Security and Climate Change

Security and Climate Change: Together at Last!

Just an hour ago we got a dispatch from our partners who have been working hard to get a resolution passed by the UN Security Council. It's a resolution that draws the link--strongly--between climate and international security issues. Here's the dispatch from Tekau Frere (small island advocate and French Polynesian) about the latest developments:

Sea level rise, increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme events, destruction of coral reefs, soil erosion, salinization of soils and fresh water reserves, changes in precipitation patterns, spread of vector-borne diseases, etc, are some of the current and projected impacts used by scientists, community members, governments, or organizations to demonstrate the reality of climate on small islands. Yet, despite the numerous graphic images, reports, or documentaries, the alarmist bell has been rung in vacuum. The fate of many island nations, especially atoll nations such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, or the Maldives, has been used as a matter of sensational news. The international climate change negotiations never truly discussed how climate change would impact the existence, thus security of these nations.

For small island nations, climate change is an existential threat. Representatives of these countries have been seeking the help of the international community for years. Despite their multiple and repetitive shout out for assistance, they never received a concrete echo. Tired of waiting and thriving to get their plight heard, a group of 12 island nations at the United Nations, the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS), decided to act and move the international community.

The PSIDS drafted a resolution which is now strong of more than 80 co-sponsors. Entitled “the possible implications of climate change on security”, this ground breaking resolution urges all relevant organs of the UN to intensify their efforts in dealing with climate change and its consequences. It also asks the Secretary General to submit a report to the general assembly on the security implications of climate change.

Although no blue helmet will be sent to small islands to stop the waters from rising, the text demonstrates the commitment of the international community to recognize that climate change is not just a development issue. It recognizes that this global and multi-sector challenge needs to be dealt with the entire spectrum of UN organs and, thus, opens the door to more climate related actions.

Small islands contribute the least to climate change, yet they suffer the most. Their small sizes and small economies may not make them focal international actors, but their passion, perseverance, and legitimacy in this matter have inscribed them as protagonists in the issue of climate change. Although the negotiation process was certainly challenging, they succeeded in sharing their plight and overcoming national interests. Thanks to the support and strong assistance from their initial co-sponsors, they achieve a significant and admirable victory. This resolution proves that with a little political will and willingness to communicate, there is hope in climate negotiations.

http://www.350.org/about/blogs/security-and-climate-change-together-last

e n v i r o n m e n t

It's world's environment day 05 06 2009 .. and Damascus 's celebrating it by positive initiatives by Youth organizations in Syria Shams [shabab muthaqaf souri] and Sydra for syria and it was posted by SYDRA for Syria, the group is also participating in .. ( Improving the Environment of Damascus city)

• World environment day ( 5-6-2009) • An exhibition of children (on the environment and climatic changes-it will be held in the garden of the Syrian association of environment- next to the castle of Damascus) (24-6-2009) • The international day to volunteer (5-10-2009) • International Exhibition for Environment (10-10-2009) • Awareness lectures in schools (in both theoretical and practical sides).

Water Management in Syria

Water Management in Syria

From a Gift of God to a Valuable Economic Factor

Syria is the most arid country in the watershed of the Euphrates and Tigris. To alleviate the situation, Germany is pumping € 130 million into the Syrian water sector. Kristin Helberg reports on the work of German engineers in Damascus and Aleppo

Annely Korte sits in her sparsely furnished office in the Damascus waterworks and plans a workshop on the topic of wastewater. The four large water treatment plants in Syria are not maintained effectively enough, says Korte. "Instead of taking preventative measures, action is taken only after a breakdown," explains the 47-year-old, who works for the German Development Service (DED) in Syria.

A German specialist in wastewater treatment has the job of showing Syrian colleagues how to avoid emergencies by conducting routine control checks, doing regular clean-ups, and setting up a spare parts depot.  

A dried out paradise
Just a five-minute walk from Korte's office in the center of Damascus flows the Barada, or all that remains of the once-mighty river – a narrow, odorous trickle of water. Fed from the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, the Barada made Damascus into a fertile oasis in the middle of a stone desert. At one time, its clear water flowed through the city's green gardens and fruit orchards – hence Damascus' moniker as "paradise on earth." By the middle of the 20th century, there wasn't sufficient water for the city's rapidly growing population, and illegal wells were dug everywhere within the city limits, resulting in a sinking of the ground water table. Even today, unfiltered sewage water is seeping into the ground and contaminating the water below.  

Wasteful use of water
Not only Damascus, but the whole of Syria is lacking an effective management system for water resources, says Johannes Wolfer, who works in the area surrounding Damascus on behalf of the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR).  According to the hydrologist, Syria has a relatively large amount of water for the region, but it is distributed very unevenly and therefore must be managed more carefully. Valuable drinking water should not be used to wash cars or irrigate fruit trees. "In the long term, Syria has to move away from agriculture," says the specialist. In comparison to agriculture, more income can be generated though industry, tourism, and the service sector – with less use of water.

ven Majid Daud, a Syrian engineer who had studied in Germany and worked thirty years for the Ministry of Irrigation in Damascus, criticizes the wasteful use of water in agriculture. The government wants to remain as independent as possible from food imports, so it encourages the domestic cultivation of sugar beets, which require vast volumes of water. One kilogram of Syrian sugar costs five times as much as the world market price, explains Daud, who therefore feels Syria should import instead of producing sugar.  

A new pricing system

The Syrian end-user, who until recently had to pay only one cent per cubic meter of water, must also do some rethinking. As the government can cover only half of the supply costs, a new pricing system has been introduced. Since 1 November 2007, the first 15 cubic meters of water will cost 3.5 euro cents each and subsequent consumption is charged in stages priced from three to twelve times as high. The reason that price increases were not implemented sooner is due to cultural reasons, explains Majid. "Traditionally, Syrians regard water as a gift from God," says the engineer, "and one should therefore not charge money for it." On the other hand, one should not waste a heavenly gift, argues Ute Al Tayep, who works for the DED in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo and for months has attempted to convince her neighbours to be more economical with water when cleaning the staircase. "Houses are cleaned by spraying them from top to bottom with a hose," says the 29-year-old. The city is also facing an enormous water supply problem.   

A public awareness campaign

In contrast to Damascus, Aleppo does not have its own source of water, but must transport its water from the Euphrates 120 kilometers away. By 2009, the water main, built in 2004, will no longer meet the needs of the city and its millions of inhabitants.  This is why per capita water consumption has been lowered from 130 to 80 liters a day. Al Tayep with a team from the waterworks began a public awareness campaign that addressed private homes, the authorities, schools, and religious leaders.  The German specialist was particularly impressed by the interest and support shown by Aleppo's approximately one hundred imams. "We had to hold the workshop between prayer sessions, because the imams had to hurry back to their mosques on time to head the noon prayers," said the young woman.  

Difficult time management
Al Tayep is satisfied with her colleagues, even though she had to get used to their flexible working hours. State workers in Syria only earn about 120 euros a month, so they usually require additional jobs in order to feed their families. As a result, they only work three to four hours in the water treatment plant, often leaving the German expert alone on the site. "It is something you just have to accept," says Al Tayep. She claims that it wouldn't achieve anything for a German expert to demand that everyone stayed at their posts from 8 to 3. "Then no one at all would work with me." Instead, she expects that her colleagues at least let her know when they will be at work so that she can plan her activities. 

Respect for women experts

While Al Tayep, like most German experts, complains about the Syrian bureaucracy, Annely Korte praises the cooperation she enjoys with the authorities in Damascus as "impeccable." Her personal relations with Syrians has been good, stresses the 47-year-old. Her job is to establish a countrywide network of engineers, and, in socialist Syria, this often means dealing with women engineers. She is taken seriously and respected as a woman, says Korte. As far as prejudices are concerned, she sees no difference between German and Syrian men. When responding to the concerns of her male colleagues in Germany about whether she gets along with Arabs, the engineer has a simple answer. "Arabs? They're only men."  

Kristin Helberg © Qantara.de 2008 Translated from the German by John Bergeron

http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-723/i.html

International Women’s Media Foundation Fellowships 2009-201

The International Women’s Media Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2009-10 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship, named for the 1998 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award winner and Boston Globe correspondent who was killed in Iraq in May 2003. This program, created with Neuffer’s family and friends, aims to perpetuate her memory and advance her life mission of promoting international understanding of human rights and social justice while creating an opportunity for women journalists to build their skills.

One woman journalist will be selected to spend an academic year in a tailored program with access to Boston-area universities as well as the Boston Globe and New York Times. The flexible structure of the program will provide the fellow with opportunities to pursue academic research and hone her reporting skills covering topics related to human rights. The fellow may also participate in the Elizabeth Neuffer Forum on Human Rights and Journalism.

The Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship is open to women journalists whose focus is human rights and social justice. A successful applicant will be dedicated to a career in journalism in print, broadcast or online media and will show a strong commitment to sharing knowledge and skills with colleagues upon the completion of the fellowship. Excellent written and spoken English skills are required. A stipend will be provided, and expenses, including airfare and housing, will be covered.

Applications will be accepted until April 15, 2009, and the fellowship will run from September 2009 – May 2010.

For further information, visit www.iwmf.org/neuffer or e-mail neuffer@iwmf.org. Applications are available at https://www.iwmf.org/neufferapplication.aspx.

Founded in 1990, the International Women’s Media Foundation is a vibrant global network dedicated to strengthening the role of women in the news media worldwide as a means to further freedom of the press. The IWMF network includes women and men in the media in more than 130 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.iwmf.org.

worlds-largest-3d-display

Electrical engineering students at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have created the world’s largest 3D-display. The display consists of 8,000 suspended ping pong balls that each contain a red LED light. It play games of 3D snake, 3D pong, and 3D duckhunt, as wll as displaying SMS messages and simple animations. 4 kilometres of copper wire, 3 kilos of solder, a couple of hundred metres of aluminium and eight printed circuit boards. http://www.interactivearchitecture.org/worlds-largest-3d-display.html

LEED 2009 to Include LEED Credits for Regional Environmental Priorities

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released the LEED regional credits as part of LEED 2009, the new version of the LEED Green Building Rating System. These LEED credits encourage that specific regional environmental priorities be addressed when it comes to the design, construction and operations of buildings in different geographic locations. "Because environmental priorities differ among various regions of the country-the challenges in the Southeast differ from those in the Northwest, for example-regionally specific credits give LEED a way to directly respond to diverse, regionally grounded issues," said Brendan Owens, Vice President of Technical Development, USGBC. "The inclusion of these regional LEED credits is the Council's first step toward addressing regional environmental issues." With the help of USGBC's regional councils, chapters and affiliates, credits addressing six specific environmental issues within a region were identified from among the existing LEED credits. In LEED 2009, LEED projects will be able to earn "bonus points" for implementing green building strategies that address the important environmental issues facing their region. A project can be awarded afour extra points, one point each for achieving up to four of the six priority credits.

http://www.dexigner.com/architecture/news-g17687.html

http://wwww.usgbc.org/leed2009

Affordable And Green: Sandbag Houses // Cape Town // South Africa // MMA Architects”

MMA Architects completed a home built out of timber and sandbags and became the winner of the Curry Stone Foundation Prize this year. The prize is awarded to individuals or groups that create architecture that has the potential to make positive changes in a community by offering shelter, community health, peace, or clean water, air and food. This sandbag house was built for a mere $6,000, making it affordable for low-income housing. The design also utilizes uncomplicated techniques- and was constructed with the help of its future residents who were able to gain a sense of ownership through the building process.

While these homes are not necessarily decked out with solar panels and energy-efficient insulation, the design and construction of the home takes advantage of techniques that conserve money and resources. First, the home uses inexpensive local materials which cuts down on transportation. Second, the home utilizes Eco Beams, a system of building that replaces brick-and-mortar with sandbags. The system is reported to be just as strong as a brick system and uses less timber than traditional construction.

The home is the first in a community of 10 other homes to be built in Freedom Park, near Cape Town in South Africa. The homes are the result of the 10×10 Housing Project, a project challenging 10 architecture teams to develop plans for low-cost housing.

Luyunda Mpahlwa has said that he plans on using the prize money- $100,000- to build more of these homes, and to send underprivileged students to architecture school.

>>>

www.dezeen.com

http://www.archicentral.com/affordable-and-green-sandbag-houses-cape-town-south-africa-mma-architects-2396/