30/04/2009
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| The Lang-Hoa Lac Highway is flooded by over a metre of water following record heavy rains in late 2008, which some have blamed on the impacts of climate change. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung |
HA NOI — There are no fears of tsunamis in the fishing village of Hai Ly Commune. The sea is calm and bountiful for the fishermen who come back to shore with nets full.
"But under the surface there is a problem," warns Nguyen Quang Thanh, 77, a villager of Nam Dinh Province’s coastal Hai Hau District, 150km south of Ha Noi.
"The sea level is rising and has caused a huge loss to my village," Thanh says.
The dyke has been breached three times since 1947, forcing two villages and three churches to be moved.
Thanh was among 82 families living outside the sea dyke eight years ago.
"Luckily, we were displaced before our villages were inundated," he says.
But he and his neighbours are not safe yet. While part of the dyke has been rebuilt to make it strong, Thanh and his neighbours’ homes are located at the foot of the part which is still earthen.
Nguyen Thanh Sy, who is in charge of transport and irrigation works in the district, says the council is aware it’s very dangerous for those living by the coastline, particularly in the flood and storm season.
"However, there’s no way that we can move them to higher ground," Sy says. "It’ll be very costly, you know."
The rise in sea level and other impacts of climate change are a threat to Viet Nam.
A new Asian Development Bank report, released in Ha Noi yesterday, said Viet Nam’s rice production could "dramatically decline" and rising sea levels could submerge tens of thousands of hectares of crop land by the end of the century.
The report, entitled The Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia: A Regional Review, also warned that climate change could force the relocation of thousands of families living in coastal communities when its adverse impacts hit the country by 2020.
Understanding the threat, Thanh, Sy and other residents of Hai Ly Commune in the Red River Delta know that sea level rise and its impacts on their lives are related to global warming and climate change.
"Yes, people have heard of climate change. They understand that climate change is real and it is happening now," Ha Noi-based Oxfam Great Britain country director Steve Price-Thomas said.
"But they are not quite sure what to do about it. They don’t know where it comes from. They need to understand options to deal with it," Price-Thomas said.
How to explain to the public how climate change originated and what it means are questions Viet Nam aims to address, said Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Deputy Director of Meteorology Hydrology and Climate Change Department Nguyen Khac Hieu.
"It’s crucial for the public to be aware of climate change so they can learn how adapt to it and mitigate its potential consequences.
"There’s no doubt that prevention will cost us much less than repairing the damage.
"The mission to raise public awareness is one of key activities we’ll deploy in the national target programme to respond to climate change," Hieu said.
The US$112 million programme was approved last year.
As part of the measures, Hieu said climate change would be introduced at high schools and some universities.
"Our offspring will be those directly affected in the future," he said. "We’ll work with the Ministry of Education and Training to educate the youth.
Danish Embassy programme officer for climate change Nguyen Thuy Trang said it was important to change people’s behaviour which was contributing to the increase of greenhouse gases emissions.
"There should be more advocacy for the use of public transport instead of private vehicles, one of the main culprits creating air pollution in big cities," Trang said.
"Or, there are simple ways like saving our power consumption, both in households and enterprises and encouraging farmers to plant forests and use less mineral fertilisers in their farming."
Using the media was also important, Price-Thomas said.
"We can use the electronic media to discuss the impacts of climate change since it’s well known that young people in Viet Nam are among the highest users of internet and blogs in the world," he said.
More co-ordination between the ministry and domestic media outlets was being planned, to make climate change information available on forums, dialogues and columns in the mass media.
Meanwhile, the poorest people, who commonly live in rural areas, are the most vulnerable to climate change, especially those living in coastal and mountainous areas.
However, as Thanh from Hai Ly Commune said, they lacked the assistance necessary to adapt to climate change, even though they knew how dangerous it would be for them.
"Everybody in our village is scared of storms, floods and the rise in sea level. It’s another enemy after the foreign invaders during the war," Thanh said.
"But what can we do?"
In 2005, the Government decided to grant each household with home located at the foot of the dyke in Hai Ly Commune VND4.5 million ($257) to move to a higher place.
"That sum is not enough," Thanh said. "And even if it was enough, there is no land available for us to move to, except in the cemetery."
Even the re-construction of the dyke could not be finished because of the shortage of funding.
Poverty is also a problem. Price-Thomas said that though awareness of climate change was increasing, people had too many immediate challenges in their lives.
"Some people think it’s a long-term problem and they worry more about short-term concerns, for example their poverty.
"It’s rich countries that cause the problem. They need to help poor countries like Viet Nam to adapt to climate change.
"Though some donors are starting to support Viet Nam’s efforts, a lot of them are in the form of concessions or loans but not grants."
How to use the funding effectively is another concern.
Former vice chairman of the State scientific and technical committee Professor Nguyen Ngoc Tran said VND162 billion ($9.2 million) had been budgeted to raise public awareness under the national target programme.
See also Post 27 April, with link to ADP Report
As the swine flu situation continues to get worse, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday raised the pandemic alert level to Phase 5, indicating that a full pandemic is imminent.
"I have decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from Phase 4 to Phase 5," announced WHO Director-General Margaret Chan at a teleconference for the media late Wednesday, following close consultations with international experts.
"Influenza pandemics must be taken seriously precisely because of their capacity to spread rapidly to every country in the world," Chan said.
"Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short," according to a WHO explanation to its six-phase pandemic alert system.
This was the second raise of the WHO's pandemic alert system in three days, indicating the quick worsening of the global swine flu situation. On Monday, the agency raised its alert level from Phase 3 to Phase 4.
"This change to a higher phase of alert is a signal to governments, to ministries of health and other ministries, to the pharmaceutical industry and the business community that certain actions should now be undertaken with increased urgency, and at an accelerated pace," Chan said in a statement.
"All countries should immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plans. Countries should remain on high alert for unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness and severe pneumonia," she added.
At this stage, effective and essential measures governments can take include heightened surveillance, early detection and treatment of cases, and infection control in all health facilities, according to the WHO chief.
Chan said the world today was actually better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history, due to preparedness measures already undertaken because of the threat from H5N1 avian influenza.
But she warned that "influenza viruses are notorious for their rapid mutation and unpredictable behavior. "
"The biggest question, right now, is this: how severe will the pandemic be, especially now at the start?" she said.
"It is possible that the full clinical spectrum of this disease goes from mild illness to severe disease. We need to continue to monitor the evolution of the situation to get the specific information and data we need to answer this question," she added.
WHO confirms 148 swine flu cases
A total of 148 laboratory-confirmed human cases of swine flu A/H1N1 infection have been officially reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) as of 19:00 GMT Wednesday, the UN agency said.
Those cases were reported from nine countries, including 91 from the United States, with one death, and 26 from Mexico, with seven deaths, the agency said in a latest update.
The other seven countries that have reported laboratory-confirmed cases with no deaths include Austria (1), Canada (13), Germany (3), Israel (2), New Zealand (3), Spain (4) and Britain (5), the agency said.
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ANALYSTS' VIEW-How serious is swine flu? Should we worry?
30 Apr 2009 06:59:08 GMT
HONG KONG, April 30 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation said a swine flu pandemic was imminent after the new virus showed signs it was spreading efficiently among people.
This is the third infectious disease that experts regard as having pandemic potential in the past 10 years. The others were SARS in 2003 and H5N1 bird flu, which was first discovered in people in Hong Kong in 1997 and continues to infect humans sporadically.
Below are comments on swine flu from leading scientists in Asia who have experience in the fight against SARS and avian flu.
GUAN YI, MICROBIOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
"Obviously the virus is already endemic in some countries. The virus is very mild, but this is just one option. In the 1918 (Spanish flu) pandemic, the first wave was mild, but by fall, the second wave killed many people. So whichever way this virus swings, we can't possibly know.
At this point, chances are it will be mild, but we can't rule out it will turn virulent. And even if it turns milder, it can still kill, depending on the kind of person it infects.
And who is to say it will not reassort with H5N1? In a pandemic, infection rates will be much higher than seasonal flu and chances of this virus meeting and mixing with H5N1 are far higher. If it goes to Egypt, Indonesia, these H5N1 endemic regions, it could turn into a very powerful H5N1 that is very transmissible among people. Then we will be in trouble, it will be a tragedy.
For now we need to limit transmission and treat patients, isolate them and quarantine them. We are much better able to handle this after SARS and so many H5N1 episodes, this is for certain, and we have antivirals that work."
LO WING LOK, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT IN HONG KONG
"This first wave could be contained by weather. When summer arrives, the flu season will be over in North America, so the initial effect will be moderated.
But come winter this year, November and December, there could be a real big wave coming and fatalities can occur then. The season is a factor here.
It is more likely to have a major impact (now) in the southern hemisphere because it is entering winter now. New Zealand, Australia may be getting more clusters. They would be more subject (vulnerable) to the first wave. The focus on measures now is most important. Cases are growing rapidly, there are secondary infections in New York ... it has the ability to establish in another country."
JULIAN TANG, CONSULTANT VIROLOGIST, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, SINGAPORE
"Apart from Mexico, the other cases reported from other countries are generally mild. This is in keeping with a human-adapted pandemic influenza virus.
As we are seeing, there will be more and more cases reported worldwide, with, unfortunately more deaths, but I think that the overall mortality may not be different from the previous influenza pandemics (1-5 percent of infections). Unlike the avian H5N1 influenza virus, the much lower mortality we are seeing with this swine virus is more in keeping with the behaviour of a human pandemic virus strain.
I would say (the world is) quite well prepared due to the experience of SARS and avian influenza (although this will vary between countries due to resources).
The virus so far has not shown any unusual virulence -- though we are still awaiting confirmation of the actual numbers of deaths caused in Mexico."
MASATO TASHIRO, JAPAN'S NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND A MEMBER THE WHO EMERGENCY COMMITTEE, speaking to Japanese business daily Nikkei:
"The virus is relatively weak and about the same as regular influenza viruses passed on via human-to-human contact. I don't believe it will become virulent. But I believe it is a new flu strain that is different from the regular H1N1. Individuals who have contracted the (seasonal) H1N1 virus do not have immunity to the new virus, so it will be susceptible to spreading.
The societal impact of health issues resulting from the new flu strain are clearly much smaller than the more virulent H5N1 avian influenza. There's no need to adopt the same measures. Instead of adopting rigid definitions of the phases, we should be flexible.
The threat to health from the avian influenza and its fatality rate is much greater than the new flu. I am very worried that we will use up the stockpile of anti-flu medicine and be unarmed before we need to fight against the avian influenza. The greatest threat to mankind remains the H5N1 avian influenza.
Travel restrictions and measures that cut off transportation systems can have a negative economic impact. If the health risks are the same as typical influenza viruses, there's no need for strict restrictions on travel. Balance is what's most important. And the virus is already spreading, so containment is not possible.
Economic losses resulting from health issues will not be very significant. Rather, overreacting to the outbreak is a scarier prospect. Excessive curbing of corporate activity will be a problem. The best course of action is to adopt rational measures." 27/04/2009HONG KONG, April 27 (Reuters) - A Chinese virologist who helped fight SARS and bird flu warned on Monday of a possible swine flu pandemic that the most populous countries in Asia, China and India, would be ill-prepared to handle.
"We are counting down to a pandemic," said Guan Yi, a professor at the University of Hong Kong who helped trace the outbreak of SARS in 2003 to the civet cat.
"I think the spread of this virus in humans cannot possibly be contained within a short time ... there are already cases in almost every region. The picture is changing every moment."
Guan, who has been studying and tracking the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus ever since it was discovered in people in Hong Kong in 1997, said there would be "many problems" if swine flu reached China and India, "where populations are so dense and health infrastructure is still insufficient".
The virus, which carries swine, avian and human DNA and the designation H1N1, has already killed up to 103 people in Mexico, infected 20 in the United States and six in Canada.
There are many questions surrounding this virus, such as why it appears milder in the United States and deadlier in Mexico.
"It may seem weaker for now in the United States, but we do not know if it will get more virulent when it goes to another place as it mutates constantly," said Guan.
"When it goes into a place like China, there will be very high transmissibility among people."
Microbes like viruses mutate all the time and can swap or mix DNA with other viruses they come into contact with. And nobody knows whether they could become more or less deadly, experts say.
Guan said the swine flu virus was very different from the seasonal human H1N1 flu virus.
"It is almost a new subtype," he said, adding that as it was already transmitting efficiently among people, the world already had a pandemic on its hands.
Currently the World Health Organisation classifies the virus as a "public health emergency of international concern" that could become a pandemic, or global outbreak of serious disease.
"This is what I am very worried about. The WHO is always very cautious (about raising its alert system) but it is wasting time," Guan added.
The current phase of alert is 3 on a scale of 1 to 6. A full-blown pandemic, level 6, denotes sustained human to human spread over many countries of a new and serious virus.
Full Study :
April 27 (Reuters) - Southeast Asia faces one of the world's highest climate change bills, the Asian Development Bank said on Monday, unless the region adapts to climate change and joins the rest of the world in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The destructive effects of higher temperatures, rising seas and fierce storms are likely to knock more off its gross domestic product (GDP) than the current financial crisis, the ADB said in a report.
The report, "The Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia: A Regional Review", states that climate change could cost six percent of GDP in four countries, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam by the end of this century.
Here are some questions and answers about the climate change economics behind the region's first such report.
WHAT'S THE CLIMATE CHANGE-GDP CONNECTION?
The intense floods, droughts, landslides and storms that have lashed Southeast Asia in recent years have taken chunks out of its GDP earnings, by damaging property, assets, and human life.
With worsening climate change, the ADB expects rice production to dramatically decline, and rising sea levels to disrupt coastal economies by forcing millions to relocate from the seaside and islands.
Health services will also be stretched, and economic productivity lost, as more people die from thermal stress, malaria, dengue and other diseases.
Greenhouse gas emissions, the cocktail of gases including carbon dioxide (CO2) that are key contributors to climate change, tend to match GDP because many are produced through industrial activity.
A 3.5 percent fall in Britain's GDP, for example, leads to about a 3.15 percent fall in CO2 emissions, according to calculations by Cambridge Econometrics. The current recession would help to cut carbon emissions by around six percent over 2009-10, it estimates.
HOW IS FUTURE, CLIMATE-RELATED, GDP-LOSS CALCULATED?
Using data from the Third Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (IPCC), economists calculate the impact of expected temperature rises on key markets (such as agriculture and forestry in Southeast Asia's case) and the non-market impact on health and ecosystems.
Geographical factors and per-capita income are also fed into the models, as climate change is expected to hit certain low-lying areas, and the poor, first and hardest.
These factors helped push Southeast Asia's climate bill to the top. About 80 percent of its 563 million people live within 100 kilometres of the coast and more than 200 million people live on less than $2-a-day.
For a FACTBOX on the ADB's predictions for the region see CLIMATE-SEASIA/ (FACTBOX) or [ID:nSP457574]
They also punch in the numbers for climate catastrophes, such as the melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet, that would jolt more linear predictions out of whack, to give a range of best and worst-case scenarios.
HOW DOES THIS MAKE CLIMATE CHANGE A "MARKET FAILURE"?
Market success, in the form of GDP growth, is leading to a wide-range of environmental failures related to climate change which undermine future economic growth.
As private polluters who damage the public global climate by emitting greenhouse gases have generally not paid for the damage they cause, ex-World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern, author of the 2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, suggested climate change may be the greatest, most wide-ranging market failure ever.
He warned that without an annual investment of one percent of global GDP a year to offset the worst climate effects, up to 20 percent of global GDP would be jeopardised. In 2008 he upped the figure to two percent of GDP, after sharper than expected emissions growth.
HOW MUCH MONEY IS NEEDED TO AVERT THE WORST?
Estimates vary. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has put adaptation costs in the agriculture, coastal, forestry, fisheries, health, infrastructure, and water supply sectors at between $44 billion to $166 billion per year by 2030 globally. For developing nations, it is $28 billion to $67 billion.
The United Nations Development Programme projects even higher adaptation costs for developing countries, between $86 billion to $109 billion per year by 2015.
The ADB says Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam need an average of $5 billion a year by 2020 to protect agriculture and coastal zones, through building sea walls and developing drought- and heat-resistant crops.
It says by 2060 the annual benefit of avoided damage from climate change is likely to exceed the annual cost.
Main points from ADB climate change study for SE Asia
April 27 (Reuters) - Climate change threatens Southeast Asia's huge coastal cities and could slash crop output and access to clean water, triggering conflicts unless the region adapts and cuts its carbon emissions, an ADB report concludes.
Following are some of the main points of an Asian Development Bank report funded by the British-government that examines the threat from climate change in Southeast Asia and what the region can do about it.
The 250-page report, "The Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia: A Regional Review", focuses on the impact on the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, and is billed as the largest regional report of its type.
THE REGION
Southeast Asia comprises nearly 600 million people and the region was responsible for 12 percent of mankind's greenhouse gas emissions in 2000.
Major sources were the land-use change and forestry at 75 percent, energy at 15 percent and agriculture at 8 percent.
The region has more than 170,000 kilometres (105,000 miles) of coastline and tens of millions live in rapidly growing coastal cities vulnerable to rising seas.
About 80 per cent of the population live within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the coast, leading to an over-concentration of economic activity and livelihoods in coastal mega cities.
THE THREAT
Climate change is already affecting Southeast Asia, with higher temperatures, decreasing rainfall, rising sea levels, greater frequency and intensity of extreme weather events leading to massive flooding, landslides and drought.
Climate change is also exacerbating the problem of water stress, affecting agricultural production, triggering forest fires, damaging coastal marine resources, and increasing outbreaks of infectious diseases.
THE FUTURE
If no action is taken to cut greenhouse emissions globally, annual mean temperature is projected to rise 4.8°C on average by 2100 from 1990 in Southeast Asia. Mean sea level is projected to rise by 70 cm during the same period.
Rice yield could decline by up to 50 percent on average by 2100 compared to 1990 in the four countries; and a large part of the dominant forest/woodland could be replaced by tropical savanna and shrub with low or no carbon sequestration potential.
Food insecurity and loss of livelihood are likely to be exacerbated further by the loss of arable land and fisheries to inundation and coastal erosion in low-lying areas. More people will be at risk of hunger and malnutrition. The possibility of local conflicts may increase.
The potential economic cost of inaction is huge. The cost to these countries each year could equal a loss of 6.7 percent of their combined gross domestic product by 2100, more than twice the world average.
WHAT CAN BE DONE
Southeast Asia is among the regions with the greatest potential for mitigating carbon dioxide by reducing deforestation and improving land management practices.
It also has untapped opportunities for energy efficiency improvements and increasing the use of renewable energy, including biomass, solar, wind, hydro and geothermal.
The report urges Southeast Asian countries to treat climate change adaptation as a key part of development polices, such as adapting agricultural practices to changes in temperature and precipitation and adapting water management to greater risk of floods and droughts.
The impact of commodity price volatility, economic slowdown and climate change in Asian and Pacific countries in 2008 and 2009
Authors: ; UNESCAP
Publisher: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific , 2009
The Asia-Pacific region has been the fastest-growing part of the world for over 20 years and has made substantial progress in reducing poverty and hunger. But in 2008, it experienced three global crises: recession in developed countries, food and fuel price volatility and climate change calamities. What have recent events meant for the future of development in the region? Based on the latest statictics, the 2009 edition of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific brought out by UNESCAP now reviews the impact for the region of the events of 2008.
The effects of the three crises on Asian and Pacific countries were significant. Amongst others:
- the price of the main staple food, rice, increased by 150% in only four months
- trade moved from double-digit growth to double-digit declines in some economies
- natural disasters related to climate change, such as Cyclone Nargis, caused significant loss of life
Having learnt from the financial crisis of a decade ago, however, Asian countries also appear to have better coped with the turmoil this time round, as compared to other countries. In 2009 the region’s developing countries are expected to grow at 3.6%, which – compared with growth of –2.0% in the world’s major developed countries – highlights the region’s resilience to the crises. According to the report, this comparatively high growth, coupled with the large aggregate size of the region’s economies, could result in the Asia-Pacific region accounting for an estimated 115% of global GDP growth in 2009.
The report concludes that the three converging crises should be turned into an opportunity to jump-start a regional reorientation towards more inclusive and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific. Amongst others, it recommends for the promotion of:
- regionally coordinated monetary and fiscal policies
- a regional trade financing mechanism
- sustainable agricultural practices
- opportunities for rural non-farm employment
- social protection systems
- pro-poor business initiatives
- energy efficiency and investment in renewable sources of energy
- regional technical cooperation, particularly for the least developed economies in the region
Globally, the report calls for:
- a more inclusive and accountable system of financial markets regulation
- improved international trade in food
- a conclusion of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations
The report includes a statistical index of economic, social and environmental indicators for all ESCAP countries for the period 1997-2008. 22/04/2009
[NEW DELHI] Mangrove forests, common along tropical coasts, can provide a protective shield against destructive cyclones and reduce deaths, a study has found.
The finding follows a report published earlier this year (January) which said that mangroves were not effective against tsunamis (see Mangroves do not protect against tsunamis). It adds to a growing debate on using mangroves as bioshields in coastal areas.
See Article : http://www.dwf.org/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=6be37174%2D0379%2D4951%2Da033%2D1951ece40bb5&ID=223
The new study, conducted by scientists at the University of Delhi, India, and Duke University in the United States, analysed the 1999 'super cyclone' that ravaged Orissa state in eastern India, killing an estimated 10,000 people.
The scientists found that coastal villages in Orissa with the widest mangrove belts suffered fewer deaths, compared to those with narrower or no mangroves.
Their statistical models suggest that without mangroves, villages within ten kilometres of the coast would have suffered an average of 1.72 additional deaths.
"Statistical evidence of this life-saving effect is robust" and remains "highly significant" even after taking into account other environmental and socioeconomic factors, the report says.
The January study, however, found that 'bioshields' have negligible effects against tsunamis. Others have argued that promoting green coastal belts as a buffer against tsunamis is diverting valuable funds from effective protection measures such as developing early warning systems.
Saudamini Das, an associate professor at the University of Delhi and a co-author of the new study points out that while the new study does not address whether mangroves protect tsunami-hit areas it does clear all doubts about their effects against cyclones.
Das told SciDev.Net that there are key differences in the height and energy of the waves in tsunami and cyclone situations. Cyclones cause sea waters to rise and form a wall of water called a 'storm surge' up to eight metres high. The waves are driven by cyclone winds and their energy is concentrated near the water surface. "Mangroves can reduce the wind energy and [wave] velocity in this case," she says.
By contrast, tsunami wave heights can reach up to 20 metres and their effects on mangroves are not clear as there is no similar study covering a large sample size and taking into account other environmental and socioeconomic factors, she says.
Das also says the maximum speed of tsunami waves mangroves can withstand is yet to be studied.
The study is reported in the 20 April online edition of Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences*
*free access to users in developing countries 21/04/2009BANGKOK, 21 April 2009 ( IRIN) - Some 375 million people a year will probably be affected by climate change-related disasters by 2015 - up from 250 million a year as at present - says a new report by the UK charity Oxfam, which points out that this could overwhelm the world's current humanitarian aid capacity.
"Some may say this is alarmist, but we need to get the message out," Sarah Ireland, regional director for Oxfam GB, East Asia, told IRIN in Bangkok, describing the scale of the humanitarian challenge as "unprecedented".
"This really does threaten our ability to deal with and respond to these disasters," she said.
The report launched on 21 April and entitled The Right to Survive: the humanitarian challenge for the 21st century [see: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/papers/right-to-survive.html] provides compelling evidence of the need to rethink the way the world responds to, prepares for and prevents disasters.
Based on data from 6,500 climate-related disasters since 1980, Oxfam predicts that the current number of people affected annually would rise by 133 million or 54 percent - not counting those affected by wars, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The world will need to increase its humanitarian aid spending from 2006 levels of US$14.2 billion to at least $25 billion a year, Oxfam said.
Full report at :
Impacts of climate change upon children: critical element missing from key debates
Authors: E. Back; C. Cameron; Agulhas: Applied Knowledge
Publisher: United Nations [UN] Children's Fund , 2008
This report aims to draw the attention of the international community to the specific risks faced by children in developing countries due to climate variability and extremes, thus making it harder to achieve the child – related MDGs. It analyses the impacts of climate change upon children, and their role in mitigation and adaptation strategies. The report argues that children need to be mainstreamed into larger debates on climate change, hazards and vulnerabilities.
It begins with an overview of the linkages between climate change and sustainable development, which is threatened by the increasing frequency of hazardous weather and the inability of the poor and most vulnerable to adapt to climate variability and extremes. Secondly, it documents and analyses the adverse effects of climate change with particular emphasis on MDGs relating to children: child health and survival, education and gender equality, emergencies and child protection. In tackling the drivers and impacts of climate change, it argues that there is unique collective responsibility towards children who have been born into a world created by adults. The report calls on the UK government to:
- mitigate - reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 80% against 1990 levels by 2050, especially in UK’s share of emissions in international aviation and shipping
- adapt - create an alternative approach to development as an adaptive response to climate change, as emphasised by the Stern Report, World Bank and the IPCC, and encourage UK companies and individuals to support funding for vulnerable communities to adapt to the impact of climate change
- introduce impacts on children as important criteria for assessment in the climate screening of investments, review aid modalities and direct budget support, and also work with partner governments in developing countries to mainstream impacts on children in climate change policy.
Finally, the paper advocates empowering children to be actors in the climate change agenda, rather than as just observers or victims. To this end, it makes the following recommendations:
- to ensure children’s participation in the development of key documents such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), Country Assistance Plans and National Adaptation Programmes of Action
- to prioritise research on how climate change affects children across the world, and how children can and do contribute as agents of change on climate change adaptation and mitigation objectives.
19/04/2009On the morning of April 15, 2009, CECI organized Initial workshop on Conceptualizing CBDRM Framework.
The main objective of the proposed Initial Workshop is to involve related stakeholders, who have been applying/supporting and promoting CBDRM, in sharing their opinions and understandings on how to proceed with conceptualising and developing standard CBDRM framework.
The specific objectives are to:
* Build a good understandings of CBDRM practitioners and supporters/various JANI and related partners on the output 1.3 on conceptualising CBDRM framework
* Share some selected CBDRM methods/approaches that are currently being used by different agencies in Vietnam
* Collect relevant suggestions on key elements to be included in the standardized CBDRM framework
* Collect practical suggestions on the process of conceptualising and developing standard CBDRM framework
Non government organizations that working in Disaster Management field and conducting CBDRM projects are very interested in the workshop. Ms Tran Tu Anh, Netherlands Red Cross came and shared many experiences of her organization in CBDRM. She presented Red Cross’s point of view and approach to CBDRM. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phuong, Country Manager of Natural Disaster Mitigation Partnership and also staff of Centre Committee for Flood and Storm Control, also contributed news on CBDRM proposal of Vietnamese Government that is on the way to be approved.
This workshop is one of the initial steps of the activity 1.3 Conceptualize CBDRM and develop CBDRM framework in consultation with actors including Government. Next steps will be developing CBDRM framework, which includes document CBDRM concepts, mapping CBDRM training resources (for national and local level).
CECI and its consultant team plan to have final workshop to present the CBDRM manual at the end of September 2009 |
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