Family garden in Aussert (1) – Jardin familial à Aussert (1) / UNICEF

UNICEF ALGERIA constructs family gardens in the refugee camps of the Sahraouis (region of Tindouf – S.W. Algeria) to supplement the daily food with fresh vegetables and fruits. The gardens are treated with the TerraCottem soil conditioner. The first results are very promising. See my pictures of a garden in Aussert (april 2007), where the main problems are the lack of water and the strong Sahara desert winds.

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UNICEF ALGERIE construit des jardins familiaux dans les camps des réfugies Sahrouis (région de Tindouf – S.W. Algérie) pour offrir un supplément en nourriture par des légumes frais et des fruits. Les jardins sont traites au conditionneur de sol TerraCottem. Les premiers résultats sont très prometteurs. Voir mes photos d’un jardin à Aussert (Avril 2007). Les plus grands problèmes sont le manque d’eau et les vents forts du désert Sahara.

2007-04 : Lady-owner of the garden, engineer Lamine and Mrs. H’lala, a representative of the Sahraouis Women’s Union in the garden / La propriétaire du jardin, l’ingénieur Lamine et une représentante de l’Union des Femmes Sahraouis dans le jardin

2007-04 : Red beetroot, some other vegetables and some barley / Betteraves rouges, quelques autres légumes et un peu d’orge

2007-04 : Some green peas / Des petits pois verts

2007-04 : Onions / Des oignons

2007-04 : In the little greenhouse some tomatoes and here and there watermelons, melons and courgettes: that’s what is making these people already a bit happier and less fatalistic / Dans la petite serre des tomates, ici et là des pastèques, des melons, des courgettes: cela rend déjà les gens un peu plus heureux et moins fatalistes.

GM crops and poverty (Google News Alert / PR Web)

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Google News Alert for : poverty

PR Web

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/4/prweb519320.htm

Genetically Modified Crops Represent a Key Solution to Ending Extreme Poverty

Renowned international economist Dr. Jeffrey D. Sachs supports expanded use of plant biotechnology.

St Louis, MO (PRWEB) April 16, 2007 — About one billion people – or one-sixth of the world’s population – live in extreme poverty or on less than $1 per day. For these individuals, losing a crop to a drought or a crop-destroying insect invasion can be the difference between life and death. Farming innovations such as genetically modified crops can contribute to poverty alleviation by increasing yields, improving nutrition and generating income among resource-poor farmers.

DESIRE : desertification research project (Google News Alert / Innovation Report)

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Google News Alert for : desertification

Innovations Report  http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/umwelt_naturschutz/berich

Desertification: a project named DESIRE

11.04.2007

Creeping desertification around the world affects more than 250 million people.

A newly launched research project is working to fight the phenomenon with new conservation strategies.

Funded under the EU’s Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), the DESIRE project is international, bringing together 28 research institutes, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and policy-makers from around the world.

The aim of the €9 million project is to come up with alternative strategies for the use and protection of these vulnerable areas.

‘Fragile arid and semi-arid ecosystems are in urgent need of integrated conservation approaches that can prevent and reduce widespread degradation,’ said the coordinator of the project, Professor Coen Ritsema from the Alterra Wageningen University & Research Centre, the Netherlands.

The team of researchers has identified 18 hotspots from southern Europe to Australia, Chile and the United States of America, covering a wide range of problems, from soil erosion by wind or water, to salinisation and droughts or flash floods.

Water harvesting in Chile (WordPress Tag Surfer)

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WordPress Tag Surfer

Smithsonian

 Water Harvesting in Chile

Source: Smithsonian

Drought Hazard (WordPress Tag Surfer)

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WordPress Tag Surfer

I. Definition of Drought

Generic definition of drought is a persistent and abnormal moisture deficiency having adverse impacts on vegetation, animals, or people. Drought is a creeping phenomenon, the extent of which appears gradually, thus offering the possibility for monitoring and early warning of drought. There are two ways to monitor droughts: one is based on a network system of stations, and another is by remote sensing, which offers fast, objective, economic, and large-range characteristics. Through remote sensing, station networks, and modern communications, including geographical information systems (GIS), a variety of information about climate and water supply conditions can be provided continuously before drought occurs. This information is useful for defining the possible range, period, and risk degree of drought, and it will help in the adoption of drought mitigation measures.

Many of expert explain drought on more operational definition as
: a deficiency of precipitation from expected or “normal” that, when a season or longer period of time extended over, is insufficient to meet demands.

This may result in economic, social, and environmental impacts. It should be considered a normal, recurrent feature of climate. Drought is a relative, rather than absolute, condition that should be defined for each region. Each drought differs in intensity, duration, and spatial extent.

Drought in S.W.China (WordPress Tag Surfer)

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WordPress Tag Surfer – Reuters

Drought Threatens 1.5 million in Southwest China

Drought in Thailand (WordPress Tag Surfer)

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AFP

Drought affects millions in Thailand

BANGKOK (AFP) – Scorching weather and lack of rain has left more than eight million people in Thailand, the world’s top rice exporter, suffering a drought that is ruining their farmland, officials said Sunday. The drought has hit 58 of Thailand’s 76 provinces, the government department responsible for disaster prevention and management said in a statement. Most of them are in the north of the country, a region only just recovering from a choking haze caused by forest fires. The department said about 114,000 rai (45,000 acres) of farmland had been affected, along with 8.23 million people. Authorities said water pumps were being provided to help local farmers and residents.