Headlines
Published 31 August 2010
GLOBAL: IPCC review makes recommendations for institutional strengthening
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and the head of the UN-backed panel tasked with preparing scientific reports on the impact of climate change (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)) have welcomed the findings of an independent review that called for major changes in management and procedures to enable the group to strengthen the quality of its assessments. The recommendations include the establishment of an executive committee to act on the panel’s behalf, and the appointment of an executive director to lead the Secretariat. It also recommended a rigorous conflict of interest policy be applied to senior IPCC leadership and all authors, review editors and staff responsible for report content.
GLOBAL: Stockholm POP list gains extra nine toxic chemicals
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced that nine toxic chemicals have been added to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The chemicals being banned or phased out include pesticides and flame retardants. The amendments to the list of POPs were made at the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention in May last year.
GLOBAL: Sustainable cities chief urges stakeholders to work more closely for urban areas
The new chief of the United Nations agency tasked with promoting sustainable cities and towns has stressed the need for governments, civil society and the private sector to all work more closely together to improve the world's urban areas. Spain’s Joan Clos said: ‘With over half of humanity now living in cities, we must prioritize both urban poverty reduction and environmental sustainability – especially as there are now almost one billion slum dwellers.’
EUROPE: UNEP warns of alien species invasion of Wadden sea
UNEP has issued a report that warns a wide range of alien species has invaded the Wadden Sea’s ecosystem, threatening the biodiversity of the World Heritage site. A diverse range of alien species are increasing at an alarming rate in the sea, which borders the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, according to the report, delivered at a conference in Bonn, Germany, to mark Wadden Sea Day. The shallow sea has mud and sand-flats, salt marshes, islands, dunes, estuaries, gullies and open waters that stretch over 500km along the North Sea coast. It is one of the last remaining natural inter-tidal ecosystems in Europe and supports a huge number of plant and animal species.
PAKISTAN: Floodwaters begin to recede, but water pollution issues continue
Officials in Pakistan say that floodwaters in the south of the country are beginning to recede, but have warned that water levels in the southern reaches of the Indus river remain ‘exceptionally high’. The floods have moved south, fuelled by torrential monsoon rains in the north west of the country, leaving six million people homeless and over 1600 dead. Weather officials say that it will take at least another week for river levels in Sindh province to return to normal. UNICEF reports that its efforts have enabled 2.5 million people in the flood areas to have access to clean water, but adds that an estimated 3.5 million people only have contaminated water for potable and hygiene purposes.
US: Wastewater survey warns of massive bill hikes where new works are constructed
Circle of Blue has undertaken a survey of wastewater costs in 30 major cities in the US that show that where new wastewater treatment facilities have been constructed, households are paying up to 15 times more on their sewer bills than in cities with older systems. However, with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considering stricter water quality regulations and with final revisions to the current standards due next summer, the group warns that customers could face significantly larger wastewater charges.
IRAQ: Audit warns of billion-dollar waste on infrastructure projects
Audits from the US’s special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction are said to reveal that billions of dollars have been spent on abandoned or incomplete projects including a $100 million wastewater treatment system for Fallujah, which has cost over three times more than anticipated but is still not functioning.
US: EPA announces details of boat sewage ban off California
The US EPA’s Pacific Southwest region has announced details of proposals to ban all sewage discharges from large cruise ships and most other ocean-going ships to marine waters along California’s entire coastline. This will establish the largest coastal ‘no discharge’ zone in the US and is expected to eliminate millions of gallons of sewage from the state’s coastal waters.
US:Scientists call for an end to summer cattle grazing in the Sierra Nevada
An article in the latest issue of the Journal of Water and Health argues that high-altitude summer cattle grazing should be phased out in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which is a key water source for California. Cattle manure is blamed for widespread eutrophication and high levels of E. coli. The authors propose that summer grazing be limited to lower levels – below 1500m in the Central and Northern Sierra and 2000m in the Southern Sierra.
US: Scientists find cold water proteobacteria is consuming Gulf oil spill
Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have reported that a new, fast-eating species of proteobacteria has consumed large amounts of the hydrocarbons spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. The researchers suggest that the micro-organisms have adapted to the cold, deep water where the plume began and can biodegrade the hydrocarbons without significantly depleting oxygen, unlike most oil-depleting bacteria.
AUSTRALIA: Murray-Darling scheme thrown in doubt by election results
The Australian press are speculating that the close-run result of the recent elections could throw into doubt the future of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s draft water plan, which has not yet been unveiled. The plan, which was expected to recommend significant reductions in irrigation entitlements, but the government’s reliance on independents, some of whom have interests in farmers’ rights and local development, could prove crucial.
NIGERIA: Country warns of cholera epidemic
Health officials in Nigeria are warning that the entire country is at risk from a cholera outbreak that has killed 352 people in three months. The country’s Health Ministry issued a statement last week that reported 6400 cases since June in 12 of the 36 states.
SOUTH AFRICA: Union threatens ‘water crisis’
South Africa’s water sector workers were due to go on strike this week, according to the South African Municipal Workers Union. The union took the action after a court ban against plans to join sympathy strikes alongside protestors in the country’s other public sectors. The union’s spokesman Tahir Sema warned that the country was going to experience ‘a serious water crisis’. The union is seeking a sliding scale of wage increases, with the lowest paid aiming to get a 13.5% hike.
UK: Keep Britain Tidy commits to real-time CSO warnings for Blue Flag beaches
Clean water campaign group Surfers Against Sewage has announced that it is celebrating Keep Britain Tidy’s commitment to set up warning systems to inform the public after wastewater discharges to Blue Flag beaches. All beaches that have combined sewer outflows onto or adjacent to such beaches will have to have real-time warning systems in place from May 2011.
SRI LANKA: Legal centre voices worries about drinking water
The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has said it is ‘gravely concerned’ by reports of serious health problems from unsafe drinking water in Sri Lanka. The non-governmental organisation highlighted the failure of the government to protect and fulfill the right to access to safe drinking water for the population. Over 15 of the country’s 25 districts are said to be affected. Just 34% of the country’s people have access to a piped potable water supply.