globally, 2 million tons of sewage and industrial and agricultural waste are poured into the world's waters every day;

* At least 1.8 million children under five years-old die every year from water-related diseases, or one every 20 seconds;

* Every day, millions of tons of inadequately treated sewage and industrial agricultural wastes are poured into the world's waters;

* More people die as a result of polluted water than are killed by all forms of violence, including wars;

* Over half of the world's hospital beds are occupied with people suffering from illnesses linked with contaminated water.

Adeel Zafar, Chair of UN-Water said: "Water quality impacts the lives of millions of people worldwide every year - a majority of them under the age of 5. We are happy that this year's World Water Day puts great emphasis on this delicate issue which is so much reflected in the Millennium Development Goals. The MDGs stress clearly the importance of safe water and sanitation. UN-Water, as the coordination mechanism the United Nations community, puts great emphasis to support worldwide efforts for improving water quality and restoring degraded water ecosystems."

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNEP, said: "Human activity over the past 50 years is responsible for unprecedented pollution, and the quality of the world's water resources is increasingly challenged. World Water Day highlights how the work of improving and sustaining the world's water quality is everyone's responsibility. It may seem like an overwhelming challenge but there are enough solutions where human ingenuity allied to technology and investments in nature's purification systems such as wetlands, forests and mangroves can deliver clean water for a healthy world."

The Chair of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, His Royal Highness Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands said in his key note speech that "Each year, World Water Day gains more momentum and spurs thousands of local initiatives around the world - in schools, in churches, in communities. Its emphasis on local action is what gives World Water its power and beauty. We know that no single global instrument can ensure our most important common good is saved. Water must be protected locally."

Under the theme 'Clean Water for a Healthy World', World Water Day 2010 will see a series of initiatives organized around the globe to raise awareness and emphasize the key importance of good water quality in improving human well-being.

The global event aims to bring attention to the state of water quality around the world, and is a call for action on pollution prevention, clean-up, and restoration of waterways in order to sustain healthy ecosystems and human well-being.

At the three-day flagship event in Nairobi on World Water from 20 to 22 March, policy makers, scientists and eminent personalities will discuss how to address the challenges of degrading water quality around the world, release new research and visit sites in Kenya to understand the critical importance of water quality for ecosystem functioning, human well-being and livelihoods.

Central to World Water Day 2010 is the launch of the UN-Water Statement, a consensus document of 26 UN agencies and other partners, scientists, and practitioners, pointing out the state of the world's water and defining the will and the way forward. In the morning a panel of international scientists will present and release a scientific communiqué on global water quality and a high-level panel will convene in the afternoon to respond to the UN-Water Statement on Water Quality as part of the World Water Day proceedings in Nairobi.

The outcomes of the event will be presented into key global political processes and meetings such as the UN General Assembly; the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD); the Convention on Biological Diversity; and Stockholm World Water Week.

More specifically, UNEP's report 'Clearing the Waters' report also feeds into the discussion by detailing how water quality is as important as water quantity for satisfying human and environmental needs, yet has received far less investment, scientific support, and public attention.

Prepared in collaboration with the Pacific Institute, one of the world's leading non-profit research organizations on freshwater issues, the UNEP report is part of the World Water Day 2010 effort to bring global attention to the need for clean, safe water - and action and policy to address water pollution.

The report calls for worldwide action to:

* Increase awareness to change individual behavior around what we put into our water;

* Promote policies that improve water quality with education and advocacy;

* Increase enforcement of the regulations put in place to protect water quality;

* Put investor and consumer pressure on corporations that pollute waterways.

'Clearing the Waters' emphasizes the urgent need to act to improve and safeguard water quality:

* Human health, the planet's ecosystems, our livelihoods, and our future all depend on clean, safe water - yet every year, the world's lakes, rivers, and deltas take in the equivalent of the entire human population - the weight of 6.8 billion people - in the form of pollution.

* In the last three decades of the 20th century, populations of freshwater species fell 50 per cent on average, a rate two-thirds greater than that of terrestrial and marine species. In recent years, the biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems has been degraded more than any other ecosystem, including tropical rainforests.

* One of the most significant sources of water pollution is lack of adequate sanitation. Worldwide, the World Health Organization and UNICEF estimate that 2.6 billion people - 280 million of them children under five - live without improved sanitation, and each year more than 1.5 million children die from diarrhea caused by infectious waterborne diseases. It is a crisis of local challenges with global repercussions.

* Worldwide, it is estimated that industry is responsible for dumping 300-400 million tons of heavy metals, solvents, toxic sludge, and other waste into waters each year. New contaminants, such as discarded pharmaceuticals, also threaten water quality and human and ecosystem health.

* The planet's most widespread water-quality problem is nutrient enrichment. Largely caused by nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural runoff and human and industrial waste, nutrient enrichment results in excessive plant (principally algae) growth and decay that robs the water of oxygen needed for many aquatic organisms to survive.

The report notes that it is almost always cheaper to prevent pollution than clean it up - and poor water quality has significant economic costs, from ecosystem and human-health costs and impacts on economic activities to increased water treatment costs and reduced property values.

For example, economic losses as a result of health impacts from the lack of water and sanitation in Africa are estimated at US$28.4 billion, or about 5 percent of GDP. And sanitation and drinking water investments have high rates of return: for every US$ 1 invested, there is a projected US$3-US$34 economic development return.

Freshwater ecosystems sustain a large number of identified species, including a quarter of known vertebrates. Such systems provide more than US$75 billion in goods and ecosystem services for people, but are increasingly threatened by a host of water quality problems.

Also on World Water Day, UNEP and UN-Habitat launched the report 'Sick Water - The Central Role of Wastewater Management in Sustainable Development', which shows that an estimated 90 percent of all wastewater in developing countries is currently discharged untreated directly into rivers, lakes or the oceans. Currently, an estimated 245,000 kilometers of marine ecosystems are affected with a clear impact on fisheries, livelihoods and the overall food chain.

World Water Day supports the United Nations' declaration of 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, working to reduce the constant loss of biological diversity worldwide. UNEP is the coordinating agency for World Water Day 2010 on behalf of UN-Water, collaborating with 26 members from the UN System and external partners representing various organizations and civil society.

Notes to Editors:

About World Water Day:

The UN General Assembly designated the first World Water Day in 1993, and each subsequent year the March 22 event has highlighted a specific aspect of freshwater sustainability. Over the years, World Water Days have focused on transboundary waters, sanitation, coping with water scarcity, and water and culture. The annual World Water Day is coordinated by UN-Water, a coordination mechanism of 26 UN agencies working on water. UNEP with its strong environmental focus was designated the lead for World Water Day 2010.

For 2010, 'Clean Water for a Healthy World' initiatives around the world focus on water quality challenges and solutions, with the central event organized by UNEP in Nairobi, Kenya on 20-22 March.

The World Water Day 2010 theme of "Clean Water for a Healthy World" calls attention to Millennium Development Goal No.7, to ensure environmental sustainability, particularly in:

-integrating principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reversing the loss of environmental resources (Target 1);

-significantly reducing biodiversity loss and rate of loss (Target 2);

-halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015 (Target 3); and

-achieving significant improvements in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020 (Target 4).

Worldwide, events are planned to mark World Water Day 2010 and activities on water quality to further "Clean Water for a Healthy World" will be ongoing throughout the year.

For a list of international events, to add an event and to access outreach materials and further information, visit www.unwater.org/worldwaterday.

For more information on how individuals can participate in World Water Day 2010 and address challenges to the world's water quality, visit: www.worldwaterday2010.info.

About the Nairobi World Water Day event:

The flagship celebration of World Water Day at the UNEP/UN-Habitat headquarters in Nairobi on 20-22 March is jointly hosted by UNEP, UN-Habitat, the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB), and the Government of Kenya.

The event will bring together scientists from around the world for a panel on 'Water Quality Challenges and Responses' and will also include site visits to Lake Victoria, Kibera/Nairobi River and the Kenyan Coast in order to illustrate the critical importance of water quality for ecosystem functioning, human well-being and livelihoods.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will deliver a message for World Water Day 2010, and the afternoon's keynote address will be delivered by His Royal Highness Prince Willem Alexander of Orange, Netherlands, who serves as the Chair of UNSGAB.

Clearing the Waters: A Focus on Water Quality Solutions (pdf)

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Waste Water Kills Millions Of Children, Pollutes Sea

Tim Cocks, PlanetArk 23 Mar 10;

Human beings are flushing millions of tonnes of solid waste into rivers and oceans every day, poisoning marine life and spreading diseases that kill millions of children annually, the U.N. said on Monday.

"The sheer scale of dirty water means more people now die from contaminated and polluted water than from all forms of violence including wars," the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said.

In a report entitled "Sick Water" for World Water Day, UNEP said the two million tonnes of waste, which contaminates over two billion tonnes of water daily, had left huge "dead zones" that choke coral reefs and fish.

It consists mostly of sewage, industrial pollution, pesticides from agriculture and animal waste.

The report said a lack of clean water was killing 1.8 million children under five every year. Much of the waste came from developing countries, which dump 90 percent of their wastewater untreated.

Diarrhoea, mostly from dirty water, kills around 2.2 million people a year, it said, and "over half the world's hospital beds are occupied with people suffering from illnesses linked with contaminated water."

The report recommends water recycling systems and multi-million or multi-billion dollar water sewage treatment works".

It also suggests protecting wetlands, which act as natural waste processors, and saving animal waste to use as fertilizer.

"If the world is to ... survive on a planet of six billion people heading to over nine billion by 2050, we need to get smarter about how we manage wastewaters," said UNEP director Achim Steiner. "Wastewater is quite literally killing people."

(Editing by Ralph Boulton)

Time to Cure Global Tide of Sick Water
UNEP 22 Mar 10;

Turning Two Millions Tons of Waste - Equal to Over Two Billion Tons of Wastewater - into Economic Resource Could Benefit Human Health, Agriculture and the Environment

Nairobi (Kenya), 22 March 2010 - Transforming wastewater from a major health and environmental hazard into a clean, safe and economically-attractive resource is emerging as a key challenge in the 21st century.

It is a challenge that will continue to intensify as the world undergoes rapid urbanization, industrialization and increasing demand for meat and other foods unless decisive action is taken says a new United Nations report released today.

Urban populations are projected to nearly double in 40 years, from current 3.4 billion to over six billion people - but already most cities lack adequate wastewater management due to aging, absent or inadequate sewage infrastructure.

The new report, called Sick Water?, says some two million tons of waste, estimated to equal two or more billion tons of wastewater (see notes to editors) is being discharged daily into rivers and seas spreading disease to humans and damaging key ecosystems such as coral reefs and fisheries.

Wastewater is a cocktail of fertilizer run-off and sewage disposal alongside animal, industrial, agricultural and other wastes.

The report says that the sheer scale of dirty water means more people now die from contaminated and polluted water than from all forms of violence including wars. Dirty water is also a key factor in the rise of de-oxygenated dead zones that have been emerging in seas and oceans across the globe.

Yet many of the substances that make wastewater a pollutant - for example nitrogen and phosphorus- can also be useful as fertilizers for agriculture. Wastewater can also generate gases to fuel small power stations or be used for cooking.

The report notes that already some 10 per cent of the world's population is being supplied with food grown using wastewater for irrigation and fertilizer and with better management and training of farmers this could be increased substantially.

The report, launched to coincide with World Water Day, goes so far as to say that the concentration of nutrients in wastewater "could supply much of the nitrogen and much of the phosphorous and potassium normally required for crop production. Other valuable micro-nutrients and organic matter contained in the effluent would also provide benefits".

Some Solutions

The report underlines that reducing the volume and concentrations of wastewater will require multiple actions ranging from reducing run-off from livestock and croplands to better treatment of human wastes.

Some solutions may involve water recycling systems and multi-million or multi-billion dollar water sewage treatment works: the report cites the success of those installed in the Bali coastal resort of Nusa Dua in Indonesia.

Others may involve investing and re-investing in nature's natural purification systems which include wetlands, mangroves and salt marshes.

Studies in the Mississippi valley of the United States indicate that the value of a restored wetland may be as high as over $1,000 a hectare if its full range of services, from water filtration to recreational use, is factored in.

Establishing markets and economic instruments for such services could offer the kind of financial incentives that favour conservation and restoration over draining wetlands for farmland.

Other solutions can be small-scale: The report cites the coral coast of Fiji where it was estimated that up to 40 per cent of harmful nutrients being discharged into the marine environment were from pigs, which produce three times more concentrated nitrogen waste than humans.

Sawdust beds which soak up the liquid run-off from pig pens have now been introduced, and soiled sawdust is shipped to nearby farms as fertilizer. Emissions to coastal waters have been cut and the farmers are pleased too.

This is because the more comfortable sawdust beds seem to make the pigs happier and thus bigger, so farmers have more meat to sell.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said: "If the world is to thrive, let alone to survive on a planet of six billion people heading to over nine billion by 2050, we need to get collectively smarter and more intelligent about how we manage waste including wastewaters".

"The facts and figures are stark - pollution from wastewater is quite literally killing people, indeed at least 1.8 million children die annually as a result of contaminated water. The impacts on the wider environment and in particular the marine environment are also sobering," he added.

"But the report also points to the abundant Green Economy opportunities for turning a mounting challenge into an opportunity with multiple benefits. These include the savings from reduced fertilizer costs for farmers and, incentives for conserving ecological infrastructure such as wetlands alongside new business and employment opportunities in engineering and natural resource management," Mr Steiner said.

Mrs Anna Tibajuka, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, said: "Urban and industrial wastewater composed of sediment, nutrients, organic matter, trace metals and pesticides, among others, adversely affects the entire food chain and thus human health".

"Many water and sanitation utilities, especially in developing countries, are forced to spend more financial resources in water treatment due to increased pollution. Excess nutrients and wastewater can also lead to uncontrolled growth of algae and aquatic plants such as water hyacinth which cause practical problems for marine transportation, fishing and at intakes for water, hydro power and irrigation schemes," she added.

"It is my hope that activities taking place globally today will raise public awareness of the water quality challenges facing humanity, and the need to commit to concrete remedial actions at all levels," said Mrs Tibajuka.

Christian Nellemann, a lead author on the report, added: "Some estimates suggest that around 2 million tons of waste are spilled into sewage systems every day: this may be producing well over two billion tons of polluted water every single day, 365 days a year, right into our freshwaters and oceans".

The Rapid Response Assessment, entitled "Sick water? The central role of wastewater management in sustainable development", has been compiled by a special taskforce consisting of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), and the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB).

It has also involved experts from UN Water and UNEP's GRID Arendal in Norway and was launched today at UNEP headquarters and at the World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro in support of this year's World Water Day with the theme Clean Water for a Healthy World.

The report shows that the impact of poor wastewater management and degrading sewage systems is not only costing billions of dollars and degrading ecosystems, it is also challenging the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, sustainable development, jobs, labour productivity and the health of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

Conversely, a recent report by the UNEP Green Economy Initiative underlined the economic benefits of investing in this resource. It argues that every dollar invested in safe water and sanitation has a pay back of $3 to $34 depending on the region and the technology deployed.

Some Facts and Figures from the Report

* At least 1.8 million children under five years-old die every year from water related disease, which is one child every 20 seconds.

* It is estimated that close to 90 per cent of diarrhoea cases, killing some 2.2 million people every year, is caused by unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene.

* Over 50 per cent of malnutrition cases globally are associated with diarrhoea or intestinal worm infections. Diarrhoeal diseases come second after respiratory infections in terms of labour productivity lost due to illness.

* Over half the world's hospitals beds are occupied with people suffering from illnesses linked with contaminated water.

* Almost 900 million people currently lack access to safe drinking water, and an estimated 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have the highest proportion, with around 221 million and 330 million respectively living without basic sanitation.

* 90 per cent of the wastewater in developing countries discharged daily is untreated. 80% of all marine pollution is land based ? most of it wastewater, damaging coral reefs and fishing grounds

* Each day each one of us uses ? and discards ? some 150-600 litres of water ? 60-150 litres per person per day in developing countries to 500-800 litre per person per day in the industrialized world

* People in the industrialized world generate 5 times more wastewater per person than in developing countries ? but treat over 90% of the wastewater compared to only a few percent in developing countries

* Improved wastewater management has resulted in significant environmental improvements in many European rivers, but dead zones in the oceans are still spreading worldwide

* Agriculture accounts for some 70-90% of all water consumed, mainly for irrigation. But large amounts also return to rivers in terms of run-off ? near half of all organic matter in wastewater comes from agriculture

* Industrial wastes, pesticides from agriculture and tailings from mining also create serious health risks and threats to water resources, costing billions of dollars to monitor, much more to clean.

* Use of bottled water is increasing, but it takes 3 litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water ? and in the USA alone an additional 17 million barrels of oil.

* Worldwide 200 000 million litres of water are produced every year, creating also an enormous waste problem from spent plastic bottles.

*

* 20 million tons of phosphate is mined to fertilize crops, and there are concerns that natural phosphate may become scarcer over the coming decades.

* Nearly half of the agricultural phosphate applied is washed away and ends up rivers and oceans where it plays a part in triggering algae blooms that in turn damage ecosystems and fish stocks

* The area of dead zones - locations of reduced or absent oxygen levels - has now grown to cover 245,000 km2 of the marine environment including in North America; the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.

* Wastewater also generates methane, a climate gas 21 times more powerful than C02. It is also generating nitrous oxide which is 310 times more powerful than C02.

* It is estimated that wastewater-linked emissions of methane and nitrous oxide will rise by 25 per cent and 50 per cent respectively in just a decade.

* Climate change may aggravate the problem with droughts concentrating wastewater pollution in rivers and lakes and increased flooding overwhelming ageing sewage infrastructure in cities and towns.

The report provides six major recommendations:

* Countries should adopt a multisectoral approach, including ecosystem management, to cope with rising wastewater production

* Countries must establish national plans from water source to ocean and create national to local strategies. Over 70% of the water is consumed by agriculture for irrigation.

* Financing and investment are urgently needed and must address design, ecosystem restoration, construction, operation and maintenance of waste water infrastructure. Public management of the water supply and wastewater management have provided best results for broad public benefit, with private sector mainly beneficial in improving operation and maintenance

* Communities and nations should plan for increasing incidents of extreme weather and rising urbanization in the future.

* For effective waste water management, social, cultural, environmental and economical aspects must be carefully considered

* Education has a crucial role to play in water and wastewater management, helping to ensure water, nutrients and future opportunities for employment and development are not wasted.



Notes to Editors

The report "Sick water ? the central role of wastewater management for sustainable development" can be accessed at www.unep.org or at www.grida.no including high and low resolution graphics for free use in publications. Credits and sources for the photographs can be found at the back of the report.

2 billion tons of wastewater versus two million tons of waste: The two million tons relates to the dry weight of the solids and other materials entering rivers and the marine environment. Two billion tons or more estimates the weight of both the solids and the contaminated water itself.

The calculation is:-2 million tons of waste and 1,500 km3 of wastewaterper year which is 4.1 km3 per day - which is 2 billion tons or more daily depending on the definition of wastewater.

Further Resources

Full Report: Sick water? The central role of wastewater management in sustainable development (pdf)

Sick Water? website

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Why business needs to worry about water

Peter Brabeck-Letmanthe, Chairman, Nestle BBC Green Room 22 Mar 10;

Monday is World Water Day, but I suspect relatively few will have noticed.

While the world is rightly moving to address the challenges presented by climate change and depleting supplies of fossil fuels, the same awareness and consensus does not exist when it comes to addressing our usage of water. Yet the harsh fact is that we will probably run out of water long before we run out of fuel.

We need to act fast, now.

Most people equate water consumption with what they use in their homes and places of work, but the challenge facing the globe goes much, much further than that. The 2030 Water Resources Group, a collaboration between the private and social sectors to discover solutions to combat water scarcity, estimates that global water requirements will grow by over 50% over the next 20 years. Such levels of usage will be 40% greater than what can currently be sustainably supplied.

Of course this global figure is an aggregation: at a more local level the situation is far worse. For example, by 2030 one third of the global population, mainly concentrated in developing countries, will have only half the amount of naturally renewed water available they need.

More than tap

What most consumers might not be aware of is that agriculture accounts for 70% of global water usage today, and how the need to feed the growing population of the world will put an even greater strain on already scarce water resources.

And in recent years food and water supplies have also been significantly affected by the use of agricultural land and resources on the production of biofuels.

The 2030 Water Resources Group also predicts that industrial use of water will almost double by 2030. It currently accounts for 16% of total usage - more than half of it for energy production - and this will grow to a projected 22% by 2030 with China alone accounting for 40% of the additional demand.

The challenge facing governments, businesses and - arguably - all of us, is how to close the gap in supply in a way that is both environmentally sustainable and economically viable. At the moment we are coping by 'borrowing' water supplies from non-replenishable aquifers or from water reserved for environmental needs, an approach which is clearly not a long-term solution.

Crop per drop

Efficiency lies at the heart of debate, just as with climate change. Yet while great strides have been made around carbon, the track record of water efficiency from both agriculture and industry does not inspire confidence: between 1990 and 2004 the annual rate of efficiency improvement in both sectors was approximately only 1%.

Agricultural productivity has the potential therefore to play a fundamental role and increasing the "crop per drop" is vital, particularly in the developing world.

There are measures such as no-till farming, improved drainage and utilisation of the best seeds that may even have a positive return for farmers. The water cost curve of the 2030 Water Resources Group
provides the tools for comprehensive, cost effective strategies.

Microfinance

Within an overall strategy, the buyers of the farmers' produce can also play their part by offering their suppliers training, technical assistance and even microfinance to help them improve water efficiency. This is an approach we have taken at Nestle where, for example, we provide more than $30m worth of micro-credit loans yearly to more than 600,000 farmers worldwide.

Just as microfinance can help farmers, policymakers, financiers and the private sector can do more to ensure that those willing to improve their water footprint at the macro level are given the opportunity - and capital - to do so.

Efficiency must also be a focus for industry and those responsible for planning and managing economic development. Companies and governments are often quick to trumpet their energy efficiency achievements, but too few have taken the same approach with water.

The sooner governments, industry and consumers start to see the links between energy, food and water security, and how policies in one area affect another, the more likely it is that water scarcity will get the profile it deserves and that we start acting decisively to assure the sustainability of humankind's most precious resource, water.

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Hong Kong, Taiwan Suffer From Chinese Sandstorms

PlanetArk 23 Mar 10;

Hong Kong's harbor was cloaked in thick smog on Monday as air pollution soared to record levels ahead of the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament this weekend, the city's premier sporting event.

Taiwan, too, was hit by what are being called the worst sandstorms in 25 years, though particulate levels had declined on Monday and there were no findings of airborne toxins.

Sandstorms from northern China were mostly blamed, with a second dust storm hitting Beijing on Monday, though state media said it was not as severe as Saturday's, which blanketed the city with a layer of fine dust and turned the sky orange.

The official Xinhua news agency said the sand, carried by strong winds, had also affected Inner Mongolia, as well as Shanxi and Hebei provinces.

Hong Kong's environmental protection department said local air pollution indices soared to levels of around 500, smashing the previous record of 202 recorded in July 2008. A reading above 51 is considered high.

People with heart and lung diseases were urged to avoid outdoor activities amid what were described as "severe" readings.

Hong Kong experts are studying the contents of the latest smog but a public health academic warned it came after a week of serious air pollution.

"We don't know what this air is made of ... but it is possible that it is not as toxic as the air that is coming out of the tailpipes of old trucks in Hong Kong or old power station chimneys, or ship funnels going into the harbor and the port," said Anthony Hedley, chair professor of the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong.

"The interesting thing may be that it is coming on top of several days of fairly intense exposure to mostly Hong Kong-made pollutants and some other of parts of the Pearl River Delta," Hedley told Reuters.

Pollutants included particulates, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and ozone.

Hong Kong's patchy air quality has been a controversial social issue in recent years, tarnishing the city's reputation as a financial hub versus greener rival cities like Singapore. It has also affected the health of many of its citizens.

According to the Hedley Environmental Index, which monitors and publishes in real-time the economic costs of Hong Kong's air pollution, the bad air would have resulted in 175 premature deaths and 1.29 million visits to the doctor so far this year.

It would also have resulted in an estimated loss of HK$394 million ($51 million) in healthcare costs and lost productivity. The city's stock market and businesses weren't immediately affected by the smog front, and are expected to operate as usual on Tuesday.

While officials have strived to clean up vehicles and power stations locally, pollutants blown in from tens of thousands of factories in southern China's manufacturing and export hub on the Pearl River Delta have also had a serious impact on air quality.

The haze may clear up in coming days, however, according to the city's weather observatory, with the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament due to kick off on Friday.

Some 120,000 visitors are expected to attend the event, a major tourism draw for the former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

In Taiwan, several people were hospitalized on Sunday, when air over much of northern Taiwan was declared "hazardous," as cold dusty winds cut visibility and scattered dust on cars and buildings.

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Build Well To Save Lives In Disasters, Experts Urge

PlanetArk 23 Mar 10;

Poor construction in Haiti was a major reason why so many people -- up to 300,000 according to the president -- died when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the impoverished nation in January, architects and disaster specialists said.

And in quake-prone Chile where an earthquake and a subsequent tsunami killed about 500 people in February, the government is investigating to what extent rules on fortifying buildings against seismic shocks were followed.

"You don't need to be helpless, you can build safer, you can build better to reduce both the financial cost but of course also the life (cost)," Margareta Wahlstrom, U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction told Reuters by telephone.

"It's not the earthquake that kills people, it's the buildings that collapse in the earthquake."

While some countries put great emphasis on erecting buildings that can survive tropical storms, floods or earthquakes, many others lag far behind, she said.

Safe construction is not part of international development policies either, Wahlstrom said, adding that she hopes it will now be included after Haiti and Chile.

A step in that direction is a new handbook for rebuilding after natural disasters released by the World Bank last week.

Building well matters also because in the months and years after a disaster, reconstruction is where the biggest sums of international aid money go once emergency needs -- for tents, medicines and so on -- have been dealt with.

INTELLIGENT DESIGN

Safer buildings alone will not always prevent deaths. Houses should be located away from hazardous areas, where possible, and combined with an early warning system, evacuation plans and public education on what to do when a disaster strikes.

But as part of an overall strategy to minimize deaths and destruction, intelligent building design is one of the most straightforward solutions.

For example, shutters on windows will prevent wind from blowing through the building and lifting it off the ground. Tying the roof to the walls will stop it from being blown off.

To protect new buildings against earthquakes, walls can be reinforced with criss-crossing diagonal steel beams or concrete columns. Such -- often life-saving -- features add less than 10 percent on average to building costs, experts say.

Designs should take account of what resources are affordable and available locally. For example, in areas where water is short, building concrete houses is not viable as making concrete requires a lot of water.

EASIER DRAWN THAN DONE

While there is no shortage of clever ideas, implementation can be complicated, especially in developing countries.

For a start, most people in poor nations live in houses that they have built themselves, mostly without an understanding of structural engineering or knowledge of ways to make them safer.

Rolling out a nationwide campaign for safer construction of homes may have the greatest impact in the long term, experts from engineering firm Arup say.

However, organizations involved in post-disaster reconstruction can help by building houses that can be easily replicated by local people. Those willing to build their own homes can be trained how to build with disasters in mind.

Training in how to build safely is one of the services that a new consulting center in Haiti's capital will provide.

Architecture for Humanity, a non-profit design and building group, is planning to open the center in April for three years.

In countries where corruption is rife, all building work should be monitored closely to ensure no money or materials go astray and construction standards are respected.

Those leading rebuilding efforts after a disaster, should involve local people in the design and construction as much as possible, experts say.

"The one thing you can do in a disaster is use the reconstruction as a mechanism to create jobs," Cameron Sinclair, co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, told Reuters.

"Within about a year, after being in those tents so long, the community's number one issue is not housing but jobs," he said in a telephone interview.

Once survivors of a disaster occupy a new home, they may want to change it by knocking down a wall or adding on, both of which could weaken the carefully designed building.

"Organizations should allow for this in their housing designs, and provide training so that people know how to adapt or extend their homes safely," Arup architects say.

House designs should suit also suit tastes and culture.

Otherwise, as aid group Oxfam put it in a blog, "the charitable gesture by the giver becomes the hat you wouldn't wear in a million years or, in the case of disaster survivors, the house that drives you crazy."

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Cities Get Common Standard for Measuring Greenhouse Gas Emissions

UNEP 23 Mar 10;

Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 23 March 2010 - The world's cities now have a common method for calculating the amount of greenhouse gases produced within their boundaries. UNEP, UN-HABITAT, and the World Bank jointly launched a Global Greenhouse Gas Standard for cities at the World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro today.

City mayors, other urban leaders, businesses and civil society all recognize the need to act to reduce the impacts of climate change on cities. While measurement should not delay action, a critical requirement to support policy and access to finance is the establishment of an open, global and harmonized protocol for quantifying the GHG emissions attributable to cities and local regions.

"The common standard is a critical first step for cities to better understand their greenhouse gas emissions, with this knowledge cities can better target policies and inform their citizens," said Zoubida Allaoua, World Bank Director.

Anna Tibaijuka, Undersecretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT said: "In reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cities are part of the solution: city officials are discovering new ways to get people out of cars and into rapid transit buses; to harness the methane released by landfills and turn it into energy; to support compact urban development and not urban sprawl".

The Greenhouse Gas Standard calculates emissions on a per capita basis, allowing cities to compare their performance and analyse the differences. For example, greenhouse gas emissions are 4.20 tonnes of CO2e per capita in Barcelona, Spain, 10.6 in Bangkok, Thailand, and 17.8 in Calgary, Canada. But emissions vary widely among cities depending on their primary energy source, climate, means of transportation and urban form. New York, a high-density city in the US, produces 10.4 tonnes of CO2e per capita while Denver, another US-city with a much lower density, produces more than double that at 21.3 tonnes. The new common standard also allows cities to compare their emissions over time, across cities and in specific sectors such as energy, transportation, or waste.

The Greenhouse Gas Standard builds on and is consistent with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) protocol and other greenhouse gas initiatives such as those by the World Resources Institute, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability and the Clinton Climate Initiative. The Standard provides a common format to facilitate compilation by cities themselves, or through the academic community. It is now completed for more than 40 cities, but the goal of UNEP, UN-HABITAT and the World Bank is to eventually have all cities around the world represented.

UNEP, UN-HABITAT, and the World Bank recognize the importance of climate change for cities and are working jointly to produce tools, programming and resources for cities as they respond to climate change.

Achim Steiner, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and UNEP Executive Director, said: "Cities can be a key catalyst towards the international aim of keeping a global temperature rise to under 2 degrees C by 2050. The Copenhagen Accord, for which 110 countries representing over 80 per cent of global emissions have expressed support, remains a work in progress. There remains an ambition gap between where we are and where we need to be in 2020 - bigger cuts by cities may be one route towards bridging this divide."

The Greenhouse Gas Standard for cities, released today, is one of a series of tools that UNEP, UN-HABITAT and the World Bank are working on for cities. The joint work program is being carried out with the support of Cities Alliance.

Notes to Editors:

The Greenhouse Gas Standard including a common format for conducting a Greenhouse Gas inventory is available online at: www.unep.org/urban_environment

UNEP

Created in 1972, UNEP represents the United Nations' environmental conscience. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, its mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics - based in Paris - helps governments, local authorities and decision-makers in business and industry to develop and implement policies and practices focusing on sustainable development. The Division leads UNEP's work in the areas of climate change, resource efficiency, harmful substances and hazardous waste.

UN-HABITAT

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) is the United Nations agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. Its Cities in Climate Change Initiative seeks to enhance climate change mitigation and climate change preparedness of cities in developing and least developed countries. Building on UN-HABITAT's long experience in sustainable urban development, the Cities in Climate Change Initiative seeks to provide support towards the development and implementation of pro-poor and innovative climate change policies and strategies; and to develop tools for enhancing capacities of local governments.

World Bank

The World Bank is a source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Its mission is to help people help themselves and their environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors. The World Bank's Urban & Local Government Strategy aims to be a key element in helping civic leaders and national authorities think through, and implement, policies and programs for the benefit of their people, their cities, and their countries. The Strategy will help governments at all levels make cities more equitable, efficient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.

Cities Get Common Standard to Calculate Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Environment News Service 3 Apr 10;

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, April 3, 2010 (ENS) - Rio de Janeiro and Osaka, Japan have roughly the same population - about 10.5 million people - but which city emits the most greenhouse gases? Now these cities and all metropolitan areas around the world have a common standard by which to measure their emissions.

Until now, several organizations each had established different approaches for inventorying urban greenhouse gas emissions. But last week at the 5th World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro two UN organizations and the World Bank launched a common method for calculating the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from cities.

The UN Environment Programme, UN-HABITAT, and the World Bank jointly introduced the Draft International Standard for Determining Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Cities at the forum. The standard is now open for public comment.

"The common standard is a critical first step for cities to better understand their greenhouse gas emissions, with this knowledge cities can better target policies and inform their citizens," said Zoubida Allaoua, World Bank director for finance, economics, and urban development.

To support policy decisions and access to finance, a critical requirement is the establishment of an open, global and harmonized protocol for quantifying the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to cities and local regions, delegates to the forum agreed.

The new Draft International Greenhouse Gas Standard calculates emissions on a per capita basis, allowing cities to compare their performance and analyze the differences.

Greenhouse gas emissions are 4.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per capita in Barcelona, Spain; for example, compared with 10.6 in Bangkok, Thailand; and 17.8 in Calgary, Canada.

Emissions can vary widely among cities depending on their primary energy source, climate, means of transportation and urban form.

For example, New York, a high-density city where public transportation is heavily used, produces 10.4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per capita while Denver, a city with a much lower density where most people rely on their motor vehicles, produces more than double that at 21.3 tonnes.

Anna Tibaijuka, executive director of UN-HABITAT sees cities as part of the solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"City officials are discovering new ways to get people out of cars and into rapid transit buses, to harness the methane released by landfills and turn it into energy, to support compact urban development and not urban sprawl," Tibaijuka said.

The biennial forum was attended by some 13,718 participants from 150 countries.

The new common standard allows cities to compare their emissions over time, across cities and in specific sectors such as energy, transportation, or waste.

The Greenhouse Gas Standard builds on and is consistent with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change protocol and other greenhouse gas initiatives such as those carried out by the World Resources Institute, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, and the Clinton Climate Initiative.

The IPCC advises that, to avoid the worst impacts from climate change, global CO2 emissions must be cut by at least 50 percent by 2050. With the majority of the world's population now urbanized, cities will be at the forefront of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The standard provides a common format to facilitate compilation by cities themselves, or through the academic community.

Measurements are now completed for more than 40 cities, but the goal of UNEP, UN-HABITAT and the World Bank is to eventually have all cities around the world represented.

The standard provides that annual, calendar year, emissions for all six gases governed by the Kyoto Protoco, and other greenhouse gases as relevant, should be reported.

The six gases are: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

The proposed standard recognizes that the vitality of cities gives rise to the production of greenhouse gas emissions outside of urban boundaries. This standard follows the World Resources Institute - World Business Council for Sustainable Development protocol by including out-of-boundary emissions that are driven by activities in cities.

While it is impractical to quantify all of the emissions associated with the myriad of goods and materials consumed in cities, the draft standard provides that urban greenhouse gas inventories must include:

* Out-of-boundary emissions from the generation of electricity and district heating consumed in cities, including transmission and distribution losses
* Emissions from aviation and marine vessels carrying passengers or freight away from cities
* Out-of-boundary emissions from waste that is generated in cities

UNEP, UN-HABITAT, and the World Bank said in a joint statement that they recognize the importance of climate change for cities and are working jointly to produce tools, programming and resources for cities as they respond to climate change. The joint work program is being carried out with the support of Cities Alliance.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said, "Cities can be a key catalyst towards the international aim of keeping a global temperature rise to under two degrees Celsius by 2050."

"The Copenhagen Accord, for which 110 countries representing over 80 percent of global emissions have expressed support, remains a work in progress," said Steiner.

"There remains an ambition gap between where we are and where we need to be in 2020," he said. "Bigger cuts by cities may be one route towards bridging this divide."

The Greenhouse Gas Standard, including a common format for conducting a Greenhouse Gas inventory, is available online at: www.unep.org/urban_environment

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UN report: World's biggest cities merging into 'mega-regions'

Trend towards 'endless cities' could significantly affect population and wealth in the next 50 years
John Vidal, guardian.co.uk 22 Mar 10;

The world's mega-cities are merging to form vast "mega-regions" which may stretch hundreds of kilometres across countries and be home to more than 100 million people, according to a major new UN report.

The phenomenon of the so-called "endless city" could be one of the most significant developments - and problems - in the way people live and economies grow in the next 50 years, says UN-Habitat, the agency for human settlements, which identifies the trend of developing mega-regions in its biannual State of World Cities report.

The largest of these, says the report - launched today at the World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro - is the Hong Kong-Shenhzen-Guangzhou region in China, home to about 120 million people. Other mega-regions have formed in Japan and Brazil and are developing in India, west Africa and elsewhere.

The trend helped the world pass a tipping point in the last year, with more than half the world's people now living in cities.

The UN said that urbanisation is now "unstoppable". Anna Tibaijuka, outgoing director of UN-Habitat, said: "Just over half the world now lives in cities but by 2050, over 70% of the world will be urban dwellers. By then, only 14% of people in rich countries will live outside cities, and 33% in poor countries."

The development of mega-regions is regarded as generally positive, said the report's co-author Eduardo Lopez Moreno: "They [mega-regions], rather than countries, are now driving wealth."

"Research shows that the world's largest 40 mega-regions cover only a tiny fraction of the habitable surface of our planet and are home to fewer than 18% of the world's population [but] account for 66% of all economic activity and about 85% of technological and scientific innovation," said Moreno.

"The top 25 cities in the world account for more than half of the world's wealth," he added. "And the five largest cities in India and China now account for 50% of those countries' wealth."

The migration to cities, while making economic sense, is affecting the rural economy too: "Most of the wealth in rural areas already comes from people in urban areas sending money back," Moreno said.

The growth of mega-regions and cities is also leading to unprecedented urban sprawl, new slums, unbalanced development and income inequalities as more and more people move to satellite or dormitory cities.

"Cities like Los Angeles grew 45% in numbers between 1975-1990, but tripled their surface area in the same time. This sprawl is now increasingly happening in developing countries as real estate developers promote the image of a 'world-class lifestyle' outside the traditional city," say the authors.

Urban sprawl, they say, is the symptom of a divided, dysfunctional city. "It is not only wasteful, it adds to transport costs, increases energy consumption, requires more resources, and causes the loss of prime farmland."

"The more unequal that cities become, the higher the risk that economic disparities will result in social and political tension. The likelihood of urban unrest in unequal cities is high. The cities that are prospering the most are generally those that are reducing inequalities," said Moreno.

In a sample survey of world cities, the UN found the most unequal were in South Africa. Johannesburg was the least equal in the world, only marginally ahead of East London, Bloemfontein, and Pretoria.

Latin American, Asian and African cities were generally more equal, but mainly because they were uniformly poor, with a high level of slums and little sanitation. Some of the most the most egalitarian cities were found to be Dhaka and Chittagong in Bangladesh.

The US emerged as one of the most unequal societies with cities like New York, Chicago and Washington less equal than places like Brazzaville in Congo-Brazzaville, Managua in Nicaragua and Davao City in the Phillippines.

"The marginalisation and segregation of specific groups [in the US] creates a city within a city. The richest 1% of households now earns more than 72 times the average income of the poorest 20% of the population. In the 'other America', poor black families are clustered in ghettoes lacking access to quality education, secure tenure, lucrative work and political power," says the report.

The never-ending city

Cities are pushing beyond their limits and are merging into new massive conurbations known as mega-regions, which are linked both physically and economically. Their expansion drives economic growth but also leads to urban sprawl, rising inequalities and urban unrest.

The biggest mega-regions, which are at the forefront of the rapid urbanisation sweeping the world, are:

• Hong Kong-Shenhzen-Guangzhou, China, home to about 120 million people;

• Nagoya-Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe, Japan, expected to grow to 60 million people by 2015;

• Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo region with 43 million people in Brazil.

The same trend on an even larger scale is seen in fast-growing "urban corridors":

• West Africa: 600km of urbanisation linking Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana, and driving the entire region's economy;

• India: From Mumbai to Dehli;

• East Asia: Four connected megalopolises and 77 separate cities of over 200,000 people each occur from Beijing to Tokyo via Pyongyang and Seoul.

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Indonesia Friends of The Earth Urges Coal Export Halt

Tempo Interactive 22 Mar 10;

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Indonesia Friends of the Earth (Wahana Lingkungan Hidup) have called upon three biggest coal importers to stop buying coal from Indonesia for the next 30 years as a form of responsibility to the environmental damages in Indonesia prompted by coal mining.

The group said in its release on Monday (22/3) written requests had been sent to Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Chinese Prime Minister Hu Jintao, and Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Biren Nanda.

According to official data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Department 85 percent of domestic coal productions or about 104.38 million tonnes (2009) was exported, while only 34.46 million tonnes were used to meet local demand.

Walhi said Japan was the biggest importer with 26.8 million tonnes, followed by India with 15 million tonnes, and China 13.6 million tonnes.

“Therefore the three countries are required to completely halt coal imports in the next 30 years,” Pius Ginting, Mining Campaign Manager of the group as a form of the countries' responsibility to the environmental damages by coal mining and the global climate change resulting from coal use.

Berry Nahdian Forqan Director of Walhi reminded the government of the shifting trend toward renewable energy in developed countries saying “The government should now begin to anticipate the economic and employment impact (of renewable energy) by developing and provide training for renewable energy use.”

RATNANING ASIH

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