(continued)Read at : Google Alert – desertification
Working together for the environment
By Benno Böer, Mark Sutcliffe & Asfiya Ahmed/Doha
Unesco launches the International Year of Biodiversity in its Paris headquarters today. The Qatar office of Unesco concluded 2009 with the Doha Green Conference, Eco-Schools and the launch of the Gulf Network of Arid Land Environments. The work aims to reduce environmental crisis based on science and education.
Desertification: Livestock numbers exceeding the ecological-carrying capacities of the rangelands and reduced ground water have caused desertification. What is left is barren soil with little vegetation. This accelerates soil erosion. Unesco developed a proposal on innovative camel farms redressing desertification.
Biodiversity loss: Man-made impact has caused loss of biodiversity, including Arabian leopard, oryx and various ecosystems. This is an ongoing process. Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Soqotra have successfully established biosphere reserves to reconcile development and nature conservation. This needs to be promoted.
Freshwater crisis: Ground-water reserves are being depleted. Surface water is rare. The region now depends on seawater desalination. The Gulf has already the highest density of desalination plants globally, and progress in agriculture and population growth will even increase this. New ideas for good water-management are needed.
Marine pollution: The waters surrounding the Arabian peninsula have probably received the largest share of oil pollution globally, vastly based on the 1991 Gulf War that caused the largest oil spill in history. Other forms of marine pollution include thermal, salinity and chemical pollution. Unesco, Unep, Ropme & Recso are supporting a process of discussing cross-border issues.
Road Traffic: The situation is catastrophic with very high death and injury rates, as well as greenhouse gas emissions caused by daily traffic jams. Unesco has developed a project document to suggest short-term improvements of human safety and long-term enhancements of the traffic situation.
Food security: The countries depend on food import. Plans exist to enhance agriculture with solar energy and seawater. Unesco plans developing a guideline on utilising and restoring seagrass.
Climate change: Tropical cyclones and floods occurred in Oman, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Unbiased research, early warning systems, evacuation plans, and Civil Defence Forces can assist reducing damage during and after natural catastrophes.
A lot of highly laudable, visible and professional good work has been done by the government authorities, universities, schools, NGOs, IGOs, the private sector, and the public. Expert and institutional capacity has been built, including the active and professional participation of women experts.
However, environmental degradation is a fast process, and driven to a large part by humans. We depend on the land, the sea, the air and the biota and we have to treat them with the greatest care. More needs to be done in the world, including the Arabian Peninsula.
A lot of young people have recently addressed their environmental concerns to Unesco Doha. They offered their help, and in particular to help in the Gulf’s biosphere reserves.
The Arabs established one of the first nature conservation systems: the Hema-system that functioned as a reserve for livestock in times of long droughts. Today we trust technology to solve our problems. This is dangerous when considering environmental crisis and population growths. Never before did so many people live in the Gulf. They do all need water, food, and clean air. Let us recall that we live in one of the most arid regions on Earth. We do already depend on seawater desalinisation and food import.
Unesco has the capacity to provide guidance for decision-makers, land-owners and –users, based on science and education. The environmental issues are diverse, and include climate, water, soil, energy, biodiversity, anthropogenic impacts, agriculture, policies, biosphere reserves, capacity building, knowledge sharing, and others. The support of Islamic and Arab heritage is highly important.
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