The Stockholm Industry Water Award (SIWA) was on Sunday, August 23, 2015 in Sweden awarded to CH2M, a global service and engineering company, for developing and advancing methods to clean water, and increasing public acceptance of recycled water.
Jacqueline Hinman, Chairman and CEO of CH2M (left), receiving the award from SIWI Chairman Peter Forssman in Stockhlom, Sweden
“CH2M is thrilled to be the recipient of the 2015 Stockholm Industry Water Award. The advances in water re-use technology developed by CH2M have helped revolutionise water re-use and availability, and build safe long-term water supplies for communities around the world. But without our clients, none of this would be possible,” said Jacqueline Hinman, Chairman and CEO of CH2M, after accepting the award from SIWI Chairman Peter Forssman during a ceremony held at the ongoing World Water Week in Stockholm.
CH2M has invented, implemented and refined methods for cleaning used water back to drinking water quality. However, since this water is only valuable if people actually use it, the firm has put significant effort into building public acceptance and appreciation. They pioneered the application of social science to better understand the reasons why people reject the notion of reuse and what might be done to change that mindset. This research, combined with demonstrations, education and transparency has dispelled myths around use of treated wastewater and paved the way for a surge in interest in and acceptance of putting purified sewage water back in household pipes.
“CH2M’s work for public acceptance of drinking treated wastewater is impressive. They are an engineering company that has gone beyond their technical roots to work for a better world. We must focus on the water we have, and make sure we use it well and can use it again, and again,” said Peter Forssman, Chairman of SIWI.
“CH2M’s commitment to water re-use remains steadfast, and our journey continues from here. Water scarcity is a global issue that requires innovative thinking, technology and strong relationships with government and the community to solve. Receiving the 2015 Stockholm Industry Water Award is a tremendous testament to the landmark projects we have worked on with our clients around the world and the passion of our employees, who are dedicated to delivering solutions that secure a sustainable future for generations to come,” said Jacqueline Hinman.
“In a rapidly urbanizing world where the vast majority of sewage spills untreated out into the environment, the transformative technologies and strategic communication of this year’s SIWA winner has provided a significant step towards future water security of cities,” the Award Committee stated when the winner was announced in June this year.
The SIWA was established in 2000 to stimulate and celebrate outstanding and transformative water achievements by companies in improving production, managing risks, finding solutions and contributing to wise water management. The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) were partners in establishing the award, which is also supported by International Water Association (IWA) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Founded in 1946, employee-owned CH2M is a global leader in consulting, design, design-build, operations, and programme management for government, civil, industrial, and energy clients. The firm’s work is concentrated in the areas of water, transportation, environment, nuclear, energy, facilities and urban environments. It is based in Denver, Colorado. In the 1960s, CH2M pioneered the third, advanced stage of effluent treatment by removing excess phosphorous, nitrogen and trace metals, restoring the used water of the South Tahoe Public Utility to pristine purity. In the 1970s, CH2M designed the world’s first surface water indirect potable re-use plant, improving the water quality for more than one million people in northern Virginia. CH2M continued to evolve water re-use practices and in the early 2000s worked with Singapore’s national water agency, to not only prove the safety of potable reuse, but to win public acceptance with the country’s NEWater project.
Effective August 21, 2015, SPDC JV lifted the force majeure on gas supplies to NLNG from the Eastern Gas Gathering System (EGGS-1) following repair of a sabotage leak on the line. The force majeure was declared on August 4, 2015.
The Joint Investigation Team which visited the site found that the leak was caused by a crude theft connection, apparently installed by people who thought the line was transporting crude oil.
European and African scientists in a new research have warned of imminent risks posed by the increasing air pollution that could have negative impact on human health, meteorology and regional climate in West African cities.
Professor Peter Knippertz of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Photo credit: www.frontiersin.org
A report published by the Nature Climate Change states that the “rapidly expanding cities such as Lagos in Nigeria, Accra in Ghana and Abidjan in Ivory Coast were producing large amounts of harmful aerosols and gaseous pollutants.”
According to the scientists led by Professor Peter Knippertz of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, in an EU-funded research project, “Human health, food security and the climate of the region is at risk and there is an urgent need for better observations and models to quantify the magnitude and characteristic of these impacts,” the report warns.
It further explains that the West African “climate is characterized by a sensitive monsoon system which controls winds, temperature, clouds and most importantly rain. Changes in air pollutants may be causing changes in the solar heating and clouds, which in turn may lead to changes the rainfall and temperature,” the scientists say adding, “As the population of the region grows these changes may intensify.”
The scientists also warned that “the region has been, and is projected to be, subject to substantial greenhouse-gas-induced warming with the monsoonal flows particularly sensitive to the impact of aerosols.”
Professor Mat Evans of the Wolfson Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratories at the University of York said: “The story here is that climate change is happening, there’s no doubt about that. How that manifests itself with something like rainfall, which is what really matters, is much more complicated.
“If we are missing key processes in our models because we have not gone out and tested them in challenging environments then we have less confidence in what is going on.”
He advised that future policy advice be based on sound scientific observations from the region. “If you are going to make plans for how to deal with this in the future you want to do it from a position of knowledge rather than a position of ignorance. We need to get more observations in the region and we have started to do that.
“At the moment we don’t have the observations to be able to test the models to even know how good the predictions are.”
Stressing the urgent need to collect the much needed data from the atmosphere above the region, Evans said that they would need to make predictions about what they think would happen in a five-year timescale, 10-year timescale and 50-year timescale.
“The environmental degradation maybe local but the implications can be regional and global. One of the potential impacts is population migration. If people have no food because the climate is changing in their region then they will move. There are knock on effects,” he emphasised.
About 200 houses and huts were swept away on Friday in Makurdi, the Benue state capital, following over four hours of torrential downpour. Many valuables worth millions of naira were also submerged in the flood.
Makurdi is located along the Benue River, the nation’s second biggest waterbody after the Niger.
Flooding in Makurdi. Photo credit: sahara reporters
The latest incident which has taken its toll on residents was the second major flood disaster in the state capital, in the last four weeks.
The hardest hit areas included the Wurukum Roundabout and Railway Crossing, Wurukum Market, Judges Quarters on Gboko Road, Logo and Angwa Jukum, which were completely taken over by flood water
Also affected was the personal residence of the Second Republic Governor of the state, late Aper Aku, Benue State University (BSU), Living Faith and Dunamis churches, Steam fast and houses on Daniel Amokachi Avenue were all submerged in water.
Shops and stalls at the popular Wurukum Market were also not spared as most of them were filled with water, while traders battled hard to save whatever they could from the flood.
Reacting to the development, the state Commissioner of Water Resources and Environment, Nicholas Wende, lamented that the state would need about N100 billion to stem the flood menace in the state.
He said the state government had submitted a request to the Federal Government for intervention adding that the government was expecting the federal government to also assist in dredging River Benue as a permanent solution.
Wende explained that the state government had constituted a committee to identify flood prone areas with a view to taking measures to control the disaster.
World leaders, water experts and development professionals will meet for six days beginning from Sunday, August 23, 2015 in Stockholm, the Swedish capital city, to seek solutions to the world’s several escalating water crises. With both World Water Week and Stockholm Water Prize celebrating their 25th jubilee, several special events and campaign finales will take place during the Week.
Stockholm, Sweden
The yearly event is organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), a Stockholm-based policy institute that provides and promotes water wise solutions for sustainable development.
According to the body, the role of water for development, this year’s World Water Week theme, cannot be overestimated. It adds that water is the foundation for all aspects of human and societal progress.
“We need it to survive – literally, to quench our thirst, to prepare our food, and maintain our hygiene, but it is also central to economic and social development, sustainable growth, and a prerequisite for healthy ecosystems,” Britt-Louise Andersson, Communications Director, SIWI, said in a statement.
“While we need to ensure access to safe water for those 1.8 billion people who do not have it today, we must also manage the global rise in demand for water from growing economies by increasing water productivity, and find incentives for using it more effectively. Water security is both a condition for, and a result of, sustainable development.”
At World Water Week, the complex challenges related to water and development will be addressed by over 3,000 participants from some 120 countries, representing governments, the private sector, multilateral organisations, civil society and academia. Speakers at the Opening session on 24 August will include the Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven; the Prime Minister of Jordan, Abdullah Ensour; the President of the Marshall Islands, Christopher J. Loeak; the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Adnan Z. Amin, and Peru’s Minister of State for Environment and President of the COP20, Manuel Gerardo Pedro Pulgar-Vidal Otálora.
During the Week, the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize will be awarded to Rajendra Singh of India, for his innovative water restoration efforts, improving water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need. The prize will be awarded to Rajendra Singh by H.M. Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, during a ceremony in Stockholm City Hall on Wednesday 26 August.
Other prizes that will be presented are the Stockholm Industry Water Award, which will be awarded, on Sunday 23 August, to CH2M, a Colorado-based global service and engineering company, for developing and advancing methods to clean water, and increasing public acceptance of recycled water, and the Stockholm Junior Water Prize which, on Tuesday 25 August is given to one national team out of the 29 competing nations by H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
Water is a central part in a range of issues that will shape the world in the decades to come. They will be discussed in-depth during World Water Week:
Water and food. About 800 million people in the world are undernourished, and prevalence is going down. Overweight and obesity rates are heading the other direction and today, around 2 billion people are overweight or obese. Meanwhile, about a third of all food produced is either lost, or thrown out by the consumer. Since most food production demands huge amounts of water, this means rivers of water are literally lost as a result of food being lost or discarded, or overeating.
Water and climate change. Climate change is to a large extent water change. We feel the impact of climate change through water. Increased rainfall variability, less reliable monsoons, prolonged droughts and reduced water storage in snow and ice are just some effects. California is currently suffering the worst drought in living memory, straining parts of the state’s economy. Cities are rationing water and food prices are increasing. Water is also critical for the mitigation of climate change, as many efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions depend on reliable access to water resources. Expansion of renewable energy will to a large extent also depend on access to water – on all levels.
Water and conflict. Approximately 276 river basins cross the political boundaries of two or more countries, and serve as a primary source of freshwater for approximately 40 percent of the world’s population. Decisions on water allocations can be a source of conflict, but also a catalyst for cooperation and peace building. Cooperation over transboundary waters is an opportunity for people, regions and states to strengthen and develop cooperation, and to open up new paths of working together.
Water and health. An estimated 1.8 billion people live without access to safe water and 2.4 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. Diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation and hygiene kill more than 5,000 people each day.
Besides organising the annual World Water Week and hosting the Stockholm Water Prize, the Junior Stockholm Water Prize and the Stockholm Industry Water Award, SIWI performs research, builds institutional capacity and provides advisory services
“Smart Villages: New Thinking for off-grid communities worldwide” is a collection of opinion pieces in renewable energy. It is a chronicle of ideas by experts aimed at tackling the issues of energy as a catalyst for sustainable development – health, food security, education gender equality, governance, security and employment.
Off-grid lighting in Africa. Photo credit: unep.org
The 124-page book, which is comprised of 16 essays written by scientists and leading thinkers from around the world, was compiled by Prof. Sir Brian Heap, Senior Adviser to Smart Villages and launched at the World Conference of Science Journalists, Seoul, South Korea in June 2015 by Dr. Bernie Jones, a project co-leader of Smart Villages.
In the Preface to the book, Prof. Heap said: “We published these essays with policymakers and decision takers in mind – planners of sustainable off-grid well-being faced with the demanding challenges of lifting the bottom billion out of the poverty trap”.
It is a publication therefore that is in tandem with the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative (se4all.org) and the new Sustainable Development Goals, post-September 2015.
Scope
A browse through the book shows the scope of the book as covering a range of viewpoints on the complex problem of energy access in developing countries. “On the supply side, it asks, what are the scientific and technological advances of today and tomorrow that could transform the way that energy, particularly electricity, could be made more readily available for rural transformation?
“On the demand side, what are the enabling factors that make energy access a catalyst for sustainable development in off-grid villages? What framework conditions need to be put in place so that local entrepreneurs can establish enterprises to deliver and make productive use of energy in remote villages, the home of some 1.3 billion poor and under-served?”
Essays Synopsis
It begins with the concept – “Energy for Development,” authored by the project co-leader and Manager of Smart Villages Initiatives, John Holmes and Terry van Gevelt, respectively. The concept enumerates the options of electrification technology for smart villages. It also states how energy access to rural communities could positively improve education, health, food security, productive enterprise, participatory democracy, quality of life and environment.
Energy Innovation For Smart Villages by Daniel M. Kammen, a professor of Energy at the University of California draws up the advantages on off-grid systems and how diverse technology options could expand village energy service. Kammen also drew a roadmap to clean energy in, and ended with an action agenda for smart villages.
Transforming Rural Communities Through Mini-grids by Prof. AbuBakr Bahaj, principal investigator of the e4D programme presented case studies of mini-grids in some countries where e4D had worked with villages to “determine their needs, aspirations and goals with respect to electrification.”
Leapfrogging to Sustainable Power by Dr. Vasant Kumar of the Department of Material Science, University of Cambridge stressed the need for a close link between off-grid energy paradigm for electrification and development on one hand and the evolution of clean, green and low-carbon power.
He emphasised the importance of exploring new opportunities, energy storage technologies and recycling.
Ahmad Zaidee Laidin, Secretary General Malaysian Academy of Sciences’ Smart Villages – The Malaysian Approach, highlights the development of electricity in Malaysia and how rural development has been achieved there.
Laidin draws a table of Malaysia’s path to rural development in its Vision 2020, including the government’s 10-year transformation programme (2010-2020) for rural development.
The country’s 21st Century Village Initiative (21CV) as stated in the Smart Villages – The Malaysian Approach, aims to encourage the youth to remain in the villages. “The 21CVs have and will be developed using the following initiatives: 39 state-driven modern integrated farms; 15 private-sector-driven large scale fruit and vegetable farms; 39 enhanced village cooperatives in tourism, plantation and cottage industries and 39 encouraging selected university, technical and vocational graduates as youth entrepreneurs.”
Laidin further draws the advantages of electricity beyond lighting to include education, e-commerce, agriculture advances, e-health, community empowerment and ICT.
Can Energy Access Improve Health? By Prof. Wole Soboyejo of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University is premised on the challenges of life in Mpala village in the Laikipia district of Kenya.
This was Soboyejo’s personal experience of communities that lived with no access to electricity.
The people “relied on kerosene lanterns, resulting in environmental pollution and about 80 percent incidence of pulmonary health problems.”
Soboyejo told of how they explored options to meet the challenge. They arrived at a solar-powered solution lantern with a 2-watt solar panel and a 6-volt motorcycle battery. It reduced the pulmonary health problems.
Energy Provision and Food Security in Off-grid Villages by Prof. Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (a Geneticist and Chief Mentor of M. S. Swaminathan) and Prof. Parthasarathy Chenna Kesavan (a Geneticist and Radiobiologist) discusses the interrelationship between energy provision and food security in off-grid villages.
It describes off-grid villages as vulnerable because of lack of electricity, which enables the development of small-scale village industries, locally. Foreseeing modern agriculture as heavily dependent on energy, the essay observes “a strong positive correlation between energy input and food output…” A chain of agricultural production processes, the two Professors posit, “make heavy demands on energy supply.”
The essay also suggests the use of biomass, biogas, wind, solar power, and ocean thermal energy for electrification towards sustainable food production.
“…the vision for an off-grid smart village is one that achieves food security by using pathways of production that depend increasingly on biological rather than chemical inputs…renewable and decentralised energy services will provide the motive power required for machinery and irrigation, the development of cold-chain infrastructure to reduce waste, and the integration of communication technologies to help with pest management, soil health and improved market access,” the essay postulates.
Smart Villages for Smart Voters by Dr. Mukulika Banerjee (associate Professor in Social Anthropology at the London School of Economics) gives a picture of voter enthusiasts, most of who live in villages. “The most dedicated voters are not the well-educated urban middle-classes but the poorest, most discriminated against and least educated, mainly in villages and small towns…”
Banerjee’s essay tells of how India’s electronic voting machines, powered by batteries, have revolutionised the electoral system. The smart machines are used in smart villages and “proved to be both fraud and fool-proof.” It sees smart villages as initiating change in voter attitude, which allows them play “their own roles in the working of the democratic system and the effect of their individual vote has in determining the composition of government.”
The essay finally opines that un-smart places have limits, especially in people’s “access to news, literacy, information – all of which severally hampers their ability to make their lives better. It is now time to deliver smart villages to these smart voters,” Banerjee suggests.
Public Policy Targets for Energy Access by Benjamin K. Sovacool (a professor of Business and Social Sciences and Director of the Center for Energy Technologies, Department of Business and Technology, Aarhus University), argues that energy poverty arises from a market failure that only governments and public institutions are well-suited to engage.
The essay’s markets and intervention assesses the problem of markets as being “less effective for common-pool goods or public goods that need agreed-upon rules or sanctions – goods such as clean air or improved energy security.”
Sovacool sees the poor as falling through the cracks and “too politically distant and economically costly to provide with energy services.” he also writes that “without strong public policy intervention, hundreds of millions of people will remain mired in energy insecurity for many decades to come.”
The Disturbing trends quotes the International Energy Agency (IEA) as estimating that by 2030, almost one billion people will still be without electricity and 2.6 billion people will still be without clean cooking facilities.
Under the Positive benefits, Sovacool cites Nepal as an example where “evaluations of a rural energy programme involving micro-hydro units have earned US$8 in benefits per household for every US$1.40 in total expenditures.”
Similarly, in Sub-Saharan Africa, he states that the UN reports a woman who generates more than US$46 in economic benefits in the first year selling solar lanterns.
Energy Policies for Off-grid Villages in Tanzania written by Andrew Mnzava, Senior Research Officer with the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) in Tanzania discusses the interrelation between energy and development.
It enunciates health, education, food security, productive enterprise and environment as directly linked to uninterrupted energy access.
Unlike the Tanzanian national policy for off-grid villages, which is coordinated by the Rural Energy Board (REB), according to Mnzava, “many countries do not have renewable energy policies that foster the development of clean energy and directly support off-grid energy development.”
The essay further tells about the existence of Tanzania’s local and national energy developers who generate and supply power to surrounding communities. He identifies financing of energy projects as biggest challenges – high interests rates from loans are clogs.
He talks about the importance of institutions and regulatory framework, including the National Environmental Management Council, which provides EIA certificates, etc.
Communities-consumers looks at the ability and capacity of consumers as well as cluster communities to pay for supplied power as a challenge. Mnzava draws a comparative table to show that upfront and annualised costs of electricity is more expensive than the same of kerosene.
WillPrivate-Sector Finance Support Off-grid Energy? by Tobias S. Schmidt, Assistant Professor of Energy Politics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology takes private-sector financing of off-grid energy to be a challenge.
Though he sees the sector as veritably important if the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative is to be achieved by 2030, confident atmosphere in the off-grid sector, Schmidt posits, must be created for the Private-Sector investors.
Return on investment gives prominence to ‘hurdle rate’ above the normal threshold. More so, “the use of modern energy services should lead to an increase in income of the villagers,’ which would help them afford the consumption rates of the energy.
He talks about Risk of investment, Scale of investment and Policy implications where he calls for the creation of “more favourable conditions for private-sector finance” in order to increase the contribution of the sector to off-grid rural energy.
How Electricity Changed Our Lives by Michael J. Ssali, a seasoned journalist and Bureau Chief of the Daily Monitor draws a picture of a kerosene-enabled lamp used in Uganda called tadooba and the high deforestation as a result of high dependence of the people on firewood. “Uganda’s forests are diminishing because about 95 percent of the country’s households depend on firewood and charcoal for cooking.”
In Changed lives, Ssali gives a vivid story of how the provision of electricity changed the lives of the people of rural Uganda as well as how New businesses have sprang. “To a large extent, rural electrification has contributed to a reduction in the migration of youth from rural to urban areas.”
He posits that electricity is a means of creating Jobs for a growing population, especially in the area of agriculture.
Javier Gonzalez Diaz, an affiliate lecturer at the Centre of Development Studies of Cambridge University writes in his Energy and ICT for Educational Inclusion in Latin America that, as in other regions of the world, Latin America also faces several urgent challenges. “Children and youth living in remote rural locations are literally disconnected from the world, excluded from the opportunities provided by global learning.”
The essay highlights the importance of access to smart energy in rural areas in order to pave the way for access to modern information and communication technologies. This, in turn, could transform the learning experience for pupils and teachers alike in those areas.
It further gives a differential percentages of schools with access to electricity and those without in some Latin American countries. “This unequal geographic and socio-economic pattern of electrification strongly affects the educational opportunities of Latin American children and their chance of achieving a better future.”
Can access to energy and ICT make a difference? The essay answers, yes. While access to energy “opens a range of economic and social development alternatives for geographically isolated communities,” Diaz argues, ICT can “strongly and positively enhance education in several ways.”
In real life stories: aiming for the stars, the essay gives examples of communities in which “lives are being changed in poor, rural and remote areas.”
Improving Life for Women and Girls in Sierra Leone by Christiana A. Thorpe, a former Minister of Education in Sierra Leone states that four of the country’s six million population live in the rural areas with no access to electricity.
Smart villages in Sierra Leone: How did they start? of the essay tells of the government’s removal of financial and technical barriers while distributing solar home systems in rural areas.
Thorpe states that the solar network was helping to change the lives of women and girls in the areas of attitudes, health, education, environment, savings on energy costs, opportunities for income generation and employment.
Also, the essay states the role that Barefoot Women Solar Engineers Association of Sierra Leone (BWSEASL) is playing in “getting solar technology to all the country’s remote and inaccessible villages.
It finally gives reasons at Is the approach sustainable? why BWSEASL approach is. Residents are willing to pay for the technology; trained women are now entrepreneurs and now have a Solar System Home Management Committee (SSHMC) as a network.
AWay of life: Energy Provision in Africa by Murefa Barasa, Managing Partner at EED Advisory Limited, Kenya states that charcoal is the most important but least understood energy source of the African continent. He also adds that “the lack of accurate data on charcoal trends remains a key challenge in managing the threat of unsustainable charcoal production.”
The essay views charcoal, which is a preferred energy source for cooking and heating in East Africa as having a complex value chain. While listing the chain to include brokers, transporters, wholesalers, retailers and recipients of unofficial payments, Barasa states that the reason for the charcoal market is because it out-competes briquettes, kerosene, LPG and electricity, which are its alternatives.
In his summary, he says that “the urban charcoal market is essential for East Africa because it remains a central part of household energy.”
A Better Future for the Bottom Billion by Prof. Deepak Nayyar, an Emeritus Professor of Economics is the last of the essays in Smart Villages: New Thinking for Off-grid Communities Worldwide. It poses the five W questions: “Who are the poorest people in the world?”; “Where do they live?”; “Why are they poor?”; “What are the attempted solutions?”; “Why does the problem persist?”; “Is a better future possible (When)?”
Nayyar gives a Demographic view of the poor concentration in three regions of the developing word of Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and East Asia as well as in the Latin America and the Caribbean.
In Absolute deprivation, he talks about energy and income poverty as keeping the people in absolute deprivation. “Economic exclusion denies people the social opportunities and political participation that might otherwise help them to improve their lives.”
However, in spite of attempted solutions, which include rural electrification and other programmes, the author posits that “widespread poverty persists despite such programmes” and suggests that “Orthodox thinking among economists, increasingly accepted by policy practitioners and political leaders in governments, stresses the importance of economic growth as the only solution to the problem of poverty.”
This essay sees persistent problem of abject countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa in spite of economic growth of the regions. “This poverty persisted essentially because rapid economic growth was associated with a rise in economic inequality, and little if any of the increments in income accrued to the poorest…energy poverty reinforced the problem.”
Nayyar sees a better future creation of employment, social protection and human development are central in determining economic growth; he sees employment and livelihoods as “critical as the institutional mechanism that mediates between growth in aggregate income for the economy and growth in private income for individuals or households.”
Initial conditions such as creation of physical infrastructure in rural areas; grid and off-grid, with other non-conventional sources of energy; investment in rural roads, transport and communications; irrigation and storage facilities to boost agricultural income; etc by government, must me met,” says Nayyar.
On the whole, Smart Villages: New Thinking for Off-grid Communities Worldwide gives up-to-date accounts of the promotion of energy access in remote areas of the world. It “explores how energy access for the poor can perform catalytic role” in general development.
The insights portrayed therein “will inform leaders, policy-makers and communicators, as well as encourage a wider debate internationally.”
It is a most-read book for governments whose immediate priority is to improve living standards of their people in the rural areas.
Dikko Abdullahi, comptroller general, bows out of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in style as he performed his last official function by inaugurating a three-storey state-of-the-art hospital facility on Tuesday. It is one of the lasting legacies he left behind in Customs where he worked for 27 years.
From Left: Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai; Commissioner for Health, Kaduna State, Prof. Andrew Noc; and Comptroller-General of Customs, Dikko Inde Abudullahi, during the commissioning of Customs Hospital Karu, Abuja on Tuesday. Photo credit: Bayoor Ewuoso
Abdullahi bowed out of service after six years in the saddle as comptroller general of NCS, leaving a legacy for the people of Karu, a densely populated, but largely underdeveloped part of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
As a fitting climax to his 27-year career at the Customs, he unveiled a three-story imposing hospital build by the NCS to improve the welfare of its staff and Nigerians living around the area on Tuesday, August 18.
Nanman Nandap, medical director of the NCS hospital, Karu, described the hospital as a comprehensive medical facility equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and a well-trained staff. He listed some of the features of the hospital as modern radio-diagnostic and ultrasound equipment; three modular theatres and an intensive care unit with a central gas supply system. It also has executive wards and a mortuary.
Nasir El-Rufai, Kaduna State governor, lauded the management skill of Abdullahi, especially his commitment to the welfare of staff. He expressed mixed feelings on his retirement and described him as “a fine public servant.”
The out-going Custom’s boss described the new edifice as a consolidation of his welfare programme through the delivery of quality health care services to officers and their families.
“This complex will not only cater for the need of Customs officers and their families. The entire Karu community will benefit from its services and reach. From the level of sophistication of our equipment and the quality of our personnel, this facility will also serve as a reference hospital for the entire FCT community,” Abdullahi said.
It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had accepted Abdullahi’s voluntary resignation as comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service with effect from Tuesday, August 18.
The nation’s Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies on Tuesday, August 18, 2015 converged on Abuja for daylong meeting to review the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and adopt a Draft National Anti-Corruption Strategy.
L-R: Bello Mahmud, Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Corporation; Sam Saba, Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau; Ekpo Nta, Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC); Ibrahim Lamorde, Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC); Emeka Eze, Director General, Bureau of Public Procurement; and, Joe Abah, Director General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR)
Millions of people and billions of dollars depend on healthy oceans, but human actions create complex interactions that endanger oceans
Katie Auth
The combination of overfishing and climate change may be putting the oceans’ health – and our own wellbeing – at risk. As State of the World 2015 contributing author Katie Auth explains, protecting lives and livelihoods will require urgent and concerted action to improve the oceans’ condition.
“Our sense of the oceans’ power and omnipotence – combined with scientific ignorance – contributed to an assumption that nothing we did could ever possibly impact it,” writes Auth. “Over the years, scientists and environmental leaders have worked tirelessly to demonstrate and communicate the fallacy of such arrogance.”
Three billion people worldwide depend on fish as their main source of animal protein, essential micronutrients, and fatty acids. The livelihoods of millions of people in both developing and high-income countries rely on the multi-billion-dollar fisheries industry – a sector that accounted for 1.5 million jobs and more than $45 billion of income in the United States alone in 2010.
“As our negative impact on the oceans has grown, so has our understanding of the myriad ways in which the health of the marine environment determines our own,” writes Auth. “The combined stresses of human activities like overfishing and climate change now pose distinct and intensified threats to marine systems.”
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reported that the global share of marine stocks considered to be fished “within biologically sustainable levels” fell from 90 percent to 71 percent between 1974 and 2011. Of that 71 percent, a large majority (86 percent) of stocks are already fished to capacity. Rapid human population growth and rising incomes are increasing the demand for food fish and pushing wild fish populations to the brink.
Climate-related changes in the marine ecosystem are also affecting the oceans. Over the last 40 years, the upper 75 meters of the world’s oceans have warmed by an average of more than 0.1 degrees Celsius per year. Temperate species are responding to this change and other stressors, such as pollution and fishing pressures, by moving toward the poles, possibly increasing competition with polar animals.
Further, increased carbon in the atmosphere is triggering ocean acidification. About a quarter of human-caused carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has been absorbed into seawater. This changes the chemistry of the water and makes it more difficult for some marine organisms (such as oysters and corals) to form shells and skeletons. Once these populations are affected, entire food webs are threatened.
“Marine ecosystems and individual organisms that already are weakened by overfishing become less resilient and more vulnerable to disruption, especially because environmental change is occurring so rapidly,” writes Auth.
Yet Auth believes that there is still hope. “Conservation efforts aimed at improving system resiliency have proven effective in addressing the nexus between fishing and climate change,” she writes. Changes in fishing policies, equipment, and techniques that result in less damage to ocean-bottom habitats and that reduce bycatch also would diminish fishing stresses. Finally, revamping the global energy system away from fossil fuels would curtail the rise in ocean temperatures and carbon dioxide levels.
Worldwatch’s State of the World 2015 investigates hidden threats to sustainability, including economic, political, and environmental challenges that are often underreported in the media. State of the World 2015 highlights the need to develop resilience to looming shocks.
Islamic leaders from 20 countries on Tuesday in Istanbul, Turkey launched a bold Climate Change Declarationto engage the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims on the issue of our time.
Participants at the International Islamic Climate Change Symposium in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo credit: Islamic Relief
Adopted by the 60 participants at the International Islamic Climate Change Symposium (Istanbul, 17-18 August), the Declaration urges governments to deliver a strong, new international climate agreement in Paris this December that signals the end of the road for polluting fossil fuels by creating architecture that will give us a chance of limiting global warming above pre-industrial levels to 2, or preferably 1.5, degrees Celsius.
The Declaration presents the moral case, based on Islamic teachings, for Muslims and people of all faiths worldwide to take urgent climate action. It was drafted by a large, diverse team of international Islamic scholars from around the world following a lengthy consultation period prior to the Symposium. It has already been endorsed by more than 60 participants and organisations including the Grand Muftis of Uganda and Lebanon. The Declaration is in harmony with the Papal Encyclical and has won the support of the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace of the Holy See.
The Declaration calls for a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels and a switch to 100% renewable energy as well as increased support for vulnerable communities already suffering from climate impacts. It can be seen as part of the groundswell of people from all walks of life calling for governments to scale up the transition away from fossil fuels. Wealthy and oil-producing nations are urged to phase out all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. All people, leaders and businesses are invited to commit to 100% renewable energy in order to tackle climate change, reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development.
Amongst keynote speakers at the Symposium were three senior UN officials – from the UN Environment Programme, the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Secretary-General’s climate change team. Presentations were also made by scientists, NGO leaders and academics. Also attending were religious leaders from many other faith traditions.
That the Symposium was held in Istanbul is significant – just two weeks before the Paris Summit, for the first time in history, the G20 summit will be organised by the presidency of Turkey, a country with a majority Muslim population. Leaders from the world’s largest 20 economies will gather in an attempt to reach agreement on how international financial stability can be achieved. The economic implications of climate change and the huge amounts of subsidies given by G20 countries to the polluting fossil fuel industry will also be on the agenda.
Expectedly, the development has attracted a barrage of reactions from all over the globe, as eminent persons welcome the declaration.
Din Syamsuddin, Chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulema: “On behalf of the Indonesian Council of Ulema and 210 million Muslims we welcome this Declaration and we are committed to to implementing all recommendations. The climate crisis needs to be tackled through collaborative efforts, so let’s work together for a better world for our children, and our children’s children.”
Dr Saleemul Huq, Director of Institute of Environmental Studies: “I am proud to be associated with the Islamic Declaration on Climate Change released in Istanbul today. As a Muslim I try to follow the moral teachings of Islam to preserve the environment and help the victims of climate change. I urge all Muslims around the world to play their role in tackling the global problem of climate change.”
Fazlun Khalid, Founder, Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences: “The basis of the declaration is the work of world renowned islamic environmentalists, it is a trigger for further action and we would be very happy if people adopted and improved upon the ideas that are articulated in this document.”
His Eminence Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Vatican City: “It is with great joy and in a spirit of solidarity that I express to you the promise of the Catholic Church to pray for the success of your initiative and her desire to work with you in the future to care for our common home and thus to glorify the God who created us.”
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC: “A clean energy, sustainable future for everyone ultimately rests on a fundamental shift in the understanding of how we value the environment and each other. Islam’s teachings, which emphasise the duty of humans as stewards of the Earth and the teacher’s role as an appointed guide to correct behavior, provide guidance to take the right action on climate change.”
Wael Hmaidan, International Director of Climate Action Network: “Civil society is delighted by this powerful Climate Declaration coming from the Islamic community, which could be a game changer, as it challenges all world leaders, and especially oil producing nations, to phase out their carbon emissions and supports the just transition to 100% renewable energy as a necessity to tackle climate change, reduce poverty and deliver sustainable development around the world.”
Lies Craeynest, Food and Climate Justice lead at Oxfam International: “Today’s declaration is an unprecedented call by Muslim leaders to end the destruction of Earth’s resources. It follows the recent encyclical issued by Pope Francis – the head of the Catholic Church – which warned of the need to prevent catastrophic climate change and stem growing inequality.
“Muslim leaders single out wealthy nations and oil producing states to lead on a fossil fuel phase out and provide support to those less well off to curb emissions and adapt to a changing climate. They also call on big business to stop their relentless pursuit of growth, change their extractive models and provide greater benefits for people and the climate.
“As leaders of the two largest global faiths express grave concern about our fragile climate, there is no justifiable way political leaders meeting in September and December can put the interests of the fossil fuel industry above of the needs of people, particularly the poorest, and of our planet.”
The Declaration:
3.1 We call upon the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the Kyoto Protocol taking place in Paris this December, 2015 to bring their discussions to an equitable and binding conclusion, bearing in mind –
The scientific consensus on climate change, which is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate systems;
The need to set clear targets and monitoring systems;
The dire consequences to planet earth if we do not do so;
The enormous responsibility the COP shoulders on behalf of the rest of humanity, including leading the rest of us to a new way of relating to God’s Earth.
3.2 We particularly call on the well-off nations and oil-producing states to –
Lead the way in phasing out their greenhouse gas emissions as early as possible and no later than the middle of the century;
Provide generous financial and technical support to the less well-off to achieve a phase-out of greenhouse gases as early as possible;
Recognise the moral obligation to reduce consumption so that the poor may benefit from what is left of the earth’s non-renewable resources;
Stay within the ‘2 degree’ limit, or, preferably, within the ‘1.5 degree’ limit, bearing in mind that two-thirds of the earth’s proven fossil fuel reserves remain in the ground;
Re-focus their concerns from unethical profit from the environment, to that of preserving it and elevating the condition of the world’s poor.
Invest in the creation of a green economy.
3.3 We call on the people of all nations and their leaders to –
Aim to phase out greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible in order to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere;
Commit themselves to 100 % renewable energy and/or a zero emissions strategy as early as possible, to mitigate the environmental impact of their activities;
Invest in decentralised renewable energy, which is the best way to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development;
Realise that to chase after unlimited economic growth in a planet that is finite and already overloaded is not viable. Growth must be pursued wisely and in moderation; placing a priority on increasing the resilience of all, and especially the most vulnerable, to the climate change impacts already underway and expected to continue for many years to come.
Set in motion a fresh model of wellbeing, based on an alternative to the current financial model which depletes resources, degrades the environment, and deepens inequality.
Prioritise adaptation efforts with appropriate support to the vulnerable countries with the least capacity to adapt. And to vulnerable groups, including indigenous peoples, women and children.
3.4 We call upon corporations, finance, and the business sector to –
Shoulder the consequences of their profit-making activities, and take a visibly more active role in reducing their carbon footprint and other forms of impact upon the natural environment;
In order to mitigate the environmental impact of their activities, commit themselves to 100 % renewable energy and/or a zero emissions strategy as early as possible and shift investments into renewable energy;
Change from the current business model which is based on an unsustainable escalating economy, and to adopt a circular economy that is wholly sustainable;
Pay more heed to social and ecological responsibilities, particularly to the extent that they extract and utilize scarce resources;
Assist in the divestment from the fossil fuel driven economy and the scaling up of renewable energy and other ecological alternatives.
3.5 We call on all groups to join us in collaboration, co-operation and friendly competition in this endeavour and we welcome the significant contributions taken by other faiths, as we can all be winners in this race
If we each offer the best of our respective traditions, we may yet see a way through our difficulties.
3.6 Finally, we call on all Muslims wherever they may be –
Heads of state
Political leaders
Business community
UNFCCC delegates
Religious leaders and scholars
Mosque congregations
Islamic endowments (awqaf)
Educators and educational institutions
Community leaders
Civil society activists
Non-governmental organisations
Communications and media
To tackle habits, mindsets, and the root causes of climate change, environmental degradation and the loss of biodiversity in their particular spheres of influence, following the example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him),and bring about a resolution to the challenges that now face us.
