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tagged w/ Drought
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Taking the Pulse of Global Freshwater Issues
By 2030 people worldwide will withdraw more water than the planet can replenish.
March 22, 2010 marks World Water Day, a 24-hour observance held annually since 1993 to draw attention to the role that freshwater plays in the world. In recent years it has focused global concern on the dwindling supply of clean water.
With governments from Australia to India feeling the heat of dryness like never before, multinational corporations pledging to become better global water citizens, and a multitude of nonprofit organizations gaining position in the councils of influence worldwide, the global freshwater crisis is steadily becoming a top public priority.
In January, global business and elected leaders assembled in Davos at the World Economic Forum learned one more striking fact that underlies international concern. By 2030, WEF experts said, people will withdraw 30 percent more water than nature can replenish. Unless practices for using and conserving water shift dramatically, shortages will hit communities and businesses, especially agriculture, which uses 70 percent of the world’s fresh water.
Here is some of what we expect in what promises to be a busy year in the world of water:
Contents
■Awareness and action
■Business of water
■Bottled Battles
■GE: One company’s approach, inside and out
■Water Disclosure Project
■United Nations CEO Water Mandate
■Water and Global Health
Awareness and Action
A team of researchers and advocates that includes the Global Water Partnership, Global Public Policy Network on Water Management, Stockholm International Water Institute and the Stakeholder Forum, have been working with hundreds of smaller groups to rally support for water’s role in international climate change negotiations this year.
The work was prompted by the disappointing outcome of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December, when water was left out of the Copenhagen Accord. The non-binding agreement calls for modest action on global warming.
If the international climate treaty doesn’t better emphasize the water-climate intersection, people living in vulnerable coastal nations, such as the island of Maldives, and farmers facing volatile rainfall, such as those in Australia, will be unprepared to face major catastrophes, Stakeholder Forum Policy Coordinator Hannah Stoddart told Circle of Blue.
At the international level, Stoddart and her team work directly with UN officials, and also are coordinating an unofficial international water day in Bonn, Germany in June. They are arranging high-level round table discussions that will rally more support for water issues in the months leading up to the next climate change summit in December, in Mexico.
“The eventual goal is for a recognition on an international level that there are currently no operational international treaties addressing water issues specifically,” Stoddart said. “We’re at the beginning of quite a long journey.”
Garnering local support is an important component of making sure the issue gains global prominence, according to marketing experts who work on environmental issues.
“It’s so hard to make people realize that they have a connection to the issue, to the sources of the problem,” said Joel Finkelstein a senior vice president and head of the environment team for Fenton Communications, a U.S.-based firm.
Water offers an even bigger challenge in some ways, he added. It’s still extremely difficult to illustrate the consequences of our current water consumption in countries like the U.S., where citizens can turn on the tap without thinking twice.
But the consequences of water scarcity are more powerfully conveyed through emotional stories than statistical reports. And Finkelstein believes that social media promises new ways to humanize water and environmental issues.
continued.By 2030 people worldwide will withdraw more water than the planet can replenish.... more-
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ANUDEM: a model that predicts buried water under desert!
Scientists have mapped Australian streams buried for millions of years under desert by modelling the flow of water.
A team at Australian National University has been able to peer beneath the desert sands of Simpson Desert in central Australia and mapped the underlying landscape using a software that models how water moves across surface of the continent.
The Digital Elevation Model software was developed at ANU by Professor Michael Hutchinson from the Fenner School of Environment and Society.
Professor Hutchinson said the network of rivers and streams is now buried up to 35 metres below the surface of the Simpson Desert, making it impossible to detect by standard remote sensing methods.
He said: "The ancient drainage systems are thought to have originated in the wet climate of the late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary periods, around 50 million years ago. They are that old.
"The landscape associated with these streams has been largely preserved due to long term tectonic stability and the persistence of arid conditions since the mid-Miocene around 15 million years ago. The age of the overriding dunes is thought to be around one million years."
Professor Hutchinson said that although ANUDEM had allowed the research team to peer into the distant past, when central Australia was much wetter and greener than it's today, the software is also being used to model for the future.
The findings have been published in the latest edition of the 'Australian Journal of Earth Sciences'.Scientists have mapped Australian streams buried for millions of years under desert by... more-
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2 Inventions From The Full Belly Project and Jock Brandis that are Saving The World: The Universal Nut Sheller and The Rocking Water Pump
Meet Jock Brandis, Founder of The Full Belly Project, Inventor of the Universal Nut Sheller and The Rocking Water Pump. Jock is a 2008 Purpose Prize Winner, Author of the book “The Ship’s Cat”, featured as a CNN Hero, written about in “The Wall Street Journal”, “The New York Times”, “The Atlantic”, and “Popular Mechanics” Magazines. Jock is a movie industry gaffer, a former Canadian Naval Officer, a McMaster University alumni, and a visiting speaker at the MIT D-Lab, Edgerton Center.
Jock has also worked with Oxfam and has traveled the world helping individuals and communities. He has seen, first hand, the physical and economic results of hunger and poverty worldwide. Two of his inventions are changing lives worldwide. The Universal Nut Sheller, just 1 machine can serve a village of 5,600 People or 731 Homes! The Rocking Water Pump, which is in Guyana, South America right now, they are using it to irrigate peanut crops.
The Full Belly Project
Designs and distributes agricultural devices that generate income for people in over 17 developing countries, including Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Mali, Malawi, and the Philippines.
Two of the Featured Inventions at the 8th Annual Feast Against Famine Fundraiser:
(1) The Universal Nut Sheller (UNS):
A hand-powered device made of concrete and simple metal parts, Jock designed the machine so anyone, anywhere, can make it. The UNS shells peanuts, plus it shells other crops: coffee beans, jatropha, neem, shea, and walnuts. The Full Belly Project produces the UNS machine mold kit, at a cost of about $700 dollars per kit, based on the price of materials at the time of production. Each kit includes 1 set of fiberglass molds and necessary metal parts for 3 machines. Reproduction in a developing country can range from $28-70 dollars per machine, based on the price of metals and concrete in their community. Kits are shipped in 2 boxes, each weighing less than 50 lbs and can easily travel on flights overseas as luggage. There is also a pedal powered version that is available, this requires some additional parts to be sent overseas. An unlimited number of the machines can be made from just 1 set of fiberglass molds! We encourage reproduction of these machines to give these communities unlimited potential for self-sustainability and the chance of financial freedom for the future. Former President Jimmy Carter Autographed one of our Shellers to show his support of our project.
(2) Rocking Water Pump:
Delivers water at a rate of 5 gallons per minute from Aquifers or Surface. Can also pump Muddy, Rocky, and Sandy water sources. Made of Concrete, Rubber, and Hose this cost only $70 to make in most countries!
Teaching Financial Self-Sustainability. Saving Lives! Make Our Mission, YOUR MISSION!
Become Our Fan on Facebook and visit Us at www.TheFullBellyProject.orgMeet Jock Brandis, Founder of The Full Belly Project, Inventor of the Universal Nut... more-
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Jock Brandis, Full Belly Project Founder, an Inventor that is Saving Lives Worldwide
Speech by Jock Brandis, Founder of The Full Belly Project. Designing and Distributing Agricultural Devices that Generate Income for People in Over 17 Developing Countries, including Guyana, Haiti, Malawi and the Philippines.
Two of the Featured Inventions:
(1) The Universal Nut Sheller: Shells Nuts and Coffee Beans by Hand or Pedal Power. One Sheller can serve 5,600 People or 731 Homes. Former President Jimmy Carter Autographed one of our Shellers to show his support.
(2) Rocking Water Pump: Delivers water at a rate of 5 gallons per minute from Aquifers or Surface. Can also pump Muddy, Rocky, and Sandy water sources. Made of Concrete, Rubber, and Hose to Cost Only $70!
Teaching Financial Self-Sustainability. Saving Lives!
Become Our Fan on Facebook and visit Us at www.TheFullBellyProject.orgSpeech by Jock Brandis, Founder of The Full Belly Project. Designing and Distributing... more-
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Chinese dams blamed for Mekong’s dwindling flows and fish stocks
Something is wrong with the mighty Mekong River, which frames the lives of 250 million people in six countries of Southeast Asia through which it flows and on which 60 million people depend directly for their livelihoods.Photograph by: Chor Sokunthea, Reuters, Vancouver SunSomething is wrong with the mighty Mekong River, which frames the lives of 250 million people in six countries of Southeast Asia through which it flows and on which 60 million people depend directly for their livelihoods.
But there are widely differing views on why the Mekong has shrunk to its lowest levels in 20 years, with only half its normal volume in some places, so that vital fish migrations have been disturbed and river shipping had to be halted.
Some blame global warming and shrinking glaciers in Tibet where the Mekong starts its 4,900-kilometre journey through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia before spreading out through Vietnam’s “Nine Dragons” delta and easing into the South China Sea.
Others blame the El Niño effect on Southeast Asia’s monsoons and especially the lack of rain in Laos, which in normal times supplies 35 per cent of the water in the main reaches of the Mekong. But a favourite culprit among the peoples of the five countries of the lower Mekong is China and its massive program of hydroelectric dam building on the river as it flows through Yunnan province.
In one demonstration of popular outrage against the supposed sins of China, residents of the northern Thai town of Chiang Rai are planning to demonstrate outside the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok next month.
Sensing the public mood, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva brought up the issue at a meeting with China’s assistant foreign minister Hu Zhengyue last week. The statements after the meeting were all sweetness and light.
Hu said China “would not do anything to damage mutual interest with neighbouring countries in the Mekong.” And Abhisit said he is sure China doesn’t want to see people in the lower Mekong basin having difficulties.
But such a public airing of supposed grievances is unusual in Southeast Asia and a measure of public alarm.
In many ways, China has only itself to blame.
Beijing has been dismissive about requests for information about its dam-building plans, usually implying such inquiries are indefensible intrusions into China’s domestic affairs.
China is not a member of the Mekong River Commission, a joint management and information-gathering body founded by Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos in 1995, and avoids any liaison with this body as much as possible.
In the last 30 years China has built three hydroelectric dams — all in operation. Two more large dams are under construction and due for completion in 2012 and 2017.
There are plans for at least two more dams, which could mean that by 2030 the Mekong will negotiate seven dams before it ever leaves China.
China has also financed the blasting of some of the many rapids that clog the Mekong’s bed and have made it a difficult river for navigation for most of its long life. As a result of this engineering work it is now possible to travel from Chiang Saen in northern Thailand to China’s Yunnan province in ships of up to 500 tonnes laden.
Indeed, China envisages this being a significant route for importing oil from the Middle East.
China is also dealing with the governments of Laos and Cambodia — two of the more secretive and intransigent regimes in a region noted for governmental secrecy and intransigence — over the building of two more dams. One would be in southern Laos at Don Sahong in the Khone Falls area, which until relatively recently was the major impediment to using the Mekong for river trade and traffic. The other dam slated to be built with the backing of Chinese state-owned companies is at Sambor in northeastern Cambodia.
There is no doubt that these dams would complete the destruction of the patterns of fish migration that are essential for providing protein harvests for an extraordinary number of people living in the Mekong watershed. Already fishermen in the region are reporting dwindling catches, much smaller fish than in the past, and the disappearance of some species entirely.
cont.Something is wrong with the mighty Mekong River, which frames the lives of 250 million... more-
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World Water Day Is March 22nd
What will your contribution be?
Excerpt from link:
Water affects every aspect of our lives, yet nearly one billion people around the world don't have clean drinking water, and 2.6 billion still lack basic sanitation. World Water Day, celebrated annually on March 22, was established by the United Nations in 1992 and focuses attention on the world's water crisis, as well as the solutions to address it.
This year, a collaborative of US-based organizations have joined to raise awareness and call for stronger commitments from governments, the private sector, and US citizens for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) initiatives in low-income countries.
By deploying the solutions that already exist, we can save the lives of thousands of children each day, advance education and employment - especially among women and girls - and fuel economic growth around the world.
Learn more about the events planned in Washington DC and around the country for World Water Day 2010 and find out how you can take action to help make clean water and sanitation a reality for people around the globe.What will your contribution be? Excerpt from link: Water affects every aspect of... more-
- JanforGore
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Peak water drying out Cyprus
I am here to cover a war - but not the one that has seen shabby oil drums erected in higgledy-piggledy piles as barriers dividing the city.
Water stocks have been hit by a series of droughts in recent years
The war I'm interested in is the water war - not an armed conflict, but a struggle nonetheless, between people and a rapidly disappearing resource.
The alarming thing, for those working to ease this new conflict, is that Cypriots don't even seem to realise that hostilities between them and nature have begun.
Charalampos Theopemptou is the Greek Cypriot side's Environment Commissioner, and it was he who told me the story about the old man in the classroom. He explains its meaning: that within living memory Cyprus was wet - there were plenty of rivers and lakes to swim in. Now, they are all gone.
The island has reached what geographers call Peak Water - when demand meets and then outstrips supply.
Peak Oil is already a familiar concept, and commands international attention. However, water, despite being central to life, is having a much harder time getting on to the political radar.
Dying land
Dig into the details of the current war and it seems to have less to do with fighting than it does with land.
The irony is that the Cypriots, all of them, are fighting over land, which is slowly dying
The issue that stalls peace talks is the question of houses and farms that were seized in the 1974 conflict. On both sides, people would like their houses back, or a cheque in compensation.
The gradual effect of increasing wealth, EU membership for the south, and the opening of the borders, has defused tension, and means that the eternal subject of property prices is now at the heart of the issue.
The irony is that the Cypriots, all of them, are fighting over land, which is slowly dying.
The famous trees of Cyprus are rotting on their waterless roots, turning to dry kindling as they stand in the blazing sun.
Ever since the 1970s, rainfall has been scarcer, meaning far less water reaching the reservoirs.
For the past four decades, getting enough water to the farms and the people has been a struggle.
The general dampness of nature is drying up, like a rag that is being wrung ever tighter.
This is why the European Commission believes Cyprus is the canary in the coalmine: what happens on this island is threatened to happen all across the drier parts of the continent.
Experts agree that this crisis can be tackled, but first you have to recognise it's there - and that's part of the problem.
cont.I am here to cover a war - but not the one that has seen shabby oil drums erected in... more-
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Water Wars
DUBLUCK, Ethiopia — On a warm January afternoon in southern Ethiopia, thousands of ill-tempered livestock stand in groups with the pastoralists who have guided them for dozens of miles to drink. The animals dot an expansive field of Acacia trees, severed bits and pieces of dead grass and dust.
Earlier in the day thousands of young goats, sheep and calves took turns to have their fill of water. And the show will not end with the cattle; camels are still waiting in line. For being the best able to resist drought, now they will be last.
Produced by Alex Stonehill and Julia Marino of CLPMag.org for PBS's Foreign Exchange with Daljit Dhaliwal in association with the Pulitzer Center On Crisis Reporting.DUBLUCK, Ethiopia — On a warm January afternoon in southern Ethiopia, thousands... more-
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Sudan drought brings mass migration, clashes over water
While politicians bicker over global warming its effects continue to be felt globally.-
- JanforGore
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Venezuelan drought brings back bittersweet memories
For most Venezuelans, the El Nino-linked drought that has struck the country this year means inconveniences like power and water rationing.
But for some, the extreme dry spell is stirring up bittersweet memories. The Uribante reservoir that feeds a hydroelectric dam here is at its lowest level in decades, and the receding waters have uncovered a village that has been mostly underwater since 1985, when it was flooded.
Former town resident Josefa Garcia, 74, is grateful for the drought, even though it has triggered Venezuela's worst-ever electricity crisis.
Standing in the shadow of a usually submerged 85-foot-high (26-meter-high) high church here, Garcia vividly recalls when then-President Carlos Andres Perez swooped in by helicopter to tell residents the town would soon be flooded.
"He said we'd all be expropriated and we had to leave," Garcia said, standing in the old village square. "It took our hope away."
Before its flooding, this Andean town of around 1,200 in the western state of Tachira was evacuated and its residents dispersed around the country. Garcia moved to a nearby region, and had never revisited her former town until now.
Normally, only the church spire can be seen jutting out of the 4,900-acre (20-square-km) reservoir. But water levels recently fell 98 feet, revealing eerie remnants: the church, demolished houses, a cemetery, a square.
Article continues: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61N63820100224For most Venezuelans, the El Nino-linked drought that has struck the country this year... more-
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IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: -- "Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability" The time for ACTION IS NOW!
Excerpt from Chapter 3:
Sea-level rise will extend areas of salinisation of
groundwater and estuaries, resulting in a decrease in freshwater
availability for humans and ecosystems in coastal areas (very
high confidence) [3.2, 3.4.2]. Increased precipitation intensity
and variability is projected to increase the risks of flooding and
drought in many areas (high confidence) [3.3.1].
Semi-arid and arid areas are particularly exposed to the
impacts of climate change on freshwater (high confidence).
Many of these areas (e.g., Mediterranean basin, western USA,
southern Africa, and north-eastern Brazil) will suffer a decrease
in water resources due to climate change (very high confidence)
[3.4, 3.7]. Efforts to offset declining surface water availability
due to increasing precipitation variability will be hampered by
the fact that groundwater recharge will decrease considerably in
some already water-stressed regions (high confidence) [3.2,
3.4.2], where vulnerability is often exacerbated by the rapid
increase in population and water demand (very high confidence)
[3.5.1].
The Time for Action is NOW. Wake UP!!!!!!! The Time for Faith is NOW!!! Wake Up!!!!!
The first step to figuring out how to stop poisoning the world is to stop poisoning our bodies and our minds! Stop eating the flesh from physically and emotionally abused animals and artificially flavored, processed foods. Learn about natural food, stop making waste, spend time with your loved ones, and most of all, have faith. The time for action is NOW!! Remember the Golden Rule!
Clear your mind, clean out your body, and the world will begin to change around you...that change must begin inside you!Excerpt from Chapter 3: Sea-level rise will extend areas of salinisation of... more-
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Drought, climate change jeopardize hydropower policies worldwide
Many countries, especially in Africa, use hydroelectric dams to produce nearly all their electricity.
The threat of more extreme drought from climate change is an uncertain variable for many hydroelectric producers. Climate models predict an overall decrease in precipitation and river runoff for the mid-latitude, sub-tropic and dry-tropic areas-–where hydropower is currently the primary source of electricity.
Persistent low water levels in rivers and reservoir cause power cuts, which hinder economic growth and reduce revenue from electricity sales, limiting the ability of an electric utility to maintain the dam.
Some countries have recognized the risk and are already moving toward a more diversified energy future.
After a 2009 drought that led to two months of power rationing, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said “the country can no longer continue to rely on hydro-electric power supply,” Business Week reported. Nearly 70 percent of its electricity comes from hydropower.
Kenya is seeking up to $1 billion from international bond markets to finance geothermal and wind energy projects, Business Week reports.
cont.Many countries, especially in Africa, use hydroelectric dams to produce nearly all... more-
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Aboriginal Elder Beryl Carmichael Sings the Darling River’s Lament
Using chants and stories, Aboriginal elder Beryl Carmichael shares with Circle of Blue the spiritual and visceral pain of a dry and dying Darling River.
Video by Aaron Jaffe for Circle of Blue
She tells of the social and cultural price its disease visits on her people. Carmichael has spent seven decades living near the river. She speaks from her home — the town of Menindee, New South Wales. The river is suffering because it is over governed, she says. Beyond song, there remains little else she and her people have been able to do to change that.Using chants and stories, Aboriginal elder Beryl Carmichael shares with Circle of Blue... more-
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Climate change affecting Kenya's coffee output
Climate change has affected Kenyan coffee production through unpredictable rainfall patterns and excessive droughts, making crop management and disease control a nightmare, a researcher said on Thursday.
Intermittent rainfall in the 2007/08 crop year, for example, caused a terrible bout of the Coffee Berry Disease that cut Kenyan output 23 percent to 42,000 metric tons as farmers were caught out by rains and did not protect their crop in time.
"We have seen climate change in intermittent rainfall patterns, extended drought and very high temperatures," said Joseph Kimemia, director of research at Kenya's Coffee Research Foundation (CRF).
"Coffee operates within a very narrow temperature range of 19-25 degrees (Celsius). When you start getting temperatures above that, it affects photosynthesis and in some cases, trees wilt and dry up. We have see trees drying up in some marginal coffee areas."
For coffee to flower, for example, it needs a couple of months of dry weather followed by showers. This year, Kenya had rains in January, normally a very dry month when the bushes undergo what is known as stress before they flower.
Because of the unpredictable weather, bushes are flowering when they should not and have coffee berries at different stages of maturity. This means farmers have to hire labor through most of the year to pick very few kilos of coffee.
"You look at a coffee tree and cannot determine the season because it has beans of all ages. That is a problem when it comes to disease management, insect management and the worst problem is in harvesting," he said. "The cost is enormous."Climate change has affected Kenyan coffee production through unpredictable rainfall... more-
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The Water diary (A film by Jane Campion) - OneClimate.net -
Directer Jane Campion's short film highlighting the accelerating water crisis.-
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Saltbush Country - Australia - Facing Water Crisis
Australians are used to the fact that the Great Outback is not more than barely-populated arid grassland and desert that has adapted to the climatic conditions. However nowadays climate change causes a major concern in previously mild regions as well, since scorching summer months, coupled with persistent drought, demonstrate what happens when water scarcity looms. Recent bush fires have been catastrophic, but water crisis in its full complexity will be the real issue to deal with in the coming years.
Australia has a poor track record in saving resources and fighting climate change. Its per capita carbon dioxide emissions are still among the highest in the world. Farmers were traditionally engaged in rice and beef production, which are the plant and the animal species most costly in embedded “virtual water”. Australia in the past hundred years has relied solely on water from dams for agriculture and consumption. However there is a gradual shift in the Australian approach to the crisis. Now schemes like sewage-water recycling, government rebates for homeowners to install water tanks, and tougher restrictions on industries have come into effect. In today’s Australia, it is considered socially irresponsible to waste water in any form.
You should see more images here:
http://www.facingwatercrisis.org
@thewatercrisis
http://www.flickr.com/photos/facingwatercrisis/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Facing-Water-Crisis/290637752443?ref=tsAustralians are used to the fact that the Great Outback is not more than... more-
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Saltbush Country
Australians are used to the fact that the Great Outback is not more than barely-populated arid grassland and desert that has adapted to the climatic conditions. However nowadays climate change causes a major concern in previously mild regions as well, since scorching summer months, coupled with persistent drought, demonstrate what happens when water scarcity looms. Recent bush fires have been catastrophic, but water crisis in its full complexity will be the real issue to deal with in the coming years.
Australia has a poor track record in saving resources and fighting climate change. Its per capita carbon dioxide emissions are still among the highest in the world. Farmers were traditionally engaged in rice and beef production, which are the plant and the animal species most costly in embedded “virtual water”. Australia in the past hundred years has relied solely on water from dams for agriculture and consumption. However there is a gradual shift in the Australian approach to the crisis. Now schemes like sewage-water recycling, government rebates for homeowners to install water tanks, and tougher restrictions on industries have come into effect. In today’s Australia, it is considered socially irresponsible to waste water in any form.
You should learn about this story here:
http://www.facingwatercrisis.org/index.php?topic_id=1
http://www.facingwatercrisis.org/index.php?topic_id=1&playvideo=true
You should see more images here:
http://www.facingwatercrisis.org
@thewatercrisis
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Facing-Water-Crisis/290637752443?ref=tsAustralians are used to the fact that the Great Outback is not more than... more-
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Drought in SW Australia linked to snowfall in Antarctica
A drought that has gripped the southwestern corner of Australia since the 1970s is linked with higher snowfall in East Antarctica, a phenomenon that may be rooted in global warming, scientists reported on Sunday.
Researchers Tas van Ommen and Vin Morgan of the Australian Antarctic Division said that the drought -- which has seen winter rainfall decline by 15-20 percent -- is extremely unusual when compared with the last 750 years.
Hand in hand with the drought is a similarly exceptional rise in snowfall at Law Dome, an icecap on the coast of East Antarctica.
The apparent reason is a "precipitation see-saw," the pair report in a paper published online by the journal Nature Geoscience.
Relatively cool, dry air flows northwards to southwest Australia, providing little rain, while warm, moist air flows to East Antarctica, where it provides abundant snow.
The pattern is consistent with previous studies that suggest a man-made role in the drought, say the pair.
Previous research has pointed to greenhouse gases for changing the so-called Southern Annular Model, a key feature of atmospheric circulation in the southern hemisphere.A drought that has gripped the southwestern corner of Australia since the 1970s is... more-
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The Struggle for Indigenous and Freshwater Rights at Copenhagen and Beyond
A look back at the concerns of indigenous communities during the historic climate talks in Copenhagen last month.
For two weeks in Copenhagen last month climate negotiators debated carbon levels, emissions, and balancing the financial burden of saving the planet among developed and developing countries. Still, even as international leaders wrestled with the complex mix of geopolitics, science, economics, and diplomacy, another important ingredient in the climate crisis was barely mentioned: the effect of the warming planet on the Earth’s freshwater.
The same oversight, however, was not repeated by public interest organizations and water advocates who also were in Copenhagen, especially indigenous representatives from underdeveloped countries that are most vulnerable to climate change and the diminishing access to fresh water.
Numerous groups, such as the Khapi community in Bolivia and the Tagalog in the Philippines, banded together in Copenhagen to explain at a number of meetings and public events how climate change is already threatening their access to food and water, as well as the sustainability of their thousands years old cultures. Some of the strongest voices were heard during the World Water Movements and COP15: Proposals and Strategies for Water and Climate Justice panel.
Debating Water as a Right to Life
“Almost all countries, except those that are victims of climactic disaster, are not interested in dealing with water,” said Riccardo Petrella, author of The Water Manifesto and founder of the Lisbon Group, a think tank that critically analyzes globalization. “Because if they deal with water, they have to deal with the right to life.”
Petrella, one of the members of the World Water Movements Panel, criticized the economic model that categorizes water as a commodity rather than a “precious community resource and fundamental human right.” Currently there is no international law to regulate the right to freshwater supplies, but Petrella argued that the United Nations climate negotiations, which are expected to continue in Cancun, Mexico near the end of the year, should be the gateway to further reform. If water were to be included in the global climate agreement under negotiation, nations would be responsible for ensuring the preservation of both these “common goods,” Petrella said.
“It is not your right to good energy,” he said. “Nor your right to a good car—your four by four powered by green oil. We need to challenge the type of consumption that is part of today’s [climate] negotiations, which should lead to a global contract—not only on energy and on agriculture—but also on water and the right to life for everybody.”
“We should defend water as a common good,” he added, “because it is an instrument of the right to life.”“We should defend water as a common good,” he added, “because it is an instrument of the right to life.”
André Abreu of France Liberté, a French-based foundation that works to improve access to fresh water, also spoke during the discussion and cautioned that identifying the connections between water and climate isn’t enough. Different policy must take shape. Since the right to water and the right to life are synonymously interchangeable, he claimed that water protection should instead be tied to necessity.
“Floods, dryness, temperature—all are main aspects to climate change have a link to water,” Abreu said. “But we know that it is fuel first at these negotiations. Water is not considered with the importance that it deserves.”
Abreu warned that the presence of transnational companies during negotiations at the Bella Center, where the UN Climate Change Conference was held, was very dangerous. He said he was especially weary of businesses that offered to use green technologies to fight food and water shortages.
The Philippines: A Look at the Hydropower Dilemma
Public restiveness around the world over climate and water issues is increasing in developing nations. In the Philippines, for instance, southern areas of the country could experience intense droughts, while erratic rainfall and typhoons are projected for the north. In September, a flood led to 900 deaths.
In November, more than 100 members of the northern Tagalog indigenous communities marched 100 miles to protest the Laiban dam project on the Kaliwa and Kanan rivers, which could potentially displace 4,500 families.
Although this project—located near the Marikina-Infanta earthquake fault line, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer—is not for energy, critics of the project assert it will divert 1.9 billion liters per day for domestic water supply in the nearby city of Metro Manila by flooding 28,000 hectares of rain forests that previously currently serve as a carbon sink.
Around the same time, indigenous communities protested the Pulangi V dam project in Bukidnon, which would increase the city of Mindanoa’s electricity grid by more than 300 megawatts by 2015, but submerge 80,000 hectares of land—including sections of seven towns and the sacred ancestral lands of the Pulangi-Manobo tribe, according to Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources.
Dianne Roa—co-author of a report on alternative power industry reform in the Republic of the Philippines and another panelist for the event—said that hydropower is a complex issue that involves prioritizing amongst domestic water use, downstream agricultural use, or low-carbon energy.
Roa explained that for several years the water district of the southern city of Davao has been fighting for the possession of the last remaining potable river in the area. Meanwhile the Hedcor corporation has proposed a large hydropower project for the Tamugan River. Opponents claim the dam diverts valuable drinking water and destroys the aquatic ecology while giving corporate control to a public entity.
“Hydropower makes use of climate change in packaging itself,” Roa said, “presenting itself to the public as clean energy, therefore it is good. This complicates things—not simply for ensuring access to water for drinking—but also that our need for water is not exploited for private profit at the expense of our climate and the environment.”
Roa argued that the existing framework that has been used for the last century in water management does not have the capacity to address the complex issues of the intimate reflections between climate change and water, as described in her three Philippine examples. Including water in the UN climate agreement would not be enough. In fact, she said, the issue could become even more dangerous if water is treated as a commodity, allowed to succumb to the same problems that energy and carbon emissions have in the market economy.
“Once water is in the UNFCC, the more difficult step will be creating a new framework such that water doesn’t go down the same path as energy,” Roa said.
Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue On the ground with activists from around the world at one of the biggest demonstrations during the United Nations climate talks in Copenhagen last month. Grassroots organizers and underrepresented groups banded together to give voice to the water consequences of climate change.
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Perspective: Water, Energy, Economy, Poverty and Haiti
The average Haitian has been living the life of a disaster victim even before the earthquake. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Its human development and other indices were about what one would find in some of the poorest sub-Saharan countries. Mismanagement, corruption and just plain venality have forever been human-caused security earthquakes in this sad country.
The average GDP per capita in the country was about $600. However, if one calculates how much is owned by a very small percentage of the country, and how much of the GDP is made from these tightly controlled assets, then the GDP per capita for the average Haitian was much lower than $600. Maybe it was closer to $300-400. About 80 percent of Haitians lived on less than $2 a day while about 60 percent lived on less than $1 a day. Only about 50 percent of Haitians had some form of health care prior to the earthquake and about 3 percent had telephones. The very wealthy, the leaders of the street gangs, and the drugs dealers lived very well amidst this grinding and spirit-crushing impoverishment.
About 50 percent of Haitians were illiterate, and roughly 50 percent of the school-aged children were enrolled in school prior to the earthquake. Families needed their children to help keep the family from falling even further into the sinkhole that is poverty in Haiti. But, by lacking education, they remained stagnant, falling further. It is all so terribly sad.
Unemployment prior to the earthquake, and for many years previous to it, was about 50 to 60 percent. Skilled labor is scarce. The opportunities to get skills is even less. Most Haitians are trapped in the stagnant, debilitating addiction called chronic and intense poverty. The country has been on the economic life support of foreign and remittance labor from expatriates for years–now it is in economic cardiac arrest.
Six of the most important resource insecurities and paucities Haiti faces are energy, clean water, sanitation, deforestation, land degradation and coral reef degradation. These are all intimately interconnected in this land of devastation and destitution.
“About 70 to 80 percent of Haitians had no access to clean water prior to the earthquake. A very small percentage of people had access to piped water, and this was mostly in the cities.”About 70 to 80 percent of Haitians had no access to clean water prior to the earthquake. A very small percentage of people had access to piped water, and this was mostly in the cities. Sewer systems and wastewater treatment were close to non-existent. Only the very rich or the very lucky had access to water treatment from privately-owned systems or from systems donated by well-meaning, but very much stressed NGOs and aid organizations. There was little access to safe water and the rates of water poisoning from bacteria and disease were very high. Many children and others died from water-borne illnesses over the years. Maternal mortality was quite high in part due to the lack of clean water. In the rural areas only about 45 percent of the richest groups had access to safe water. Now think how the poorest live.
In all of this there is a stunning bit of data that also reminds me of Sub-Saharan Africa. Haiti uses only 8.3 percent of its available renewable freshwater resources (other sources peg this figure at 7.5 percent) even though many children in school and workers on the job often go the entire day with little to drink.
Only about 13 percent of Haitians had legal access to electricity. When you add in the stolen electricity maybe 25 percent had access to electricity. Electricity was produced by three small and decrepit thermal power plants, which are fueled by imported oil products since Haiti has no refinery, and a feeble hydropower plant in the hills near the Dominican Republic, the Peligre Dam, which took over 20 years to build and much less than that to rot into a shadow of its effective self.
Haiti had one of the lowest demands for electricity per capita in the world. It had the worst electrical system in the Western Hemisphere. The main port for importing the fuels for the thermal plants is damaged and the plants may also be quite damaged.
Electricity is needed for development. This has been proven time and time again. It is also needed to move water and to clean water. Safe water is hard to have without electricity or, at least, another reliable source of energy to clean and move the water. (To complete the sad circle of water and energy for Haiti: on a good year the Peligre dam produces about one-third of the electricity produced in Haiti, but it has often been subject to the ravages of drought.)
Given that Haiti is disaster prone maybe one of the best solutions for Haiti for its energy poverty and insecurity is to set up non-grid electricity. Some options include solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable and off-grid energy sources. Off-grid power is less prone to systematic collapse during and after disasters. It could also be a much less expensive way to improve electricity access to those in the rural areas and poorer areas of the towns and cities who have been outrageously underserved. Large electricity grid connections are very expensive to build and fairly easily subject to damage by natural and other disasters.
It is clear that Haiti’s thermal and hydro generating stations are in grave need of repair and much better management and maintenance. It is also clear that for Haiti to rebuild it will need energy and lots of it. Right now it has very little financial, skill, management, administration and leadership capacity to make this happen.
Energy is required to clean and to move water. But, then again, you need the energy, finance and leadership to build the water transport and distribution system to get the clean water to the people first. In most areas of Haiti this does not exist. In many of the hill areas people relied on streams, often polluted and filthy, for their water. Piped water is rare in much of Haiti. And this is a country not far from our coast, and a neighbor in need.
By Dr. Paul J. Sullivan
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