Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate change

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False narrative of Orca attacks

An open letter signed by more than 30 marine scientists globally has clarified that the orcas are displaying various behaviors, many of which are indicative of playful social behavior

Orcas that have been ramming boats are not engaging in "attacks" on the vessels; instead, scientists suggest they are likely displaying playful behavior. This misinterpretation is endangering the animals by potentially prompting retaliatory actions from humans, the experts warned.

Since July 2020, Iberian orcas have been observed ramming boats along the Spanish and Portuguese coast. Around 11 juveniles and four adult female orcas are believed to be involved. Despite toothmarks and visible damage on some boats, experts emphasize that these behaviors, including repeated head or body collisions, should not be labeled as "attacks".

Over 30 marine scientists worldwide have signed an open letter clarifying that the orcas are engaging in a range of behaviors, many of which are forms of "playful social behavior" and should not be portrayed as aggressive acts. Some theories suggest that this behavior might be a temporary cultural trend, similar to human fashion trends.

The experts caution against projecting human motives onto the animals and stress that wildlife should not be penalized for demonstrating unusual behavior. Concerns are raised that the current narrative could lead to harm toward orcas, echoing how the film Jaws fueled fear of great white sharks, ultimately endangering them.

The Iberian orca population is critically endangered, possibly comprising fewer than 40 individuals. These orcas are a genetically distinct subpopulation primarily feeding on bluefin tuna.

In conclusion, the letter emphasized the need to approach wild animal behavior with a cool-headed and adaptive attitude, rather than punishing them for being true to their wild nature.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/env ... ve-of-orca

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Iraqi Minister of Environment Nizar Amidi recently announced that more than 2,000 square kilometers of land in Iraq remains mined despite years of nationwide demining endeavors

“Iraq has cleared 59 percent of the areas contaminated with mines, and the remaining 41 percent represent more than 2,000 square kilometers,” Amidi said last week.

According to a recent update from federal Iraq's ministry of environment, the country's demining teams have cleared at least 4,600 square kilometers of land from mines and other explosives, with 2,100 square kilometers of mined territory left to be cleared.

Demining endeavors are a lot faster and more efficient in the Kurdistan Region, where the Region's Mine Action Agency cleared 2,316,756 square meters of land from landmines and other explosive ordnances in 2022 alone.

Iraq is one of the most contaminated countries in the world, with recent conflicts having had a significant impact on polluting its environment. Heavy mining took place during the 1980s Iraq-Iran war and 1991 Gulf war. The Islamic State (IS) jihadist group also mined a considerable amount of territory in Iraq when they seized certain parts of the country in 2014.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/821384

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Environmental Award

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An environmental activist from Sulaimani and the founder of Leopards Beyond Borders (LBB), Hana Raza, has been nominated for the Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award

In addition to Raza, two other candidates have been nominated for the award, Ms. Iroro Tonshi from Nigeria and Mr. Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez from Panama.

“I am delighted to be nominated for the World Award, and I am looking forward to receiving the award on October 26 at the University of California,” said Ms. Raza to Kurdistan 24.

The Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award is an international award presented to people under the age of 40 who are making a significant contribution to the environment. The award comes with a $100,000 prize and is presented annually at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Hana Raza’s LBB is a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to safeguarding and conserving Iraq’s threatened wildlife. Ms. Raza is an expert in the field of wildlife conservation, with a focus on mammal conservation, particularly Persian leopards (Panthera pardus tulliana) and their prey species.

Previously in 2017, Raza received the “Future for Nature” award after rediscovering the Persian leopard in Iraq in 2011, where she and her team later documented the species’ first recorded reproduction using a camera trap.

In 2022, she was named an honoree and fellow of the Explorers Club 50, “50 People Changing the World the World Needs to Know About.”

Raza holds a master’s of science degree in ecology and wildlife conservation from Newcastle University. After nearly 15 years of working with Nature Iraq, she established the first wildlife conservation-focused organization in the Kurdistan Region, which the UCLA board of environment has endorsed and has collaborated with as the leading wildlife conservation NGO in the region.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/32 ... ntal-award

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Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens

The medieval city walls of Amed, more than five kilometers long and built by Assyrians five thousand years ago, and the eight thousand years old Hevsel Gardens are meant to be added to the List of World Heritage in Danger

A draft report on the “State of conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List”, which is expected to be finalized at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee to take place from 10 to 25 September 2023 in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, gives wide coverage to Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape.

According to Analysis and Conclusions of the World Heritage Centre ICOMOS and ICCROM, the 2022 Reactive Monitoring mission to the property reported that the property, its buffer zone and setting have undergone significant change since the inscription on the World Heritage List in 2015. Most of these changes are directly due to projects implemented by the State Party.

Highlights from the draft report include the following:

The absence of archaeologists during work on the City Walls and bastions, such as the adaptive reuse of the upper rooms of the towers, resulted in the loss of important fabric which could have contributed to the knowledge of the property.

An ‘illegal’ neighbourhood and other legal infrastructure in the Citadel were demolished to create a public park, without any impact assessment study or investigation, such as to relocate the Roman amphitheatre previously reported in this vicinity, having been undertaken.

Likewise, the demolition of poor-quality constructions from the 1930s at the Hz. Suleyman Mosque (Içkale) to develop a landscaped area was undertaken without archaeological surveys being undertaken.

Other projects since inscription have significantly eroded the OUV of the property, including numerous construction, landscaping and infrastructural projects, some reportedly illegal, in the setting of the TenEyed Bridge, resulting in the loss of its OUV.

Planned changes at the Anzele Spring may negatively impact the property’s OUV and, as with all projects that may affect the OUV of the property, they should be subject to a thorough assessment and details of the proposals and their associated impact assessments should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, prior to any decision on their implementation which may be difficult to reverse.

The consolidation of land parcels of the Hevsel Gardens and the restructuring of the historic city inside the City Walls, with the consequent social impact, has resulted in the severing of the connection between the Gardens and the city they once nurtured, seriously damaging the OUV of the property.

The mission cautions that other planned changes, such as the ongoing restructuring of the field patterns facilitating a change in the types of crops grown, will further threaten this key attribute, that urgent action must be taken to prevent further harm and that the relationship between the Hevsel Gardens, the City and its inhabitants should be reinstated.

Implementation of the 2016 Conservation Plan has continued despite the Committee’s repeated requests to the State Party to revert to the 2012 version of the Plan and to halt all projects that may affect the OUV of the property until the recommendations of the requested Reactive Monitoring mission are known and adopted by the Committee.

The mission reports that approximately 40% of Suriçi, the buffer zone component located inside the City Walls, has been demolished since inscription, resulting in further severe erosion of the property’s OUV.

This erosion, through the implementation of untested projects, including the occasional invasive restoration of historic monuments, has taken place despite the Committee’s repeated concerns and in the absence of appropriate OUV-focused impact assessment procedures.

The recently constructed Vehicle Road and Touristic Tour Route has further disrupted the relationship of Suriçi and the City Wall.

The Reactive Monitoring mission concludes that the management system for the property is no longer effective and needs to be reviewed and re-established. It recommends the 2012 Urban Conservation Plan should be reinstated, as repeatedly requested by the Committee.

The mission concludes that the property is faced with imminent danger due to a significant loss of integrity, cultural significance and supporting historic urban fabric. The OUV of the property remains in danger from lawfully designed developments permitted under existing planning controls.

The property faces a specific and ascertained imminent danger, including a serious deterioration of architectural and town-planning coherence and of the urban and rural space. The property is also faced with threats, such as the lack of a functioning conservation policy and the threatening effects of town planning, which could have deleterious effects on its inherent characteristics.

The vulnerability of the integrity of the property has also been further exacerbated by the earthquake. All these factors combined lead the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to maintain their view that the property continues to face ascertained and potential danger as defined in Paragraph 179 of the Operational Guidelines, and therefore, recommend its inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The World Heritage Committee expresses its deep concern that the State Party has not halted all projects that could affect the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property and has not reverted to the 2012 Conservation Plan, as repeatedly requested by the Committee, and also reiterates its request to the State Party to halt all projects that could affect the OUV of the property, including further demolitions and developments in its buffer zone, and to halt the continued implementation of the 2016 Conservation Plan and to revert to the 2012 Conservation Plan.

The Committee also expresses its deep concern about the changes brought about by the implementation of projects in the property and its buffer zone since its inscription, which have severely eroded its OUV, in particular:

a) In the functioning and morphology of the Hevsel Gardens, an integral part of the property and an essential attribute underpinning the property’s OUV,

b) The implementation of construction, landscaping and infrastructural projects in the immediate setting of the Ten-Eyed Bridge and the Tigris riverbanks, both within the property and its buffer zone,

c) The large-scale demolition and reconstruction or conversion of urban neighbourhoods in the property and its buffer zone, which has also led to a virtual destruction of the social relationship of the traditional local communities with the Hevsel Gardens and, despite this being a fundamental relationship that contributed to the OUV at the time of the inscription,

d) The construction of the Vehicle Road and Touristic Tour Route around the inner periphery of the City Walls,

e) The occasional inappropriate and invasive restoration of the monuments.

The Committee further reiterates its request to the State Party to:

a) Carry out independent Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) for urban design, landscape and infrastructural projects, as well as construction and restoration projects which may have an impact on the OUV of the property and its setting, in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage context.

b) Ensure that all projects are guided by suitable professional archaeological and conservation oversight, which should be fully integrated into all works to ensure good practice and effective outcomes.

c) Submit details of such projects and the associated HIAs to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies prior to any decision on their implementation which may be difficult to reverse.

The Committee notes with great concern that the Management Plan for the property is still not fully implemented and has resulted in a range of disparate projects, some of which have and continue to undermine the OUV of the property.

The Committee considers that the property faces significant cumulative ascertained and potential threats, in particular due to a significant loss of integrity and cultural significance as well as a severe loss of the supporting historic urban fabric and a management system which has failed to maintain the attributes that convey its OUV.

The Committee decides to inscribe the Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape (Türkiye) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The Committee requests the State Party, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, to develop a proposal for the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) as well as a set of corrective measures, informed by the 2022 mission, including a timetable for implementation, to reverse the interventions on the property and its buffer zone and help mitigate the negative impacts that have resulted from development projects implemented since inscription, for consideration by the World Heritage Committee at its 46th session;

The Committee finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2024, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 46th session.

[Anthea]

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Dersim valleys sensitive areas

ERBI - The Munzur and Pulumur valleys in the Kurdish province of Dersim (Tunceli) in Turkey were declared “sensitive areas to be protected” by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, to the delight of locals and environmentalists that have long decried the continued land degradation

Declared a national park in 1971, the Munzur Valley National Park is the largest of its kind in Turkey with an area of 420 square kilometers. The valley is home to thousands of species of animals, trees, and plants.

Hidden among the mountains of Dersim with an altitude of 3,000 meters, Pulumur Valley captivates visitors with its mesmerizing scenery and remarkable wildlife.

Their designation as “sensitive areas to be protected” was announced in Turkey’s official gazette on Tuesday. The decision was enthusiastically welcomed by the people of Dersim.

Mining projects in the province and building dams on the valleys have caused concern among residents for years, as they claim the projects harm the area’s wildlife and damage the fresh water sources.

“This is exciting news and positive from an environmental perspective, because through protecting these areas and preserving them, you are also preventing the projects that harm them,” Ozgur Ulas Kaplan, a lawyer, told Rudaw on Tuesday.

There are around 145 mining projects currently operating in Dersim. Six new projects were announced last year.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/30082023

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Bear shot dead in Italy

The authorities of the Abruzzo National Park in central Italy confirm that a local man was immediately identified as the shooter

Italian politicians and wildlife experts condemned on Friday the shooting dead of a rare brown bear, as a search was underway for her two cubs.

Amarena was one of the most popular of the Marsican brown bears in the Abruzzo National Park in central Italy, often pictured in and around the area with her offspring.

Park authorities condemned the "very serious incident" and confirmed that a local man was immediately identified as the shooter.

The 56-year-old claimed that he fired out of fear when Amarena entered his property on the outskirts of the town of San Benedetto dei Marsi, outside the park's area.

Marco Marsilio, the president of the Abruzzo region, repeated that the bear was no danger and condemned the "incomprehensible" shooting.

The Marsican bear is a subspecies of brown bear that only lives in the central Apennine mountains.

The death of Amarena -- one of a limited number of adult females -- "represents a serious blow to the bear's hopes of survival," environmental campaign group WWF Italia expressed.

In a statement, the group announced that it would seek to bring a civil action against the shooter, who could also face judicial proceedings.

Italian Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto and animal rights activists expressed outrage and dismay over the killing. Pichetto underlined that the cubs' safety was a top priority, affirming that his department was "doing everything possible so that they can remain free."

The LaPresse news agency noted that drones were employed to look for Amarena's cubs, whose fate remains unclear. According to WWF Italia, the cubs were at great risk since they were not yet self-sufficient.

During the animal family's regular nightly excursions through streets near the park, local residents, particularly families with small children, had frequently stopped to observe Amarena - or Black Cherry in Italian - and her cubs. As per the Corriere della Sera newspaper, residents named the bear after her favorite meals, which included cherries and black cherries.

In Italy, the subject of bear vs. humans has taken on political implications and has entered courts. An administrative court judgment earlier this year spared the life of a 17-year-old female bear, known as Jj4, who fatally attacked a runner on a mountain track in Italy's Alpine region.

Jj4 had been ordered euthanized by local political officials. In December, a court hearing on the bear's fate is scheduled. Animal rights activists have contested the bear's euthanasia order.

According to Italian state television, Amarena was the mother of another of the park's bears who died violently. That bear, which was killed by a car earlier this year, gained global attention after breaking into a bakery and eating sweets.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/env ... -shot-dead

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Sand dredging devastating

Around six billion tonnes of sand is dredged from the world's oceans every year, endangering marine life and coastal communities, the UN says

Sand is the most exploited natural resource in the world after water and is used to produce concrete and glass.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said some vessels were acting as vacuum cleaners, dredging both sand and micro-organisms that fish feed on.

This means that life may never recover in some areas.

The new data coincides with the launch of a new analysis tool called Marine Sand Watch that monitors dredging activities using marine tracking and artificial intelligence.

"The scale of environmental impacts of shallow sea mining activities and dredging is alarming," said Pascal Peduzzi, who heads UNEP's analytics centre GRID-Geneva.

The new platform estimates that out of some 50bn tonnes of sand and gravel used by humanity each year, an average of six billion tonnes come from the world's oceans and seas.

This is the equivalent of "more than one million dump trucks every day", Mr Peduzzi said.

The marine environment must be given time to recover, he said, adding that "it's not sustainable".

Large vessels were "basically sterilising the bottom of the sea by extracting sand and crunching all the microorganisms that are feeding fish", Mr Peduzzi said.

Sometimes the sand is dredged to the bedrock, meaning marine life may never recover, he added.

The UNEP recommended that sand dredging should also be banned from beaches to protect coastal resilience and economies.

Sand is essential for constructing buildings, roads, hydroelectric damns and solar panels. It can also play an important environmental role, protecting communities from rising sea levels.

The South China Sea, the North Sea and the US east coast are among the areas where the most dredging has occurred, the report states.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-66724628

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Desertification threatens Kurdistan

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Desertification is currently threatening three areas in the Kurdistan Region, as the region continues battling the adverse effects of climate change, the head of the environment agency announced on Sunday

The remarks by Abdul-Rahman Sadeeq, the head of the Environmental Protection and Improvement Board, came during a press conference held in Erbil on the preparations for COP28 expected to be held in late November in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Board is working with the United Nations to increase the green spaces in three areas of the Kurdistan Region, including Garmiyan, south of Duhok and west of Erbil that are threatened by desertification, Sadeeq told reporters.

The board chief said no exact data is available on the areas that are threatened by desertification.

The regional government has a specialized board for combatting drought condition that has similarly affected other parts of the country, particularly in the south, the Kurdish official said.

The Kurdistan Region delegation will take part in the COP28 meeting in Dubai between Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, 2023.

High salinity levels have exceeded 6000 ppm in the wetlands, leading to the deterioration of the environment for fisheries and buffalo breeders. Iraq has recently witnessed thousands of dead fish washed up in the rivers of the marshlands with environmentalists blaming the extraordinary rise of salinity in the water.

Iraq is ranked by the UN as the fifth most vulnerable country in the world to the adverse effects of climate change.

The dangerous level of water scarcity in Iraq has been blamed on climate change, and upstream dam buildings by neighboring Turkey and Iran. Water mismanagement and outdated agricultural practices are also cited as amplifiers of the crisis.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/32 ... ent-agency

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Climate change in Iraq an emergency

Iraq is facing a “human rights emergency” as a result of the effects of climate change on the country, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warned on Monday

Speaking before the United Nations Human Rights Council, Volker Turk, used Iraq as an example of the “environmental horror” the planet is facing as the global climate change crisis worsens.

“In Basra - where 30 years ago, I was told, date palms lined lush canals - drought, searing heat, extreme pollution and fast-depleting supplies of fresh water are creating barren landscapes of rubble and dust,” Turk said.

Iraq is among the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the United Nations.

“Last month, in Iraq, the cradle of so many civilizations, I witnessed a small piece of the environmental horror that is our global planetary crisis,” he stated.

The high commissioner in June visited Iraq and the Kurdistan Region where he met officials and discussed human rights issues, including climate change.

“This spiraling damage is a human rights emergency for Iraq - and many other countries,” Turk warned.

He decried the lack of unity among global leadership to tackle climate change, accusing them of instead adopting a “politics of division and distraction” as well as the “politics of indifference, the numbing of our mind and soul” referring to the lack of compassion to the increasing death of migrants.

“We do not need more warnings. The dystopian future is already here. We need urgent action, now,” he stated.

Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani have repeatedly addressed the challenges presented by the country’s water crisis and warned against the mismanagement of water resources.

The country is facing a severe water shortage because of reduced precipitation, higher temperatures, and waste and mismanagement. The crisis is worsened by upstream dams in Turkey and Iran that have led to a significant decrease in the volume of water entering the country.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/110920232

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Disastrous beyond comprehension

The situation in Derna, the Libyan port city where two dams burst over the weekend, has been described as “disastrous beyond comprehension”, as the Red Cross and local officials said at least 10,000 people were missing after the devastating flood

The confirmed death toll has exceeded 5,300, Mohammed Abu-Lamousha, a spokesperson for the administration that controls the east of Libya told a state-run news agency late on Tuesday.Tariq al-Kharraz, another representative of the eastern government, said that entire neighbourhoods had been washed away, with many bodies swept out to sea.

Hundreds of bodies were piled up in cemeteries with few survivors able to identify them, according to Kharraz, who said he expected the death toll to rise above 10,000 people – a figure also quoted by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Rami Elshaheibi, the Libyan national communications officer for the World Health Organization, said the situation in Derna was “disastrous beyond comprehension”.

Hichem Chkiouat, the minister of civil aviation, said many of the dead remained where the water left them: “Bodies are lying everywhere – in the sea, in the valleys, under the buildings,”

Chkiouat told Reuters by phone after a visit to the city. “I am not exaggerating when I say that 25% of the city has disappeared. Many, many buildings have collapsed.”

Video footage circulating on social media showed people pleading for help and screaming as muddy water engulfed their homes. Other video captured torrents sweeping away cars on streets, which had turned into rivers.

Sondos Shuwaib, a local blogger, said she was in her home when suddenly she found herself torn away by the flood waters. In a harrowing account of the disaster posted online, she described seeing children and babies caught in the current. “There were corpses next to me, and corpses above me, and corpses beneath me,” she wrote.

Shuwaib eventually washed up in shallow waters and was taken to hospital. “I am not able to comprehend what happened,” she wrote. “Sometimes I thank God for my survival – but when I remember that my family is missing … I wish I had died with them.”

The Norwegian Refugee Council said tens of thousands of people had been displaced with no prospect of going back home.

“Our team in Libya is reporting a disastrous situation for some of the most impoverished communities along the north coast. Entire villages have been overwhelmed by the floods and the death toll continues to rise,” it said.

Desperate citizens were appealing on social media for information about missing relatives. Many were angry at the slow pace of the relief effort, and of local authorities’ failure to warn that the dams were at risk of bursting.

Engineers had previously issued generalised warnings about the risk of the dams bursting and the urgent need to strengthen their defences.

Anas El-Gomati, the founder of the Libya-based Sadeq thinktank, said a political inquest would be necessary. “North Africa is not immune to climate change, but this is also about corruption and incompetence. In Morocco perhaps you had seconds or minutes when the tectonic plates moved, but here in Libya there was plenty of warning about this hurricane … yet there was no evacuation of Derna – and now a quarter of the city’s population are under water.”

A 2022 report in an academic journal had warned that if a flood equivalent to one in 1959 was repeated, it would be “likely to cause one of the two dams to collapse, making the residents of the valley and the city of Derna vulnerable due to a high risk of flooding”

Oil-rich Libya has been riven by political infighting, corruption and external interference since a 2011 uprising that toppled and later led to the death of the longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Attempts stretching back a decade to form a unified functioning government have failed, and instead two rival governments backed by their own militias are based in Tripoli in the west and Tobruk in the east.

Investment in roads and public services has dwindled and there has been minimal regulation of private building.

Derna was for several years controlled by Islamist militant groups until it was captured in 2019 by Gen Khalifa Haftar, the warlord in charge of an army in the east.

Since then, the eastern government has been suspicious of the city and sidelined its residents, said Jalel Harchaoui, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for defence and security studies.

An emergency medical supply plane carrying 14 tonnes of supplies, medication, equipment, body bags and 87 medical and paramedic personnel was heading to Benghazi to support the areas affected by the flood, the head of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, said on Tuesday.

Video footage circulating on social media showed people pleading for help and screaming as muddy water engulfed their homes. Other video captured torrents sweeping away cars on streets, which had turned into rivers.

The flooding caused by Storm Daniel led to a complete break in communications and cut off internet access in Derna. Entire neighbourhoods by the bank of a swollen river had been ravaged and washed away.

One resident, Hudhayfah al-Hasadi, told Al-Hurra: “The depths of some of the valleys in which water collects reach about 400 metres. Therefore, when the dam collapsed, the water was released like an atomic bomb, and eight bridges and residential buildings collapsed completely.”

A spokesperson for the Libyan Emergency Authority, Osama Ali, said: “All the water headed to an area near Derna, which is a mountainous coastal area … Houses in the valleys that were on the flood line were swept away by strong currents of muddy water that carried vehicles and debris.”

He added: “Weather conditions were not studied well, sea water levels, rainfall and wind speed, and there was no evacuation of families who could be in the path of the storm and in the valleys.”

There were conflicting reports as to whether requests had been made to evacuate the city at the weekend, and if so why the plan was rejected.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... dams-burst

I will give you dear reader, one guess as to which country was behind the unrest in Libya and the death of Gaddafi

[Anthea]

Climate geoengineering

Amid soaring greenhouse gas emissions and an intensifying climate crisis, a panel of experts urges governments to halt climate geoengineering efforts

As greenhouse gas emissions continue to surge and the world grapples with an intensifying climate crisis, a panel of global experts has issued an urgent call for governments to implement a moratorium on climate geoengineering initiatives.

Geoengineering, a highly contentious topic, is gaining prominence in discussions as extreme weather events linked to climate breakdown become increasingly frequent and severe. Presently, there is no international consensus on geoengineering, and there are no established regulations governing the actions of countries or businesses in this arena.

The large-scale manipulation of a specific process central to determining Earth's climate is what is known as geoengineering. Artificial carbon dioxide removal, solar radiation, and weather modification are some examples of this broad spectrum of techniques.

In a recently released report by the Climate Overshoot Commission, governments were urged to take decisive steps toward phasing out fossil fuel usage, allocating greater resources to adapt to the impacts of extreme weather and exploring the deployment of technologies designed to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

These technologies encompass carbon capture and storage, as well as direct air capture, offering potential solutions to mitigate climate change.

Additionally, the report encourages governments to allow academic research into geoengineering possibilities, particularly in relation to solar radiation management.

Solar radiation management aims to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface through various strategies, including enhancing cloud reflectivity or deploying mirrors in space.
Individual action might have unforeseen consequences

However, the panel of experts sounded a note of caution against governments initiating geoengineering activities.

They cited the inherent risks associated with altering the global climate in ways that remain poorly understood.

Pascal Lamy, the former head of the World Trade Organization and chair of the Climate Overshoot Commission, stressed the need for proactive measures in the face of climate change, highlighting the possibility that some nations might independently undertake investigations and experiments related to geoengineering.

He advocated for governments to independently implement a moratorium, avoiding the wait for a global consensus, and stressed the importance of transparency and openness in academic research concerning solar radiation management.

"There is an increasing international discussion of solar radiation management. But the danger is of unintended consequences, and of transboundary consequences."

What are some geoengineering techniques?

The term "geoengineering" encompasses a broad spectrum of techniques, ranging from large-scale reforestation efforts to enhance carbon absorption to initiatives such as coating rooftops with reflective materials or introducing iron into the oceans to stimulate plankton growth and increase carbon absorption.

The Climate Overshoot Commission, consisting of prominent former diplomats, policy experts, and scientists, with individuals like Laurence Tubiana, the former French diplomat who played an important role in the failed Paris Agreement, focused on solar radiation management due to its contentious and potentially hazardous nature.

While certain strategies, such as reforestation, are generally considered safer, initiatives like space mirrors or cloud seeding could have far-reaching and uncontrollable consequences, transcending national boundaries and potentially leading to a "termination shock" if emissions continue to rise alongside geoengineering deployment. Termination shock is the fear that stopping the use of the technology would cause severe disruption to the climate as the underlying heating effect takes hold again, according to The Guardian.

Climate scientist Peter Kalmus expressed concerns about the fossil fuel industry's inclination to promote geoengineering as a means to divert attention from the detrimental impacts of their core business.

Carbon dioxide removal technologies, while subject to controversy to a lesser extent, also received attention in the report. The panel recommended that nations actively support the expansion of higher-quality carbon dioxide removal methods, including imposing obligations on fossil fuel companies to capture and store an increasing proportion of the carbon emissions stemming from their products.

In the face of mounting climate challenges, the call for a moratorium on geoengineering serves as a stark reminder of the complexities and uncertainties surrounding climate intervention strategies while the world continues to grapple with the consequences of climate change.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/env ... g-as-emiss

[Anthea]

Obama hypocrisy over aid calls for Libya

The former US President comes under fire having advocated for the military invasion of Libya in 2011, which destroyed much of the nation.

Following the tragic floods in Libya that killed over 11,000 people, former US President Barack Obama is urging people to donate to his nonprofit, The Obama Foundation. Thousands of X (previously Twitter) users, however, attacked him having advocated for the military invasion of Libya in 2011, which destroyed much of the nation

International aid is slowly starting to reach the port city of Derna after Storm Daniel hit the northern coast of Libya on Saturday night.

On September 10, Libya experienced heavy rainfall due to Storm Daniel, resulting in severe flooding in the eastern part of the country.

"If you're looking to help people impacted by the floods in Libya, check out these organizations providing relief," Obama quoted his Foundation's tweet.

Emergency and relief workers are on the ground providing urgent aid in the aftermath of the catastrophic flash floods in northeast Libya.

The toll of this natural disaster is unimaginable, and support is desperately needed. pic.twitter.com/dclAj6kJPd
— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) September 15, 2023

https://t.co/GypcdW4ULK pic.twitter.com/JKHiBNPe8t
— Siddharth (@DearthOfSid) September 15, 2023

You bombed this great country into oblivion.

You have ZERO right to speak on this.
— UNN (@UnityNewsNet) September 15, 2023

Journalist Tom Elliott responded by asserting Obama had "a lot of audacity" talking about helping the Libyans.

You have a lot of audacity talking about helping Libyans
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 15, 2023

The New Hampshire Libertarian Party account responded by saying that Libya has "literal slavery again" because of Obama. The party added that Obama would "burn in hell" for his actions.

Libya has literal slavery again because of you.

You're going to burn in hell for what you did to that country.
— Libertarian Party NH (@LPNH) September 15, 2023

Dr. Simon Goddek expressed that the funds Obama is asking for would not be needed if his administration "hadn't bombed Libya, setting it back to the Stone Age, just to remove someone who opposed your agenda."

These funds wouldn’t have been needed if you hadn’t bombed Libya, setting it back to the Stone Age, just to remove someone who opposed your agenda and wanted to introduce a gold-backed currency in Africa. You’re a hypocrite, Barry.
— Dr. Simon Goddek (@goddeketal) September 15, 2023

Ben Norton, an independent US journalist focused on geopolitics and US foreign policy, accused Obama of overseeing "the neocolonial 2011 NATO war that destroyed Libya's state."

https://t.co/852JZ7DF2j
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) September 16, 2023

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) agreed to act in Libya in the spring of 2011 to overthrow Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to make way for looting the country's resources, on top of which is oil.

What else are they impacted by? https://t.co/CFTHC1Rsc0
— Joe Catron (@jncatron) September 15, 2023

Both the United States and the United Kingdom bombarded Libyan territories and institutions under the pretext of "saving civilians". The operation lasted for months and resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people, both military and civilians.

Libya has been dealing with the devastating consequences caused by the US military invasion since then.

In August last year, 32 people were killed and 159 wounded in Tripoli during battles between Libya’s two rival administrations competing for power.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... alls-for-l

[Anthea]

Climate protesters in New York

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is scheduling a Climate Ambition summit for Wednesday to take place during the UNGA

Just before the opening of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), tens of thousands of climate activists walked the streets of New York to urge for increased action against climate change, as they held signs reading "Biden, end fossil fuels," "Fossil fuels are killing us" and "I didn't vote for fires and floods".

"We are here to demand that the administration declare a climate emergency," said Analilia Mejia, director of the activist group Center for Popular Democracy, to AFP adding: "We must wake up and take immediate action".

Released this month, a UN climate report designated 2025 as the deadline for global greenhouse gas emissions to reach the peak and to be followed by a plunge afterward - to remain in conformity with the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Even though the Agreement helped surge climate action, the report states "much more is needed now on all fronts" to underpin an upcoming significant climate summit in Dubai at the end of this year.

However, reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which is part of the Agreement, will also call to phase out the burning of all fossil fuels which emissions can neither be captured nor compensated.

Mejia continued to refer to the fires in Canada, Hawaii, and Greece and flooding in Libya to show an example of the "existential crisis" posed by climate change.

Activist Nalleli Cobo expressed to AFP her desire to see political leaders "come to my house" in California and "spend the night living next to an oil and gas well."

Having previously worked with Sweden's Greta Thunberg on climate campaigns, Cobo calls the "toxic air" she has been exposed to at her home as the reason for ovarian cancer she contracted at 19. "Our lives are on the line".

'History will remember'

Some young activists believe that US President Joe Biden has not acted correctly and quickly to lessen the country's dependence on fossil fuels.

According to top world scientists, the world will witness a new record of heat in the next five years, and global temperatures are more likely than not to surpass the critical threshold of an average 1.5-degree Celcius rise.

This comes after the state of California filed a lawsuit on Friday against five global oil firms, on the alleged basis of causing billions of dollars in damages and misinforming the public by minimizing the risks from fossil fuels.

In light of these events, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres scheduled a Climate Ambition summit for Wednesday to take place during the UNGA, hoping to catalyze work to counter climate change by governments in addition to private sector organizations and financial institutions.

"History will remember their action or inaction," Mejia noted, adding: "And if we're lucky, human beings will be around to remember what (world leaders) did in this summit."

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[Anthea]

Click Image to Enlarge:


World's biggest flower

Rafflesia is a parasitic plant that thrives on tropical vines in certain regions of Southeast Asia, producing some of the largest blooms globally

New research has raised concerns about the endangered status of most species of the well-known Rafflesia flower, known for its giant red petals with distinctive markings.

Rafflesia is a parasitic plant that thrives on tropical vines in certain regions of Southeast Asia, producing some of the largest blooms globally.

The flower remains somewhat mysterious, as its flowering patterns are unpredictable, and efforts to cultivate it in settings other than its natural habitat have been largely unsuccessful. Currently, one variety of this flower is classified as "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

To gain a deeper insight into the plant and its status concerning conservation, a team of botanists from around the world conducted a study on 42 identified Rafflesia species and their natural environments, mainly located in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

The research revealed that due to the swift degradation of the forests where it resides, coupled with inadequate conservation efforts and protective measures, the plant faces a significantly higher level of risk than was previously understood.

The researchers, in their study published in the peer-reviewed journal Plants, People, Planet, have estimated that approximately 60 percent of Rafflesia species are in serious danger of becoming extinct.

According to the study, some of these species may disappear from the natural world before they are even discovered and described by scientists, highlighting the need for increased research on this unique plant.

Chris Thorogood, one of the authors of the study and the deputy director of Oxford University's Botanical Garden, emphasized the urgency of adopting a coordinated, cross-regional approach to preserve these exceptionally remarkable flowers, many of which are now on the verge of extinction.

The study underscores that the Rafflesia plant is known to inhabit relatively small and restricted areas, rendering it highly susceptible to habitat loss and destruction.

Additionally, the research highlights some positive developments in conservation efforts, such as the successful cultivation of the plant at a botanical garden in West Java, Indonesia, and the promotion of sustainable ecotourism around the plant in West Sumatra.

It's worth noting that in the previous year, countries made commitments to safeguard 30 percent of the Earth's land and oceans by 2030 in a significant agreement aimed at mitigating the decline of species and ecosystems.

Multiple studies have consistently cautioned that the combined threats of climate change and human-induced environmental damage are significantly reducing global biodiversity.

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[Anthea]

Escalating wildlife loss

Human actions have resulted in the extinction of groups of species at a rate 35 times higher than the natural pace observed in the past 500 years

Researchers report that specific groups of animal species are disappearing at a rate 35 times greater than the natural average due to human activities, The Guardian reported. The alarming trend serves as additional confirmation that the planet is currently experiencing and rapidly intensifying a sixth mass extinction event in its history.

Scientists who examined the historical extinction rate of closely related animal species over the past 500 years have determined that, in the absence of human influence, these extinctions would have taken approximately 18,000 years to occur naturally. Furthermore, they have observed that the rate at which these species are disappearing is on the rise.

Their research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, identified that since 1500, a minimum of 73 groupings of mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian species have become extinct. Comparatively, if these trends had adhered to the typical pre-human impact extinction rates, they would have expected only two extinctions. Among the species lost are the elephant birds of Madagascar, New Zealand's moa, and Hawaiian moho honeyeaters.

The acceleration of extinction is anticipated in the future due to factors such as habitat destruction, the climate emergency, and the illicit wildlife trade. In the most dire scenario, where all presently endangered groups of species vanish by the century's end, the rate of extinction would be 354 times higher than the historical average over the past million years.

The recent study centers on "genera", which is the plural form of "genus". In biological classification, a genus refers to groups of species that share certain characteristics and is a taxonomic level above individual species. The researchers initially anticipated that genera would experience a lower extinction rate compared to individual species. However, their findings revealed that the extinction rates for genera were comparable to those of individual species.

Although there is disagreement among some scientists regarding the assertion of a sixth mass extinction, a United Nations assessment conducted in 2019 to evaluate the planet's well-being discovered that human-induced environmental pressures put approximately 1 million species in danger of extinction.

“Such mutilation of the tree of life and the resulting loss of ecosystem services provided by biodiversity to humanity is a serious threat to the stability of civilization. Immediate political, economic, and social efforts of an unprecedented scale are essential if we are to prevent these extinctions and their societal impacts,” the study revealed.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/env ... ms-at-risk