Tag: UNEP

YUVA RDR: Understanding Climate Change and its impacts in Mauritius

In line with its Goal 8: Climate Change, YUVA District Riviere Du Rempart, held a half day Seminar at the University of Technology, Mauritius, to mark the International Mother Earth Day 2016, on Thursday, 21 April.

“According to the World Risk Report 2014, Mauritius is ranked 14th among countries with the highest disaster risk, where the Flash Flood of 30 March, 2013 proves the fact that our island is not adapting to the effects of global Climate Change.” – President of YUVA District Riviere Du Rempart, Soveeta Chengappa Naidu

The seminar started with a portrait of the current situation of Climate Change and its impact on the island of Mauritius, followed by resource persons from the Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development-Climate Change division, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Center and academic staffs from the University of Technology, Mauritius, later ended by an interactive session from YUVANs of Goodlands along with a medicinal and decorative plants distribution.

To combat climate change it is important that we take consciousness of the facts that we are now entering the sixth mass extinction and we have, before us, the most serious challenge in the name of climate change. This project has been initiated because climate change is not a myth. We need to assume our responsibility because the future of the world depends on us. After reports from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, it has been established that humans are the main cause of global warming. We are now experiencing man-made climate change because of human activities and because of our interference with the Earth’s system. It is a fact that the majority of people are still unaware of how their daily activities are causing climate change. This project may be a pioneer in bringing forth the hidden pain and the unheard cries of Mother Earth.

We cannot deny that several human activities are causing the Earth to heat up, to be wounded, to cough and to melt. Firstly, our oceans are being depleted and we are filling them with untold amounts of trash, chemicals and plastic. Plastic takes years to biodegrade and kills many marine animals.

The second main issue is the everyday destruction of rainforests. The lungs of the planet, the Amazon rainforests, are being cleared at an unprecedented rate, and today, more than 91% has already been destroyed. If we do not act, the last place on Earth where orangutans, rhinos, tigers, elephants and sunbears live together, faces the real risk of disappearing before our very eyes. The damage we’re causing to the Earth cannot even be quantified. Our climate crisis is now a global challenge and there is no turning back. The leading cause of climate change is a hard-hitting fact. Animal agriculture, which exists because of meat consumption, is a large emitter of methane, which has a global warming power of 86 times than that of CO2 and is 25 to 100 times more destructive than CO2.

Let’s get real. For years now, environmental organizations and governmental officials have encouraged society to carpool, ride bikes, conserve electricity, compost, recycle, but it is clearly not enough. This initiative may be a milestone in reversing climate change, and may be one of the most vital steps taken for a better world.

This seminar aimed in the end, that every individual attending takes as their mission the following:

  • Addressing climate change at all fronts
  • Educating people about the impacts of their daily activities on the Planet
  • Involving the community at large in fighting climate change
  • To cater for a better world by engaging people into sustainable actions.

Our Mother needs us! Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

“When it comes to climate change, it is clearly a point of no return. It needs to be tackled as efficiently and effectively as possible because we are not just fighting the impacts of climate change – we need to stop and reverse climate change.” – Oorvashi Panchoo, Project Leader

6 November: International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict

On 5th November 2001 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution declaring the from that year onward 6thNovember would be designated as The International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.

Traditionally in times of warfare and conflict, success had been gauged by the number of dead and injured, together with the level of destruction to cities and livelihoods. The UN felt that the time had come to consider environmental issues that had previously gone unpublicised, but were still significant victims of war.

These include water supplies that had been polluted, crops that had been burnt or otherwise destroyed, forests that had been cut down, soils poisoned and animals killed, all in the name of gaining military advantage.

A significant fact that was discovered by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) was that since the end of World War II, 40% of all internal conflicts have been linked to the exploitation of natural resources. These range from high value resources such as timber, gold, diamonds and oil, to scarce resources such as fertile land and water.

Conflicts involving natural resources have also been found to be twice as likely to recur in the future.

This is of particular concern to the UN and great importance is attached to ensuring that action on the environment is an important part of conflict prevention, and building strategies to ensure an enduring peace. There is little hope of any durable peace in a region if there has been destruction of the natural resources that sustain its ecosystems and the livelihoods of its people.

Politicians will usually be very quick to justify going to war, but the fact remains that whatever its justification, war will always result in untold misery and unspeakable horror for combatants and civilians alike. War can destroy in minutes what has often taken generations to achieve and beyond the human suffering war can also be devastating to the environment.

A classic example was the Vietnam War. The Vietcong soldiers were skilled at moving around undetected by using paths in the dense jungle. As a result they were able to conduct a guerrilla war against the US forces and remain totally undetected.

The US military forces countered this by using a mixture of two herbicides known as Agent Orange, which was sprayed on the forest from a height of 150 feet above the treetops. This had the effect of killing all the vegetation that had provided cover for the enemy, as well as all their food crops. It was also highly dangerous to anyone who came in contact with it and in 1971 its use was stopped, but by then it had been in use for ten years and irreparable damage had been done.

It is estimated that the Vietnam War was eventually responsible for the destruction of 4.9 million hectares of forest, or about 19,000 square miles, an area nearly two-thirds the size of Scotland.

It has also been estimated that during the 19 years and 5 months of the war around 16 million tons of munitions were used, creating more than 30 million craters. These craters blew away the topsoil and disturbed the drainage patterns as they filled with water. This water became stagnant and full of disease-bearing organisms.

Irreparable damage was done to wildlife, not only by destruction of habitat but also as a result of weaponry. Weapons aimed at the enemy not only killed people, but large numbers of animals also.

Putting aside humanitarian considerations, the war was an ecological disaster for the entire region. Many species of animals and vegetation have been greatly reduced and in some cases have become extinct.

Following the ending of the war the Vietnamese government has been making enormous efforts to replace the lost forest and to restore the shattered country. These efforts have met with great success, but what a tragedy that they have been necessary in the first place.

The International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict was established to highlight the environmental consequences of war and to stress the importance of neither exploiting nor heedlessly damaging ecosystems, simply in the name of pursuing military objectives.

The environment has been described the “silent casualty” of warfare.

Since time began, men have been developing evermore sophisticated and efficient ways of killing each other. Although international treaties have banned some of the more dreadful methods, never has much consideration been given to maltreatment of the environment during wartime, or to the consequences of its systematic extermination.

Today’s generation have responsibility for this safeguarding; if this is neglected, the next generation may find that much of the environment as we now know it will have gone for ever.

Key facts:

  • The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has found that over the last 60 years, at least 40% of all internal conflicts have been linked to the exploitation of natural resources, whether high-value resources such as timber, diamonds, gold and oil, or scarce resources such as fertile land and water;
  • Conflicts involving natural resources have also been found to be twice as likely to relapse.
  • EU-UN Partnership on Land and Natural Resource Conflicts: Six United Nations agencies and departments (UNEP, UNDP, UNHABITAT, PBSO, DPA and DESA), coordinated by the UN Framework Team for Preventive Action, have partnered with the European Union (EU) to help countries identify, prevent and transform tensions over natural resource as part of conflict prevention and peacebuilding programmes;
  • Global Research Programme on Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Natural Resources: The Environmental Law Institute (ELI), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Universities of Tokyo and McGill initiated a global research programme to collect lessons learned and good practices on managing natural resources during post-conflict peacebuilding. This four-year research project has yielded more than 150 peer-reviewed case studies by over 230 scholars, practitioners and decision-makers from 55 countries. This represents the most significant collection to date of experiences, analyses and lessons in managing natural resources to support post-conflict peacebuilding.
  • UN Partnership on Women and Natural Resources in Peacebuilding Settings: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equity and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) have established a partnership to collaborate on improving the understanding of the complex relationship between women and natural resources in conflict-affected settings, and make the case for pursuing gender equality, women’s empowerment and sustainable natural resource management together in support of peacebuilding. The first outcome of the collaboration is a joint policy report released on 6 November 2013.
                                                                                                                                                         
                             (Source: Earth Times)