Power Shift is Australia’s first national youth climate summit. Join with thousands of other young people who are coming together to stand up against climate change and repower our future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iSVQIOo5×0

Speakers includie Tim Flannery (Australian of the Year 2007), Simon Sheik (Executive Director of GetUp), Larissa Brown (Young Environmentalist of the Year 2007) and more!
Power Shift will be held from 11-13th July 2009 at the University of Western Sydney Parramatta Campus.

Registration closes very soon so register online at www.powershift.org.au

Contact Ellen Sandell on 0400544754 or ellen.sandell@youthclimatecoalition.org for more information.

Entries and nominations are now invited for the Young Leaders in Environmental Issues and Climate Change prize, one of 20 prizes on offer in this year’s competition and one of only two in the category of Science Leadership!

Sponsored by the British Council, the Eureka Prize for Young Leaders in Environmental Issues and Climate Change is awarded to a young Australian aged 21 - 30 for scientific or technological leadership in responding to the challenges that threaten our environment and our climate.

The prize is intended to benefit outstanding young people who have demonstrated:

• scientific or technological leadership which aims to improve the environment or reduce the impact of climate change, and
• the potential to accelerate quickly into leadership positions in fields relevant to this prize.

The winner will receive a $10,000 study tour to the United Kingdom, organised by the British Council.

Entries close 2 May 2008

For further information on the prize, judging criteria, and how to enter, go to australianmuseum.net.au/eureka or email eureka@austmus.gov.au

Water, rivers and climate change are inextricably linked, and are ringing warning bells across the world. More than ever before, the global water situation is uniting people in hardship, with billions being spent to protect water supplies, livelihoods and, ultimately, lives.

In Australia, one of the driest continents, a growing population and drying climate is challenging environmental scientists, water managers and politicians to find short and long-term solutions to the growing crisis. And answers are not cheap or easy, often being social problems that require political action.

The statistics alone are frightening. Of the water available for Australians to use, one quarter of the rivers and lakes are already used for drinking, industry and agriculture, and one third of underground water is being pumped to the surface and used for the same purposes.

If you ask Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, about climate change, the outlook is bleak. By 2030 rainfall on the major capitals (except Hobart) could drop by 15 per cent. According to the 2001 report, Climate Change Projections for Australia, Perth could loose up to 20 per cent of rainfall. At the same time, rising temperatures will increase evaporation, further reducing water supplies in dams, rivers and reservoirs.
In another recent scientific report by the same agency, which examines water price implications for each of Australia’s main cities and regions in 25 years’ time, the real price of water could skyrocket.

The 2006 report, Without Water: The economics of supplying water to 5 million more Australians, says if governments do not act to expand water trading and access ‘new’ sources of water such as building desalination plants, establishing large sewage recycling schemes and making use of storm water, the price of water would increase by between five and ten times in large cities to manage demand.

Internationally, the situation is not much better, and in many areas is far worse. The United Nations describes the global water situation as a “crisis… essentially caused by the way in which we mismanage water.” The U.N. is so concerned about water, it has named 2005 to 2015 as the Decade of Water.

More than 2.7 billion people will face severe water shortages by the year 2025 if the world continues consuming water at the same rate, the United Nations has warned in its annual World Water Assessment Program report.

The looming crisis is being blamed on mismanagement of existing water resources, population growth and changing weather patterns. The areas most at risk from the growing water scarcity are in semi-arid regions of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

“Even where supplies are sufficient or plentiful, they are increasingly at risk from pollution and rising demand,” says U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Extremes in water supply deliver unacceptable shocks to the developing world, explains World Bank Senior Water Advisor, David Grey. “Monsoons, droughts, depleted groundwater resources, and typhoons devastate poor countries because they’re in too deep a hole economically to reduce their risk,” he says.

Grey, soon to visit Australia as a keynote speaker for the International Riversymposium, sees a strong link between the sophistication of a country’s water management and its economic health. He says investors are avoiding countries with unpredictable food production, health problems related to poor water quality, and unreliable electricity supplies.

“Investment doesn’t flow to places where catastrophic water events cause huge social and economic problems and large-scale losses of life,” says Grey.

Like many international water experts, Grey believes Australia must take a lead role with international assistance, training and capacity building for river management, particularly in the Asian Pacific region. He’s impressed by organisations such as the International Riverfoundation which has set up ‘twinning’ programs to help developing countries better manage their river catchments.

Partnerships and community action are critical to managing water and protecting rivers. Many will be highlighted at the coming International Riversymposium in Brisbane in September.

The theme, ‘Managing rivers with climate change and expanding populations’ will investigate the challenge of meeting human needs for water under changing climatic conditions. It’s an opportunity for hundreds of people to share ideas, case studies and examples on how to tackle threats to rivers and catchments.

“Local communities can do amazing things,” says Riversymposium chair Professor Paul Greenfield of the University of Queensland. “There are many positive stories showing how science, public policy and community action are addressing river and global warming issues.”

“For example, the Bulimba Creek Catchment Association, typical of many local conservation groups throughout Australia, has an outstanding record of revegetating bushland and improving water quality in a network of Brisbane creeks,” says Professor Greenfield.

“The association coordinates Waterwatch, supports 23 local Bushcare groups, provides training programs to volunteers, and involves students and community groups in practical conservation projects.”

“Since 1999, the group has involved the community in rehabilitating 46 sites within the catchment, and four sites outside it with support from Landcare, the Natural Heritage Trust and local leaders.”

Each year, the symposium highlights new international and Australian industry practices, government regulations, technology and community education programs to sustain river water supply and quality. The four-day event also includes the prestigious Thiess International and National Riverprize.

The prize, regarded as the ‘Noble prize for saving rivers’, recognises outstanding achievements in river conservation and management. There are overseas nominations from Israel, U.S.A., Kyrgyzstan, China, and Canada vying for the $225,000 Thiess International Riverprize. There are also nominations from Australia competing for the $75,000 Thiess National Riverprize.

While Australia may not yet be experiencing some of the more dramatic and life threatening situations as many river systems overseas, the clock is ticking, particularly in relation to the current drought and low levels in large dams that supply water to major population centres.

The 9th International Riversymposium will be held at Brisbane’s Convention & Exhibition Centre from 4 -7September as part of the city’s annual Riverfestival. Other activities include Riverfire, Riverfeast and post-symposium study tours.

Regular updates on international river issues, such as water scarcity, estuary flows, wastewater treatment, community consultation, legal frameworks, damming rivers and water policy, will be published in free e-newsletters. For more information please visit the following websites:

www.riversymposium.com

www.riverfestival.com.au

This article was written by

Don Alcock
International Riversymposium Media

As the European Commission is preparing a new EU Directive on flood risk management, WWF asks that lessons be learnt from the repeated catastrophic flood events across Europe.

While only 20 per cent of Europe’s natural floodplains are estimated to be still functional and thus able to store water, the global conservation organization says that the only sustainable solution to reduce the risk of further devastating floods is to work with nature, rather than against it.

Parts of Europe were flooded once more this summer and WWF deeply regrets the suffering this has caused, in particular in the Alps and the lower Danube region. Floods are a natural phenomenon that cannot be avoided, but their frequency and intensity is growing due to global warming and climate change. Still, the damage they inflict can be limited, but traditional old-fashioned, engineering solutions for flood protection have proven not to work without additional measures.

“The latest events clearly demonstrate that we cannot control floods of such magnitude with technical means alone,” said Tatjana Brombach, ecoregional leader with WWF’s European Alpine Programme.

“Building in areas at flood risk just increases the danger of future flooding as even recent flood defence engineering works, such as the Pflach dam in the Austrian Alps that broke this summer, have been shown to be alarmingly vulnerable. The only long-term solution is to reconsider the value of nature to help dealing with torrential rains.”

Land and water have a “natural” role to play in flood risk management via, for example, water retention by floodplains and wetlands. These can act as sponges, absorbing and retaining floodwaters to slowly release them afterwards. However, having been disconnected from their rivers, drained and in many cases used intensively by humans, floodplains and wetlands do not play this role anymore. Broad riverbeds can absorb high water flows, but rivers are now narrower because they have been turned into canals. Consequently, flooding impacts are exacerbated, as floodwaters have nowhere to go and rise above the level of artificial riverbanks and/or break through dykes, causing enormous damage.

For years now, WWF has called on the EU and its Member States to change their strategy for flood risk management and work with nature. The EU already has laws that could promote natural flood risk reduction, in particular the 2000 Water Framework Directive. Its implementation requires the joint management of all land and waters making up a river basin, including in cross-border regions, to improve upon its ecological condition.

This would demand improved land-use and forest management, providing more space for riverbeds and making upland wetlands and lowland floodplains functional again, thus reducing flooding.

The European Commission is now developing a Directive dealing specifically with the risks of flooding.

“But natural flood control will not be promoted unless new flood risk reduction measures are part of the Water Framework Directive river basin management plans,” said WWF European Water Policy Officer Eva Royo Gelabert.

“Unfortunately, preparatory documents indicate that this level of integration between the two Directives is not foreseen, there is not even compatibility in their implementation timetables.”

WWF is asking the Commission to reconsider this in order to ensure legal consistency between these Directives, avoid doubling administrative efforts, save money, and then effectively protect people.

Furthermore, WWF calls for EU financial support to the affected regions through, for example, the EU Solidarity and Rural Development Funds to also ensure long-term solutions to resolve the inadequate land-use and water management policies that have contributed to these terrible flood events.

Original press release: Work With Nature, Not Against it to Reduce Risk of Floods in Europe (WWF)

After a decade of decline in which the fabled Marshlands of Mesopotamia all but vanished almost 40 per cent have now recovered to their former 1970s extent.

This phenomenal rate of recovery of the marshlands in southern Iraq, considered by some as the original biblical “Garden of Eden” and a key natural habitat for people, wildlife and fisheries, is revealed in new satellite images and preliminary analysis from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The new satellite imagery shows a rapid increase in water and vegetation cover over the last two years, and while more detailed field analysis of soil and water quality is needed to gauge the exact state of rehabilitation, UNEP scientists believe the findings are a positive signal that the Iraqi marshlands are well on the road to recovery.

“The near total destruction of the Iraqi marshlands under the regime of Saddam Hussein was a major ecological and human disaster, robbing the Marsh Arabs of a centuries-old culture and way of life as well as food in the form of fish and that most crucial of natural resources, drinking water,” said Klaus Toepfer, UNEP Executive Director. “The evidence of their rapid revival is a positive signal, not only for the environment and the local communities who live there, but must be seen as a contribution to wider peace and security for the Iraqi people and the region as a whole.”

Toepfer continued, “While the re-flooding bodes well for the Iraqi marshes their recovery will take many years. We must continue to monitor the situation carefully and make the necessary long term investment in marshlands management.”

“Furthermore, I hope the lessons learnt to date in restoring this vital ecosystem and its economically important natural services can help in the restoration of other damaged and degraded ecosystems elsewhere and in doing so assist in meeting the Millennium Development Goals whose status will be reviewed by heads of state in New York in mid-September,” he said.

The new findings on the growing extent of the marshes come from the recently launched Iraqi Marshlands Observation System (IMOS), the latest component of UNEP’s multi-million dollar marshlands project.

The project, launched a year ago with funding from the Government of Japan, is helping Iraq restore the environment and provide clean drinking water for up to 100,000 people living in or near the Marshlands.

It is achieving this via a variety of activities ranging from the dissemination of appropriate “environmentally sound technologies” (ESTs) to the establishment of an internet-based marshlands information network and technical training (see below).

“The IMOS work is a key component in UNEP’s marshlands project as it monitors the extent and distribution of re-flooding developments and the associated vegetation cover,” said Monique Barbut, Director of UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE). “The systematic monitoring and bi-weekly reports are building an important knowledge base for Iraq. Such information is essential for reliable decision-making in all aspects of marshlands management,” she said.

Totalling almost 9,000 square kilometres of permanent wetlands, the Iraqi marshlands dwindled to just 760 square kilometres in 2002. As of August 2005, IMOS shows them covering almost 3,500 square kilometres, approximately 37 per cent of the former 1970s extent. In spring 2005 the figure was nearer to 50 per cent, shrinking with the high summer evaporation rates.

The different figures reflect the strong seasonal fluctuation in the marshlands ecosystem with extent of water cover reaching a maximum in March, following winter rains and spring snow melt in the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

The new data on the extent of recovery of the marshes was announced today at an international meeting on the UNEP marshlands project in Tokyo, which included representatives of the governments of Iraq and Japan as well as senior officials from the UN, scientists, and local community leaders from the marshlands themselves.

Working in close collaboration with the Government of Iraq and local people, the UNEP marshlands project is carrying out a wide range of activities.

At six pilot project sites in Thi-Qar, Basrah, and Missan governorates, different ESTs are being tested to see how they perform in bringing drinking water, sanitation systems and wetland management skills to local people and communities. The “low tech” less polluting ESTs include restoration of reed beds and others marshland habitats that act as natural, water-filtration systems.

A Marshland Information Network, an Internet-based system that lets those with an interest in the region share their ideas and strategies, is up and running. An Arabic version of UNEP’s Environmentally Sound Technology Information System, which serves as the basis for MIN is operational in Iraq and in use by the Environment Ministry.

The project is also helping to train the Iraqi authorities, both at national government and local levels. About 250 Iraqis have been trained in wetland management and restoration, remote sensing and community-based resource management.

The UNEP project, “Support for Environmental Management of the Iraqi Marshlands”, is implemented through DTIE’s office in Japan, the International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC). The IMOS component has been designed and implemented by UNEP’s Post Conflict Assessment Unit (PCAU) in collaboration with the Division of Early Warning and Assessment/GRID-Europe.

Original press release: Iraqi Marshlands: On The Road to Recovery (UNEP)

Nairobi, August 2005 - A multi-million dollar initiative that should help some of the world’s poorest people to better cope with droughts and pest infestations is being launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The $ 14.5 million project aims to conserve and restore damaged forests, soils, water systems and other key life support systems in southern Niger and northern Nigeria.

Niger, ranked second to last on the United Nation’s poverty index, has been racked by drought and more recently locust infestations. It has led to an estimated third of the more than 11 million people in Niger suffering severe food shortages.

Experts believe that the country is now more vulnerable to natural disasters like droughts and plagues as a result of human pressures such as over grazing, felling of forests for fuel and water pollution.

Such pressures are deemed to be highest on the borders between the countries and have become a source of tension and conflict between villages and communities.

The wide-ranging project aims to strengthen the way natural resources are managed, boost the legal and institutional frameworks that oversee these areas and streamline cooperation between the two countries.

Experts believe these actions can play their part in alleviating poverty, increasing food production while improving the health and viability of the region’s fragile, wildlife-rich, habitats and ecosystems.

Len Good, Chairman and CEO of the multi billion dollar GEF fund, for which UNEP is one of the three implementing agencies, said: “The tragic images of people suffering and starving in Niger have shocked us all. In the short term, these people desperately need food and medicines and reliable and stable markets for grain and livestock. In the long term, however, we must help them to reclaim their future. This can only be done by reducing the pressures on their natural resources through the improved management of soil, vegetation and water systems”.

“In doing so we will not only be bolstering these communities so that they can better handle the environmental shocks of droughts and plague. We will also be helping to put them on track towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals, from improved water supplies and better health, to the empowerment of women and reduced child mortality,” he added.

Klaus Toepfer, UNEP’s Executive Director, said: “In mid-September heads of state will gather in New York to review the implementation of these Goals. It is my sincere hope that, as underlined by this new project, they will fully agree that the environment is not a luxury but is ‘natural capital’ needed for overcoming poverty and delivering peaceful, long lasting, development”.

Under the new project, over 20 pilot areas are to be established in communities linked with four river catchments shared by Niger and Nigeria. These are the Maggia-Lamido, Gada-Gulbin Maradi, Tagwai-El Fadama and Komadugu catchments.

The pilots will include natural resource conflict prevention, evaluations of biological resources, management of degraded sites, the pin-pointing of sustainable practices and new and profitable alternatives to unsustainable and damaging, activities in areas such as food production and energy.

Better managing shared water resources and fisheries may also be part of the project with proposals to reclaim degraded lands in areas such as the Komadugu Yobe and Tagwai-El Fadama.

Original press release: Niger and Nigeria’s Natural Capital Vital for Fighting Pestilence and Drought (UNEP)