India’s ancient water management practices will be demonstrated at the Adalaj Vav- Ancient Stepwell and India’s engineering prowess will be on display at the Sabarmati siphon, the ministry said…reports Asian Lite News
The second Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) meeting will begin on Monday in which 130 delegates from G20 member countries along with 11 invitee countries and 14 international organizations will take part at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
The second ECSWG meeting will be held from March 27-29, 2023 in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar. The meeting would focus on thematic areas like arresting land degradation, accelerating ecosystem restoration and enriching biodiversity; encouraging resource efficiency and circular economy and promoting a sustainable and climate-resilient blue economy.
Special presentations on major initiatives like Namami Gange, Climate Resilient Infrastructure, Participatory Ground Water Management, Jal Jeevan Mission, and Swachh Bharat Mission will also be made during the meeting.
According to the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry, “The delegates will get an opportunity to witness a mix of modernity and tradition during the excursions, organised as a part of the meeting.”
India’s ancient water management practices will be demonstrated at the Adalaj Vav- Ancient Stepwell and India’s engineering prowess will be on display at the Sabarmati siphon, the ministry said.
“Delegates will also have an opportunity to experience Gujarat’s vibrant cultural traditions through specially curated dance and music performances, and will also have the opportunity to taste the local cuisine during their visit,” the ministry added
Ministry further said that the conference will commence with a side event on Water Resources Management led by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, where G20 member countries will make presentations on best practices on this subject.
The final day will feature more technical sessions and a discussion on the outline of the final Ministerial Communique, it added.
On the sidelines of the 2nd #ECSWG, #G20 members will share imperative measures that can be undertaken for efficient water resource management.
Various organizations under the Ministry of Jal Shakti will also put up stalls on themes including Atal Bhujal Yojana, Swach Bharat Abhiyan, Jal Jeevan Mission, Namame Gange, Jal Shakti Abhiyan, National Water Mission etc during the meeting showcasing and sharing the high-quality work with the delegates.
The second ECSWG meeting is a step in fostering the efforts of the G20 countries, invitee countries, and international organizations towards a sustainable and resilient future.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is committed to working with all stakeholders to drive outcomes under each of the priority areas, and to achieve a sustainable and resilient future for all. (ANI)
The research has found that a total of 1,733 people have been killed over the past 10 years, that’s one person killed every two days…reports Asian Lite News
One environmental activist has been killed every two days on average over the past decade across globe, a new report revealed on Thursday.
The report titled, ‘A Decade of Defiance: Ten years of reporting land and environmental activism worldwide’, from the London-based Global Witness highlights the increasing urgency to protect land and environmental defenders as climate and biodiversity crisis worsens.
Research shows that in the past decade, a land and environmental defender was killed every two days, with deadliest countries include Brazil, Colombia, Philippines, and Mexico.
Since 2012, Global Witness has been gathering data on the killings of land and environmental defenders.
In that time, a grim picture has come into focus — with evidence suggesting that as the climate crisis intensifies, violence against those protecting their land and the planet remains persistent.
The research has found that a total of 1,733 people have been killed over the past 10 years, that’s one person killed every two days.
The report highlights that the control and use of land and territory is a central issue in countries where defenders are threatened.
Much of the increasing killing, violence and repression are linked to territorial conflicts and the pursuit of economic growth based on the extraction of natural resources from the land.
Evidence also shows that the data on killings does not capture the true scale of the problem. In some countries, the situation facing defenders is hard to gauge –restrictions on a free press and a lack of independent monitoring in many countries often leads to underreporting.
Land disputes and environmental damage can also be difficult to monitor in parts of the world affected by conflict.
The research has found that few perpetrators of killings are ever brought to justice due to the failures of governments to properly investigate these crimes. Many authorities ignore or actively impede investigations into these killings often due to alleged collusion between corporate and state interests.
A spokesperson for Global Witness said: “All over the world, Indigenous peoples, environmental activists and other land and environmental defenders risk their lives for the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. They play a crucial role as a first line of defence against ecological collapse, yet are under attack themselves facing violence, criminalisation and harassment perpetuated by repressive governments and companies prioritising profit over human and environmental harm.”
With democracies increasingly under attack globally and worsening climate and biodiversity crises, the report highlights the critical role of defenders in solving these problems and makes an urgent appeal for global efforts to protect and reduce attacks against them.
The data found within the report shows that over half of the attacks over the 10-year period have taken place in Brazil, Colombia, and the Philippines.
From the 2021 data specifically, Mexico was the country with the highest recorded number of killings and over three-quarters of the attacks recorded in 2021 took place in Latin America.
The research has also highlighted that Indigenous communities in particular face a disproportionate level of attacks — nearly 40 per cent — even though they make up only five per cent of the world’s population.
Global Witness is calling for companies and governments to be held to account for violence against land and environmental defenders — the people who stand on the frontline of the climate crisis.
Urgent action is needed at regional, national, and international levels to end the violence and injustice that they face.
Photo taken on July 5, 2022 shows a white band of dried rocks around Lake Mead near Echo Bay in Nevada, the United States. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua/IANS)
Lots of things underneath Lake Mead have resurfaced in recent weeks, including formerly sunken boats, as the lake’s water level is continuing to decline, reports Asian Lite News
Surrounded by a white band of dried rocks, the vast drop in water levels was visible this week at Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir in the US, which has been shrinking amid a two-decade-long megadrought.
The “bathtub ring” around the drought-stricken lake, on the Arizona-Nevada border and over 40 km east of Las Vegas, is made of minerals deposited on the rock walls when the lake’s water level was higher, reports Xinhua news agency.
Some boat launching ramps along the lake were closed due to the low water levels.
Lots of things underneath Lake Mead have resurfaced in recent weeks, including formerly sunken boats, as the lake’s water level is continuing to decline.
Lake Mead’s water levels have dropped to historic lows since it was filled in the 1930s.
As of Friday, the water in the lake, formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, was around 1,042.3 feet above sea level, a decline of more than 43 feet from 1,085.95 feet by the end of January 2021, according to data from the US Bureau of Reclamation.
The highest recorded level of the lake was in 1983 when it was 1,225 feet above sea level.
The Bureau of Reclamation’s 24-month outlook released last month said it was forecasting the most probable lake level would be 1,014.86 feet by September 2023.
Lake Mead currently provides municipal water for the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, and Boulder City, as well as municipal and industrial water and irrigation water for downstream users, according to the US National Park Service.
“Altogether, about 25,000,000 people rely on water from Lake Mead, and it is unlikely that the Southwest could have developed as it has without it,” said the agency in an overview of the lake on its official website.
Lake Mead and Lake Powell, two of the largest reservoirs in US, hit lowest water levels amid megadrought. (Pic credit: https://utah.com/ ; https://www.nps.gov/lake)
If the reservoir drops below 895 feet, a possibility still years away, the lake would reach dead pool status, with potentially catastrophic consequences for millions of people across Arizona, California and Nevada, and parts of Mexico.
If the lake’s surface drops another 150 feet, there will not be enough water flowing through Hoover Dam to supply large metropolitan centres downstream, including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego.
The megadrought is draining Lake Mead faster than anticipated.
Water shortages and demand on the Colorado River Basin will require reductions in water use of 2 million to 4 million acre-feet in 2023 to preserve “critical levels”.
Last August, the federal government declared a shortage on the Colorado River for the first time, triggering substantial cutbacks in water deliveries to Arizona and Nevada, as well as Mexico.
Many Arizona farmers have left some fields dry and unplanted, and have turned to more groundwater pumping.
The megadrought that has gripped the southwestern US for the past 22 years is the worst in at least 1,200 years, according to a research published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Jason Smerdon, one of the study’s authors and a climate scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, was quoted as saying that global warming has made the megadrought more extreme because it creates a “thirstier” atmosphere that is better able to pull moisture out of forests, vegetation and soil.
While the Colorado River has been affected by previous droughts, a warming climate is predicted to alter the water cycle in new ways.
File photo of Glen Canyon Dam on Lake Powell in northern Arizona, the United States. ( Photo credit: The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation official website/Xinhua/IANS)
Long range climate predictions are for warmer winter temperatures in the Southwest, less snowpack in the Rocky Mountains, and less melted snow able to find its way into the Colorado River, the National Park Service noted.
Droughts in US West have also led water levels in many other major lakes to drop dramatically.
Shasta Lake, the largest reservoir in California, is reportedly at less than half of where it usually should be in early May.
Water level of the Great Salt Lake in Utah hit historic low earlier this month for the second time in less than a year.
As per Yale Centre for Environmental Law & Policy website, EPI 2022 provides a data-driven summary of the state of sustainability for 180 countries using 40 performance indicators across 11 issues….reports Asian Lite News
Rejecting the bottom rank in environmental performance index by the Yale Centre for Environmental Law & Policy, India on Wednesday said that many indicators used for assessing the EPI are based on “unfounded assumptions” with some of them “extrapolated and based on surmises and unscientific methods”.
Rejecting the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2022 released recently by the American University that had put India at the bottom most 180th rank, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) announced that it does not accept Yale’s analysis and gave a longish explanation for the same.
As per Yale Centre for Environmental Law & Policy website, EPI 2022 provides a data-driven summary of the state of sustainability for 180 countries using 40 performance indicators across 11 issues.
“A new indicator in the Climate Policy objective is Projected GHG Emissions levels in 2050. This is computed based on average rate of change in emission of the last 10 years instead of modeling that takes into account a longer time period, extent of renewable energy capacity and use, additional carbon sinks, energy efficiency etc. of respective countries,” the Ministry statement said, adding: “Both forests and wetlands of the country are crucial carbon sinks, which have not been factored in while computing the projected GHG emissions trajectory up to 2050 given by EPI 2022.”
India has already achieved the target of 40 per cent of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel based sources.
India also said that the historical data on the lowest emission trajectory has been ignored in the computation and said: “The weight of indicators in which the country was performing well has been reduced and reasons for change in assignment of weights has not been explained in the report.”
“The principle of equity is given very low weightage in the form of indicators such as GHG emission per capita and GHG Emission intensity trend. The CBDR-RC principle is also barely reflected in the composition of the index,” the Ministry said.
The indicators on water quality, water use efficiency, waste generation per capita which are closely linked to Sustainable Consumption and Production are not included in the Index, the statement said, adding: “The Index emphasises the extent of Protected Areas rather than the quality of protection that they afford. Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Protected areas and eco-sensitive regions is not factored into the computation of Biodiversity Indices.”
Indicators such as agro biodiversity, soil health, food loss and waste are not included even though they are important for developing countries with large agrarian populations, the statement said, and gave detailed analysis of the flaws in various categories such as Climate Change Issue Category; Environmental Health indicators; Ecosystem Vitality Policy Objective; Biodiversity & Habitat; Ecosystem Services; Agriculture and Fisheries.
In the spirit of celebrating UNEP@50, President Kenyatta concluded by announcing a new bi-annual award of $25,000 from the people of Kenya to persons or institutions who champion environmental sustainability and peace…reports Vishal Gulati
Heads of state raised a united plea for multilateral action this week marking the 50th anniversary of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
The special session of the UN Environment Assembly, which wrapped up on Friday in Nairobi, addresses how to build a resilient and inclusive post-pandemic world.
The two-day event was an important highlight among a number of activities and events over the past year to recognise the significant progress made on tackling climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, and address the challenges to come.
Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta, Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari, Botswana’s Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, and Central African Republic Prime Minister Felix Molula joined Ministers of Environment and other representatives from 175 nations for the event.
In his opening speech on Thursday, President Kenyatta recalled some notable environment successes of UN member states, coordinated through UNEP, including historic conferences like the Rio 1992 Earth Summit and the 1987 Montreal Convention to protect the ozone layer.
“I want to commend all Member States for the dedication and diligence that you’ve shown in prioritising the issues that affect our planet. We cannot talk of development, peace, and security without highlighting the nexus with climate change,” he said.
The President praised UNEP as an “ecological conscience,” and “a credible platform for nations to come together and act boldly to advance the global environmental agenda”.
In the spirit of celebrating UNEP@50, President Kenyatta concluded by announcing a new bi-annual award of $25,000 from the people of Kenya to persons or institutions who champion environmental sustainability and peace.
President Buhari said: “It’s time to bolster international cooperation and stimulate collective action to address the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and rising levels of pollution and waste. No country or continent can achieve this alone. Each nation has an essential role to play.”
Pledging to continue working with other countries to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, he went on to say: “We recognise that restoring key ecosystems is crucial to help combat climate change and achieve sustainable development.”
President Masisi said: “Economic activity and population growth has compounded the already enormous strain on the world’s natural resources and ecosystems. Climate change, desertification, loss of biodiversity and growing levels of poverty are painful realities of our times.”
Detailing Botswana’s record on sustainable management of its biodiversity — 40 per cent of its land is under protected area status — and integrating environmental considerations into national planning processes, he affirmed his country’s commitment to Multilateral Environmental Agreements, urging “green philanthropists, private sector, research institutions and development agenciesa(to) incentivise success in conservation.”
The 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm is regarded as one of the first major multilateral meetings on the environment; it spurred the formation of environment ministries and agencies around the world, kickstarted a host of new global agreements to collectively protect the environment and led to the formation of UNEP — the only UN agency whose headquarters is in Africa.
For five decades, Kenya has been the host of UNEP and over the past week it has hosted the resumed 5th session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2).
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, extended gratitude to Kenya for hosting UNEP for 50 years, and for the country’s unwavering support for UNEA-5.2.
“UNEP is now at the heart of protecting the asset upon which we all rely, the environment. The world has realised that we cannot pollute our way to development and clean up after. We have a human right to a healthy environment. Youth are demanding change. Governments, cities and regions are acting. Businesses are acting. Investors are acting,” she said.
“None of this was in place 50 years ago.”
“However, our journey will only conclude when we ensure that humanity can thrive without skewing the delicate balance of life on this glorious planet,” she added.
The special session to commemorate the establishment of UNEP follows the three-day UNEA-5.2, which drew about 3,000 participants in-person and 1,500 online from 175 UN Member States, including 79 ministers and 17 high-level officials.
The Assembly adopted 14 resolutions, two declarations and one decision on curbing pollution and for the protection and restoration of nature.
Among these are a historic resolution to forge an international legally binding deal to end plastic pollution, the establishment of a science policy panel on the sound management of chemicals and waste, and on the definition and implementation of nature-based solutions.
Marking African Environment Day, African experts and pan-African organizations on Thursday emphasized the need to tackle the continent’s continued climate change-induced disasters
Africa Environment Day, celebrated annually on March 3, was established in 2002 by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the predecessor of the African Union, as a way of raising awareness of the pressing environmental challenges facing the continent. Since 2012, the Africa Environment Day has been celebrated in conjunction with Wangari Maathai Day in honor of the late Nobel laureate’s legacy in nature conservancy.
The African continent, in a bid to address the twin effects of climate change and desertification, is in recent years bracing itself to devote undiluted attention to integrating sustainable environmental management into the mainstream development policies at both continental and national levels.
Experts, however, argued that albeit the commendable efforts underway to counter the impact of climate change, the continent is in urgent need to exert strong efforts to end the scourge.
Adefris Worku, a senior forestry expert at the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission (EFCCC) of Ethiopia, said the extent of climate change in Africa is growing due to various causes, including the expansion of the agricultural sector.
Agriculture, which is the backbone of African economies, is said to be one of the major drivers of desertification in Africa. With a growing population, an increasing forest area is being harvested across Africa.
“Desertification is becoming a very significant threat to Africa. African countries have to do strategic interventions and approach to combat desertification because desertification has become overwhelming, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa,” Worku told Xinhua in a recent interview.
The AU, in its call for action issued Thursday in relation to this year’s Africa Environment Day, stressed that Africa continues to endure serious environmental challenges, saying the unfolding phenomena of climate change, biodiversity depletion, desertification, land degradation and unsustainable use of finite natural resources remain a serious risk for Africa as they pose real impediments to achieving the sustainable development goals envisioned in Africa’s Agenda 2063.
While saying environmental deterioration has exacerbated crises such as droughts, armed conflicts, or other natural disasters on the continent, the AU emphasized that sustainable environmental management is fundamental to the pursuit of food security, peace, security, and stability in Africa.
“To address the twin effects of climate change and desertification, Africa is bracing itself to devote undiluted attention to integrating sustainable environmental management into the mainstream development policies at both regional and national levels,” the pan-African bloc said.
According to the latest figures from the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), despite representing just 17 percent of the world’s population and emitting just 4 percent of global pollution, Africa stands as the most affected continent in terms of climate change.
“African economies are losing on average 5 percent of GDP because of climate change, increasing up to 15 percent in some countries,” said Linus Mofor, a senior environmental expert from the ECA, Wednesday.
Mofor, speaking during a virtual meeting on partnerships for tools and capacities to integrate climate resilience in investments for sustainable development, said in the absence of global concerted action on keeping warming at below 1.5 degrees Celsius, African countries must be supported with the tools and capacities needed to integrate climate resilience in the huge investments needed to close development gaps.
Mofor insisted that African countries have shown “great leadership” on climate action, stating “all but two African countries have ratified the Paris Agreement with ambitious nationally determined contributions requiring up to 3 trillion U.S. dollars for implementation.”
Despite the daunting challenges, however, African countries have been introducing a number of ambitious initiatives to contain the rapid expansion of desertification in the continent, thereby mitigating the impacts of climate change on communities’ livelihood.
The Great Green Wall or Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative, which was launched by the African Union (AU) in 2007 with an overarching aim of planting a wall of trees across Africa at the southern edge of the Sahara desert, is one of the African-led initiatives aiming to restore Africa’s degraded landscapes.
According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Great Green Wall initiative will be the largest living structure on the planet once realized, covering 8,000 km of land stretching across the entire width of the continent from Senegal in West Africa to Djibouti in the east.
According to Worku, Ethiopia, one of the signatory countries of the initiative, considers the ambitious project as “a very important and relevant strategy to combat desertification and ensure sustainable development in the country.”
More than 20 countries across Africa have been implementing the initiative in hopes of restoring 100 million hectares of currently degraded land and sequestering 250 million metric tons of carbon by 2030.
“One way that Rotary is taking significant action worldwide is by helping to regrow mangrove trees around the world,” Shekhar Mehta interacts with Vishal Gulati.
After the culmination of the pivotal two-week-long UN Climate Change Conference COP26, Rotary will convene its own summit in a week’s time in the Philippines with focus on “how we can battle climate change and help build local economies”.
Rotary International Logo (Twitter)
Over the past five years, more $20 million in global grant funding has been allocated to environment-related causes by The Rotary Foundation through its support of community economic development and water, sanitation, and hygiene projects.
Talking on the penultimate day of COP26 where world leaders are hard at work on climate priorities — to keep global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as required by the 2015 Paris Agreement, Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta said he had seen first-hand in the 2004 tsunami devastation that would have been lessened if mangroves had been preserved.
“One way that Rotary is taking significant action worldwide is by helping to regrow mangrove trees around the world,” he said.
“Mangrove trees are extremely important in protecting local ecosystems, first because they help protect against soil erosion. They also provide shelter and create a breeding environment for small fish and other sea creatures.
“And they help mitigate the effects of coastline erosion and rising CO2 levels,” said Mehta, who led a discussion on mangroves at COP26 on Wednesday.
He explained how the mangroves along the coasts are vital in the fight against climate change as they help capture greenhouse gases.
The mangrove population, he said, has declined and been destroyed by development all over the world — causing “alarm for those of us who recognize the massive benefits these trees provide for our habitats”.
Between 1980 and 2005, an alarming 20 per cent of mangrove area was lost.
The Rotary would be supporting projects to restore mangroves in eight countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Seychelles and Tanzania.
Mehta said as a long-time friend of the United Nations, Rotary supports the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) and supports the goals of the Action for Climate Empowerment.
I had the opportunity to bring together representatives from over 20 countries for a discussion at #COP26. I pledged that Rotary International will support projects related to mangrove restoration & work with countries such as India, Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, and Sri Lanka. pic.twitter.com/M6hMlhOGdn
“Rotary fully supports efforts to enhance education, training, public awareness, participation, public access to information and international cooperation regarding climate change.”
The Rotaract Club of Malindi, a seaside town by the Indian Ocean in Kenya has planted more than 80,000 propagules and more than 50,000 seedlings in the past four years.
Likewise, the Rotary Club of Nassau, the capital and largest city of The Bahamas, has held regular mangrove clean ups to remove rocks, sediments and trash to improve the flow of water through the mangroves in New Province, Bahamas.
In Australia, the Redcliffe Sunrise Rotary Club has sponsored a mangrove conservation day at Moreton Bay Marine Park to raise awareness of how the public can help protect mangroves and what they can do to influence policymakers to adopt development plans that take the long-term preservation of these trees into account.
In his city Kolkata, the Rotary Club of Rotary Club of Calcutta (Inner City) planted 10,000 mangrove trees in Sundarbans.
“These are just a few examples of the actions Rotary members are taking to protect these vital ecosystems. There are numerous other projects in the Philippines, American Samoa and the British Virgin Islands,” he said.
“All of these projects demonstrate Rotary’s long-term commitment to environmental sustainability,” he added.
After the tsunami in India, Mehta helped build nearly 500 homes for families affected by the disaster. He pioneered a programme that has performed more than 1,500 life-changing heart surgeries in South Asia.
Dubai Municipality to celebrate World Migratory Birds Day
The Environment Department is organizing various environmental events on Saturday, 9th October 2021, at Creek Park – Gate No. 1, from 4 pm to 6 pm…reports Asian Lite News
Dubai Municipality will celebrate the World Migratory Birds Day, which falls on 9th October. Observing this international occasion is part of strengthening the Municipality’s leading role in raising environmental awareness for the emirate’s community and its quest to preserve biodiversity and ecosystems in the emirate.
Environment Department of Dubai Municipality will organize various awareness programs in an interesting and attractive way for all segments of society with the aim of educating them about the importance of migratory birds and their different types, the threats they face and how the community can contribute to mitigating them.
Dubai Municipality to celebrate World Migratory Birds Day
This year’s global event, with the theme, “Sing, Fly, Soar, like a Bird,” focuses on the phenomena of the birds’ voices and flight as a way to inspire and connect people of all ages in their shared desire to celebrate migratory birds and unite in a joint global effort to protect birds and the habitats they need to survive.
World Migratory Bird Day has a global reach and is an effective tool for sharing best practices in contributing to the protection of migratory birds from the threats they face on their journey in search of food, temperate climate or escape from predators.
The Environment Department is organizing various environmental events on Saturday, 9th October 2021, at Creek Park – Gate No. 1, from 4 pm to 6 pm. This occasion is an opportunity for all family members to participate in environmental workshops that will be presented in cooperation with various private companies.
The workshops include environmental messages related to migratory birds and how to preserve them. One of the most prominent educational workshops offered by the Environment Department is how to make bird nests that the participants will be able to place in their homes to attract birds, specifically migratory birds, that they will take as a resting place before completing their journey. The public can enjoy unique experiences, including getting to know some of the birds that will be present at the event site, such as falcons. Visitors can take photos with them, with the need to adhere to all precautions during their visit to the event.
One of the most prominent projects that will be presented to the public is the program for tracking migratory birds by satellite, where a tracking device will be installed, equipped with a satellite positioning device, to follow the movement of the bird without the need to catch it again and study its migration path, which contributes to programs for the protection and proper management of these birds. In addition, everyone will be able to participate in the various environmental competitions that will be organized and an environmental Yoga workshop in which participants will be able to enjoy the birds singing while exercising. Art enthusiasts will be able to showcase their creativity by coloring a 15-meter long environmental painting of migratory birds, and watch the environmental art exhibition in which 15 artists of different nationalities will participate to embody the importance of birds through their paintings.
Bird migration is a natural miracle. Migratory birds fly hundreds and thousands of kilometers to find the best environmental conditions and habitats for feeding, breeding and raising their young. When conditions at breeding sites become unfavorable, it is time to travel to areas where conditions are better.
The Emirate of Dubai and the UAE in general represent a major habitat for many migratory birds due to the availability of a safe haven for these birds during their migration. The country also represents one of the favorite resting places for many migratory birds due to the abundance of food sources and the availability of natural reserves within the country. The coastal shallow waters, inland waterways, mangroves and salt marshes are among the main important elements for birds escaping from the frozen icy areas in the Asian and Siberian poles during their quest for a warmer climate in Africa.
The UAE hosts annually large numbers of migratory birds, due to its location and the nature of its climate, in addition to the availability of suitable havens for birds, where two important paths of bird migration overlap, the path of bird migration from East Africa to West Asia, and the path of Central Asia, while birds of northern Europe and Asia visit the UAE as a breeding area to avoid harsh climatic conditions due to the extreme cold in the northern breeding areas which are associated with lack of food supply.
Reserves distributed in various regions of the Emirate of Dubai constitute important habitats for hundreds of species of migratory birds annually, such as Socotra cormorants, sooty gulls, white-cheeked terns, crested cats, black grouse, and yellow-necked sparrows, in addition to wading birds and birds of prey, such as the osprey and the peregrine falcon and small birds, in addition to types of storks, such as the beak, heron, and flamingo that are found in coastal areas and swamps, as well as different types of ducks.
Reserves provide safe havens that reduce the pressures on migratory birds and provide them with maximum protection in order to preserve biodiversity and enhance environmental sustainability. There are eight nature reserves in the Emirate of Dubai as protected areas to preserve wildlife within the emirate, covering approximately 1,297,82 square kilometers and representing various ecosystems – desert, marine, coastal and mountainous habitats, which are teeming with many types of plants, animals, fish and birds. Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is also one of those key areas that provide a safe place for migratory birds and are of international ecological importance due to their unique biodiversity.
Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1985 and declared by Local Order No. 2 of 1998 as a protected area. In December 2003, His Highness the Ruler of Dubai issued Law No. 11 of 2003 to define the regulations related to nature reserves. Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary was added to the list of wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention in 2007, thus becoming the first nature reserve in the UAE to be recognized globally according to the Convention. It is also an important destination for birds for breeding and migration according to the Birdlife International.
Dubai Municipality to celebrate World Migratory Birds Day
The most beautiful thing that can be seen in Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is the flamingo birds, especially when these migratory birds come to spend the period between autumn and spring, where many of these birds can be seen, and even when most of them return to Central Asia to spend the summer months. A group of them remain here to inhabit this area throughout the year.
Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is characterized by mangroves, which play a major role in the UAE ecosystem and are home to many living creatures and many resident and migratory birds. A large variety of organisms live and reproduce within the mangrove ecosystem. Therefore, the preservation and growth of mangroves is necessary to preserve these living creatures, especially the resident and migratory birds, because they provide a safe haven for life and reproduction in which food sources are available from small fish and mollusks.
The Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary in Dubai annually hosts thousands of migratory birds that reside temporarily on the banks of salt flats, mud flats, mangroves and swamps that are widespread there. The reserve includes hundreds of species of birds, and is characterized by the richness and diversity of plant and fungal life, especially seabirds of various types and shapes, including flamingoes, which migrate to the UAE with the onset of winter and abound in January, preferring shallow waters.
The Al Marmoom Conservation Reserve also receives many migratory birds, with an area of more than 40 hectares of virgin shrubs. The reserve includes 204 species of local birds and 158 species of migratory birds. The Marmoom Reserve is considered the first unenclosed desert reserve in the country open to the public that combines the concepts of eco-tourism and nature protection and it has the highest concentration of big Alventer flamingoes in a desert area with a population of 500-2000 birds. The reserve has eight bird watching towers distributed in its lake areas, which include thousands of migratory and local birds for bird lovers and enthusiasts for watching. A bird watching platform is also built in the form of interlocking straps.
Karat’s letter came two days after the Ministry came out with a consultation paper seeking comments on a number of changes to the Forest Act….reports Asian Lite News
Criticizing the proposed changes to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Wednesday said it will end up privitizing forests and forest resources.
Given the context of privatization of infrastructure projects which require forest land, the proposals will not only facilitate takeover of forest land, but make it cheaper and easier for corporates, intending to take the benefits of privatization, a letter by CPI-M leader Brinda Karat to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said.
Karat’s letter came two days after the Ministry came out with a consultation paper seeking comments on a number of changes to the Forest Act.
“This also includes mining companies with the mining sector being opened up for takeover by domestic and foreign companies. This is what underlies the points raised in the note, which we oppose as they are more concerned about protecting private interests and projects rather than addressing environment concerns,” Karat said.
The proposals tend to dilute the rights of the States to notify forests thereby further centralizing authority in the central government, she pointed out.
Stating that the “thrust of the Consultation Note is to loosen definition of forests, protected forests, deemed forests etc, so as to remove them from the conditions of diversion to non-forestry purposes without any reference as to how this will affect tribal communities and forest dwellers,” Karat alleged that the note is completely silent on “protection of the rights granted by law to tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers.”
The proposal amounts to liberalization of the present structure to permit easier diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes without heed to any regulation, she further said, adding, “this will end up privatising forests and forest resources.”
If really necessary, as case by case examination by MoEFCC may show, then any exemption may be granted by a duly authorized Expert Committee, rather than through a blanket exemption provision as proposed, the letter, also released to the media, said.
“I would request you not to go ahead with these proposals as they are nothing but liberalization to favour private interests over the interests of tribal communities, traditional forest dwellers and environmental concerns,” Karat urged Yadav.
The latest NASA satellite data shows that more than 200 farm fires have been recorded in the Majha region of Punjab since September 1…reports Asian Lite News
The clear blue skies over the national capital may go dark soon with dust and smoke as the stubble burning season nears. The satellite images by US space agency NASA have shown that crop residue burning has already started in several fields in Haryana and Punjab, according to media reports.
Punjab annually generates 20 million tonnes of paddy straw, which is normally set on fire to quickly clear the fields for the next crop, resulting in choking of the National Capital Region (NCR) in October and November, and causing major health effects.
The latest NASA satellite data shows that more than 200 farm fires have been recorded in the Majha region of Punjab since September 1, according to media reports. By September 29, the count of fires was 66 in Punjab and 23 in Haryana.
During October and November, stubble burning usually contributes between 20 per cent to 70 per cent of Delhi’s air pollution. Last year, a report from the Environment Ministry showed that the average contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s air pollution increased from 10 per cent in 2019 to over 15 per cent in 2020.
A study by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), estimates that crop residue burning releases 149.24 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), over 9 million tonnes of carbon monoxide (CO), 0.25 million tonnes of oxides of sulphur (SOX), 1.28 million tonnes of particulate matter, and 0.07 million tonnes of black carbon.
These directly contribute to environmental pollution: the heat from burning paddy straw penetrates 1 centimetre into the soil, increasing the temperature to 33.8 to 42.2 degree Celsius, which kills the bacterial and fungal populations critical for a fertile soil.
Moreover, air pollution is considered as the greatest environmental threat to health, and it disproportionately affects vulnerable populations: 91 per cent of deaths from ambient air pollution occur in low-income and middle-income countries.
In India, 1,16,000 infant deaths in 2019 were attributable to air pollution, coal combustion was attributable for 1,00,000 deaths while ambient air pollution killed 16.7 lakh Indians, data released by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) showed.
Meanwhile, state governments of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi and even the Centre have taken multiple measures to incentivise farmers and prevent them from setting their fields on fire.
The Delhi government on Monday announced a set of 10 points formulated under its Winter Action Plan. It is also providing the Pusa- bio-decomposer, developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, free of cost to its farmers to prevent stubble burning.
The Punjab government is focusing on increasing use of paddy stubble in power generation. The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has asked the state’s three thermal power plants to use paddy stubble as fuel to the extent of 10 per cent of total annual coal use.
