Nigeria’s senior national football team, the Super Eagles, is expected to to leave Abuja to Uyo in Akwa Ibom State on Monday, June 5, 2017 as camp opens for the African Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa.
Super Eagles
The Eagles began camping on Saturday as the team prepares to face the Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Saturday, June 10, 2017.
Eagles Media Officer, Toyin Ibitoye, told Sportswriters the Eagles would be leaving Monday afternoon to have to have a light training in the evening, but full training session will start on Tuesday, for once a day, so as to maximise the day for the South Africans.
“Most of the players are in camp, but were released on Saturday and Sunday to spend some time with their families.
“Just before the close of Sunday, every body would be back to camp as almost all the players are already in camp,” Ibitoye explained.
The Super Eagles played two friendly matches as a build-up to Saturday’s game. The team drew one-all with Corsica and defeated Togo 3-0, all in France.
Meanwhile, Plateau United still leads the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) table despite losing 0-1 to Enyimba in Aba.
Enyimba clinched to the fourth position after the win. MFM Football Club of Lagos, occupies the second spot after a slim 1-0 win over FC Ifeanyi Ubah.
El-Kanemi FC of Maiduguri is third on the log, following a 0-2 loss to Wikki Tourists, in Bauchi.
Relegation battlers, Wikki Tourists, Katsina United and Remo Stars, all won their matches. Katsina United beat Abia Warriors 1-0 as Remo Stars beat Gombe 2-0. ABS defeated Niger Tornadoes 2-1, the same margin Kano Pillars saw off Lobi Stars of Makurdi.
Earlier, a draw was recorded between Rangers International and Nasarawa United. The match ended 1-1.
With recent commitments made by governments around the globe, the world is on track to protect over 10% of the globe’s marine areas by 2020, announced Dr. Cristiana Pașca Palmer, the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Cristiana Paşca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
This target was agreed by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2010, and was also adopted by Member States of the United Nations as part of Sustainable Development Goal 14.
Since 1993, when the CBD entered into force, the area of marine protected areas in the world’s ocean and coastal waters has increased nearly 20-fold, from 0.3% to 5.7% today. Since the adoption, in 2010, of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the Aichi Biodiversity targets, the area of marine protected areas has more than doubled, from 2.4 to 5.7 %.
With commitments made as of today by a number of Parties to the CBD, an additional 4.4% percent of marine area will be covered by Marine Protected Areas by 2020.
These national commitments include:
Increases in protected areas expected from projects already funded;
National priority identified by countries under their plans submitted to the Convention; and
Voluntary commitments announced in advance of the Oceans Conference. Three quarters of these new commitments have been made with implementation plans giving confidence that they will be carried out.
Focussing only on areas under national jurisdiction, 14.4% are currently protected; this is projected to rise to over 23% by 2020.
“The world is making tremendous progress in reaching this target for protected areas in our oceans, and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 has been a catalysing force,” said Dr. Cristiana Pașca Palmer.
“However,” she continued, “we still need to increase efforts. We need to ensure that the growing network of Marine Protected Areas is representative of the different ocean ecosystems. We also need to ensure that marine protected areas are managed effectively and fairly.”
“As we mark World Environment Day, these concrete steps towards protecting more of the world’s marine areas is another cause for celebration. Our planet’s biodiversity is critical for humanity, and all countries must redouble their efforts to reach our common objectives,” said Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment.
Marine Protected Areas contribute substantial social, economic and environmental benefits to society. They provide food security and livelihood security for some 300 million people, help mitigation and adaption to climate change and contribute to coastal protection and disaster risk reduction. Rates of return on investment in marine protected areas are very high. Recognising the link between protected areas and human benefits, the Convention’s Programme of Work on Protected Areas and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 takes an inclusive, people-centred approach to management.
The CBD has been described as the key international legal instrument for protected areas, supporting and fostering national and multilateral efforts in a comprehensive manner that contribute to achievement of the Sustainable Development Agenda. The date for achievement of the targets for protected areas coincides with the end of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity.
A three-day inception workshop that held from Wednesday, May 31 to Friday, June 3, 2017 in Calabar, Cross River State signalled the official commencement of the projects tagged: “De-risking Renewable Energy NAMA for the Nigerian Power Sector” and “Sustainable Fuel Wood Management in Nigeria”.
Promoted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), the project is estimated to gulp $238,960,000.
The workshop attracted a diverse group of stakeholders, who actively participated during the two days of intensive deliberations.
L-R: Dr Anselm Egwunatum (Assistant Director, Environmental Conservation, Delta State Ministry of Environment), Dr Victor Fodeke, (former Director, Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment), Dr Jason Yapp (International Consultant), and Mrs Ngozi Okoye ( Executive Director, Centre for Transformation of the Underpriviledged)L-R: Ewah Eleri (Executive Director, International Centre for Energy, Environment & Development), Femi Oye (CEO, SME FUNDS), and Biodun Olaore (Country Director, Envirofit International Nigeria Limited)L-R: Aideyan Ifueko, Omon Dania, Mary Ogbolu and Nkechi IsaacR-L: Victor Ogala (Technical Officer, Rural Women Energy Security Initiative), Kasim Abubakar (Technical Officer, Climate and Clean Air Coalition), Uwana Gabriel (Special Assistant, Cross River State Government), Grace Ibe (Administrative Assistant, UNDP-GEF Project), and Basil Evey Ereshie (Special Assistant, Cross River State Government)L-R: Elvis Usaka (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Agriculture, Makurdi), Dr Kwaghger Aondara, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Agriculture, Makurdi), and Ierve Isaac (Works and Housing Department, Logo Local Government Council, Benue State)
A two-in-one, multi-million-dollar scheme aimed at ensuring efficient use of energy while minimising the emission of harmful gases has commenced.
Participants at the workshop on “De-risking Renewable Energy NAMA for the Nigerian Power Sector” and “Sustainable Fuel Wood Management in Nigeria” in Calabar, Cross River State
A group comprising the Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Power, Cross River State Government and a team of investors is supporting the implementation of the two projects, which was officially flagged-off during a three-day inception workshop held from Wednesday, May 31 to Friday, June 3, 2017 in Calabar, Cross River State.
At a total value of about $238, 960,000, the projects are tagged: “De-risking Renewable Energy NAMA for the Nigerian Power Sector” and “Sustainable Fuel Wood Management in Nigeria”.
NAMA, which implies Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action, refers to a set of policies and actions that countries undertake as part of a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
While the former (Renewable Energy NAMA) is designed to bring about a transformation in the electricity mix by accelerating the contribution of renewable energy in the power sector, the latter (Fuel Wood Management) aims at ensuring coordinated and sustainable usage of fuelwood for multiple environmental and socio-economic benefits, including reduced GHG emission.
The Renewable Energy NAMA is estimated to gulp $218,150,000, out of which GEF is providing $4.4 million, the UNDP $1.5 million, ECN $1.5 million, Federal Ministry of Environment $200,000, Federal Ministry of Power N350,000, Lagos Energy Academy $200,000 and a private sector contribution valued at $210 million.
Fuel Wood Management, on the other hand, has a total project value of $20,810,000 in respect of which the GEF is making available $4,410,000, the UNDP $300,000, Cross River Forestry Commission $1.9 million, UN-REDD+ Programme $4 million, ECN $1 million, Federal Ministry of Environment $2.2 million, Fortis Microfinance Bank $3 million, SME FUND $1 million, International Centre for Energy, Environment & Development (ICEED) $2 million, and Development Association for Renewable Energy (DARE) $1 million.
“Except for the GEF and UNDP contributions that come as physical cash, all other contributions to the project are coming either in kind or as investments,” discloses Etiosa Uyigue, the Project Coordinator.
Geographically focused in the states of Cross River, Delta and Kaduna, Fuel Wood Management seeks to reduce GHG emissions from the use of fuelwood in the country’s domestic, institutional and industrial sectors through integrated and sustainable fuelwood production and utilisation, and promotion of sustainable biomass energy technologies using output-based and market-based approaches.
“Cross River, Delta and Kaduna states are at the forefront of the climate change, forest and land conservation agenda in Nigeria,” submits Okon Ekpenyong, Director (Linkages & Consultancy) at the ECN, while justifying the choice of the states.
His words: “The UN-REDD+ selected Cross River State as a pilot to demonstrate its REDD+ readiness model. The UN-REDD+ has targeted Delta State as the next state to replicate the success in Cross River and the chosen communities have already been sensitised on the REDD+ programme and its benefits.
“Unlike the frontline desertification state, the Great Green Wall programme has also targeted Kaduna State as a buffer state to prevent future desertification. All of these programmes provide a sound baseline to superimpose additional GEF support for sustainable fuelwood management and clean energy access.”
Ekpenyong, an engineer, adds: “The project is designed to comprehensively address one of the major causes of deforestation in Cross River and Delta states and land degradation and desertification in Kaduna State; specifically, the unsustainable use of non-renewable fuel wood in rural and peri-urban areas
“The project is also designed to balance the supply and demand for fuelwood through a bottoms-up approach of leveraging private sector resources and provide inclusive financial incentives (start-up loans, matching rebate schemes) and market mechanisms for sustained market supply and demand for energy efficient stoves/kilns and certified fuelwood.”
The Renewable Energy NAMA, on the other hand, will develop a standardised baseline for the electricity sector as part of the development of an MRV (Monitoring Reporting and Verification) system for quantifying GHG emission reductions.
According to Ekpenyong, A GIS-based tool will be developed to guide private developers in siting geographical locations for PV, wind and biomass projects across Nigeria based on several criteria, including renewable energy resource potential, grid coverage and stability, environmentally sensitive areas, and physical infrastructure.
Concerning a demonstration project, he discloses: “For the purposes of the project, a baseline project has been identified as a 100 MW PV plant that will be implemented by Nigerian Solar Capital Partners (NSCP) in the North-East State of Bauchi.
“The NSCP project is the most advanced on-grid solar PV project being developed in Nigeria, and it has reached the stage of PPA negotiations.
“The project has also completed social and environmental impact assessments using the due diligence processes of multilateral institutions like the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The project is also benefiting from the technical and financial assistance of the World Band and AfDB under the Clean Technology Fund (CTF).”
Bothered by the unsavoury conditions faced by oceans and coasts, a group of publishers is calling for local action and global regulations to raise ocean awareness, inspire societal change and protect the seas.
Barbara Unmüßig, President of the Heinrich Böll Foundation
The team, comprising the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin and Schleswig Holstein, The Future Ocean cluster of excellence in Kiel and the monthly newspaper Le Monde Diplomatique, publishers of the “Ocean Atlas 2017”, describe the publication as a “wake-up call”.
“Human activity is forcing unprecedented change on our oceans and coasts. With only 2% of the oceans fully protected, these are some of the most poorly governed regions in the world. Pollution, overuse and climate change are causing loss of habitat and biodiversity. A global rethink and local action is needed, urgently,” says Michael Alvarez Kalverkamp, spokesperson for the Heinrich Böll Foundation.
According to him, the oceans provide half of man’s oxygen and regulate the climate.
“They are one of the most valuable ecosystems our planet has to offer. They grant us food, climate stability, energy and recreation, but we are overfishing and overexploiting them, treating them like a dumping ground for animal, military and nuclear waste. As climate change causes them to warm up, the sea levels to rise and waters to acidify, our oceans are losing their biodiversity and productivity. Meanwhile coastal dead zones are expanding due to loss of oxygen,” he stresses.
The publishers disclose that, in 12 brief lessons, the atlas puts together the latest facts and figures on man’s impact on the oceans.
“It explains why we are seeing a rapid increase in acidity levels, how 90 percent of globally exploited fish populations are fully utilised, and 20% of them even overfished. Plus, the atlas shows what an alternative to problematic offshore fish farms could look like, which doesn’t rely on pesticides,” the team discloses.
“As the primary regulator of the climate, the impact of man-made climate change on the ocean is considerable,” says Martin Visbeck from GEOMAR, who is also spokesman from The Future Ocean, Cluster of Excellence.
He adds: “If we cross certain climate tipping points we could reach a point of no-return. Our coasts, the ocean’s’ ecosystems and humanity would suffer. But there’s some good news: We can avert this catastrophe. For the first time the oceans are on the international agenda with the sustainable development goal 14 (SDG) which calls for responsible use of the oceans’ resources. This is the focus of our research in Kiel. We are developing knowledge-based solutions to help preserve the ocean and its ecosystems.”
“Deep-sea mining poses the greatest future threat to the oceans,” says Barbara Unmüßig, President of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. “Harvesting raw materials from the seabed will damage its fragile eco-system irreparably, before we have even begun to understand the impact it will have on the seas, climate and land. The International Seabed Authority has issued 14 new exploratory licenses since 2013. That’s as many as in the last 12 years put together. Mining will begin in the next few years. It is of the utmost urgency that we impose a global moratorium on the extraction of raw materials and deep-sea mining until we understand the potential consequences and have set necessary boundaries.
“The global political system governing the protection, management and sustainable use of the oceans is completely inadequate. It is poorly implemented and suffers from fragmentary jurisdiction. We need comprehensive governance with effective methods of sanctioning.”
“The oceans are pushed to their limits by pollution and waste,” says Dirk Scheelje, on the executive board at the Heinrich Böll Foundation Schleswig-Holstein. “Every year eight million tonnes of plastic rubbish end up in the oceans and the resulting microplastic sinks into the depths. Poisonous microplastic gets swallowed by fish which end up on our plates and in our stomachs.
“International trade pollutes our oceans with leaking fuel and emissions from 90.000 ships shifting nine billion tonnes of cargo every year. Cruise ships are a further burden on the oceans as they venture into more and more remote areas. Tourism with its construction, sewage and traffic causes massive damage to the coastal seas. It’s imperative that coastal and maritime tourism is made more sustainable, if we want to preserve the quality of the seas and coasts for the next generations.”
The Ocean Atlas will be presented by the authors and other experts at a side event of the UN Ocean Conference in New York on Thursday, June 8, 2017.
According to Kalverkamp, the Ocean Atlas is free of charge and can be distributed as a teaching aid to educational institutions. The atlas is available online here: www.boell.de/oceanatlas
The Government of Finland on Thursday, June 1, 2017 deposited its instrument of ratification, thereby becoming the 55th future Party to the Minamata Convention.
Sauli Väinämö Niinistö, President of Finland
This comes just a day after Slokavia on Wednesday, May 31 endorsed the mercury accord. Prior to that, the twin island nation of St Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 had ratified the Convention, making it the 53rd Party to the global treaty.
The Minamata Convention has already entered into force, thanks to the landmark rash of ratifications on Thursday, May 18, 2017 that triggered the Convention on Mercury into force, having garnered the required 50 ratifications.
On that day, the EU and seven of its member States – Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden – deposited their instruments of ratification at the UN Headquarters in New York, bringing to 51 that day the number of future Parties.
As a result, on August 16 2017, the Convention, which aims at protecting human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds, will become legally binding for all its Parties.
The 1st Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (COP1) will gather governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations from around the world in Geneva from September 24 to 29, 2017.
The Minamata Convention is said to be the first new global Convention on environment and health adopted for close to a decade. It addresses the entire life cycle of mercury, considered by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the top 10 chemicals of major health concern, which threatens the environment and health of millions.
Energiya Global, an Israeli solar developer, will invest $1 billion over the next four years to advance green energy power projects across the 15 member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to that effect was signed on Friday, June 2, 2017 in Monrovia, Liberia.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf approves the $20 million investment in Liberia’s energy sector, with Israeli Ambassador Ami Mehl and Liberia Country Director Remy Reinstein. Photo credit: Energiya Global
“In honour of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s two terms in office, and Liberia’s friendship with the State of Israel, Energiya Global and our international partners will finance and build a commercial-scale solar field at the Roberts International Airport, which will supply 25% of the country’s generation capacity,” says Yosef I. Abramowitz, CEO of Energiya Global. “We are prepared to finance and build the first National Demonstration Solar Projects in all ECOWAS-affiliated countries in order to promote political stability and social and economic development, as well as to advance knowledge transfer.”
Energiya Global and its associated companies developed the first commercial scale solar field in sub-Sahara Africa in Rwanda, which is supplying 6% of the country’s power, and the group broke ground on a similar power plant in Burundi, which will supply 15% of the country’s power by the end of the year. The solar group has fields at various stages of development in 10 African countries and expects to announce its full programme at the Israel-Africa Summit in Togo at the end of October.
Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, on Friday addressed the 15 West African heads of state of ECOWAS, as well as the head of the African Union.
“Israel is coming back to Africa,” the Prime Minister announced, even as he outlined the technological innovations in agriculture, water, green energy and more that can support economic development in West Africa.
The $20 million investment comes as Israel and ECOWAS on Sunday, June 4 signed an historic MoU to promote investments, technology and cooperation.
“With 600 million Africans without electricity, the State of Israel can literally help African heads of state bring power to the African people,” says Member of Knesset Avraham Neguise, chairman of the Israel-Africa Caucus of the Israeli Parliament, who accompanied the Prime Minister.
“Our humanitarian and diplomatic goals are supported by the private sector as well, which can work quickly and efficiently to improve the lives of millions of people. I want to thank my friend Yosef Abramowitz for his investments in solar in Africa. We look forward to working with ECOWAS to deploy $1 billion over the next four years, starting with this first investment of $20 million in Liberia by Energiya Global,” he adds.
A working session between ECOWAS, representatives of the State of Israel and Abramowitz holds in the morning of Monday, June 5 in Monrovia, to plan for the deployment of the green energy investments in fulfillment of the MOU signed by Prime Minister Netanyahu and the President of ECOWAS.
U.S. Power Africa Coordinator, Andrew Herscowitz, underlined the importance of Energiya Global’s work by saying, “As a founding Power Africa partner, Energiya Global continues to demonstrate its industry leadership with this important investment in Liberia. Increasing access and power generation is the foundation for economic prosperity and human development. We look forward to Energiya Global’s transformative impact on the lives of the Liberian people.”
“We are proud to be involved in the creation of cutting-edge, clean energy for Liberia,” says Remy Reinstein, Energiya Global’s country director. “We are honoured to have the seal of approval from President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, whose initiatives have made the sustainable development of Liberia possible.”
Director General, Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Adeniyi Karunwi, is bothered by the rate at which vultures are declining. In this treatise, he emphasises that people need to be aware of the good services vultures provide to them, and as such participate in tackling the troubles faced by the endangered birds
Vultures scavenging on a carcass. Photo courtesy: www.maxwaugh.com
The decline of vultures in Nigeria should be everyone’s concern if we understand and appreciate their importance or contributions to human health and the economy. The decline in the number of vultures is due to many factors.
The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) advocacy campaign started this year during the 2017 Chief S. L. Edu Memorial Lecture with the theme “Decline of Vultures: Consequences to Human Health and the Economy”.
Attention is being devoted to vultures because of the alarming rate of their decline. Threats to vulture species are from humans. Vultures today are in dire situation especially outside conservation areas. They are in danger of being poisoned, especially through the deliberate poisoning of carnivores; electrocution by powerlines passing through breeding sites, direct persecution and declining food availability. Deliberate poisoning of carnivores is likely the most widespread cause of vulture poisoning. Human persecution of vultures has occurred for centuries and continues unabated. These are all human-induced threats!
Vultures play a crucial role to human health and the economy. They keep our environment free of carcasses and waste thereby restricting the spread of diseases such as anthrax and botulism etc. They are of cultural value to the Nigerian communities. They have important eco-tourism (bird watching) value. Vultures are nature’s most successful scavengers, and they provide an array of ecological, economic, and cultural services. As the only known obligate scavengers, vultures are uniquely adapted to a scavenging lifestyle. Vultures’ unique adaptations include soaring flight, keen eyesight, high sense of smell and an immune system adapted to degrading carcasses with no negative effect.
Vulture decline would allow other scavengers not properly equipped for scavenging to flourish. Proliferation of such scavengers could bring bacteria and viruses from carcasses into human cities. We need to rise and prevent this from manifesting.
Ecological consequences of vulture decline include changes in community composition of scavengers at carcasses and an increased potential for disease transmission between mammalian scavengers at carcasses and human population. There have been cultural and economic costs of vulture decline as well, particularly in Nigeria.
Vultures in Nigeria are ignorantly considered an omen of evil; therefore, the evil must be stopped. This leads many to kill vultures in the quest for averting supposedly eminent evil. Sad to know this barbaric act still exists.
A recent survey conducted this year by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) at wildlife markets in Ondo, Osun and Ogun States in South West Nigeria revealed that Kano, Ibadan and Ikare are the hubs of vulture sales. Wildlife and herbs sellers visit these trade hubs to get vultures (live or dead) for their customers and users. Vultures, it was gathered, are being used by the belief-based practitioners and other spiritualists for “Awure” – fortune charm. The survey revealed that a vulture head goes for between N12,000 and N15,000 at retail markets, a feather costs N100, while other parts cost between N500 and N2,000. The findings further show that although a whole vulture could cost as high as N20,000 to N30,000, once the head is off, the rest of the parts may not attract much money.
Belief-based use is a major driver of vulture decline in Nigeria especially in the South West where they were assessed to be major ingredients in traditional concoction. The local markets for vulture species have soared up in multi-folds as a result of continued demand within the belief-based system. Belief-based professionals who are the users of this economically important species are currently decrying the high price of this commodity as it affects their business. However, there is a need for a change in the traditional belief system that have entrenched the cultural cocoon of the day-to-day existence of people.
The economy of a nation or of a people is not built by trading in commodity and other allied items only, but also on a healthy environment. When an environment is made healthy by ensuring that all the components are functioning properly, people are healthy and trade successfully, which has a ripple effect of imparting directly on the nation’s economy. A healthy soul is a wealthy soul and a healthy people are a healthy nation.
People need to be aware of the good services vultures provide to them and participate in tackling the troubles faced by vultures. Researchers need to establish a simple monitoring network for vultures. Toxic drugs that are harmful to vultures need to be eliminated. Time to save the vultures from vanishing is now! Time to be more aware of the happenings in our environment is now! And time to take bold steps to further save nature is now!
On Thursday, June 1 2017, President Donald Trump announced that his government would withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The U.S. now joins Syria and Nicaragua as the only countries not party to the agreement (Nicaragua said they did not sign on because it did not go far enough).
U.S. Indigenous Peoples in a protest march
“This irresponsible and reckless action is consistent with his and the Republican party’s anti-environmental agenda, which threatens our sacred Mother Earth and the survival of our future generations,” says the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) in a statement.
The group adds that, like Trump’s recent Executive Orders and Presidential memoranda fast-tracking the approvals for Dakota Access and the Keystone XL pipelines, “his latest action continues to put the interest of fossil fuel corporations above the Planet, its Peoples, and human rights.”
When the Paris Agreement was adopted by 194 States and the European Union in December 2015, some denounced it while others hailed it as an historic triumph. It is currently legally ratified by 147 countries.
“For Indigenous Peoples, who are on the frontlines of the climate crises around the world, the Paris Agreement was an incremental step forward for the recognition of our rights in international law. It also committed States to peak greenhouse gas emissions ‘as soon as possible,’ and to seek a balance between human-caused emissions and removals by carbon sinks,” stresses the IITC, an organisation of Indigenous Peoples from North, Central, South America, the Caribbean and the Pacific working for the Sovereignty and Self Determination of Indigenous Peoples and the recognition and protection of Indigenous Rights, Treaties, Traditional Cultures and Sacred Lands.
The group notes that the inclusion of “the rights of Indigenous Peoples” in the preamble of the Paris Agreement was achieved despite the consistent opposition of some countries throughout the process. “This addition remains a significant and unprecedented step forward because the preamble of a Treaty provides the context and framework for interpreting and implementing the entire document,” it declares.
The statement reads:
“Removing the U.S. from an agreement that specifically recognises the rights of Indigenous Peoples should be an additional cause for concern especially considering the recent U.S. no show at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights hearing to review the human rights impacts of the President’s Executive Orders in March of this year.
“The Paris Agreement also called up on State parties (countries) to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” The 1.5 temperature goal was a core position not only for Indigenous Peoples, but for the Small Island Developing States in Paris. In addition, the Agreement affirms the need for a participatory, transparent, gender-sensitive approach based on science and ‘as appropriate, traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local knowledge systems.’
“The implementation of these decisions by State Parties remains a challenge. However, the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples, the commitments to limiting temperature increases, and the recognition of traditional knowledge were core positions held firmly by Indigenous Peoples in their engagement with governments in Paris.
“Certainly, the Paris Agreement did not fulfill all the aspirations of Indigenous Peoples and fell short for many vulnerable States as well. But it provides a basis for future advocacy to ensure that all national and international programmes addressing Climate Change are carried out with respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples as affirmed in the UN Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. These include rights to lands and resources, free prior and informed consent, subsistence, traditional knowledge and Treaty rights, among others.
“The withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, along with all the other anti-environmental actions of the U.S. President and the Republican majority should be condemned by those who seek to create a better life for all Peoples and to fulfill our sacred responsibilities to Mother Earth.”
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has recommended withdrawing in-danger status from Comoé National Park in Côte d’Ivoire after seeing chimps and elephants return to the park.
The nature conservation body also recommends the Landscapes of Dauria in Russia and Mongolia to become a new World Heritage site. This advice is included in a set of reports for the World Heritage Committee, issued on Friday, June 2, 2017 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Wildlife at the Comoé National Park in Côte d’Ivoire
Situation improving in Ivoirian site in danger
Inscribed on the Danger List since 2003, Comoé National Park in Côte d’Ivoire has been facing threats such as poaching and illegal gold mining, fuelled by political instability. Since the country’s situation stabilised in 2012, conservation efforts have succeeded in improving populations of species, including elephants and chimpanzees, which were thought to have disappeared from the park. Following a monitoring mission to confirm improvements, IUCN recommends removing the site from the Danger List.
The List of World Heritage in Danger is a mechanism designed to mobilise urgent action to tackle severe issues that can damage the outstanding values of World Heritage sites. Out of 238 sites listed for their natural values, 18 are currently listed as “in danger”. These include iconic places such as Virunga National Park in DR Congo, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra in Indonesia and Everglades National Park in the USA.
Threats continue in iconic sites
A total of 55 natural World Heritage sites have been monitored for the World Heritage Committee this year by IUCN, together with UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre. The recommendations issued on Friday propose measures to tackle threats in iconic natural World Heritage sites, including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and Białowieża Forest in Poland and Belarus. More reports are due to be released next week.
Implementation of Australia’s 2050 plan to conserve the Great Barrier Reef is progressing, but more needs to be done, according to the recommendations. The report confirms climate change continues to be the most serious threat to the site. Coral bleaching events that have impacted the reef and other coral World Heritage sites in 2016 and 2017 highlight the need for action to tackle climate change beyond the national level.
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system on Earth, hosting many threatened species such as the dugong and the large green turtle. A substantial report on the condition of the site is expected to be made in two years time, which the World Heritage Committee will consider in 2020.
Among the sites that are vulnerable to serious threats, eight require urgent measures, without which danger-listing could be considered in the near future.
If Poland continues to undertake wood extraction and logging in old-growth areas of Białowieża Forest, intact habitats and species will likely be disturbed, says the IUCN, adding that this could provide the basis for listing the site as “in danger” in 2018.
The European Commission recently expressed concern over the removal of 100-year and older trees from the forest, which is also a Natura 2000 site. Inscribed as a cross-border World Heritage site in Poland and Belarus, Białowieża is one of the few remaining primeval forests on the European continent.
Natural sites where IUCN’s recommendations mention possible danger-listing in 2018 also include Plitvice National Park in Croatia, where housing is fast developing to cater for increasing numbers of tourists, and Dja Faunal Reserve in Cameroon, which is affected by impacts from a dam currently being filled, as well as elephant poaching. The Sundarbans in Bangladesh, Doñana National Park in Spain, the Golden Mountains of Altai and the Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve, both in Russia, and Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection in Panama are the other sites proposed by IUCN for possible danger listing in 2018, if urgent actions are not put in place.
The IUCN has also evaluated 13 proposals to inscribe new areas, or extend and modify natural areas already on the World Heritage List. In evaluation reports released on May 19, 2017, IUCN recommends inscribing three key habitats for species conservation as natural World Heritage sites in Argentina, Benin/Burkina Faso and China. On Friday, IUCN recommended one further site for inscription.
The Landscapes of Dauria constitute an outstanding example of steppe ecosystem, spread across Mongolia and Russia. The site provides key habitats for rare animal species such as the Endangered tarbagan marmot, the white-naped crane, the swan goose and millions of migratory birds. It is also the only place known in Russia where the Mongolian gazelle breeds.
The recommendations on proposed inscriptions and on action to tackle threats will be debated at the World Heritage Committee meeting, which this year takes place in Kraków, Poland, from July 2 to 12. The IUCN is the advisory body on nature under the World Heritage Convention responsible for providing technical advice. The World Heritage Committee takes the final decisions.
