UNESCO promotes stronger links between World Heritage and Tourism

At the recently held Roundtable on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism, UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova underlined the importance of better integrating cultural heritage preservation and sustainable tourism, adding that cultural heritage is a powerful driver of social and economic development for local communities. She also highlighted the importance of a comprehensive approach to heritage preservation in its various forms, be it natural, cultural or intangible, in order to educate younger generations to the need to preserve it, not just as a historical legacy but as a living and fundamental component of our lives and of the lives of many communities around the world.

Gender-Responsive Strategies to Climate Change

Gender equality is an important development goal as reflected in the third Millennium Development Goal. This report outlines a rationale for integration of gender into climate change and seeks to support donors in this endeavour by investigating the challenges and opportunities donors are facing, updating the wider body of work and knowledge on gender and climate change and the status of gender in global and national climate policies. Based on these findings, it proposes key principles, questions and strategies for donors – from bilateral and multilateral to non-governmental organizations with a funding role – to improve gender and climate change linkages. Finally, it also offers a menu of ideas for individual steps for donors to take. Full paper available here.

Environmental change trends 'mixed bag'.

According to scientific indicators, environmental change caused by human activities continues to rise — in some cases heading towards the 'tipping point' beyond which there may be no recovery — but social indicators offer hope that the battle to save the environment is not lost yet. Speakers at the Planet Under Pressure conference presented two sets of indicators of environmental change — scientific and social — and how they fared over two time periods: between 1950 and 2000, and since 2000. William Steffen, executive director of the Australian National University's Climate Change Institute, reported that the key global physical, geological and biological indicators of climate change, such as carbon dioxide levels, loss of polar ice or tropical forests, continued to rise in each decade since the 1950s. On the other hand Sandra Diaz, professor at Córdoba National University, in Argentina, cautioned that unsustainable growth is taking a toll on the natural ecosystems that are losing their diversity.

Planet Under Pressure Conference (26-29 March)

Yesterday thousands of international researchers from a host of disciplines gathered in London, in what has been seen as an unprecedented attempt to refocus their work on solving planetary crises. More than 2,500 researchers, ranging from earth scientists to psychologists, joined policymakers and representatives from the private sector at the Planet Under Pressure conference (26–29 March) to assess problems ranging from the collapse of fisheries to land grabs — and to pool their expertise to find ways forward. The organisers say the meeting demonstrates a change in attitude among scientists, who are moving away from documenting what is happening to Earth towards providing and assessing solutions to pressing environmental and social problems. A key principle behind the conference is that the quest for multidisciplinary approaches to problems must be strengthened. In the words of Anantha Duraiappah, executive director of the IHDP "We talk about multidisciplinarity but most of the time research is driven by one particular discipline and the others tag along. We are saying we all have to be involved from the start and this meeting is the first real example of this type of approach."

WMO statement on the status of the global climate in 2011

This issue of WMO annual survey on weather and climate change provides evidence that 2011 had the highest global mean surface temperature levels. Highlighting a number of climate extremes, it provides evidences of the major impacts of one of the strongest La Niña events of the past 60 years, among which are the significant flooding in South-East Asia and the major drought in East Africa. It also notes that Arctic sea ice continued its declining trend and returns on the destructive tornado seasons in the United States of America. Full report available here.

Global alliance to study planetary changes

A global alliance of environmental research agencies, policy organisations and international donors is soon to be launched at the Planet Under Pressure Conference in London, 26–29 March. The 'Future Earth' alliance aims to deliver scientific and social science research in a way that policymakers and grassroots groups would understand to help them meet their sustainable development goals in the coming decades. It will also seek to co-ordinate and focus international scientific research in a wide range of disciplines including ocean acidification, climate change, land use and population growth, and the social impact of these changes.

Working together to conserve vultures in Botswana

In this article, Peter Hancock from Birdlife Botswana maintains that the seven vulture species found in Botswana are under serious threat from poisoning. Recent incidents of this poisoning have been reported in place like Lesoma, Gumare, Tonota and Gweta-to name just a few places. In some cases, according to the author, the birds are being poisoned unintentionally when livestock farmers unlawfully put poison into the carcase of an animal killed by a problem predator. By doing so, the farmers hope to kill the predator but instead annihilate large numbers of vultures who arrive at the poisoned carcase long before the predators. In other instances, poachers of wildlife deliberately target vultures with poison because of their ability to detect any wild animals. Lastly, some also try to poison vultures for traditional medicine. In conclusion, the author concludes says that vultures not only do vultures have an important role in the ecosystem (, in that they clean up carcases of dead animals and thereby limit the spread of diseases), but they are an integral part of the the Tswana culture and tradition.

World Water Day: 22nd March

On 22 March, the world celebrate World Water Day, and consider one of our most important natural resources and the role that Information and Comunication Technologies (ICTs) can play in the management of this resource. As the population increases and development calls for increased allocations of water for agriculture and other uses, the pressure on water resources intensifies. By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in regions with absolute water scarcity and two-thirds of the world's population may experience water-stress conditions .ICTS provide a wide ranging opportunities for the management of water as a resource, and for the management of information about water. Integrated systems allow information on topics such as water supply and replenishment, water quality, wetland ecosystem, usage, etc. to be integrated with other relevant information about the environment, Finally, improved water management through ICTs will contribute to the Millennium Development Goals, including MDG 7, which focuses on access to safe drinking water

Conserving an ancient heritage

The Kgalakgadi Joint Management Plan, which oversees the management of the Kgalakgadi TCFA, is being updated to ensure that conservation, tourism and the flow of benefits within the !Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park and the entire protected area are handled efficiently. The !Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park which came was developed in 2009 gives visitors the opportunity to experience the hunter-gatherer culture of the local Khomani San and Mier Communities. The article is available in the March issue of Africa Geographic in the ORI Library.

Lake Xau reviewed by Professor Cornelis Vanderpost

In the 1970s, the Boteti river was diverted to bypass Lake Xau and to bring water to Mopipi Dam from where it was pumped to the diamond mine in Orapa. Later, other solutions were found for the water needs of the mine. A few years ago, therefore, the diversion works around Lake Xau were removed and the original flow pattern of the Boteti river restored. Subsequently, the high Okavango floods of 2010 and 2011 pushed the river water into Lake Xau for the first time since the 1970s. Between June 2011 and February 2012, the Lake grew to a considerable size (centre pic).The Boteti river reached Lake Xau by the end of June 2011. By September 2011 Lake Xau was partially filled and continued to fill up and reached a considerable extent by 1st January 2012 as in the MODIS image (top pic).

The Year that Shook the Rich: A Review of Natural Disasters in 2011

2011 proved to be the most expensive year in terms of disaster losses in history, due to spate of disasters affecting developed countries. Globally, the ecnonomic cost of disasters in 2011 was $380 billion, of which $210 billion were the result of the earthquake and tsunmai in Japan. This was 72 percent higher than the losses in 2005, the second costliest year in history of disaster-related losses. This review analyzes some of the major events and trends related to natural disasters and humanitarian disaster response in 2011.
The review is available at: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2012/03_natural_disaster_review_ferris/03_natural_disaster_review_ferris.pdf

Ecological sanitation

Much of the pollution in developing countries is caused by inadequate sanitation services. As cities expand and populations increase, the situation will grow worse and the need for safe, sustainable and affordable sanitation systems will be even more critical. Existing approaches to sanitation are neither viable nor affordable to the vast majority of people.
This book is about seeking new solutions in the form of "ecological sanitation". The book discusses what is currently known about ecological sanitation systems, their strengths and weaknesses. Read more at: http://www.ecosanres.org/pdf_files/Ecological_Sanitation_2004.pdf

Japanese Ambassador visits ORI

Yesterday, His Excellency, the Japanese Ambassador to Botswana HE. Hiroyasu Kobayashi paid a courtesy call on ORI. Activities planned for his visit included a background presentation of the Institute highlighting projects that the Institute is currently involved in. The presentation was then followed by a discussion on possible collaborations between ORI & Japanese institutions. His Excellency was also taken on a tour of the facilities including the environmental laboratories, the library and the herbarium.

Cultures of the Okavango Exhibition

The Nhabe Museum is currently holding an exhibition of the above theme. The exhibition highlights the diversity of the Ngamiland region, through the display of creative ways that cultures express themselves. The exhibition features items from several ethnic groups native to the region i.e the Bayeii, BaHerero, Batawana, Basarwa and Bambukushu. On exhibition are the different traditional musical instruments, dance and ceremonial attire, jewellery and a whole lot of other things. The exhibition will run until the 16 May.

Building resilience and improving responses to humanitarian emergencies through innovation and better use of evidence

With the predicted impact of climate change, rapid and unplanned urbanisation, and conflict means that the frequency and severity of crises will increase and affect more people in the future. In preparation for this uncertain future, there is need to find innovative ways of working and use the best science to help identify the most effective interventions. However, to date there has been relatively little investment to provide this evidence or to promote innovation in a humanitarian system that moves quickly from one disaster to the next. Link to summary of this article available on this link.

New approach for global deforestation

Global deforestation rates remain high despite their recognition for their environmental, social, cultural, and economic value. Approximately 13 million hectares of forest are lost every year and this is partiicularly high in tropical countries. Although forest cover in industrial countries has reportedly exhibited some expansion during the last decade, a large portion of remaining forest ecosystems is heavily degraded. It is estimated that only about 21 percent of the world’s forests are still intact. The concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) is evolving to become an all-encompassing framework across all types of forest use. According to the United Nations Forum on Forests, SFM is a dynamic concept that aims to maintain and enhance the economic, social, and environmental values of forests, for the benefit of both present and future generations. In densely populated areas, and where many people heavily depend on forests for their income, SFM might be of particular interest because it allows the use of a wide range of forest products while addressing the pressure on forest resources.

ORI Seminar Series: Marco J. Van De Wiel

This week, Marco Van De Wiel, Visiting Professor from Western Ontario University delivered a presentation on "Predicting Geomorphic changes". Since catchment sediment dynamics respond to external forces acting on the catchment: tectonics, climate and human activities, it is therefore often assumed that any change in the sediment dynamics directly reflects change in one or more of these external forces. However, the relation between forcing signal and response signal can be obscured because catchments also impose their own autogenic signal on the sediment dynamics. Moreover, this autogenic signal is highly non-linear because of thresholds in geomorphological processes, interactions and feedbacks between different processes, and response time-lags. This non-linear signal, imposed by the catchment itself, may prevent relating sediment dynamics to forcing signals, i.e. it may prevent linking cause and effect.His presentation addressed the weasel-word “may” from the previous sentence. Using numerical landscape evolution models as a virtual laboratory, the limits on the predictability and unpredictability catchment sediment dynamics are investigated. Is it indeed not possible to link cause to effect in landscape sediment dynamics? Or is it possible to gain insights about past external forces and to predict response to future ones, even in the presence of non-linear autogenic disturbances arising from the landscape itself?

African researchers 'struggle' to establish careers

According to a joint report by the British Academy and the Association of Commonwealth Universities ,African universities need to better support early career researchers if they are to build a thriving research environment and boost the continent's overall number of PhD-qualified staff Many African science graduates struggle to establish careers after leaving university as they do not receive enough assistance to define their research agendas and develop professionally, says the report, Foundations for the Future: Supporting the Early Careers of African Researchers. Instead, post-doctorate graduates working as 'junior lecturers' in African universities are often overloaded with teaching and administrative duties, and have to pursue research and writing academic papers in their spare time. To counter this, the report urges senior academics to encourage research by younger colleagues and to mentor them on collaborations, publishing and preparing funding applications. Link to full report available here.

Renewable Energies in Africa

This is a summary of current knowledge at the Joint Research Centre concerning renewable energy in Africa. The report assesses current energy consumption and the share of renewables in African states, and attempts to estimate the technical potential of available resources of solar, wind, biomass and hydropower which could be economically used to provide energy for the increasing population. Full article available here.

UNESCO: A World of Science Volume 10, Number 1

This flagship publication focuses on the Natural Sciences Program of UNESCO. The gradual loss of biodiversity is a major concern to the international community, resulting in the adoption of the Nagoya Biodiversity Compact in October 2010. This document showed some ambitious targets to 2020, i.e halving the loss of natural habitats and increasing nature reserves from 12% to 17% of the world’s land area and from 1% to 10% of coastal and marine areas. Governments also agreed in Nagoya on the need to create a body to evaluate progress in reaching these targets. Known as the Intergovernmental Science–Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), this body will be cosponsored by UNESCO, UNEP, FAO and UNDP. The Secretariat’s location should be known in April, when the results of a competitive bidding process are announced at the second IPBES plenary. Newsletter available on the UNESCO site.

GDP is 'not sufficient' for measuring economic wealth

A group of the world's top environmental scientists have backed calls for replacing the gross domestic product (GDP) as a sole measure of a nation's economic wealth with more inclusive indicators that would consider the impact of economic growth on the well-being of the environment. In a report presented at the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) 12th special session of the governing council in Nairobi, Kenya, relying solely on GDP ignores important aspects of a nation's well-being such as sustainable development and threats to the environment. The report, 'Environment and Development Challenges: The Imperative to Act', was prepared by laureates of the Blue Planet Prize, known unofficially as the Nobel prize for the environment. "Governments should recognise the serious limitations of GDP as a measure of economic growth and complement it with measures of the five forms of capital, built (produced); natural; human; social; and institutional/financial capital," the report said.