High-level representatives from UN member states and international organisations gathered on Friday, March 1, 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to celebrate the UN World Wildlife Day under the theme “Life below water: for people and planet”.

The benefits of marine and coastal resources are enormous. Over three billion people depend on these resources for their livelihoods globally. The market value of marine and coastal resources and related industries is estimated at $3 trillion per year, about 5% of global GDP. Alarmingly, despite its critical importance, life below water faces many threats, amongst them an area of primary concern for CITES, which is their unsustainable exploitation for international trade. Over 30% of commercially exploited marine fish stocks are overfished.

Jointly organised by the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the event was attended by senior government officials, international organisations dealing with fisheries such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), conservation leaders, the private sector, celebrity advocates and youth representatives.

The UN Secretary-General provided a message for World Wildlife Day 2019.

The speakers and expert panelists shared with the audience their experiences and views on the crucial contributions of life below water to sustainable development as well as the challenges faced in ensuring its conservation and sustainable use, while highlighting solutions to address them.

World Wildlife Day 2019, which falls on 3 March, focuses on marine species and aligns closely with the Sustainable Development Goal 14 – Life below water. It is an opportunity to raise awareness about the breathtaking diversity of marine wildlife, the benefits it brings to our everyday lives as well as ways to ensure that it can continue to do so for generations to come.

CITES Secretary-General, Ivonne Higuero, said: “This is the first World Wildlife Day that focuses on life below water. We are all striving to achieve the same objective of sustainability: for people and planet – where wildlife, be it terrestrial or marine, can thrive in the wild while also benefiting people. We, here at CITES, will continue to work tirelessly to ensure international trade in CITES-listed marine species is legal, sustainable and traceable for people, planet and prosperity.”

“Some five to 12 million tonnes of plastic now enter the ocean every year, threatening the health of countless species – from the smallest zooplankton to the largest whales.  90% of large predators have already been taken out of the ocean by overfishing, some 30% of fish stocks are overexploited, and over 500 hypoxic areas have become ‘dead zones’ uninhabitable for most species,” said UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner. “To reverse this, a literal ‘sea change’ is required in how we manage both ocean and land-based activities, across sectors ranging from fisheries to agriculture to waste management.”

FAO Assistant-Director General, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Árni M. Mathiesen, said: “FAO welcomes the decision to focus on marine species at this year’s World Wildlife Day, as it builds on international recognition of the importance of conserving and sustainably using life under water. FAO and CITES continue to work jointly on CITES species listings, supporting countries and ensuring that decisions complement established fisheries management approaches worldwide.”

As part of the World Wildlife Day activities, the CITES Secretariat and UNDP partnered with the Jackson Hole WILD to organise the Living Oceans Film Showcase focusing on marine species. The Film Showcase aims is to galvanise the power of media to inspire wonder, catalyse change and move the dial on the conservation and sustainable use of marine species and highlight inspiring solutions.

CITES and UNDP also partnered with the International Fund for Animal Welfare to organise an international youth art contest as an effort to engage school-aged children and help them build a sense of connection with the marine world.

Winners of the Living Oceans Film Showcase and the youth art contest were announced during the high-level event at the UN Headquarters.

In a historic 7-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court decided on Wednesday, February 27, 2019 in Jam v. International Finance Corporation (IFC) that international organisations like the World Bank Group can be sued in U.S. courts.

The Court’s decision is said to mark a defining moment for the IFC – the arm of the World Bank Group that lends to the private sector. For years, the IFC has operated as if it were “above the law,” at times pursuing questionable lending projects that seem to inflict serious human rights abuses on local communities, and then appearing to leave the communities to fend for themselves.

International organisations like the IFC have long claimed they are entitled to “absolute” immunity, even as they engage in commercial activities, like the coal-fired power plant at the heart of this case.

Because the relevant statute only gives the IFC the same immunity as foreign governments, and foreign governments do not have absolute immunity in U.S. courts when they engage in commercial activities, the Supreme Court rejected this position: “The International Finance Corporation is therefore not absolutely immune from suit.”

The case involves an IFC-financed power plant in Gujarat, India – the Tata Mundra Ultra Mega coal-fired power plant. The plaintiffs are members of local fishing and farming communities whose livelihoods, air quality, and drinking water have allegedly been devastated by the project. They allege that the IFC and the project developers knew about these risks in advance but nevertheless chose to push forward with the project without proper protections in place.

The plaintiffs originally tried to raise their concerns through the IFC’s internal grievance mechanism, but when the IFC’s leadership ignored the grievance body’s conclusions, they reluctantly filed suit in the United States as a last resort. EarthRights International represents the plaintiffs, along with the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic.

The IFC is headquartered in Washington, DC, along with the rest of the World Bank Group, because the U.S. government is believed to be the largest shareholder in the organisations. The U.S. government has long supported the plaintiffs’ interpretation of the law: that international organisations can be sued for their commercial activities or for causing injuries in the United States. The U.S. Departments of Justice and State submitted an amicus curiae brief in support of the plaintiffs’ position, as did members of Congress from both parties.

The IFC argued that allowing it to be sued would be disastrous, but the Supreme Court, in an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, found these concerns to be “inflated.” The Court noted that, unlike many international organisations, the IFC’s founding members did not grant the organisation absolute immunity in its charter.

The case is Docket No. 17-1011. Justice Brett Kavanaugh recused himself, because he was on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit when the case was heard there. Justice Stephen Breyer was the sole dissenter, arguing that a “broad exposure to liability” for international organisations runs counter to Congress’ original purpose in providing immunity.

Now that the Supreme Court has established that the World Bank Group can be sued, the case will return to the lower courts for further litigation.

Another case against the IFC is also expected to proceed in the U.S. District Court for the State of Delaware. The case, Juana Doe et al v. IFC, involves IFC projects that have been linked to murders, torture, and other violence by paramilitary groups and death squads in Honduras. EarthRights International represents the plaintiffs, whose identities are kept anonymous to protect them from retaliation.

“We are extremely happy with the decision of the Supreme Court of US. This is a huge victory for the people of Mundra in particular and other places in general, where World Bank’s faulty investments are wrecking communities and environment. This is major step towards holding World Bank accountable for the negative impacts their investments are causing,” said Dr. Bharat Patel, the head of fishworkers’ rights group MASS, one of the plaintiffs in the case.

“We are delighted with this judgment. This is a victory of all who have fought for a more accountable World Bank since the past many decades world over and has fought valiant struggles against Bank funded projects on the ground, exposing the monumental human and environmental costs of their lending. This judgment will strengthen communities’ efforts to hold the Bank accountable and is a step in the direction of bringing accountability in financial institutions,” disclosed Joe Athialy, Executive Director of the Centre for Financial Accountability, India.

“Immunity from all legal accountability does not further the development goals of international organisations. It simply leads them to be careless, which is what happened here. Just like every other institution, from governments to corporations, the possibility of accountability will encourage these organisations to protect people and the environment,” stated Marco Simons, General Counsel, EarthRights International.

“The commercial activities of international organisations such as the IFC can have a significant impact on lives of Americans and others around the world. We welcome today’s decision,” said Prof. Jeffrey Fisher, Co-Director, Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic.

Cracks growing across Antarctica’s Brunt ice shelf are set to release an iceberg twice the size of New York City.

NASA Earth Observatory has released before and after images, taken 30 years apart, showing a massive difference in the Antarctic Brunt ice shelf.

One crack along part of the ice shelf, which first appeared in October 2016, has continued to grow eastward.

The images also show a rift, which has previously been stable for 35 years, has started accelerating northward as fast as 4 kilometres per year.

Joe MacGregor, a glaciologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, said: “The near-term future of Brunt Ice Shelf likely depends on where the existing rifts merge relative to the McDonald Ice Rumples. If they merge upstream (south) of the McDonald Ice Rumples, then it’s possible that the ice shelf will be destabilised.”

The growing cracks have prompted safety concerns for people working on the shelf, particularly researchers at the British Antarctic Survey’s Halley Station.

Chris Shuman, NASA/UMBC glaciologist, said: “We don’t have a clear picture of what drives the shelf’s periods of advance and retreat through calving. The likely future loss of the ice on the other side of the Halloween Crack suggests that more instability is possible, with associated risk to Halley VIa.”

This follows a report which found that Antarctica is losing six times more ice mass annually now than 40 years ago. The study used updated drainage inventory, ice thickness and ice velocity data for 176 basins draining the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1979 to 2017.

View the images from NASA here.

Courtesy: Climate Action

An ecologist, Mr Richard Inyamkume, has advised re-elected President Muhammadu Buhari to implement low carbon economy to transit from a largely fossil fuel driven economy to a circular, clean and sustainable economy by 2023.

Inyamkume, the Executive Director, Ambassadors of Dialogue, Climate and Reintegration, an NGO, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday, March 1, 2019.

“President Buhari will have to usher Nigeria into a `Low Carbon Economy’ that supports transitioning from a largely fossil fuel driven economy to a circular, clean and sustainable economy by 2023.

“A clean economy will translate to having more green jobs, safer cities and sustainable food, as well as power production.

“Nigeria needs to go into aggressive reforestation nationwide, beginning from grassroots to federal levels, to address poor vegetation cover that is already threatening extinct species and biodiversity,’’ he said.

The ecologist also urged Buhari to prioritise low and zero carbon emitting industrial and transport systems, as well as energy for domestic use.

“Buhari’s administration ought to be watchful about water and sanitation need sat grassroots, which over time have become issues of crucial importance and national concern.

“If the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari can prioritise low carbon initiatives and green growth, it will be winning the wrestling against climate change.

“It will also leave behind the highest ecological legacy for the next generation,’’ he said.

The executive director, who expressed delight over the re-election of Buhari, described his victory at the polls as well deserved.

“May God continue to give him the wisdom and strength to lead and conduct the affairs of our great nation in such a dignified and honourable manner that will take us to the next level.

“We sincerely appreciate the president for his previous commitments towards fighting climate change, environmental degradation and resource depletion.

“This was done through various specialised Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government,’’ he said.

Inyamkume also commended the president’s outstanding roles in collaborating with international institutions and governments towards achieving possible climate change reversal, globally.

“As an ecologist and climate advocate, my main concern is how Nigeria will improve on climate change response approach or strategy that will better serve adaptation needs of its teeming population of over 170 million citizens.

“These people are directly or indirectly at risk of extermination if adequate and prompt care is not taken,’’ he said.

According to him, at the moment, a substantial number of Nigerians have been adversely impacted by climate change mostly women and children.

“With my experience in the northeast region, particularly around the Lake Chad Basin, the magnitude of climate impact on people is intense and exposure is likely to increase in the coming years if nothing is done to support community and individual adaptation capacity.

“It becomes imperative that the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will continue working to ensure that critical environmental concerns are addressed with utmost seriousness.

“This will guarantee speedy rehabilitation of environmental health services nationwide,’’ he said.

By Deji Abdulwahab