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|  Ecology
- Natural Resources Transboundary Issues
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Beyond Boundaries: Regional Overview of Transboundary Natural Resource
Management in Eastern Africa - Transboundary natural resource
management (TBNRM) is gaining currency as environmentalists and policymakers
recognize the limitations of existing national natural resource management
programs, policies, and laws. This study provides an overview of
policies, laws, and programs for TBNRM in the Eastern Africa Region. An
important point to note is that the national boundaries are not sensitive to
ecological issues; they do not take ecosystems into account. This overview is
followed by two very different case studies from two distinct practitioners:
The first case study, on the Minziro-Sango Bay Forest (MSBF) TBNRM Area across
the Tanzania-Uganda border, describes the evolution of a specific
transboundary project, funded by the GEF through UNDP, which addresses the
policy-enabling environment for cross-borders conservation of forest
biodiversity. The second case study was prepared by an International NGO
with a long history of conservation involvement in the region—AWF. African
Wildlife Foundation staff members chronicle their experience with
conservation, focusing on what is developing as a coherent program—the
Kilimanjaro Heartland across the Kenya-Tanzania border. |
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| WATER
ACCESS |
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France
diplomatie [L'eau : Les Enjeux] - La gestion des ressources en eau
reste un des défis majeurs de l'humanité, et la coopération internationale y
consacre une part importante de ses moyens. Les enjeux de cette gestion sont
importants et les thèmes qu'elle traite sont typiques du développement. Les
enjeux de la gestion de l'eau peuvent être décrits en termes sanitaires,
alimentaires, sociaux, économiques, financiers, environnementaux, politiques
et géopolitiques. - Enjeux environnementaux: La moitié des grands fleuves
et lacs mondiaux est polluée. La moitié des zones humides a disparu depuis le
début du 20ème siècle. La biodiversité a diminué de moitié dans les eaux
douces. Les aquifères sont de plus en plus surexploités et pollués. L'eau est
une ressource naturelle limitée. Cependant la demande augmente et la ressource
est de plus en plus dégradée. Les perspectives laissent entrevoir une
aggravation de ces tendances. Enfin, les problèmes liés aux changements
climatiques concerneront au premier chef la ressource en eau. - Enjeux
politiques et géopolitiques: Deux sur trois des grands fleuves ou
aquifères (soit plus de 300 dans le monde) sont partagés entre plusieurs pays.
Deux personnes sur cinq dépendent de ces eaux partagées. 15% des pays
reçoivent plus de 50% de leur eau de pays situés en amont. Peu d'accords
internationaux de gestion existent. Toutefois la Convention de Genève de 1949
interdit toute attaque armée sur des barrages. La poussée urbaine
continue : 16% de la population mondiale en 1900, 45% en 1990 et près de 320
villes de plus d'un million d'habitants en 2000. Cela représente 5% de la
surface du globe pour 25% des besoins des populations (compte tenu des besoins
des industries concentrées dans les zones urbaines). |
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The Water Page |
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L'eau, la vie, l'environnement [Le Cinéma autour du monde] -
Collection de
films documentaires - France.Diplomatie.fr |
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Waternet: water, conflict and
politics in the Middle East - Water as a source of conflict or cooperation |
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Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty - Art.6 Water - |
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Annex III –
Protocol on Israeli-Palestinian Cooperation in Economic and Development
Programs - 1. Cooperation in the field of water (1998) |
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Le débat sur la privatisation de l'eau - Kyoto Forum Mondial de l'eau
(Radio Canada) |
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The 3rd World Water Forum -
Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka, Japan, March 16-23, 2003 |
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Water Privatization in Argentina - The privatization of water
and sanitation in Buenos Aires has been hailed by its neo-liberal proponents
as an unprecedented success. This paper takes a deeper and more critical look
than many of these accounts. It looks at political and economic changes within
Argentina in order to explain the troubling findings regarding the performance
of Aguas Argentinas, the private company that won the concession for most of
Buenos Aires. The paper begins with a brief overview of the political and
economic context in Argentina before describing the process involved in the
water privatization in Buenos Aires. It then discusses the outcomes, including
changes in coverage and charges to end users as well as impacts on labour and
the environment. The paper describes how the promised reduction in water
tariffs did not materialize (in fact the opposite occurred) and how
agreed-upon targets for expanding sewerage connections and sewage treatment
were not met. It also describes how the national government intervened to
support the water company in conflicts with the regulatory agency and even
by-passed the regulatory agency when the water company wanted to renegotiate
the contract. Finally, the role of international financial institutions in
this process is discussed.
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UN Chronicle - The Demise of Mesopotamian Marshlands |
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“Garden of Eden” in Southern Iraq Likely to Disappear Completely in Five Years
Unless Urgent Action Taken - The Mesopotamian marshlands are an
integral part of the Tigris-Euphrates river basin, which is shared by Iran,
Iraq, Syria and Turkey. UNEP first drew the world’s attention to the demise of
the largest wetland ecosystem in the Middle East Mesopotamian marshlands in
May 2001 with hard evidence from satellite imagery capturing the shrinkage of
the marshlands’ physical extent. The UNEP study revealed that by spring 2000,
a one thousand-square kilometre vestige straddling the Iran-Iraq border was
all that was left of the extensive wetland complex, which originally covered
an area of 15,000 - 20,000 square kilometres. |
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The Mesopotamian Marshlands: Demise of an Ecosystem - 2001complete
report - There is no doubt that the disappearance of the Mesopotamian
marshlands represents a major environmental catastrophe that will be
remembered as one of humanity's worst engineered disasters. It is a
devastating account embodying in many respects the environmental crises of our
times. This disaster encompasses disputes over water rights; pollution;
threats to indigenous communities and to archaeological sites; human rights,
environmental refugees and war damages; and declining populations of migratory
birds and coastal fisheries. It is hoped that this report will act as a
clarion call, sparking fresh debate and opening new lines of communication
between Tigris-Euphrates riparian countries, encouraging them to come together
and share their precious rivers in a peaceful, socially-equitable and
environmentally-sustainable manner." |
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WATER ISSUES BETWEEN
TURKEY, SYRIA AND IRAQ - Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs - official web site |
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The
Aral Sea Disaster |
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Aral Sea
Ecological Disaster Causes Humanitarian Crisis |
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The Aral Sea Homepage |
Afghanistan: Post
Conflict Environmental Assessment - from UNEP Post Conflict Assessment
Unit - The Amu Darya River flows into the north of Afghanistan and
forms the border with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The entire
basin is estimated to cover 227 800 km2, of which approximately 39
per cent lies in Afghanistan. In ancient times the Amu Darya was called
the Oxus and figured importantly in the history of Persia and in the campaigns
of Alexander the Great. The two primary headwaters of the Amu Darya River
originate in the high peaks of the Pamir mountains in the Wakhan Corridor. The
northern branch, the Pamir River, has its source in Zor Kul Lake, which is
shared by Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The southern branch, the Wakhan River,
flows out of Chakmatin Lake. Less than 20 years ago the course of the
river ran for 1 200 km before emptying into the Aral Sea. Today the river
dries up before reaching the Aral Sea due to excessive extraction of its
waters for cotton and hydroelectric production in the bordering central Asian
republics. This has been a major factor in the decreased surface area of the
Aral Sea, from 68 000 km2 to 28 700 km2, and to decreases in volume from 1 040
km3 to only 181 km3. In addition to its transboundary
significance, the Amu Darya River and its tributaries are also a critical
source of water supply for the extensive irrigated areas in Afghanistan’s
northern fertile plains. About 40 per cent of the country’s irrigated lands
lie in this northern region. Movement toward transboundary cooperation
over the management of the Amu Darya began in the 1940s. Two important
agreements eventually established the current framework for cooperation: the
1946 Frontier Agreement between Afghanistan and the USSR, and the 1958 Treaty
concerning the regime to the Soviet-Afghan frontier, mincluding the Protocol
concerning the joint execution of works for the integrated utilization of the
water resources in the frontier section of the Amu Darya. These agreements
established an international commission to deal with the use and quality of
frontier water resources. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the central
Asian republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan inherited the
responsibilities of this commission. Afghanistan was not, however, able to
make any substantial contributions or commitments on transboundary resources
during the period of conflict. Even without the cooperation of Afghanistan,
the five central Asian republics have recognized the urgent need to cooperate
on water issues. A number of initiatives, including the Interstate Commission
for Water Management Coordination (ICWC) and the International Fund for the
Aral Sea (IFAS), have been created to conduct transboundary water management.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has also established
the Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia
(SPECA) to strengthen cooperation between countries and explore transboundary
resource management options. To date, Afghanistan, a fundamental partner to
any future transboundary water management agreement, has not participated in
any of the discussions. |
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AQUASTAT -
FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture |
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ICCS -
International Center for Caspian Studies, based in Brussels, is a
non-governmental research organization dedicated to the examination of the
economic, social and geopolitical issues of the Caspian Sea Region. Its
special focus is on analyzing a wide-range of issues related to the
development of the oil and energy resources in the region and its impact on
the economic, political and social fabric of the whole Caspian area. The
role of the ICCS is to inform and educate the public and all interested
parties in the region and worldwide and create an environment of
understanding, discussion and open dialogue that will lead to positive change
for all the people of the region. |
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Alliance21: Alliance for a Responsible, Plural and United World |
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UN: Launch of the International Year
of Freshwater - 2003 |
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International Year of Freshwater - 2003 - Web Site |
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| Agriculture |
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FAO:Agriculture21:Natural
resources & environment |
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| Statistics
- Africa |
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World Bank - Africa Poverty Monitoring - Survey Navigator - The Africa
Household Survey Databank contains 394 Surveys and 3194 Documents - The
Document Navigator is primarily used at the World Bank but is designed as a
tool to be deployed in national statistical agencies to manage and disseminate
survey information. It is part of the Worldbank country databank solution
toolbox. |
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THE REFUGEE CRISIS IN
AFRICA AND IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH AND DISEASE: A POLITICAL ECOLOGY APPROACH
- Political violence in civil war and ethnic conflicts has
generated millions of refugees across the African continent with unbelievable
pictures of suffering and unnecessary death. Using a political ecology
framework, this paper examines the geographies of exile and refugee movements
and the associated implications for re-emerging and newly emerging infectious
diseases in great detail. It examines how the political ecologic circumstances
underlying the refugee crisis influences health services delivery and the
problems of disease and health in refugee camps. It has four main themes,
namely, an examination of the geography of the refugee crisis; the disruption
of health services due to political ecologic forces that produce refugees; the
breeding of disease in refugee camps due to the prevailing desperation and
destitution; and the creation of an optimal environment for emergence and
spread of disease due to the chaotic nature of war and violence that produces
refugees. We argue in this paper that there is great potential of something
more virulent than cholera and Ebola emerging and taking a big toll before
being identified and controlled. We conclude by noting that once such a
disease is out in the public rapid diffusion despite political boundaries is
likely, a fact that has a direct bearing on global health. The extensive
evidence presented in this paper of the overriding role of political factors
in the refugee health problem calls for political reform and peace accords,
engagement and empowerment of Pan-African organizations, foreign policy
changes by Western governments and greater vigilance of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) in the allocation and distribution of relief aid. |
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Uganda: The Marginalization of Minorities - |
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| Africa
- Diversity - Culture - Conflicts - Refugees |
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HCR - High Commissioner for Refugees |
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INCORE - INCORE guide to Internet
sources on conflict and ethnicity - INCORE (International Conflict
Research) was set up in 1993 by the University of Ulster and the United
Nations University to undertake research and policy work that is useful to the
resolution of ethnic, political and religious conflicts. Currently, INCORE's
research focuses mainly on post conflict issues, issues of governance and
diversity, and research methodology in violent societies. |
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