UN USES NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE CHILD NUTRITION

Read at : UNNews

New York, Feb  9 2010 11:05AM

The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (<”http://www.iaea.org/”>IAEA) is working to boost the nutrition of children at risk of malaria, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases through state-of-the-art nuclear technology.

With children in the developing world often experiencing micronutrient deficiencies, such as too little iron, supplements have been routinely recommended. In Africa, the problem is compounded by malaria, which kills one million young people a year and is caused by parasites transmitted through infected mosquitoes.

Research in malaria-affected areas has shown that although iron-deficient children are helped by supplements, those with enough in their system are at the risk of becoming ill when they take the pills.

Extra iron in the bloodstream could increase the chances of contracting malaria, with parasites reaching higher densities.

As a result, the IAEA is applying stable isotope technology to estimate the amount of absorbable iron in the body to provide a clearer picture for researchers studying the ties between iron absorption and the risk of infection.

“It’s one thing to give infants a dose of iron or a dose of zinc and then follow them for a year and see how many of them get sick, but that does not really tell you if they were healthier at the end of that year, why they were healthier,” <”http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2010/feedchild.html”>said Nancy Krebs, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado-Denver’s School of Medicine in the United States.

The isotope studies, she said, give more insight into how the body is actually using the supplements or micronutrients being given, expressing gratitude to the IAEA for its work in this field.
________________

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

Increasing Impact in Sustainable Development Projects

Read at :

Sustainable Development Announcement List <sd-l@lists.iisd.ca>

Many NGOs and development practitioners will need to increase the impact of their projects if they are to work successfully with community members in promoting sustainable development.

In an effort to make our impact training courses accessible to a larger international audience, we have launched an Online Learning program. Key courses on project impact, design, and funding are now available inexpensively online.

Development staff from 31 countries are using our courses to develop new, community-centered, sustainable development projects.

1. Another great African dream has vanished with NEPAD

Read at :

AfricaFiles

Title: Another great African dream has vanished with NEPAD
Author: J. Okungu, Kampala; A.Ashine, Addis Ababa
Category: AU/NEPAD
Date: 2/8/2010
Source: New Vision & Daily Nation
Source Website: www.ukzn.ac.za <http://www.africafiles.org/database/www.ukzn.ac.za>

African Charter Article# 20: All peoples shall have the right to existence and self determination and the right to free themselves from the bonds of domination.

Summary & Comment: African Union leaders have approved the establishment of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency to replace NEPAD. It seems that the dissolution of NEPAD follows sharp criticism: that NEPAD could not deliver a single project during the whole last decade. DN

---

2. African leaders dissolve NEPAD as Addis meeting closes

***************************************************

1. Another great African dream has vanished with NEPAD

Last week I was itching to pen a scathing attack on the Kenyan MPs that went to Naivasha to re-draft the draft of our impending constitution. Had it not been for the good counsel of my colleagues, I would really have gone ahead with my unflattering remarks at a time when most Kenyans were patting themselves on the back for a “deal well deserved”. A week later, I’m not sure if those pats were not misplaced. However, this week, even more tragic news has caught my attention from Addis Ababa. It would look like the parting shot before the African elders left Addis Ababa was to announce that the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) was no more!

Microsoft and World Bank partner to boost development in Africa

Read at : MediaGlobal

Posted: 05 Feb 2010 12:00 AM PST

5 February 2010 [MediaGlobal]: The World Bank and Microsoft announced this week that they have formed a new partnership to boost multiple areas of development in Africa. Utilizing World Bank expertise in development and Microsoft’s innovative technology, the partnership is expected to improve technological, educational, and trade development. Additionally, the partnership will build a better system of disaster-readiness for countries vulnerable to climate-related and other natural disasters. Claudia M. Toth, Senior Communications Director at Microsoft, told MediaGlobal,“As a company, for more than three decades, as we have grown, so has our commitment to global and local development.” The new agreement with the World Bank, which originated at a recent African heads of state summit, builds upon a long-standing relationship of cooperation with not just the World Bank, but also multiple United Nations agencies. In the past two decades, Microsoft has cooperated with the UN’s Environmental Programme, Development Programme, High Commissioner for Human Rights, and International Telecommunication Union.

Women in the Developing World – A Potential Potent Force in Political & Climate Stability

Read at : Google Alerts – desertification

Desertification and Climate Change

By Tony Simeone

Creating awareness of Global Desertification, Climate Change, and Agricultural Sustainability through the production of an environmental documentary and other education products including this blog, a website and training modules …

<http://blog.dimidia.com/2010/02/women-in-developing-world-potent-force.html>

Desertification and Climate Change

<http://blog.dimidia.com/>

Drought Tolerant Crops and Low Flow Shower Heads

Read at : Google Alert – drought

http://nwksgmd4.blogspot.com/2010/02/drought-tolerant-crops-and-low-flow.html

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Monsanto and others are working ferverishly on bringing to market a drought tolerant corn variety – one that yields respectably with 30% less water. As good of news as this is, I’m wondering if it’ll save any water or just increase yields considerably with the same water use (or more).

It’s the classic question of how’s it going to be used? Remember the low flow shower heads that were supposed to save water. Turns out most people didn’t particularly like the weak water stream and ended up taking longer showers – resulting in…, well you can complete this sentence yourself.

Until the irrigation water supply is reduced enough (either by water right and use restrictions or by physical limitations of the supply) my money is on an increase of water use by producers who almost always act toward maximum profit motives. Yes, we will achieve more yield per unit of water, a production efficiency measure that is usually considered good, but the sad truth is that more water will be used, too. This situation can be a real problem for areas needing to reduce consumptive water use.

(continued)

Posted by Wayne Bossert

Somalia: More people forced to flee drought, renewed fighting in Somalia

Read at : Google Alerts – drought

http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/somalia:-more-people-forced-to-flee-drought,-renewed-fighting-in-somalia-2010020443474.html

With drought and renewed fighting in Somalia, malnutrition among children under the age of five in war-ravaged Somalia has reached alarming levels as families are unable to provide them with a properly-balanced diet, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reported.

Rates of global acute malnutrition were up to 30 percent in certain areas and the ICRC said it was supporting the Somali Red Crescent, which has opened three outpatient therapeutic programme centres in Abu dwaq, Cadaado and Galinsor (Galgaduud region) to treat severely malnourished children without medical complications.

‘The children come to the clinics once a week to receive highly nutritional ready-to-eat food rations,’ explained Hillary Floate, an ICRC nutritionist. ‘We check their appetite and make sure there are no complications, and then they take the rest of their ration home. If the children are severely ill and cannot eat on their own, they are adm itted to a hospital in Galcayo.’

Until the next rainy season, expected to begin in March or April, drought will continue to plague the central regions of Somalia and the semi-arid areas along the border with Ethiopia and Kenya, ICRC said Wednesda y in a brief from Mogadishu.

Kiwi starve to death in Northland drought

Read at : Google Alerts – drought

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3297739/Kiwi-starve-to-death-in-Northland-drought

By ROSE STIRLING – Dargaville News

Northland’s drought is having devastating effects for the local Kiwi population.

“The weather is playing havoc with our Kiwi,” says Robert Webb of the Whangarei Native Bird Recovery centre.

A Kiwi’s diet consists mainly of worms, spiders, bugs and grubs, but because the ground has dried out Kiwi are having great difficulty poking their beaks through it to find anything.

“They’re dying from starvation and dehydration.”

Videos tagged ‘desertification’ on Vimeo

Read at : Google Alerts – desertification

Vimeo is a respectful community of creative people who are passionate about sharing the videos they make. Use Vimeo if you want the best tools and highest …

<http://vimeo.com/tag:desertification>

—————————————-

Desertification (ENG)

http://vimeo.com/8455958

Desertification, primarily caused by overgrazing and expansion of crop-growing areas, is one of the greatest environmental challenges we are facing today.Not only is climate change accelerating the rate at which deserts are growing, but desertification itself is also contributing to climate change.

So, what is the solution…?

The only effective way to stop and reverse desertification is to adopt a plant-based diet, to stop consuming animal products, to be vegan

———————————

Desertification (ENG)

http://vimeo.com/6626145

—————————————-

Désertification (FR)

http://vimeo.com/6626137

—————————————-

Food security in Burkina Faso

http://vimeo.com/6414538

As part of its International Cooperation Programmes, Reach Italia NGO works in Burkina Faso in order to ensure food security and agro-forestry-pastoral development in those lands, heavily degraded, that do not guarantee the subsistence needed by the population.

Most of the international interventions and cooperation programmes fighting desertification are aimed at soil conservation in order to prevent the process of desertification, with poor or no committment in recovering those lands already affected by this everlasting process.

Human forces alone are not sufficient to restore the environment and assure the conservation of lands, in our case, in the Province of Oudalan, in the Sahel Region.

Reach Italia has decided to pursue a new path of development through the introduction and use of technologies, that are essentials to secure a future for those people and those areas of the world increasingly vulnerables to climate changes and increasingly under the threat of food-crises.

Thanks to the technology designed by the engineer Vallerani (Vallerani System), in partnership with Deserto Verde in Burkina Faso, the support of Parco Nord in Milan and Same Deutz Fahr S.p.a., Reach Italia aims to reverse the process of desertification (declared inevitable a few years ago) by ploughing highly degraded lands. The results are surprising, and as the international community has initiated extensive studies on this technology we hope that in the future this challenge will be won.

————————————-

Water Grain – Desertification

by Oguzhan

http://vimeo.com/4678610

———————————————-

Save the Earth: Nuha talks Desertification

by MicrosoftStudent.tv

http://vimeo.com/4268400

In this video Nuha taks about the problem of desertification in Libya and how we can help to save water by making smart choices in our daily life. Spread the word!

———————————————–

Can you hear the trees?

by marcomarchesi

http://vimeo.com/1486136

My contribute to “This is Planet Earth” QOOB Commissioning. Text is an abstract of UNCCD document.

Desertification is one of the most terrible effects of the climatic changes and irrational exploitation of nature.

If alarming data are not enough, just stop and hear.

——————————————-

Abdoulaye Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal

by UNUChannel

http://vimeo.com/1420522

Interview with Abdoulaye Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal after delivering the fifteenth U Thant Distinguished Lecture at Unite Nations University Headquarters, in Tokyo. He speaks about climate change, and specifically on how African-led initiatives, such as la Grande Muraille Verte (the Great Green Wall) can contribute to combating desertification.

———————————————–

We even have to protect deserts!

Read at : Google Alerts – desertification

http://fishsnorkel.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/we-even-have-to-protect-deserts/

2006 was the International Year of Deserts and Desertification (IYDD) and the following quotes from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) should perfectly illustrate the conservation communties absolute commitment to preventing change of any kind:

(continued)

Perhaps the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) should actually be the United Nations Convention to Fight and Vilify New Deserts While Simultaneoulsy Revering and Preserving Others (UNCFVNDWSRPO). It’s not quite as catchy I must admit, but that’s what these people are advocating.