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Climate pressures eroding basic rights in Bangladesh – study
Posted by AlertNet: Laurie Goering on December 10th, 2012
AlertNet: Increasingly extreme weather is worsening food insecurity, displacement and other problems for rural families in Bangladesh, effectively robbing them of basic human rights, argues a report released on Monday.
"Climate change has become one of the major challenges to the enjoyment of the basic rights to life, food, health, water, housing and self-determination,' the Environmental Justice Foundation, which produced the report, said in a statement.
As extreme weather becomes more frequent, recovery...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Climate pressures eroding basic rights in Bangladesh – studyAs cities grow, technology could help the world’s thirst
Posted by AlertNet: Laurie Goering on July 26th, 2012
AlertNet: As competition for water increases, the world's fast-growing cities will demand an ever larger share -- and should be able to afford to pay for it, says Colin Chartres, director general of the International Water Management Institute, based in Sri Lanka.
But that bigger urban share will come at the expense of agricultural water, leaving farmers --today the largest users of freshwater worldwide -- trying to grow much more food to meet rising population growth and expanding appetites, all with less...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on As cities grow, technology could help the world’s thirstAs climate aid sags, vulnerable nations foot the bill
Posted by AlertNet: Laurie Goering on June 20th, 2012
AlertNet: Worsening climate impacts are now "a reality, not a threat', but little of the aid promised to poor countries has arrived, leaving them to dig into their own pockets to cover the costs, climate change experts said this week.
Between 2009 and 2010, as "fast-start' aid for climate-vulnerable countries began to flow, global climate funding rose from $6.7 billion to $14.2 billion, according to DARA, a Spain-based organisation that tracks the effectiveness of international assistance.
But only $2...
Planning for urban population surge will limit crises – experts
Posted by AlertNet: Laurie Goering on June 18th, 2012
AlertNet: Nearly all the expected surge in the world's population from 7 billion people to 9 billion by 2050 will come in urban areas of Asia and Africa, and planning for it will be crucial to limit the spread of slums and related social and environmental problems, experts say.
That many fast-growing cities today have informal settlements and black-market economies "is in part a testament to failure to accommodate and plan for urban growth effectively and fairly', said Gordon McGranahan, principal researcher...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Planning for urban population surge will limit crises – expertsInaction on economic, climate and resource threats raising anxieties at Rio+20
Posted by AlertNet: Laurie Goering on June 17th, 2012
AlertNet: Brazil's Amazon region this year saw its worst flooding in over 100 years of record-keeping, just seven years after it suffered its worst recorded drought.
"We are seeing the cycle of climate extremes has changed totally,' observed Eduardo Braga, a former governor of Amazonas state and now chair of Brazil's Senate. "What was a climate extreme that came every 30 or 50 or 100 years is now much more frequent.'
"In our opinion this is one of the alerts humanity needs to understand,' he warned Saturday...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Inaction on economic, climate and resource threats raising anxieties at Rio+20Q&A: Preparedness key as climate shifts threaten more drought
Posted by AlertNet: Laurie Goering on August 3rd, 2011
AlertNet: The race by U.N. and aid agencies to respond to worsening drought and hunger in the Horn of Africa suggests how far the world still has to go to put in place effective measures to prevent droughts turning into disasters.
Finding solutions is particularly urgent as climate change brings more extreme and unpredictable weather, including more "slow-onset' disasters like droughts, warns Luc Gnacadja, executive director of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, a sister convention to the U.N....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Q&A: Preparedness key as climate shifts threaten more droughtWorld not prepared for climate conflicts – security experts
Posted by AlertNet: Laurie Goering on April 28th, 2011
AlertNet: Accelerating climate change and competition for limited supplies of water, food and energy are poised to ignite long-simmering conflicts in fragile states, monopolising the world's military resources and hampering development efforts, security experts say.
Defusing these new 21st century conflicts -- or at least preparing governments and citizens to cope with them -- will require a broad range of innovative interventions, a gathering at Britain's Department for International Development (DFID)...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on World not prepared for climate conflicts – security expertsSeasonal climate forecasts possible in Africa but not helping yet – study
Posted by AlertNet: Laurie Goering on April 14th, 2011
AlertNet: For African farmers struggling to cope with increasingly erratic conditions linked to climate change, there's good -- and bad - news.
The good news is that in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, scientists can now issue reasonably reliable seasonal climate forecasts a month or more in advance of the planting season, giving growers a chance to opt for different kinds of crops or other measures to adapt to upcoming conditions.
That has the potential to improve food security in many climate-vulnerable...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Seasonal climate forecasts possible in Africa but not helping yet – study