Glacier melt at major sites in western China is accelerating fast, Greenpeace said on Tuesday, November 20, 2018.
The disappearance of glaciers is considered by scientists as one of the clearest signs of climate change. Photo credit: beforeitsnews.com
The melt is prompting thousands to evacuate in recent months and underscoring the vulnerability to climate change in a “wake-up call” for the world.
Satellite analysis showed that the rate of retreat at glaciers in China’s remote western regions had more than doubled, Greenpeace said.
The annual rate at the Tianshan Glacier No. 1 in Xinjiang is rising from an average of 5,000 square metres between 1962 and 1986 to 10,600 square metres between 1986 and this year.
“This is a wake-up call for China and the world,’’ said Greenpeace’s climate and energy campaigner, Liu Junyan.
“Glaciers in China supply water to 1.8 billion people, and they’re melting, fast.
“In just the last few months, thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes due to threats of flooding.’’
Greenpeace has identified two major disasters caused by glacier melt this year.
The disaster included the release of 25 million cubic metres of floodwater into the Yarkant river basin that forced the evacuation of residents in August.
Researchers with the China Academy of Sciences said in September that glaciers in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau had shrunk 15 per cent as a result of rising temperatures over the last 50 years.
Temperatures in the region are rising faster than the global average, they said.
China has pledged to bring carbon emissions to a peak by “around 2030” as part of its commitment to the 2015 Paris agreement.
The agreement aims to keep the average global temperature increase to “well below” two degrees Celsius above the historical norm.
The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in a report in October.
It warned that high-altitude zones like the Tibetan plateau would be especially vulnerable if global temperature rises were not restricted to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Another CAS study published in October said China was at risk of longer and more intense drought as well as more destructive flooding if global temperature rises were not limited to 1.5 degrees.
China on Tuesday, November 20, 2018 launched a new space environment research satellite and four nanosatellites on a Long March-2D carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.
The Long March 2D carrier rocket
According to the centre, the satellites have successfully entered their pre-set orbit.
Shiyan-6 will be used for conducting space environment exploration experiments.
The term nanosatellite refers to a small artificial satellite, weighing between one kg and 10 kg.
Among the four nanosatellites, Tianping-1A and Tianping-1B will be used for equipment calibration on ground control stations, while Jiading-1 is the first satellite of the Xiangyun satellite constellation in low earth orbit.
A software-defined satellite, developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will be used for conducting experiments on open-source satellite software research and development on Android platforms.
Compared to traditional satellites, a software-defined satellite is more flexible and reconfigurable.
A report says it enables its operator to capture diverse markets with its ability to change things like frequency band and coverage areas on demand.
It is the 292th mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.
As part of its World Toilet Day declaration, the Lagos State Government is finalising implementation plans concerning its Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) policy.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Mr Babatunde Durosimi-Etti
Commissioner for Environment, Mr Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, made this known during the celebration of the 2018 World Toilet Day in Lagos on Monday, November 19, 2018.
The commissioner said that the policy (WASH) was envisaged to complement extant laws and curb the menace of open defecation and urination in the state.
Durosinmi-Etti decried the practices of open defecation and urination as unwholesome, with a lot of negative impact on the environment, public health, human dignity and personal safety especially for women, children and those in vulnerable situations.
He said that the 2018 World Toilet Day celebration, themed: ‘’When Nature Calls’’, promoted the campaign against open defecation.
According to him, open defecation is a practice that is not only unhealthy but also anathema to the Lagos Megacity dream.
The commissioner said that not less than 892 million people around the world practiced open defecation, as they were unable to access basic sanitation facilities, particularly toilets and water.
“These staggering statistics, no doubt, calls for urgent action among all stakeholders to prioritise toilet and sanitation issues.
“The statistics calls on stakeholders to enhance access to water and sanitation facilities and spread awareness of the ills of undesirable sanitation practices,’’ he said.
Durosinmi-Etti said that the World Toilet Day celebration brought to the front burner issues such as water, sanitation and hygiene, which required urgent actions to stem the tide of diseases and bring about healthy citizenry.
According to him, the world is changing faster than one can imagine, with human population increasing at an exponential rate.
“Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide access to safe and sustainable sanitation systems that will effectively address the menace of open urination, open defecation and other sanitation infractions to prevent the spread of diseases,’’ he said.
The commissioner said that proper handling of these critical issues would help reduce government expenditure on treatment of diseases and make more money available for other important public uses.
Durosinmi-Etti said that the government was making efforts to eradicate the menace of open defecation and urination through the provision of public toilets and upgrading of already-existing facilities across the state.
The commissioner called on Lagosians to join the global crusade, spread the awareness and inspire environmentally-friendly actions.
He said that Lagosians should support in facilitating the provision of sustainable sanitation systems capable of promoting economic growth and well-being of the entire citizenry.
The World Toilet Day, regarded as an important international observance day, is dedicated to creating awareness and inspiring actions to combat the global sanitation challenges facing humanity.
The 2018 edition of the World Toilet Day was celebrated by Lagos State Government in conjunction with Reckitt Benckiser.
It is common knowledge that the inability of governments to maintain as well as expand water infrastructures built around independence some 58 years ago a contributory factor to the proliferation of boreholes across the country, as people make desperate efforts to provide water for themselves.
But, with recent cases of earth tremor in Abuja, which experts say could be the result of haphazard extraction of underground resources, it is becoming obvious to Nigerians that drilling of boreholes is another time bomb that they should avoid.
How then will Nigerians survive in the absence of the borehole, which is a major source of portable water to city dwellers in particular?
Correspondent Innocent Onoh in this report that explores boreholes as a major source of water in Lagos attempts to find an answer to this poser.
The Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Monday, November 19, 2018 said the Federal Government would deploy solar energy systems to 37 universities in the country.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN)
Fashola made this known while delivering the 32nd Convocation Lecture of the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), titled: “Sustainability of Technological Advancement-A Key to Industrial Growth’’.
He said the solar energy project was ongoing, saying that government would soon deliver 12 Mega Watts of electricity in nine institutions.
“We are embracing technology and we are embracing solar energy. We will go phase by phase until we complete the 37 federal institutions.
“We have started construction of roads in 14 tertiary institutions for internal road rehabilitation.
“I don’t know the last time the Federal Government went back to rehabilitating internal roads or build independent power plants for its own universities in this country.
“That is what President Buhari’s government is doing now,” he said.
Fashola said that the country must develop a technology to store electricity, pointing that, today, it is still difficult to store electricity.
The minister said the Federal Government had invested in Automated Meter Reading Machines.
“Everybody, from providers of power to consumers of power can see the value chain from a remote location.
“Once this can happen, it will mean that investment in power will grow. The investment in transmission will grow and investment in distribution will grow.
“Everybody is getting his money and reinvesting appropriately,’’ he said.
The minister said technology had advanced growth in every sector of the economy, from Banking to ICT.
He noted that technology was sustainable because it was evolving without disrupting lives in a bad way.
“Our world is changing so very quickly; our world will change so much I suspect in the next 10 to 20 years.
“We can leap-frog with technology; we can deploy them and we can add value to it. The world is changing, add your own,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Obafemi Omokungbe, Rector of the college, said the Convocation lecture was a very important component of the graduation ceremony.
Omokungbe said the lecture was an avenue to examine issues of national and global interests with a view to proffering solutions to identified challenges.
He said the recommendations would assist the relevant organs of government in formulation and implementation of policies that might be beneficial to the nation at large.
“Your presence here is not an accident and we do not want the opportunity to be lost by us.
“There is, therefore, a huge burden on the college for replacement of these facilities that have become dilapidated and decayed due to age, particularly at a time when fund is a serious and harrowing issue.
“First, we seek your assistance to facilitate the completion of the reconstruction of the college road network and request for the construction of an electricity substation for the college.
“The issue of electricity supply to the college has been a daunting task to be accomplished by the college management alone.
“As an institution of higher learning, the poor power supply or lack of it, has been a constant factor for disharmony between students and the management,” the rector said.
The inaugural United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) is being held in Deqing, East China’s Zhejiang Province. The event started on Monday Nov. 19, 2018 and will end on Nov. 21.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Photo credit: UN Photo/ Kim Haughton
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a video message to the congress, expecting the UNWGIC to “use geospatial information to build a safer, better world where no one is left behind.”
Themed “The Geospatial Way to a Better World,” the UNWGIC aimed to advance the potential and usefulness of geospatial information for sustainable development and to tackle global challenges.
Guterres noted that to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, reliable, timely and accessible geospatial information is in need for decision-making, ensuring effective and inclusive development initiatives and measuring progress.
He also encouraged participants to provide suggestions on developing new and emerging technologies, sharing the digital economy, and building smart societies.
The event includes exhibitions, meetings, workshops and learning events.
Delegates from over 100 countries and regions, geospatial information organisations, and academic and research institutions are attending the conference.
Civil Society on Monday, November 19, 2018 at the ongoing United Nations Convention on Biodiversity Conference of Parties (COP 24) in Egypt, called on African and all other delegates to apply caution on the issue of synthetic biology (synbio) and gene drive organisms (GDOs), saying that delegates from the continent are not adequately representing the continent’s interest at the summit.
Gene drives, such as those being promoted by Target Malaria, aimes at releasing gene drive mosquitoes in Burkina Faso
As representatives of a broad range of African civil society organisations, we do not feel represented by the delegations of Nigeria and South Africa, in their attempt to speak on behalf of the people of Africa on the issue of synthetic biology (synbio) and gene drive organisms (GDOs).
Throughout the history of the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, African delegates have championed the defence of our biodiversity, protection of our seeds, indigenous agroecological practices and culture. They have always advocated the need for a precautionary approach.
In the past, African delegates have strongly defended our ecological life-support systems from threats, such as Terminator technologies (seeds designed to be sterile).
We are now alarmed at what is going on at COP14 and how our concerns for our environment, biodiversity and communities are being betrayed and threatened by delegates from some African nations. In particular, they are not representing our concerns about gene drives and synbio.
Most countries in Africa are still grappling with the threats from basic genetic engineering and associated agro-toxics and do not even have experience or capacity for basic regulation of the risks for those first-generation genetic technologies, let alone synbio and GDOs.
Gene drives, such as those being promoted by Target Malaria, aimed at releasing gene drive mosquitoes in Burkina Faso, are a deliberately invasive technology designed to propagate genetic material across an entire population – potentially wiping out entire species. As Africans, we are forced to confront this new and serious threat to our health, land, biodiversity, rights, and food supply.
African government delegations appear to have been neutralised. They have fallen from grace on the altar of the multi-national corporations, gene giants and private foundations. The African group’s position at the CBD slavishly replicates the position of these interest groups.
As Africans, we do not wish to be lab-rats for Target Malaria’s experiments. We refuse to be guinea pigs for their misguided disruption of our food systems and ecology.
We call on the African and all other delegates to put the brakes on this exterminating technology. We reject any form of representation that is against the interest of our peoples and biodiversity. We call on the governments of Africa to call their delegates to order and avoid acquiescence to unfolding intergenerational crimes.
The GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and over 35 other civil society organisations have condemned efforts by government and biotech corporations to persuade Nigerians to accept agricultural biotechnology, even as they denounce the registration and release of genetically modified (GM) cotton varieties (Maycho C567 BG II and Maycho C571 BG II) into the country.
The GM Bt Cotton is said to have failed in Burkina Faso, with farmers making claims from Monsanto
The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology as well as the Ministry of Agriculture in conjunction with biotech company, Bayer/Mahyco (formally Monsanto) Agricultural Nigeria Limited, the Open Forum for Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) and the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) held a press conference on Monday, November 19, 2018 to inform the public on the recently released transgenic cotton varieties.
“We were utterly embarrassed to see the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, merely regurgitated the claims of the biotech industry that GMOs would bring about increase in agricultural yields, reduce pesticide use and improve economic situation for farmers – all of which have serially been proven to be false!” the group said.
On his part, the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, was reported to have said that Nigerians are too afraid, and that Nigeria cannot remain backward with regard to modern biotechnology. “Nigerians do not accept to be ambushed in this way by government agencies and officials,” the group insisted.
The coalition of CSOs, farmer groups and faith-based organisations representing thousands of consumers, food safety and environmental actors warned Nigerians to beware of the propaganda and to see the push for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as “a money-making venture for the biotech corporations and their political jobbers”.
The group stated: “The move by the Nigerian government to commercialise the transgenic cotton varieties opens the doors for more genetically modified products (including the GM cowpea) and represents nothing but disaster for farmers, the entire public and our agricultural system.”
According to the coordinator of the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, it is erroneous for Nigeria to adopt a crop variety which is famous for its failure in many countries where it has been used.
His words: “In 2016 Burkina Faso, discontinued cultivation of this genetically modified cotton due to poor quality of the cotton and high cost of inputs. Farmers in India have had a disastrous experience with this type of cotton as it proves ineffective against the bollworm pest and causes instead a boom of non-target pests, increase in pesticide use and in production cost. China, Indonesia and Pakistan are other countries where the transgenic cotton has failed.
“Experts in Kenya including the Kenya Biodiversity Coalition (KBioC), Africa Biodiversity Network, and Greenpeace Africa oppose plan to introduce this crop into their country stressing that it is unwarranted and unsafe,” Rhodes-Vivour added.
Nnimmo Bassey, Director of HOMEF stated: “The results of the use of GM cotton in other countries have shown that the promoters of agricultural biotechnology in Nigeria are knowingly peddling falsehood. As if to buttress this, South African government have recently rejected Monsanto’s triple stacked GM drought tolerant maize as they found that the data provided by company was insufficient to demonstrate the claimed drought tolerance and insect resistant efficiency of the GM event.”
The activist added: “It is regrettable that our ministers would front for Monsanto, a corporation that now goes by another name (Bayer), and that is well known for suppressing and distorting scientific research in order to accumulate profit at the expense of farmers, peoples and the planet. Combined with the dismal performance of the Nigerian delegation at the ongoing UN Convention on Biodiversity COP in Egypt it is clear that the GMO promoters have sold Nigerians and Africa at large for a mess of porridge. It is time for the Nigerian government to merge the National Biosafety Management Agency and the National Biotechnology Development Agency as there is no basis for their pretending to be separate entities.”
Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, a lawyer and food sovereignty activist, stated: “It is appalling for the Federal Government to partner with Bayer/Monsanto and their hired helpers in this manner.”
She insisted that Nigeria is not ready to handle the implications of deploying genetically modified crops. Our regulatory system is stacked against the people as there is no provision for strict liability and redress in the country’s biosafety law and thus when the crop fails, the burden will be on our farmers. “To say that GMOs mean increased yield for farmers and the use of less herbicides and pesticides is the most blatant falsehood of the century.”
In 2016, when the application for environmental release and market placement of the cotton was advertised by the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), HOMEF sent in objections outlining socio-economic, molecular, as well as safety and environmental concerns. In their submission to the Agency, HOMEF stated that the transgenic cotton contained the toxins: cry2Ab2 and cry1Ac which have no history of safe use in nature and have been shown to have similarities to known allergenic proteins. Also, no baseline data was provided on safety assessments and the application did not consider any combinatorial or cumulative effects of the modified proteins.
On environmental impact, it was pointed out that the application did not make provision for treatment of non-target organisms (organisms other than the target pests) and no data was provided on tests used by the company to back the claim of no adverse effect. Also, the specificity of the ecological situation in Nigeria was not considered.
Gloria Okon, a farmer based in Katsina State and a member of the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, pointed out that “farmers in Nigeria do not need GM cotton or beans. Farmers need to be provided with extension services to expose them to natural strategies (such as biological control and integrated pest management systems) to combat invading pests instead of government and Monsanto imposing solutions that will not help the poor.”
The statement concluded with a call for the Nigerian government and the entire public to reject agricultural biotechnology as solution for food challenges, to seek innovative systems such as agroecology that protect and enhance ecosystems, support small holder farmers and increase productivity.
Governments have been asked to put laws in place to enable communities’ initiatives take leadership role in conservation efforts.
Ken Kinney, Executive Director Ghana Development Institute
Ken Kinney, Executive Director Ghana Development Institute, noted that, by enacting laws, the governments would empower communities to focus on energy and food nutrition programmes.
“This will let the communities assume ownership hence diversify concentration in conservation matters,” Kinney said during a press conference in the sidelines of the ongoing Convention of Biodiversity’s (CBD) Conference of Parties in Egypt during the launch of a new briefing paper by the Global Forest Coalition (GFC).
He said that, besides giving incentives to foreign investors in timber and mining sectors, local communities need to be supported fully as the custodian of the natural resources.
Kinney noted that the rate of deforestation has grown high in Africa due to failure to incorporate indigenous people who have indigenous knowledge of conserving the environment.
“The communities should be considered by the government for support to help conserve biodiversity,” he added.
The paper attributed the leading cause of deforestation and biodiversity loss to giving incentives to produce and export meat and animal feed stocks like soy.
It noted that such subsidies must be phased out by 2020 to conserve biodiversity, in line with the Aichi Target 3 (4), while positive incentives should be developed to support alternatives.
Dr. Simone Lovera-Bilderbeek, GFC’s director, noted that European Union’s (EU) imports are directly incentivizing unsustainable meat production that is likely to further increase deforestation.
“There is need for a rapid reduction in meat and dairy consumption and incentives for small scale, localised and ecological sound food production and community conservation initiatives to support biodiversity conservation as an alternative,” she said.
She further said that meat and soy are the top two contributors to deforestation that must be eliminated as a financial and other support for these sectors.
Lovera-Bilderbeek noted that 90 percent of biodiversity are found in the forest hence the need to conserve al forests.
“We require a new and rapid shift towards consuming other foods that are not necessarily meat and dairy products to increase conservation of biodiversity,” she said.
The authors of the paper observed that incentives to produce and export meat and animal feed stocks in major producer countries like Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina are a leading cause of deforestation and biodiversity loss.
They singled out Brazil as one of the countries with the highest deforestation rates on the planet.
Between 2005 and 2015, the Brazilian government invested 3.18 billion dollars in the livestock industry, 90 percent of which went to just three corporations.
According to the paper, in 2017, 48 billion dollars went to agribusiness companies in the form of cheap credit. But in comparison, only 115.6 million dollars was allocated to combatting deforestation and forest degradation.
The study was also done in Tanzania, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Around 15 percent of terrestrial and 7 percent of marine areas are now covered by protected areas, a report released by the UN Environment shows.
Naomi Kingston, Head of Protected Areas Programme at the UN Environment
Naomi Kingston, Head of Protected Areas Programme at the UN Environment, said that the move shows that the world is on track to meet important conservation targets.
“By July 2018, more than 20 million km2 of the earth’s land surface and nearly 27 million km2 of marine areas had been designated as protected Areas – locations that receive protection to achieve the long-term conservation of nature,” Kingston told journalists during the launch of the protected planet report 2018 on the sidelines of the UN Biodiversity Conference in Sharm El Sheikh Egypt.
Kingston observed that this represents an increase in 0.2 percent of terrestrial and 3.2 percent of marine areas since the last report was published in 2016.
She noted that the continued growth in protected areas around the world is essential for the future of biodiversity adding that the great increases in protection of the marine environment over the past two years will play a key role in restoring the health of the ocean, that is being achieved due to a strong collaboration between countries, non-governmental organisations and international organisations.
The Protected Planet Report 2018 reviews the progress of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11, which aims for the effective and equitable management of 17 percent of terrestrial and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas by 2020.
Cristiana Pasca-Palmer, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), called on countries to make resolutions on protecting areas with urgency to meet the deadline.
“You have two years of ‘low hanging mangoes’ to pursue the set goals and report back within the time frame,” Pasca-Palmer added.
She said that then report shows that the world is on track to meet the coverage aspect of target 11, and emphasises the needs to meet other aspects by 2020.
Kathy MacKinnon, Chair, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, called for the recognition and supports the efforts being made by indigenous peoples and local communities, as well as private actors who conserve critical areas.
She said that protected Planet provides the essential information for decision-makers to base their decisions on achieving the existing targets by 2020, and most importantly to inform the approach for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
“Protection of these areas are to help conserve biodiversity whereas on 20 percent are currently protected in countries,” Mackinnon said.
She revealed that, for every 10 years, 10 newly protected areas are added in the list of the so far protected areas.
Mackinnon however said that the increase is encouraging but urged countries to focus on expanding the areas and confer the benefits to the communities.
Hany El Shaer, Regional Programme coordinator with the World Heritage and Business and Biodiversity Programme, protection of areas in the Middle East remains elusive due to sporadic wars witnessed in the region.
“We try to bring countries together, but some are undermining our effort as they fail to visit certain countries that are not their allies in the global set up,” Shaer noted.
He said that there remain significant challenges to achieve all elements of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 in the region even as other countries make important strides into achieving the goal.
“Shaer noted that there remains a huge task to protecting the areas in the region and called for support to achieve the set goal,” he added.
The report shows that fishing is now banned in 432,000 square miles of Antarctic reserve, in attempt to preserve over 16,000 species, including the Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Minke Whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis).
In addition to hosting the report, there is now a new interactive digital version, highlighting key findings, and providing monthly updates to track progress.
The UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the National Geographic Society (NGS) partnered in compiling and releasing the Protected Planet Report 2018.
