Global Environmental Issues
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Global environmental issues
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Global Environmental Issues
- 1. Roundtable Discussion Uzbekistan Fulbright Alumni Association 11/28/2008 Tashkent, Uzbekistan Global Environmental Issues Robert McCutcheon Bakhtiyor Mukhammadiev US Embassy
- 2. Presentation outline Global climate change Desertification Biodiversity Water U.S.-Uzbekistan cooperation on environmental issues
- 4. Definitions Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century, and its projected continuation. Climate change is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences. Average weather may include average temperature, precipitation and wind patterns. These changes can be caused by dynamic processes on Earth, external forces including variations in sunlight intensity, and more recently by human activities.
- 5. Global Warming According to the recent IPCC report, the mean global surface temperature has increased by 0.74OC over the last 100 years (1906-2005) 11 of the 12 warmest years have been recorded in the past 12 years Source: United Nations Environment Program
- 6. Causes of Climate Change Human Activities (IPCC, 2004) Energy supply, 26% Industry, 19% Forestry, 17% Agriculture, 14% Transport, 13% Buildings, 8% Waste, 3% Volcanoes Forest fires Oceans
- 7. Impacts of Global Climate Change Rising sea level – Melting Polar Ice – Loss of Mountain Glaciers and Snow Pack – Expansion of the Oceans Hurricane Katrina New Orleans Changing weather patterns – – – – Stronger Hurricanes More Droughts and Flooding Effects on Human Health Effects on Ecosystems The Aral Sea Polar Bears
- 8. Impact of global climate change “…Central Asia is another region severely affected by climate change. An increasing shortage of water, which is both a key resource for agriculture and a strategic resource for electricity generation, is already noticeable. The glaciers in Tajikistan lost a third of their area in the second half of the 20th century alone, while Kyrgyzstan has lost over a 1000 glaciers in the last four decades. There is thus considerable additional potential for conflict in a region whose strategic, political and economic developments as well as increasing trans-regional challenges impact directly or indirectly on EU interests…” Council of European Union Report 7249/08, “Climate change and International security” - ‘Solana Report’ (March 3, 2008)
- 9. Examples of U.S. Initiatives DOMESTIC: – – – – – – – – – – – – GHG Intensity Goal Climate VISION Climate Leaders SmartWay Transport Partnership ENERGY STAR® Targeted Incentives for GHG Sequestration Fuel Economy Increase for Light Trucks Tax Incentives to Reduce GHG Emissions Climate Change Science Program Climate Change Technology Program Clean Energy Initiative Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership INTERNATIONAL: – Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate – Methane to Markets Partnership – International Partnership for Hydrogen Economy – Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum – Generation IV International Forum – ITER – Bilateral and Regional Partnerships – Group on Earth Observations – Tropical Forest Conservation Act – President’s Initiative Against Illegal Logging – Global Environmental Facility
- 10. U.S. Climate Change Policy Summary U.S. takes the issue of climate change very seriously and remains committed to the UNFCCC and to the mutual goals of sustainable development and economic growth. Addressing global climate change will require: sustained effort involving all nations over many generations; an approach that will harness the power of markets, the creativity of entrepreneurs, and draw upon the best scientific research; and development and deployment of new transformational technologies during this century. U.S. has an ambitious near-term goal to reduce the growth of its GHG emissions, and is taking many actions to help meet that goal. U.S. is investing billions of dollars to address climate change—both in the near-term and long-term. U.S. is fully engaged internationally, is leading major bilateral and multilateral climate change science and technology initiatives, and will continue to cooperate with all nations.
- 11. Obama-Biden New Energy for America Plan Invest $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future Within 10 years save more oil than the U.S. currently imports from the Middle East and Venezuela combined 1 million Hybrid cars on the road by 2015 Ensure 10 percent of US electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025 Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050
- 12. Desertification
- 13. The Causes of Desertification Overcultivation Overgrazing Desertification is the degradation of drylands Deforestation Poor irrigation practices
- 14. Consequences of Desertification Desertification reduces land’s resilience to natural climate variability Soil becomes less productive Vegetation becomes damaged Food production is undermined Desertification contributes to famine Enormous social costs Huge drain on economic resources Afghanistan (UNEP, 2001)
- 15. The U.S. Commitment to Combating Desertification In addition to USAID technical assistance to countries affected by desertification, the USG contributes substantially to multilateral funds and international organizations to address the root causes of desertification worldwide: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
- 16. Biodiversity
- 17. Biodiversity: Definition Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from all sources Terrestrial Ecoregions Marine Ecoregions Freshwater Ecoregions
- 18. Threats to Biodiversity Habitat Destruction Invasive Species Pollution Overpopulation Overharvesting Climate Change
- 19. Biodiversity Protection: Examples of U.S. Initiatives and Partnerships To end the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products through reduction of consumer demand, awareness raising and strengthening of wildlife law enforcement across continents To assist developing countries to combat illegal logging, the sale and export of illegally harvested timber and corruption in the forest sector through good governance, community-based actions, technology transfer and harnessing market forces To develop global awareness and international consensus on strategies to reduce the threat to human health, the environment, and economic prosperity posed by invasive alien species. CONGO BASIN FOREST PARTNERSHIP To reduce the rate of forest degradation and loss of biodiversity through increased local, national, and regional natural resource management capacity, application of sustainable management practices, the institutionalization of natural resources monitoring, and the strengthening of natural resources governance
- 20. Water
- 21. Lack of Access to Safe Water Over 1.49 billion of people lack access to safe water
- 22. Population With Access to Adequate Sanitation N/A 20-40% 60-80% 0-20% 40-60% 80-100% 2.6 billion of people lack access to basic sanitation
- 23. Water-Related Deaths “More than 5 million people die each year from diseases caused by unsafe drinking water, lack of sanitation, and insufficient water for hygiene. In fact, over 2 million deaths occur each year from water-related diarrhea alone. At any given time, almost half of the people in developing countries suffer from water-related diseases.” Children of Kabul, Afghanistan (AP) Johannesburg Summit 2002 “…one child every 8 seconds dies from water-related disease…” World Health Organization, 2005 “…76 Million Could Perish From Water-Related Disease by 2020…” Pacific Institute, 2002
- 24. Transboundary Waters 263 international river basins 50% of world’s land surface 60% of global freshwater flow 40% of world’s population 145 countries, eq.: Danube River – 17 Basin States Nile River – 10 Basin States Congo, Niger, Rhine and Zambezi – 9 States The Aral Sea Basin: two rivers and 6 basin states Transboundary aquifers Afghanistan Pakistan Indus River India
- 25. World Water Crisis: U.S. Response The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005
- 26. U.S. Department of State Creating a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community. • Increase access to, and effective use of, safe water and sanitation; • Improve water resources management; • Increase the productivity of water resources; and • Improve water security. www.state.gov/g/oes/water U.S. Strategy - Objectives
- 28. Examples of US Government Technical Assistance USAID Environmental Policy and Technology Project (19941998) USAID Environmental Polices and Institutions for Central Asia (1998-2000) USAID Natural Resources Management Program for Central Asia (2000-2005) USAID Water Users Association Support Program (2004-2009) US Embassy Environmental Small Grants Program US Embassy PAS Exchange Programs: – – – – International Visitor Leadership Program Volunteer Visitor Program Fulbright Program Speaker Program
- 29. US Department of State Central Asia ESTH Hub Based in Astana, Kazakhstan Covers six Central Asian countries: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan Hub Officer: Bruce Hudspeth
- 30. Hub Responsibilities Coordinates U.S. Department of State ESTH activities to the region Works together with donor agencies to promote cooperation and coordination Conveys U.S. Government positions to regional and national ESTH organizations Represents U.S. Government at international meetings on Central Asian ESTH issues Serves as a bridge between U.S. & Central Asia ESTH institutions
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- Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century, and its projected continuation. [In Russian: Глобальное потепление – это процесс постепенного увеличения среднегодовой температуры атмосферы Земли и Мирового океана] Climate change is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences. Average weather may include average temperature, precipitation and wind patterns. These changes can be caused by dynamic processes on Earth, external forces including variations in sunlight intensity, and more recently by human activities. [In Russian: Изменение климата – это любое длительное существенное изменение «средней погоды», которое происходит в отдельно рассматриваемом регионе. Эти изменения могут быть вызваны динамичными процессами происходящими на Земле, внешними силами, включая солнечную активность, а также в результате деятельности человека]
- According to the recent IPCC report, the mean global surface temperature has increased by 0.74 C over the last 100 years (1906-2005). That may not sound like much, but note that it’s a global average. Some parts of the world have warmed more than the average, others less. And 11 of the 12 warmest years have been recorded in the past 12 years. [In Russian: Научное мнение, выраженное Межгосударственной группой экспертов по изменению климата (МГЭИК) ООН, заключается в том, что средняя температура по Земле поднялась на 0,74 °C за последние 100 лет (1906-2005). Это может казатся не так много, но это величина среднемировое. Некоторые региона мира потеплели больше, а другие меньше. А также, 11 из 12 самых жарких периодов были зафиксированы за позледние 12 лет]
- There are a variety of potential causes for global climate change, including both natural and human-induced [In Russian: антропогенными] mechanisms. Science has made great strides recently in determining which potential causes are actually responsible for the climate change that occurred during the twentieth century, providing strong evidence that greenhouse gases [In Russian: парниковые газы] released to the atmosphere by human activities are the main cause of contemporary global warming. The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon whereby certain gases in the earth’s atmosphere, known as greenhouse gases (GHG), absorb heat that would otherwise escape to space. This heat originates from visible sunlight that warms the earth’s surface. Subsequently, heat radiates from the surface to the atmosphere, where some of it is absorbed by greenhouse gases and radiated back to the surface. Recent progress in climate modeling has generated a consensus among climate scientists that greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are likely (66-90% chance) to have caused most of the observed global temperature rise over the past 50 years. According to the 2007 IPCC Assessment Report, in 2004 energy sector contributed 26% of the total share of different sectors in total human GHG emissions, followed by industry (19%), forestry/deforestation (17%), agriculture (14%), transport sector (13%), residential and commercial buildings (8%) and waste and wastewater (3%). Several natural forces such as volcanic eruptions, forest fires and warming oceans also generate substantial amounts of GHG. Water vapor (H20), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and ozone (O3) are the primary GHGs in the Earth’s atmosphere. [In Russian: К основным парниковым газам в атмосфере Земли относятся: водяной пар, двуокись углерода, закись азота, метан и озон]
- RISING SEA LEVEL: Among the most serious and potentially catastrophic effects of global warming is sea level rise, caused by a combination of melting glaciers all over the world and the “thermal expansion” of the seas as oceans warm. By the end of the century, if nothing is done to rein in emissions of greenhouse gases, global sea level may be three feet (~1 m) higher than today and rising. Melting Polar Ice: In November 2004 an international team of 300 scientists from 15 countries, including the United States, issued a report on the impacts of climate change in the Arctic. In addition to painting a stark picture of how climate change already is affecting the region, the report of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment predicted that at least half the summer sea ice in the Arctic will melt by the end of this century, along with a significant portion of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Loss of Mountain Glaciers and Snow Pack: In addition to the loss of polar ice, climate change is causing a worldwide loss of mountain glaciers at all latitudes. Scientists have observed that glaciers are in retreat in all regions of the world, from the Himalayas to tropical South America to the western United States. In addition to contributing to sea level rise, the melting of mountain glaciers also poses a threat to global water supplies. Billions of people around the world depend solely on glaciers for irrigation and drinking water. Expansion of the Oceans: Another cause of sea level rise is what scientists refer to as the “thermal expansion” of the oceans—put simply, as the oceans continue to warm, they will expand. Even if no more GHG are added to the atmosphere, global sea level will rise by four inches over the next century because of thermal expansion alone. CHANGING WEATHER PATTERNS: Scientists predict that climate change will have a significant effect on global weather patterns, causing both more floods and more droughts. Extended heat waves, more powerful storms, and other extreme weather events have become more common in recent years and will continue on this trend. These changes in weather patterns will have serious—and potentially severe—impacts on human societies and the natural world. Stronger Hurricanes: The 2005 hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean, with four Category 5 storms for the first time in recorded history, raised questions in many Americans’ minds about the potential connections between hurricanes and climate change. Now, scientists have confirmed that hurricanes are becoming more intense—not just in the Atlantic but in all oceans where they occur. Why would climate change make hurricanes stronger? The answer, scientists say, is because hurricanes draw their strength from the heat in ocean surface waters. Therefore, as ocean waters grow warmer, hurricanes will become more powerful on average, a trend that is already evident over the past 35 years. More Droughts and Flooding: Other weather impacts from climate change include a higher incidence of drought and flooding and changes in precipitation patterns. According to the IPCC, future changes in weather patterns will affect different regions in different ways. In the short term, for instance, farms and forests may be more productive in some regions and less productive at others. Among the reasons: precipitation will increase in high-latitude regions of the world in summer and winter, while southern Africa, Australia and Central America may experience consistent declines in winter rainfall. As a result of these changes, agriculture in developing countries will be especially at risk. Wheat, for example, may virtually disappear as a crop in Africa, while experiencing substantial declines in Asia and South America. Effects on Human Health: A recent United Nations report blamed climate change, along with worsening air and water quality and poor disposal of solid waste, for an increase in malaria, cholera and lower respiratory tract infections in African societies. Climate change can affect human health directly (for example, because of extreme temperatures and heat waves) and indirectly (for example, by contributing to the spread of infectious disease or threatening the availability and quality of food and water). The elderly, the infirm and the poor will be especially at risk. Effects on Ecosystems: Climate change holds the potential of inflicting severe damage on the ecosystems that support all life, from hazards to coral reefs due to warmer and more acidic ocean waters to threats to polar bears because of declines in sea ice. Ecosystems around the world already are reacting to a warming world. For example, one study found that 130 species, including both plants and animals, have responded to earlier spring warming over the last 30 years. These organisms have changed their timing of flowering, migration and other spring activities. The changes occurred regardless of regional difference and were linked directly to enhanced greenhouse warming. Researchers also have established that climate change is driving some species to extinction. For instance, in the past 20 years dozens of species of mountain frogs in Central America have disappeared because of a disease that formerly did not occur where they live. In 2006, a paper in the journal Nature revealed that the disease-causing organism, a fungus, has spread to higher elevations as a result of human-induced climate change.
- According to the EU Council report “Climate Change and International Security” – known as the Solana Report – Central Asia is one of the regions that severely affected by climate change. The reports notes that the effect of the climate change is causing an increase of water availability, which is both a key resource for agriculture and a strategic resource for electricity generation. The glaciers in Tajikistan lost a third of their area in the second half of the 20th century alone, while Kyrgyzstan has lost over a 1000 glaciers in the last four decades. There is thus considerable additional potential for conflict in a region whose strategic, political and economic developments as well as increasing trans-regional challenges impact directly or indirectly on EU […and also US] interests. (In the background picture: shrinking Fedchenko glacier in the Tyan Shan Mountains that feed the Syr Darya River).
- The questions and criticisms like the U.S is denying climate science or is not doing anything or doing less than others countries to address the climate change are only myths. The US is acting both domestically and internationally to slow the growth in GHG emissions, investing in climate change science, accelerating technology development and promoting partnerships. From Fiscal Year 2001 to the end of Fiscal Year 2006, the U.S. Government devoted nearly $29 billion to climate science, technology, international assistance, and incentive programs. President Bush’s Fiscal Year 2007 budget calls for $6.5 billion for climate-related activities, includes nearly $3 billion for the Climate Change Technology Program, and over $1.6 billion for the Climate Change Science Program, $220 million for climate change-related international assistance programs, and nearly $2 billion for energy tax provisions that may reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This slide lists some of the major initiatives that the US has been implementing to address the problems of climate change.
- These are the five key points that summarize the US’s policy towards climate change. U.S. takes the issue of climate change very seriously and remains committed to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. U.S. strongly believes that addressing global climate change will require: sustained effort involving all nations over many generations; an approach that will harness the power of markets, the creativity of entrepreneurs, and draw upon the best scientific research; and development and deployment of new transformational technologies during this century; U.S. has an ambitious near-term goal to reduce the growth of its GHG emissions, and is taking many actions to help meet that goal; U.S. is investing billions of dollars to address climate change—both in the near-term and long-term; and U.S. is fully engaged internationally, is leading major bilateral and multilateral climate change science and technology initiatives, and will continue to cooperate with all nations.
- To add more to the previous slide, President-elect Barack Obama is strongly committed to the issues of climate change and that the United States would "engage vigorously" in climate change talks when he is president, and he pledged to work to reduce emissions sharply by 2020, despite the financial crisis. Under the new Obama-Biden New Energy for America Plan, the U.S. will: Invest $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future Within 10 years save more oil than the U.S. currently imports from the Middle East and Venezuela combined 1 million Hybrid cars on the road by 2015 Ensure 10 percent of US electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025 Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. This is briefly about the issue of climate change and what the US is doing about it. Now, we would like to move on to other environmental problems.
- And the next environmental problem we would like to discuss is desertification. Worldwide, desertification affects about 1 billion people and 2 billion hectares of land -- an area the size of the United States and Canada combined. It is a global issue of huge importance, and its effects are felt especially strongly in Africa and Central Asia as well.
- Desertification is the degradation of drylands. Drylands – comprising deserts, grasslands, and woodlands – cover about 41% of Earth’s land surface and are inhabited by more than 2 billion people (about one third of the world’s population). Desertification involves the loss of biological or economic productivity and complexity in drylands. It is due mainly to climate variability and again unsustainable human activities. The most commonly cited forms of unsustainable land use are overcultivation (чрезмерное использование земель или монополия сельхозкультур), overgrazing (выбивание пастбищ или перевыпас), deforestation (рубка лесов), and poor irrigation practices (неустойчивое плохое орошение). According to some estimates, 70% of the world’s drylands are degraded.
- Desertification reduces land’s resilience to natural climate variability (опустынивание снижает способность почвы/земли противостоять к природным и климатическим изменением) Soil becomes less productive (почва становится менее продуктивным) Vegetation becomes damaged (наносится ущерб растительности) Food production is undermined (подрывается производство продовольствия) Desertification contributes to famine (опыстинивание способствует острому недостатку продовольствия и голоду) Enormous social costs (влечет за собой огромные социальные затраты) Huge drain on economic resources (взасывает большие экономические ресурсы)
- The U.S. considers the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) as a unique and innovative environmental agreement because of its grassroots approach, which recognizes the crucial importance of education and empowerment at the local level to any successful anti-desertification strategy. The U.S. contributes substantially to the UNCCD fund. Perhaps the most significant contribution the United States has to make to implementing the Convention, though, is its experience: sharing technology, know-how, and its hard-won agricultural, technical, and scientific knowledge with other nations coping with the threat of desertification. In addition, the U.S. has contributed substantial amounts of funding to combat desertification worldwide through its contributions to the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). For example, the U.S. is the largest contributor to GEF. During 2002-2007, the U.S. financing of GEF four core program areas, including on land degradation reached $500 millions. The USAID is the lead USG agency implementing the UNCCD overseas. USAID addresses the root causes of desertification in a variety of diverse programs in all geographical regions, but primarily in Africa. Some of USAID’s worldwide activities in combating desertification include: (1) Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Program; (2) Natural Resources Management and Biodiversity Conservation Program; and (3) Integrated Water Resource Management. In FY’01, for example, USAID’s funding relevant to desertification problems totaled $93.8 million.
- The Convention on Biological Diversity defines "biodiversity" as "the variability among living organisms from all sources, including, 'inter alia', terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part: this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems". Terrestrial ecoregions (наземные экорегионы) are land ecoregions. In this context, terrestrial is used to mean "of land" (soil and rock), rather than the more general sense "of Earth" (which includes land and oceans). Scientists divide the Earth into 8 major ecozones containing 867 smaller terrestrial ecoregions. Marine ecoregions (морские экорегионы) are regions of the world's oceans. Freshwater ecoregions (пресноводные экорегионы) are the freshwater habitats of a particular geographic area, including rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands.
- The biodiversity found on Earth today consists of many millions of distinct biological species, which is the product of nearly 3.5 billion years of evolution. However, almost all scientists acknowledge that the rate of species loss is greater now than at any time in human history, with extinctions (вымерание, изчесновение) occurring at rates hundreds of times higher than background extinction rates. Some estimates put the loss at up to 140,000 species per year. The factors that threaten (угрожают) biodiversity have been variously categorized. One of the known approaches uses the acronym HIPPO, standing for Habitat destruction (нарушение среды обитания), Invasive species (инвазивные виды), Pollution (загрезнение), Human OverPopulation (человеческое перенаселение), and Overharvesting (чрезмерное культивация). Destruction of habitats: Most of the species extinctions from 1000 AD to 2000 AD are due to human activities, in particular destruction of plant and animal habitats. Raised rates of extinction are being driven by human consumption of organic resources, especially related to tropical forest destruction Invasive Species: The rich diversity of unique species across many parts of the world exist only because they are separated by barriers, particularly large rivers, seas, oceans, mountains and deserts from other species of other land masses. However humans have invented ships and airplanes, and now have the power to bring into contact species that never have met in their evolutionary history, and on a time scale of days, unlike the centuries that historically have accompanied major animal migrations. As a consequence of the above, if humans continue to combine species from different ecoregions, there is the potential that the world's ecosystems will end up dominated by relatively a few, aggressive, cosmopolitan "super-species". (In the picture: Zebra mussels, left and quagga mussels have been called by some scientists the most harmful of all invasive (exotic) species imported into the Great Lakes). Other factors contributing to loss of biodiversity include pollution (air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination), overpopulation, overharvesting/deforestation, and global warming or climate change, driven by human activity. These factors produce a cumulative impact upon biodiversity.
- Some of the examples of U.S. engagement in and contribution to the global biodiversity protection include: Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT) (Коалиция против торговли (контрабанды) живой природы) is a global coalition of Governments, international business and conservation organizations working together to support each other’s efforts to end the illegal trade (незаконная торговля) in wildlife and wildlife products. CAWT seeks to reduce consumer demand (покупательский спрос) for illegally traded wildlife and wildlife parts by raising awareness of the impact of the illegal wildlife trade on endangered species (виды на грани изчезновения), biodiversity, human health and sustainable livelihoods, as well as links to organized crime. It hopes to achieve a reduction of in the illegal trade through cooperation and a strengthening of wildlife law enforcement across continents. President’s Initiative Against Illegal Logging (PIAIL) (Инициатива Президента Против Незаконной Рубки Леса): The U.S. has been a leader in raising international awareness (повышение осведомленности мировой общественности) of the devastating global problem of illegal logging and identifying actions to address it, notably through the G-8, regional initiatives such as the South Asia and Africa Ministerial Conferences on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance, and bilateral development assistance activities. PIAIL has already demonstrated its effectiveness in mobilizing actions by US government and non-government partners to combat illegal logging, associated trade and corruption in the forest sector worldwide. The Global Invasive Species Program (GISP) is designed to help develop an international consensus on strategies to reduce the threat to human health, the environment, and economic prosperity posed by invasive alien species (IAS). The annual global economic loss to agriculture, biodiversity, fisheries, forests, and industry, caused by invasive species has been estimated at approximately five percent of the global economy, or U.S. $1.4 trillion. In the U.S. alone the annual impact has been estimated at $138 billion. As a GISP partner, the U.S. Government supports and promotes international efforts to combat the spread of these species. The Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) is an international association of over thirty governments, international organizations, private sector and civil society representatives, is designed to enhance the sustainable management of the Congo. The partnership promotes economic development, poverty alleviation, and improved local governance through natural resource conservation and improved resource management, including control of illegal logging and wildlife poaching and trafficking, governance, and natural resource conservation. The U.S. objectives for this partnership are to reduce the rate of forest degradation and loss of biodiversity through increased local, national, and regional natural resource management capacity, including broader application of sustainable natural resources management practices, the institutionalization of natural resources monitoring, and the strengthening of natural resources governance.
- By definition, an improved water source includes wells or public pipes that provide at least 20 liters per day accessible within a few minutes of walk. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, close to 1.5 billion of people in the world lack access to safe water. 74% of these people, or 1.1 billion people are in Asia and Middle East. 320 million in Africa and another 70 million are in Latin America.
- Some 2.6 billion people in the world, mainly in Africa and Asia, lack access to basic (первичным, основным) sanitation (санитарные условия). “Basic sanitation” refers to the management of human wastes at the household level. This terminology is the indicator used to describe the target of the Millennium Development Goal on sanitation. The goal is to raise awareness and to accelerate progress towards the MDG target to reduce by half the proportion of the 2,6 billion people without access to basic sanitation by 2015. Inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease such as cholera, typhoid and hepatitis A world-wide and improving sanitation is known to have a significant beneficial impact on people's health. To put the spotlight on sanitation the UN General Assembly declared the year 2008 the International Year of Sanitation.
- And because of unsafe drinking water, lack of sanitation, and insufficient water for hygiene more than 5 million people die each year from water-borne diseases. In fact, over 2 million deaths occur each year from water-related diarrhea alone, most of whom are under 5 years of age, and overall, fatalities among children can be said that every eight seconds a child dies from water-related disease. Another threatening warning is that an assessment by Pacific Institute in California (Peter Gleick) estimated in 2002 that even MDG targets for water and sanitation is achieved, up to 76 million people could die from water–related disease by 2020.
- Equitable and fair sharing of transboundary water resources among riparian countries is another biggest challenge. According to the UN, there are 263 rivers that cross boundaries of two or more States. Altogether the territories of these river basins occupy 50% of the world’s land surface and is home to 40% of the world’s population (close to 3 billion people). Altogether, these transboundary water sources account for 60% of global freshwater flow and involves 145 countries. Examples include Danube River in Europe which is shared by 17 countries, the River Nile – 10 African countries, 9 countries share the rivers of Congo, Niger, and Zambezi. In Central Asia, the Aral Sea basin includes Amudarya and Syrdarya Rivers, which is shared by 6 basin States. There is a growing concern about transboundary aquifers. Many major rivers are physically linked to groundwater and many countries depend on groundwater that are also transboundary. There are many tough questions? How to meet increasing demands for water, provide economic growth, balance the conflicting uses, secure social and environmental needs? [In the picture: satellite map of the Indus River basin shared by India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.]
- There are many examples of US assistance to developing world on water related issues. As we mentioned, the US is one of the major contributors to the international developmental banks such as GEF, World Bank, and others, and also the USG channels millions of dollars for water projects through USAID technical assistance projects. The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 is one of the examples that we would like to highlight in this presentation. What is unique about this Act is that it is the only one of its kind in making USG to be legally obligated by the US Congress to provide affordable and equitable access to water and sanitation in developing countries its foreign assistance policy objectives.
- Under this Act, the US develops and implements a Strategy: (1) to increase access to and effective use of safe water and sanitation; (2) improve water resources management; (3) increase the productivity of water resources; and (4) improve water security. More information is available at request.