Biodiversidade conservação estratégia melbournes áreas de crescimento

Integração do planejamento de conservação e planejamento de uso da terra em paisagens urbanas.
O rápido crescimento das cidades em todo o mundo é agora visto como um dos principais contribuintes para a perda de biodiversidade global e muitos governos incluem a conservação da biodiversidade como uma meta política explícita. Para ajudar a evitar a perda adicional da biodiversidade, há uma necessidade urgente de abordagens mais estratégicas para o planejamento de conservação em ambientes urbanos com base em uma compreensão científica dos padrões de paisagem, requisitos de espécies e pressões de desenvolvimento. Neste estudo, demonstramos o uso de novas ferramentas de planejamento de conservação para melhor integrar informações sobre espécies ameaçadas no planejamento de uso da terra. Apresentamos um estudo de caso na área da Grande Melbourne que utiliza a ferramenta de planejamento de conservação do Zonation com dados de 30 espécies da fauna ameaçadas. Realizamos uma priorização espacial multiespécies que incorpora requisitos de conectividade específicos da espécie e demonstramos o uso dessas informações em vários contextos de planejamento de uso da terra. Primeiro, avaliamos quantitativamente as diferenças entre as áreas atuais de conservação de Melbourne com os locais priorizados por Zonation e determinamos áreas prioritárias para sua extensão. Em seguida, mostramos como a priorização pode ser usada nas decisões relativas ao Limite de Crescimento Urbano de Melbourne e no rezoneamento da terra para o desenvolvimento. Por fim, demonstramos como a priorização pode ser usada para identificar áreas de importância para a conservação dentro de desenvolvimentos individuais que representam o contexto mais amplo da paisagem. Esses resultados demonstram como as ferramentas de planejamento de conservação podem ser mais bem integradas nos diferentes estágios do planejamento de uso do solo para o crescimento urbano futuro.
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Ascelin Gordon trabalha como pesquisador de pós-doutorado na RMIT University, Austrália. Seus interesses de pesquisa estão em medir e modelar a biodiversidade e sua relação com o desenvolvimento urbano. Atualmente, ele está trabalhando em um projeto que visa desenvolver uma abordagem mais estratégica para o planejamento de conservação em ambientes urbanos usando os avanços recentes na modelagem ecológica e otimização robusta. Ascelin vem de uma formação em física e concluiu seu doutorado na Universidade de Melbourne em 2004.
David Simondson concluiu um mestrado em meio ambiente e planejamento na RMIT University, Austrália. Ele trabalhou como consultor ecológico e atualmente está empregado como planejador ambiental junto a uma autoridade do governo local.
Matt White é um ecologista do Departamento de Sustentabilidade e Meio Ambiente de Victoria. Seus principais interesses de pesquisa são a circunscrição da vegetação, a modelagem espacial e a história ambiental.
Atte Moilanen é pesquisador da Academia da Finlândia e trabalha no Metapopulation Research Group da Universidade de Helsinki. Ele também está associado ao Centro Australiano de Excelência para Análise de Risco (Univ. Melbourne) e ao centro de pesquisa da Commonwealth em Análise Aplicada de Decisões Ambientais (Univ. Queensland). Atte tem formação em ciência da computação (MSc), matemática aplicada (técnica) e ecologia populacional espacial (PhD). Seu principal interesse de pesquisa atual é o desenvolvimento de métodos, teoria e software para fins de avaliação e priorização de conservação espacial.
Sarah Bekessy é professora sênior em estudos ambientais na Universidade RMIT, na Austrália. Sarah e está envolvida em uma variedade interdisciplinar de projetos de pesquisa, incluindo dois projetos de pesquisa do Australian Research Council - Reimaginar o subúrbio australiano: planejamento de biodiversidade em paisagens marginais urbanas e Construindo capacidade para um futuro sustentável: incorporando educação para a sustentabilidade nas universidades. Sarah também está envolvida em um novo Mecanismo de Pesquisa Ambiental da Commonwealth intitulado Análise Aplicada de Decisões Ambientais, que busca desenvolver e testar ferramentas para apoiar a tomada transparente de decisões para o gerenciamento ambiental.

Risco de incêndios florestais, biodiversidade e planejamento periurbano nas montanhas Mt Lofty, sul da Austrália.
Destaques.
Forças culturais de atração e repulsão modelam o manejo da vegetação periurbana.
O manejo de risco aborígene e pós-colonial alterou significativamente a vegetação.
Mudar as percepções e políticas de risco de incêndios florestais poderia comprometer a conservação.
A renomeação de lugares particularmente vulneráveis ​​poderia ajudar a normalizar o risco.
Praticantes & # x27; os pontos de vista devem ser incorporados nas deliberações de planejamento.
Grandes incêndios na periferia das cidades australianas estão reformulando as percepções do que constitui o planejamento efetivo da paisagem e o manejo da vegetação. O desafio de governança emergente para mitigar simultaneamente o risco de incêndios florestais e apoiar melhores práticas de conservação é revisado no contexto de culturas pré-coloniais e modernas dentro da região climática mediterrânea peri-urbana da Cordilheira Mt Lofty da Austrália Meridional. A análise sugere que a queima antropogênica da paisagem tem sido um componente histórico vital do gerenciamento de riscos. Durante o início da era moderna, no entanto, as capacidades melhoradas para gerir o risco de incêndios levaram à complacência, tendo em conta o perigo que, por sua vez, levou a uma urbanização que não foi suficientemente responsável pelos níveis de risco. Um conflito de planejamento está surgindo nas terras altas arborizadas, à medida que há um interesse renovado no risco de incêndios florestais, o que se reflete em novas políticas estaduais que proporcionam maiores subsídios para que os proprietários de terras possam limpar a vegetação ao redor das habitações. Embora tenham sido feitas tentativas para restringir o crescimento urbano em torno da cidade de Adelaide, oficinas recentes com importantes partes interessadas na gestão ambiental sugerem que a urbanização continua dentro das faixas Mt Lofty em áreas que são altamente vulneráveis ​​a incêndios e de grande importância para a conservação da biodiversidade. planejamento não está refletindo as culturas de risco ou valor da biodiversidade. Para que esses riscos e valores sejam levados em conta dentro dos sistemas reflexivos de governança, as narrativas sobre as oportunidades de adaptação geradas pelas pessoas que facilitam a gestão da vegetação devem ser acomodadas nas deliberações sobre políticas. A identificação e o planejamento de espaços particularmente vulneráveis ​​e valiosos dentro da paisagem mais ampla e contextos culturais de risco e valor permitiriam respostas complexas e direcionadas aos riscos ambientais, conservação e necessidades de desenvolvimento nas terras altas periurbanas.
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Possibilitando inovação social para adaptabilidade climática local.
Um Projeto de Descoberta da ARC DP150100299, liderado pela RMIT University, Centro de Pesquisa Urbana em parceria com a Universidade Griffith, Universidade Macquarie e Universidade Curtin.
Atualização do Projeto: Seleção de estudos de casos de ONGs.
Seleção de organizações não-governamentais para uma investigação mais aprofundada.
No primeiro trimestre de 2016, a equipe do projeto concluiu uma pesquisa de opinião sobre estratégias e iniciativas de mudança climática de ONGs nas quatro áreas metropolitanas de Perth, Melbourne, Sydney e Sudeste de Queensland.
Duas ONGs de cada estado do projeto foram selecionadas para um estudo mais aprofundado e foram selecionadas de acordo com os seguintes critérios:
Capacidade de resposta às condições locais; Atende às necessidades genuínas; Empoderamento de comunidades; Potencial transformação das relações sociais; Envolvimento da comunidade na preparação e implementação de estratégias e iniciativas; Inclusão dos vulneráveis ​​e não humanos.
Consideramos que nossa seleção de casos é uma mistura apropriada de grupos realmente locais e filiais locais de organizações nacionais. A lista é:
Victoria & # 8211; EFLAG (grupo de ação Elwood Floods) e Transition Towns Maroondah Inc.
WA - Ecoburbia e Casa do Ambiente.
Queensland - geco e cruz verde Austrália.
NSW & # 8211; Conservação da Natureza Trust NSW e CAN-Win.
Detalhes das seleções individuais são descritos abaixo:
Seleção de estudo de caso - Victoria.
Os dois estudos de caso vitorianos incorporam esforços altamente localizados para agir e defender iniciativas climáticas locais:
O EFLAG é um grupo comunitário localizado no subúrbio de Elwood, no centro de Bayside. A EFLAG se formou depois que a Elwood passou por um evento climático extremo em fevereiro de 2011. Como grupo de defesa e ação, a EFLAG trabalha para informar os residentes locais sobre: ​​como a área sofre inundações; o que eles podem fazer para se preparar e responder a futuras inundações; e o que os residentes podem esperar de várias agências governamentais e órgãos associados em épocas de clima severo.
Transition Towns Maroondah Inc é um grupo da comunidade baseado em susburbs do leste do leste de Melbourne. Faz parte do movimento internacional Transition Towns. Sua assinatura é: "criar comunidades resilientes e sustentáveis".
Os objetivos do grupo são:
para aumentar a conscientização sobre as mudanças climáticas, esgotamento de recursos e contração econômica; e iniciar e apoiar projetos que ajudem a criar comunidades resilientes e sustentáveis ​​como resposta positiva a esses desafios. O grupo considera "a localização da economia e o nosso modo de vida, e a reconversão como chaves para a resiliência e a sustentabilidade".
As principais iniciativas incluem: transporte sustentável; envolvimento da comunidade; gestão de resíduos; requalificação; vivendo simplesmente; Comida; economia localizada; e energia.
Seleção de estudo de caso - Austrália Ocidental.
De acordo com o Relatório Anual de 2015, os programas comunitários incluem:
Programa SWWAP - emprega uma série de auditores de sustentabilidade como consultores que fornecem educação sobre sustentabilidade, energia e água, e auditorias em Perth. Projeto Compost for Migrants - novembro de 2014 a dezembro de 2015 Financiado pelo Community Grant Scheme da Waste, o projeto ofereceu 9 workshops, além de visitas domiciliares a migrantes (principalmente refugiados) para desenvolver compostagem, reciclagem e gestão de resíduos. O programa foi executado como um esforço colaborativo com várias outras agências. Oficinas de sustentabilidade e auditorias realizadas para uma variedade de centros comunitários e residências particulares. O programa Bayswater $ WAP 2015 foi proposto e desenvolvido pela Environment House em conjunto com a cidade de Bayswater. Iniciativa de base para incentivar os moradores a reduzir o uso doméstico de energia e água. Mais de US $ 11.000 em eco-hardware foram doados a residentes locais, a expertise foi fornecida para garantir que aparelhos corretos fossem escolhidos e conselhos sobre a instalação fornecida. Também foram realizados seis workshops sobre eficiência energética e hídrica. Variedade de oficinas de jardinagem, compostagem, apicultura, construção de tanques de sapos, jardinagem vegie, medidas de economia de água Projeto de Sustentabilidade da escola - parece que apenas uma escola foi testada - Hillcrest Primary. A Environment House trabalhou com a escola (funcionários, alunos e pais) durante 6 meses para reduzir o uso de energia e água, criando uma economia por ano de US $ 12.000. Programa em expansão em 2015/2016. EcoShop - duas salas de produtos que são inteiramente livres de óleo de palma e 90% da Austrália Ocidental. Stalls at City Farm Markets e outros eventos da comunidade. Ecoburbia jardim comunitário de alimentos.
Ecoburbia aborda a vulnerabilidade entre as questões (CVC, Peak Oil, mudança econômica, etc), educando, modelando e experimentando em uma vida sustentável e auto-suficiente. Eles foram os principais responsáveis ​​pelas atividades de Hulbert St descritas no artigo cosmopolítico. Desde 2013, a fundação de uma pequena comunidade em um terreno suburbano em Beaconsfield tem como objetivo fornecer um modelo alternativo de consolidação urbana, organizando a moradia e os jardins para sustentar (abrigo, energia, alimentos) quatro unidades de vida (solteiros, casais). .
A Ecoburbia é configurada como um pequeno negócio, não como um PFN, para dar aos proprietários mais flexibilidade em relação a novas idéias. A comunidade de Beaconsfield é explicitamente governada como uma ditadura benigna.
Seleção de estudo de caso & # 8211; Sudeste do Sul de Queensland.
O Gecko é o grupo ambiental sem fins lucrativos não-governamental da Gold Coast que faz networking com uma ampla gama de voluntários e organizações que trabalham em conjunto para proteger e aprimorar os ativos naturais e ambientais de nossa região.
A Gecko começou depois que representantes de seis grupos locais de conservação se uniram em 1989, acreditando que a organização iria se envolver com a comunidade e trabalhar para o cuidado, proteção e conservação do ambiente natural e a melhoria do ambiente construído.
O objetivo da Gecko é garantir que a Costa do Ouro e arredores se tornem sustentáveis, antecipando e avaliando os impactos antes que os projetos sejam aprovados para garantir que o desenvolvimento seja realizado sem riscos para a biodiversidade, o sistema ecológico e a habitabilidade da região.
A Gecko está comprometida com a ação sobre as mudanças climáticas em nível local. O Sub-Comitê de Campanhas se reúne a cada quinzena para discutir a questão e as formas pelas quais a organização pode fazer a diferença.
Um sistema de preço do carbono que é eficaz na redução das emissões de gases de efeito estufa e é socialmente justo e economicamente responsável. Uma rápida transição de uma economia baseada na mineração e uso de combustíveis fósseis para uma que depende principalmente de energia renovável. A transição deve incluir a eliminação progressiva dos subsídios à indústria do carvão, a reciclagem dos funcionários da indústria de combustíveis fósseis e mecanismos de apoio social para setores da sociedade que possam sofrer um impacto negativo. Que esta transição está de acordo com os princípios de justiça social, direitos humanos e desenvolvimento sustentável, conforme articulado em vários protocolos internacionais. Educação comunitária urgente e extensiva sobre as realidades da mudança climática e suas implicações para a comunidade global. A transição de uma economia baseada no consumidor para uma economia de estado estável, em reconhecimento aos fatos de que o crescimento infinito em um mundo finito levará ao desastre para a raça humana e outras espécies.
A Gecko empreenderá advocacy e educação comunitária para levar a sociedade em direção a essas soluções. A Gecko irá apoiar e colaborar com outras organizações com uma postura de política similar e realizar ações similares.
A Gecko está atualmente organizando o que se espera que seja uma série de "conferências" de ação sobre mudança climática que reúna uma ampla gama de partes interessadas para vislumbrar futuros alternativos e identificar e implementar diversas ações para alcançá-las.
A Green Cross Australia trabalha para ajudar as pessoas a se adaptarem às mudanças climáticas, adotando a sustentabilidade e a resiliência da comunidade. A organização é motivada pela crença de que os desafios existentes apresentam oportunidades para um futuro melhor.
A Cruz Verde da Austrália não é um grupo de defesa & # 8211; em vez disso, trabalha com parceiros respeitados em negócios, pesquisa, comunidade e governo para oferecer projetos digitais de "classe mundial" que promovam uma mudança de valores globais em direção a um futuro seguro e sustentável.
O mantra, Think + Act + Share = Change, é fundamental para os projetos da organização. A organização acredita que o poder de seus projetos está capacitando os australianos a tomar medidas práticas e informadas. Ele incentiva as pessoas a agir e, em seguida, fornece as ferramentas por meio de mídia social e digital para compartilhar suas ações com seus amigos. Utiliza tecnologias de mapeamento para visualizar a participação em seus projetos e medir o engajamento.
A filial de Queensland foi contratada para apoiar o programa de envolvimento das partes interessadas que sustenta o desenvolvimento da estratégia Q-CAS (Estratégia de Adaptação Climática de Queensland): greencrossaustralia / our-work / climate-adaptation / a-partner-developed-queensland-climate-adaptation-strategy. aspx .
Embora a organização tenha sido recentemente prejudicada por cortes nos fundos federais e estaduais, que afetaram muitas ONGs, eles ainda estão altamente motivados e dispostos a compartilhar suas experiências.
O Nature Conservation Trust é um órgão estatutário corporativo com status sem fins lucrativos estabelecido sob o Nature Conservation Trust Act 2001 (NSW). Sua principal missão é facilitar a conservação do patrimônio natural em terras privadas onde a biodiversidade pode prosperar. O objetivo é criar uma rede de reservas em propriedades privadas em NSW que vinculem as reservas públicas para lidar com o declínio da biodiversidade. Alcança isso facilitando acordos de acordos voluntários com proprietários de terras privados comprometidos com reservas de conservação perpétuas; mantendo um fundo rotativo para adquirir terras de alto valor de biodiversidade, estabelecendo convênios nessas terras e devolvendo-as ao mercado privado; e comunicar à comunidade em geral a importância do patrimônio natural em terras privadas em NSW. Faz parcerias com outras agências de gestão de recursos naturais e iniciativas de conservação para desenvolver suas abordagens estratégicas mais amplas.
CANWin & # 8211; Ação climática agora! Wingecarribee - é um grupo comunitário não partidário baseado nas Terras Altas do Sul de NSW. Ele trabalha para promover iniciativas baseadas na comunidade que respondam aos impactos da mudança climática e desenvolvam a resiliência da comunidade em face do pico do petróleo. Um fator central é o reconhecimento de que nenhum de nós pode fazer isso sozinho, mas que juntos "devemos ser a mudança que queremos ver no mundo" (Mahatma Gandhi).
O CANWin realiza eventos públicos regulares, como noites de locutor, noites de cinema e o recente workshop sobre o Futuro da Energia Limpa. Pesquisa e prepara folhas informativas para membros e público sobre questões científicas e técnicas que afetam a sustentabilidade da vida nas Terras Altas. As iniciativas CANWin incluem programas como o Resumen de Frutas, o Intercâmbio Comunitário Southern Highlands e o Repower Southern Highlands. Colabora com muitos outros grupos locais que compartilham a visão de uma comunidade unida, resiliente e sustentável.
Atualização do projeto: Estudos de caso da LGA.
Em 2015, a equipe do projeto concluiu uma auditoria de mesa sobre as estratégias e planos de adaptação do CVC em todas as autoridades do governo local metropolitano (LGA) em todos os estados e territórios australianos. A equipe também entrou em contato com os oficiais da LGA dentro dos LGAs metropolitanos dos quatro Estados do projeto para conduzir uma pesquisa sobre as iniciativas de adaptação de CVC de suas autoridades locais.
Depois de analisar os resultados do processo de auditoria e pesquisa com base em um conjunto de critérios e consulta ao grupo de referência do projeto, dois estudos de caso de LGA foram selecionados para cada estado do projeto. Os estudos de caso selecionados são LGAs suburbanos e fornecem uma mistura de subúrbios internos e externos com locais costeiros e interiores. Uma breve descrição de cada caso é fornecida abaixo:
NSW: Blacktown e Marrickville.
Ambas as LGAs adotam ativamente a adaptação à mudança climática em suas perspectivas estratégicas, mas cada uma se concentra nos resultados específicos de seu ambiente local.
Blacktown: Plano de Ação e Adaptação às Mudanças Climáticas de Blacktown (2011)
Blacktown City fica no limite oeste da planície metropolitana de Sydney, em terreno relativamente plano e exposto. É um dos maiores LGAs em Sydney em termos de área (240 km2) e população (332.424). Um terço da população são comunidades da NESB e a maior indústria é a manufatura. Os principais impactos do CVC em Blacktown estão relacionados ao calor: aumento na deterioração da infraestrutura, demanda de energia para resfriamento, mortes relacionadas ao estresse por calor / calor; ondas de calor mais longas e intensas; e disseminação de doenças transmitidas por vetores, água e alimentos. Sua série de workshops sobre sustentabilidade focada na comunidade foi identificada como sua iniciativa mais bem-sucedida de CVC. Compreende programas de educação e conscientização com foco em ecologias da fauna local, & # 8216; green & # 8217; oficinas de cuidados com bebês, conscientização de processamento de resíduos, & # 8216; upcycling & # 8217; bens em segunda mão, eventos de venda de garagem em toda a comunidade, segurança alimentar de quintal, apicultura suburbana, cozinha sustentável e programas de culinária; e programas florestais urbanos, como esquemas de doação de árvores e adoção de estoques públicos de árvores. O conselho também tem parceria com o colégio local TAFE Outreach para ministrar cursos comunitários sobre horticultura e eco-vida.
Apenas 25% das LGAs na pesquisa de desktop em Sydney têm planos explicitamente abordando a mudança climática em termos de enquadramento de adaptação e o Plano de Ação e Adaptação às Mudanças Climáticas de Blacktown (Blacktown City 2011) é uma das primeiras adotadas dessas estratégias. Ele nasceu de um estudo de avaliação de risco baseado nas previsões do CVRC da CSRIO. Recomendações foram desenvolvidas e priorizadas pelo Conselho através de uma série de oficinas deliberativas de consulta à comunidade, projetadas para criar consenso em torno de iniciativas. Iniciativas identificadas como potencialmente bem-sucedidas na pesquisa enfocam o resfriamento urbano e o desenho urbano sensível à água.
Marrickville: Plano de ação de mudança climática de Marrickville (2015)
O Marrickville Council fica no anel interno das LGAs, a sudoeste da CBD adjacente ao Aeroporto de Sydney. Seu terreno suavemente ondulado compreende áreas ribeirinhas significativas ao longo do sistema do Rio Cooks e do Canal Alexandra. É uma LGA de tamanho médio entre o grupo interno de Sydney, com 17 km2. De sua população (83.356), um quarto é das comunidades da NESB e compreende vários subúrbios da classe operária progressistas, que se valorizam rapidamente. Sua maior indústria também está fabricando (.id 2015b). O Conselho de Marrickville identifica que seus principais impactos de CVC são eventos climáticos extremos / tempestades, ondas de calor, aumento de temperaturas e elevação do nível do mar. As iniciativas em vigor concentram-se nas medidas de mitigação e adaptação às cheias - mapeamento de cheias, previsão dos impactos do aumento do nível do mar e melhoria da infraestrutura das águas pluviais. Sua Estratégia Comunitária Sensível à Água e a Estratégia Urbana Florestal também foram identificadas como iniciativas de sucesso na pesquisa. Mais recentemente, o Conselho iniciou as iniciativas de mapeamento de vulnerabilidades térmicas e sociais - o sucesso desses programas ainda está para acontecer plenamente. O Conselho tem fortes ligações com as ONGs de base comunitária que trabalham com sistemas naturais em sua área, por exemplo. Associação Cooks River, Tempe Birdos.
A mitigação e a adaptação às mudanças climáticas são prioridades significativas identificadas no Plano Estratégico da Comunidade de Marrickville. O Plano de Ação de Mudança Climática de Marrickville traduz isso em declaração de visão, áreas de resultados chave, declarações de resultados, estratégias. Também estabelece claramente links para estratégias relacionadas que afetarão / serão afetadas pelas mudanças climáticas & # 8211; Estratégia de Biodiversidade, Estratégia Comunitária Sensível à Água, Plano de Gestão de Ativos, Plano Diretor de Energia Renovável, Estratégia de Envelhecimento Comunitário e instrumentos de planejamento espacial (planos ambientais locais / planos de controle do desenvolvimento).
Um estudo dos municípios de Blacktown e Marrickville oferece uma comparação produtiva entre LGAs de anel interno e externo. Ambos se articularam entre as abordagens de mitigação e adaptação em suas estratégias, e o engajamento da comunidade parece ter sido um contribuinte significativo em sua formulação. Cada um se concentra em impactos distintos de CVC relacionados ao seu ambiente local - resultados de estresse térmico acentuados no caso de Blacktown, aumento do nível do mar e impactos de inundação no caso de Marrickville. As diferenças em sua composição socioeconômica, densidade populacional e ambiente físico também proporcionam uma boa oportunidade para explorar questões relacionadas à justiça climática.
Queensland: Redland e Sunshine Coast.
Redland: Confrontando o Futuro do Clima (COCF): Plano de Ação para o Clima e a Energia (2010-2015)
O confronto com o futuro do clima (COCF) é a principal estratégia para a adaptação do CVC em Redland. O COCF foi preparado "internamente" com base em informações científicas sobre mudanças climáticas de consultorias. Uma matriz de risco foi usada para criar o plano de adaptação para a área de Redland. Este Plano combina mitigação, adaptação e transição energética. Ênfase nos impactos da mudança climática nas comunidades e ecossistemas costeiros. Parcialmente financiado pelo Programa de Adaptação Local do Governo da Commonwealth. A proteção da natureza é enfatizada neste plano, evidente em 47 respostas adaptativas. O Plano também aborda os fatores comunitários, evidenciados em 23 respostas adaptativas. As ações de adaptação nesta política foram focadas principalmente em planejamento e infraestrutura e gerenciamento de ativos do conselho. Alguns elementos da adaptação às mudanças climáticas estão presentes no plano corporativo de 2015 para este conselho. O Plano Comunitário 2030 de Redland também cita a mudança climática como um dos principais desafios da LGA. Um objetivo da comunidade é “uma comunidade preparada para a mudança climática”. Ambos os conselhos estão enfrentando pressões do aumento do crescimento populacional e da expansão urbana. Redland enfrenta pressões da urbanização em expansão do Conselho da Cidade de Brisbane. Sunshine Coast está passando por intensa urbanização, pois faz a transição do centro regional / rural para usos da terra mais urbanizados. Os impactos da mudança climática em ambas as LGAs são semelhantes. O gerenciamento da costa é enfatizado em toda a política de adaptação da CVC da Sunshine Coast e Redland.
Costa do Sol: SCRC CC e Peak Oil Strategy (2010-2020)
O CC do SCRC e a Estratégia do Pico Petrolífero (2010-2020) foram preparados "in-house" com a assistência da University of Sunshine Coast e a contribuição das partes interessadas. O SCRC em 2009/2010 enfatizou a produção de políticas de CVC. Os prazos das políticas são de 10 anos. No entanto, as alterações climáticas são omitidas do Plano de Gestão do Risco de Desastres da Costa do Sol (2014), o que pode indicar que a adaptação às alterações climáticas já não se encontra na agenda deste conselho. Os impactos de CVC para este conselho são predominantemente orientados para linha costeira (CCPOS; FSMDP; WCMS). Os impactos de CVC em áreas rurais (seca / inundação) também são fornecidos no RFS (2011). A proteção da natureza foi enfatizada por este plano com 19 respostas adaptativas relacionadas. As respostas de governança do conselho são enfatizadas nas políticas acima (19 respostas adaptativas). As ações adaptáveis ​​de governança e liderança são enfatizadas nas políticas acima.
Victoria: Whitehorse e Darebin.
Ambas as LGA estão a implementar activamente os seus planos de adaptação às alterações climáticas, com financiamento específico do orçamento do Conselho. A adaptação do CVC é integrada como parte do plano de negócios de ambos os Conselhos. No entanto, Whitehorse e Darebin são LGAs muito diferentes em termos de localização, foco demográfico e de adaptação e fornecerão um escopo diverso para análise, particularmente em termos de enquadramento de risco.
Whitehorse: Plano de Adaptação às Mudanças Climáticas 2011: Combater as Mudanças Climáticas Juntos.
A cidade de Whitehorse é conhecida como "subúrbio do centro de Melbourne" e está localizada a 15 quilômetros a leste de Melbourne. A demografia é caracterizada por agregados familiares com crianças (em 43% de todos os agregados familiares). A comunidade também é culturalmente diversificada, com um terço de todos os residentes nascidos no exterior e um quarto destes de origem não inglesa. O plano de adaptação da Whitehorse foi desenvolvido em torno das conclusões de uma Avaliação de Riscos da Mudança Climática e seus esforços de adaptação estão focados nos ativos e operações do Conselho e no gerenciamento de emergências. O entrevistado da Whitehorse acredita que a Whitehorse está "muito bem" com a adaptação do CVC e identificou os seguintes fatores de apoio: Apoio da alta gerência; Financiamento específico do orçamento do Conselho; Boa cooperação entre departamentos sem resistência ativa; e as mensagens de adaptação do CVC estão ligadas a outras coisas. As principais iniciativas, impulsionadas pela necessidade de adaptação em Whitehorse incluem atualmente: uma revisão de alguns padrões e práticas para incluir a sustentabilidade como padrão, por exemplo, em redes de drenagem e critérios de projeto para estradas e construção de ativos. Uma série de atividades é de particular interesse para esta pesquisa, por exemplo: Whitehorse é o primeiro Conselho a realizar uma avaliação em larga escala de seus edifícios (Alianças Regionais e outros Conselhos estão muito interessados); A Whitehorse está ajudando a orientar retrofits e futuras obras de capital em prédios importantes; A Whitehorse está trabalhando com desenvolvedores e pedindo padrões mais altos de ESD dos desenvolvedores. Whitehorse também está assumindo um papel de defesa para obter adaptação em radares de agências de emergência. O foco de Whitehorse na resposta de emergência é o resultado da Comissão Real de Bushfire e está ligado à Resposta de Emergência do Governo do Estado. A Whitehorse reconhece a necessidade de ter sistemas eficazes para cuidar da comunidade em situações de emergência. Em geral, as ações de adaptação da Whitehorse são relativamente modestas, mas estão acompanhando bem suas obrigações.
Darebin: Climate Change and Peak Oil Adaptation Plan (2009) (em revisão)
A cidade de Darebin está localizada a 5 km ao norte de Melbourne. Darebin tem uma das comunidades mais diversas da Austrália, com um grande número de aposentados (tanto idosos quanto com desvantagens sociais), famílias de baixa renda e pessoas socialmente isoladas e / ou desfavorecidas. O foco de adaptação do Conselho Darebin é a resposta ao estresse térmico e reflete o status vulnerável de muitos grupos sociais dentro de sua comunidade que não podem pagar e acessar as opções de ar condicionado ou gerenciamento de estresse térmico em períodos de calor extremo. Uma das principais iniciativas de adaptação de Darebin é o "Solar $ aver Program". Este programa permite que os pensionistas instalem energia solar em suas residências sem nenhum custo inicial e, em vez disso, pagam o sistema através de suas taxas do Conselho ao longo de 10 anos, sem juros. Darebin comprometeu vários milhões de dólares do orçamento do Conselho para o programa (incluindo US $ 1 milhão em 2015), que continuará em 2016. Os detalhes do programa estão no site da Darebin: darebin. vic. gov. au/Darebin-Living/Caring-for - the-environment / EnergyClimate.
Austrália Ocidental: Fremantle e Stirling.
A cidade de Fremantle posicionou-se bem para gerir os impactos das alterações climáticas com a preparação do seu Plano de Adaptação às Alterações Climáticas, concebido para se assentar ao Plano da Cidade de Baixo Carbono 2011-2015. A costa está no coração de Fremantle, e assim a elevação do nível do mar e o aumento da intensidade da tempestade são mais proeminentes dentro do plano de adaptação do que a cidade de Stirling. Esses impactos são apresentados como uma ameaça ao renomado patrimônio local da cidade, aos ambientes marinhos, às indústrias locais de turismo e pesca e às infra-estruturas regionais significativas. No entanto, juntamente com outros impactos do CVC, eles são enquadrados como uma oportunidade para desenvolver soluções inovadoras e resilientes. Espacialmente Fremantle também tem uma variedade de aglomerados urbanos e suburbanos, que em si apresenta diferentes oportunidades e desafios na adaptação às mudanças climáticas, quando comparado a Stirling, que é caracterizado por subúrbios em expansão. Sob a liderança do prefeito Brad Pettit, Fremantle também tentou ativamente se posicionar como um governo local sustentável, com campanhas para banir sacolas plásticas e promessas de reduzir os resíduos corporativos e as emissões de carbono. Há uma percepção de que a comunidade da Fremantle também está altamente engajada e em sintonia com a sustentabilidade ambiental. Com esses fatores em mente, Fremantle apresenta como um estudo de caso ideal que forneceria uma análise comparativa interessante contra Stirling e outras LGAs em toda a Austrália.
Os estudos de caso descritos acima estão sendo buscados para um estudo mais aprofundado sobre: ​​i) como as autoridades locais moldam as mudanças climáticas e a adaptação; ii) como esse enquadramento influencia as estratégias e iniciativas (subseqüentemente) desenvolvidas como parte da implementação da estratégia.
Bem-vindo ao nosso hub de projeto.
Olá e seja bem-vindo ao hub de projeto do Projeto de Descoberta da ARC: Possibilitando inovação social para adaptabilidade climática local. Here you will find everything you need to know about the nuts and bolts of the project, the people and organisations involved, publications and resources relevant to the project and updates on how the project is progressing. As the project evolves we will also post stories and case studies of innovative local climate initiatives. We encourage project stakeholders and interested individuals to engage with the project and leave comments and feedback on our posts.
At a glance, the project is led by RMIT University’s Centre for Urban Research (CUR) in partnership with Macquarie University, Griffith University and Curtin University. The project will investigate the framings and practices of local governments, community groups and NGOs as they seek to create local adaptation strategies. It will use this understanding to direct policy attention to building social innovation and capacity-building practices at the local scale in response.

Biodiversity conservation strategy melbourne's growth areas

Mark Watts serves as the Executive Director for C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. Since joining C40 in 2014, Mark has led the growth of C40 from 63 member cities to 91, with the majority of cities now from the global south, along with significant growth in C40's staffing and operations. Mark has brought an additional focus to C40 on inclusive climate action, supporting cities in tackling climate change whilst addressing issues of poverty and social inequality. Mark is the driving force behind C40’s Deadline 2020 programme, which provides the first routemap for member cities to reduce emissions in line with the 1.5-degree maximum temperature rise target of the Paris Climate Agreement. Prior to joining C40, Mark was the Director of Energy and Climate Change at consultancy firm Arup, and from 2000 to 2008 a senior adviser to the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. Mark is a Senior Associate of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and a member of the Council of the Global Green Growth Institute.
Kevin Austin Deputy Executive Director.
Dr Kevin Austin serves as C40’s Deputy Executive Director. Kevin oversees all of C40’s programme delivery, operations and finance functions as well as contributing to global thought leadership and innovation in urban climate change issues. Kevin joined C40 from the Greater London Authority where he was responsible for External Relations for the Mayor of London. His previous role at the GLA included Head of Olympic projects, leading the delivery of the major city-related elements associated with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games. Between 2002 2009 he served as Head of Transport, advising the Mayor of London on all aspects of transport policy. In earlier years he worked for a major consultancy advising clients on project implementation and economic appraisal He has a Masters in Transport Planning and a Doctorate in Civil Engineering from Leeds University.
Hervé Marro Director of Communications.
Simon Hansen Director of Regions.
Simon Hansen is the Director of Regions, where he is responsible for the management of C40’s Regions and Cities team. Before joining C40, Simon served as Deputy Director in the City of Copenhagen’s Technical and Environmental Administration, as well as head of its City Development Department, where he oversaw strategic planning, including the delivery of Copenhagen’s ambitious climate plan for the city to be carbon neutral in 2025. Simon has also served as chief of staff in the Mayors Office. Prior to his involvement in city administration, Simon was head of section in the Danish Finance Ministry and policy advisor at the UK Cabinet Office. Simon has been a frequent lecturer at the University of Copenhagen with courses on City Governance and Urban Strategy. He holds an MA in political Science from the University of Copenhagen and the New School University in New York City, and a BA in political Science from the University of Copenhagen. (Photo credit: Ursula Back)
Shannon Lawrence Director of Global Initiatives.
Shannon Lawrence serves as the Director of Global Initiatives for C40, and is responsible for the development and delivery of C40’s thematic networks, overseeing C40’s Energy and Buildings, Transportation, Urban Planning and Development, and Waste and Water initiatives and technical assistance programmes. Previously, Shannon was the Head of the Energy Initiative at C40, where she supported city efforts in areas such as energy efficiency and district energy.
Prior to joining C40, Shannon was the Vibrant Cities Project Director for the Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition. She also worked as an independent sustainability and energy consultant for clients such as the U. S. Green Building Council, Virginia Tech’s Metropolitan Institute, Enterprise Community Partners and the World Resources Institute. Before she took up consulting, Shannon spent ten years working for international non-profit organizations promoting environmentally responsible and transparent energy and water planning in Africa and Asia.
Shannon holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, with concentrations in international environmental and resource policy and development economics. She has a BA in Economics and English from Georgetown University.
Seth Schultz Director of Science & Inovação.
Seth Schultz currently serves as the Director of Science & Innovation at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, on special assignment from his permanent post as C40’s Director of Research, Measurement & Planejamento. In this capacity, Seth will serve as a Lead Author on the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Special Report on 1.5 Degrees (SR 1.5) in 2017, and more broadly, work to raise international awareness on the role of cities in tackling climate change. Seth has been at C40 since 2011 and has been instrumental in leading the organization through a period of rapid growth and impact. Prior to his experience at C40, Seth worked closely with cities on climate and sustainable development issues at the Clinton Foundation and the U. S. Green Building Council; he has a further 10 years of experience in the private sector managing contracts and clients at the city, state, regional and federal level. He is a sought after speaker on topics including urban innovation, big data and co-generation of knowledge. He holds a bachelors in Environmental Science from Binghamton University.
Andrea Fernández Director of Governance & Global Partnerships.
Andrea Fernández serves as C40’s Director of Governance and Global Partnerships. Andrea is responsible for overseeing C40's city diplomacy and finance programmes, and driving new strategic priorities and partnerships. Before joining C40, Andrea worked as a consultant at Arup for 11 years. In this role, she led high profile engagements related to sustainability and climate change in the urban environment, with a focus on policy, funding, governance and delivery strategies. Previously, Andrea worked in the World Bank’s Private Sector Development Department for five years, where she delivered investment appraisals and technical assistance for public enterprise reform and infrastructure projects in emerging economies. Andrea has a Bachelor’s degree in International Business and Economics from Concordia University and an MBA with a finance specialisation from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Clare Wadd Director of Finance.
Clare Wadd serves as Director of Finance for C40 and oversees all of the financial matters of C40's strategy, including accounting and tax, and informational reporting requirements and compliance. She trained as an auditor, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 2000, and worked at KMPG for two years post qualification in their Information, Communication and Technology Department, auditing mainly music clients. After leaving practice, Clare ran the finances of media companies, most recently as CFO of an expanding international media tech group, where she was instrumental in securing private equity investment and worked on US company incorporation from a partnership. She made the move to the Not for Profit sector in 2013, and was Director of Finance and Resources at London Youth for four years, with responsibility for Finance, HR, IT, governance and property, instigating substantial change with a focus on maximising the value of historical assets and reducing pensions risk. Clare has a BSc in Economics from the University of Bristol. Before becoming an accountant she worked in the music industry, running an independent record company for eight years.
Juliette Carter Corporate Services Director.
Juliette Carter serves as Corporate Services Director for C40 and is responsible for the effective running of the organisation through C40's finance, HR, legal and IT functions. Juliette previously worked at the Greater London Authority where she was the lead on HR and organisational development, supporting the organisation through two changes in political leadership. Whilst working in City Hall she had accountability for HR, resourcing, internal communications, project management, learning and organisational development teams. Juliette also worked with C40 whilst on secondment from the GLA to develop the in-house HR function and support the implementation of the City Advisor programme. Prior to working at the GLA, Juliette was Director of HR and in a variety of HR roles in the National Health Service. Juliette completed her BA in Literature and French at King's College London. She has a Masters in Human Resource Management and a post graduate certificate in employment law.
David Miller Regional Director, North America and C40 Ambassador for Inclusive Climate Action.
David Miller is the North American Director, C40 Climate Leadership Group, and Global Ambassador of inclusive climate action. He served as Chair of C40 Cities from 2008 until 2010. Prior to joining the C40, Mr. Miller served as President and CEO of World Wildlife Fund-Canada, Canada’s foremost conservation organization. The WWF creates solutions to the most serious conservation challenges facing our planet, helping people and nature thrive.
Mr. Miller was Mayor of Toronto from 2003 to 2010. Under his leadership, Toronto became widely admired internationally for its environmental leadership, economic strength and social integration. He is a leading advocate for the creation of sustainable urban economies, and a strong and forceful champion for the next generation of jobs through sustainability. Mr. Miller has held a variety of public and private positions and served as Future of Cities Global Fellow at Polytechnic Institute of New York University from 2011 to 2014. David Miller is a Harvard trained economist and professionally a lawyer. He and his wife, lawyer Jill Arthur, are the parents of two children.
Hastings Chikoko Regional Director for Africa.
Hastings Chikoko is the Regional Director for Africa at C40. In this role, he supports C40 member cities in Africa in their climate action planning, measurement and implementation, helping to forge inter-city as well as regional collaboration. He serves on the Advisory Board of African Centre for Cities (University of Cape Town). His work with local authorities started with an internship at the City of Blantyre in Malawi and also with the Ministry of Local Government in Malawi working with Mchinji District Council. Prior to joining C40, Hastings had a long career with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) where he served in leadership roles in Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa and Switzerland, including being the Regional Director (ad Interim) for East and Southern Africa and Head of IUCN in South Africa. He led IUCN’s support of the City of Johannesburg on the Greening Soweto initiative and was involved in the implementation of ICLEI partnership initiatives, including Local Action for Biodiversity. Hastings has been one of the International Development Research Center’s African Mentors for policy think tanks in Africa and a member of the Regional Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership. He has postgraduate qualifications in Environmental Diplomacy from the University of Geneva, Switzerland and in Management from Derby Business School, UK. He also has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Malawi. He has had focused training in Climate Change Diplomacy and Bilateral Diplomacy at the Diplo Foundation, Switzerland.
Tongbo Liu Regional Director for East Asia.
Tongbo Liu serves as C40’s regional director for China and East Asia. Previous to joining C40, Tongbo was Vice president in the ABP Group in China where he was in charge of international development, branding and governmental relationships. From 2006 - 2012 he represented the London Development Agency and London & Partners (the Mayor's tourism agency) in China, where amongst other things he arranged the summit of World Cities Mayors. Earlier in his career Tongbo spent 5 years as a commercial attache of the province of Quebec, based within the Canadian Embassy in Beijing. Tongbo holds a masters degree in law from Beijing University and a BA in French literature from Xian University.
Júlia López Regional Director for Europe.
Júlia López is C40's Regional Director for Europe. She has over a decade of experience working for the city of Barcelona, including the IT International Office, which she headed from 2013-2015. She helped Barcelona develop collaborative relationships with institutions such as the European Comission and the World Bank, and she developed an international urban knowledge transfer strategy by co-leading Barcelona's candidacy for the first European Innovation Capital. She also lead the Barcelona Smart City Office, where she was responsible for the development of a local digital strategy for the city based on sustainable public-private partnerships. Julia is a frequent lecturer at the Polytechnich University of Catalonia Foundation with courses on City Strategy and Governance. She is a fluent speaker of English, French, Spanish and Catalanm and holds an MSc in Telecom engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. She is also pursuing a Masters Degree in Sociology.
Manuel Olivera Regional Director for Latin America.
Manuel Olivera serves as the Regional Director for Latin American cities at C40, after having served six years as the City Director in Bogota. In this position Manuel has supported several projects aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions including methane capture at landfills; traffic light LED retrofitting; diesel fuel quality improvement; and the implementation of the Hybrid Electric Bus Test Programme in Latin America. Manuel has more than 30 years of professional experience at both national and international levels leading multidisciplinary groups, assessing high level decision making, and ensuring programmatic success across several environmental fields. Manuel has worked as a consultant for the Inter American Development Bank, the World Bank, United Nations Development Project, World Wildlife Foundation, private companies, as well as Latin American governments. Manuel has a Master's degree in Resource Assessment for Development Planning from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, and pursued doctoral studies in Development Socioeconomics at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris.
Brendan Shane Regional Director for North America.
Brendan Shane serves as the Regional Director for North America at C40. In this role, he supports C40 Cities in the United States and Canada in their climate action and sustainability planning, measurement, and implementation and facilitates inter-city, regional, and global collaboration. Prior to joining C40, Brendan served as Chief of Policy and Sustainability for the District Department of the Environment in Washington, DC, where he worked across District Government and with private sector stakeholders to develop and implement the city’s first comprehensive sustainability plan. He also managed programs including green building and climate change and supported a range of cutting-edge initiatives across energy, waste, and sustainable development. Brendan served as Washington’s C40 coordinator and was an active member of the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, a network of sustainability officials from more than 120 North American cities. Brendan previously served as Environmental Director for the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation, a District-owned redevelopment authority, and practiced energy and environmental law at Van Ness Feldman, LLP. Brendan is a watershed hydrologist and attorney by training with a bachelors in government from Franklin & Marshall College, masters in geology from the University of Maryland, and law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Sanjay Sridhar Regional Director for South and West Asia.
Sanjay Sridhar is the C40 Regional Director for South and West Asia. He is responsible for facilitating cities in the region to participate in the exchange of best practices to reduce the sources and their impact of climate change. Sanjay has more than 16 years of work experience in 3 continents (North America, Europe and Asia) in areas of architecture, urban development and planning, sustainable design and public policy. Prior to joining C40, Sanjay was with the World Resources Institute (WRI) as the Director of Urban Development for India. He also established WRI’s regional office in Bangalore from where, as the Country Lead for the Sustainable and Livable Cities Project, he laid the foundation for WRI’s flagship programme, the Steve Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. Prior to joining WRI, he held several roles as a member of the Core Group at the National Disaster Management Authority, Govt of India and as Adjunct Faculty at the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT University, Ahmdabad) where he continues to teach Urban Development Planning and Public Policy. He also led a group at CEPT University’s Center for Conservation Cities (CCS) looking at urban development in historical cities in India. He was also a member of the Agenda for Bengaluru Infrastructure and Development (ABIDe) taskforce, which undertook a comprehensive study of all aspects of urban development for the City of Bangalore, India. Sanjay has a Bachelors degree in Architecture from Bangalore University in India; a LEED Accredited Professional (AP) from the US Green Building Council; a Masters Degree in Urban Development Planning and Policy from Erasmus University in the Netherlands and has also studied Urban Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Delaware, US.
Milag San Jose - Ballesteros Regional Director for Southeast Asia and Oceania.
Milag San Jose - Ballesteros serves as the Regional Director for Southeast Asia and Oceania at C40. In this role, she is responsible for engaging and supporting C40 member cities in the region as well as for facilitating collaboration between cities across the global C40 network. Prior to joining C40, Milag served as Regional Environmental Governance Specialist with the Environmental Cooperation-Asia (ECO-Asia) programme of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), where she led programmatic partnerships between national and sub-national environmental agencies, and provided technical support to pilot initiatives covering topics including urban environmental issues, compliance and enforcement mechanisms, climate co-benefits and public participation. In this capacity, she worked with 16 countries across Asia and coordinated engagements with various organizations and partners including the US Environmental Protection Agency, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the UN Environment Programme. Prior to this, she previously served as a Senior Program Officer with the US-Asia Environmental Partnership promoting clean technology, and as Executive Director of the Philippine member of Friends of the Earth International, managing 4 offices across the country. Milag completed her undergraduate degree from the University of the Philippines and obtained her MS from the Ateneo de Manila University under a scholarship program of The Ford Foundation for SEA Professionals. A native of Manila, Phillipines, she has been based in Singapore since 2008.
Jonathan Walter Head of Programmes.
Jonathan Walter is C40's Head of Programmes. In this role, he is responsible for ensuring that C40 optimizes its available resources to achieve its strategic goals and meet its funder performance targets. Jonathan works closely with Directors and Project Managers to drive excellence in both the planning and delivery of C40's projects and partnership committments. Jonathan has experience in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors, having spent eleven years as an Associate Director with the Global Consultancy WSP and 3 years as Head of Business Consulting with Catalyst Housing, a major provider and developer of social and private housing. Jonathan is a graduate in Politics and Economics from London Metropolitan University and has also attained professional certification in project management, corporate strategy and process design.
Pengfei Xie Deputy Regional Director for East Asia.
Pengfei Xie is the C40 Deputy Regional Director for East Asia and works with C40’s Regional Director to build and maintain relationships with Chinese cities in the region. Prior to joining C40, Pengfei was director of China Sustainable Cities Project in the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), China Program. He led NRDC’s efforts in working with government partners, research institutions and other organizations to promote low-carbon urbanization in China. Prior, he worked as a research scientist on sustainable city planning with China Society for Urban Studies affiliated to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MoHURD). As a MoHURD expert, he has played an important role in compiling the national guidelines and standards on urban sustainability. Pengfei has both domestic and international experience. He has worked as a research fellow with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D. C., and as an evaluation specialist for Asian Development Bank (ADB). He has also provided technical support to multinational projects. Pengfei publishes widely in academic journals. He obtained his PhD from Peking University, and MSc from University College London. He is a Certified Urban Planner in China.
Wenwen Chen Regional Coordinator, East Asia.
Wenwen Chen is the Regional Coordinator for Asia, supporting delivery of C40's responsibilities in China, South & West Asia, and Southeast Asia and Oceania. Prior to joining C40, Wenwen worked as a Program Operation Manager for Peking University's Guanghua School of Management. Wenwen has also served as Vice Director for the International Cooperation Department of the Dragon Design Foundation, where she led the World Green Design Award's reform, arranged the World Green Design Forums, and developed a Sino-EU green technology collaboration. She has also worked for the first local Fair Trade organization in China. Wenwen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture and Ecology from South China Agriculture University and an International MBA from Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, including one semester in ESSEC Business School.
Anna Beech Head of the Executive Director's Office.
Anna serves as the Head of the Executive Director's Office, supporting the Executive Director and managing the Executive Director team. In particular, she provides support to the Executive Director in managing responsibilities relating to public engagements and strategic thinking. She also manages special projects on the Executive Director’s behalf. Anna has spent seven years living and working in East Asia, including Hong Kong, Beijing, and Chengdu. Prior, Anna worked in the Mayor of London's Office for the climate change and sustainable transport adviser, and was part of the team who developed London's first Climate Change Action Plan. Anna holds a BA in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Birmingham, UK and is learning to speak Mandarin Chinese.
Emilie Hvidtfeldt Senior Strategic Funders Manager.
Emilie is the Strategic Funders Liaison Manager and part of the Office of the Executive Director. She is based in Copenhagen and is responsible for stewarding two of the C40 strategic funders, Children Investment Fund Foundation and Realdania, as well as developing various projects in the team. Prior to joining C40, Emilie worked as Head of Section in the Strategic Secretariat for the Danish Minister of Environment and Food, in the International Office for the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, and in the Danish green think tank Monday Morning. During her studies, she interned with The Climate Group, helped develop the C40 Green Growth Network, and assisted the Danish negotiation team at the Ministry of Climate and Energy in preparing and facilitating COP15 in 2009. Emilie has a MSc Political Science from University of Copenhagen and a MA Cities/Urban Geography from Kings College London.
Joshua Alpert Director of Special Projects.
Joshua Alpert serves as C40's Director of Special Projects. In this role, he currently works on the creation of an inclusive climate action plan for megacities, templates for city investment and divestment, and a host of other projects. Prior to starting with C40, Joshua was Chief of Staff to Mayor Charlie Hales in Portland, OR. As Chief of Staff, Josh worked with and advised the Mayor on long-range strategy and policy, led City efforts on addressing homelessness and was the lead for C40, where he helped launch a seven-city pilot to quantify and measure the green economy. Before joining Mayor Hales' administration, Joshua worked for 7 years as the Northwest Director of Conservation Strategies for The Trust for Public Land. While there, he oversaw 18 successful ballot measure campaigns in western cities, counties and states, raising $2.7 billion in public funding for parks, natural areas and waterways. Joshua holds a J. D. from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Amanda Ikert Head of the Adaptation & Water Initiative.
Amanda Ikert (“Mandy”) serves as Head of the Adaptation & Water Initiative at C40. In this position she is responsible for supporting cities as they work to meet their climate change adaptation and water management goals. Before taking on this role, Mandy served as the City Director for Jakarta at C40 where she worked closely with the Governor and regional government of Jakarta to identify, develop and implement programmes and projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Before joining C40, Mandy was a city planner in New York, serving in both NYC's City Planning and Parks and Recreation departments. She has a research background in urban and architectural history as well as international environmental programming, including projects with the Asia Foundation and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Mandy holds a Master of City Planning and a Master of Science in Architectural Studies from MIT and a BA in History from Wesleyan University.
Zoe Sprigings Energy and Buildings Programme Director.
Zoe Sprigings serves as Programme Director of the Energy Initiative at C40. She is responsible for delivering C40’s global energy strategy, including oversight of the energy efficiency and district energy networks. Prior to joining C40, Zoe was a Senior Policy Adviser in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) of the UK Government. Previous roles included responsibility for securing parliamentary approval for energy efficiency legislation within the Energy Act 2011, and leading DECC’s contribution to the multilateral Climate Investment Funds for low-emissions and climate resilient development. During her academic sabbatical, she was a Fellow at City University New York, a Red Cross Climate Centre research scholar in Addis Ababa, and Chair of the Board of Trustees for Medsin, a global health charity. Zoe holds a Masters of Arts in Disasters, Adaptation and Development from King's College London, and an undergraduate Masters of Arts in History from the University of Oxford (Coombs scholar).
James Alexander Programme Director, City Finance.
James Alexander is the City Finance Programme Director & Head of the C40 Cities Finance Facility . Prior to joining C40, James served as Senior Policy Manager and Head of the London office for the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, where he advised the Scottish Government and other key stakeholders on the actions and priorities needed to create sustainable economic prosperity for Scotland. James worked with the leaders of Scotland’s cities to develop the Cities Strategy for Scotland and setup and led a new Scottish Cities Alliance focused on driving investment, economic growth and job creation in Scotland’s cities. James has also led international trade missions to the Middle East; and has considerable experience in the skills sector, including two years as President of the National Union of Students in Scotland. James has a degree in Mathematics from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.
Ricardo Cepeda-Márquez Head of the Solid Waste Initiative.
Ricardo Cepeda-Márquez serves as the Head of the Solid Waste Initiative at C40. In this position Ricardo is responsible for the Sustainable Solid Waste Systems Network and new networks related to Municapal Waste strategies. He has recently focused his efforts on the development of the Closure and Landfill Gas Utilization Project at Bordo Poniente, the now-closed Mexico City Landfill, a project that is estimated to reduce more than 20 M tons of GHG emissions in the next 25 years. Before joining C40, Ricardo was a Lead Engineer performing hydraulic safety analysis for oil pipeline systems for the Mexican oil industry, PEMEX. Ricardo also developed statistical analysis tools for drought prediction and municipal planning. Ricardo has a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering from the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM) in Mexico and a Master's in Hydraulic Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Zachary Tofias Head of the Urban Planning and Development Initiative.
Zachary Tofias serves as the Head of the Urban Planning and Development Initiative and the Climate Positive Development Programme at C40. He has been with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group since 2007 in partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative, initially as the City Director in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and later helped create and launch the Climate Positive Development Program. For over 10 years, Zach has been working with both private sector developers and city partners around the world on developing locally relevant solutions to find replicable models for sustainable city growth. Zach’s work leading the Urban Planning and Development Initiative aims to demonstrate it is possible to build communities that are environmentally sustainable, economically viable, and net-carbon negative. Zach has an Master’s of Business Administration from Cornell University, and a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College.
Gunjan Parik Head of the Transportation Initiative.
Gunjan Parik serves as the Head of the Transportation Initiative at C40. In this position she is responsible for driving and delivering C40’s global transportation strategy. Prior to joining the C40, Gunjan worked at Transport for London (TfL), most recently as the Head of Paralympic Transport and Accessibility, where she was responsible for ensuring TfL capacity to operate a robust transport network able to meet the unique challenges of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She also worked as a Senior Associate at the TfL Policy Unit where she served as an advisor on issues of strategic importance for TfL. Previously, Gunjan was based in India where she worked as a Senior Consultant for Pricewaterhouse Coopers, working across a range of government institutions at local and national levels. Gunjan holds an Masters of Science in Management and Regulation of Risk, and an Master’s of Science in Information Systems, both from the London School of Economics.
Jana Davidova Regions Project Officer.
Jana supports C40's regions team with the delivery of its programmes and helps monitor the progress and outcomes achieved over the year, including C40's City Satisfaction Survey and Participation Standards. Jana also acts as the project manager for C40 in China and India. Previously, Jana supported C40's Global Initiatives Team where she helped produce the Good Practice Guides, assisted C40 Workshops, and strengthened C40’s engagement with Chinese cities.
Jana is a double MSc graduate from the London School of Economics and Sciences Po Paris, including a year at the University of California. Before joining C40, Jana worked at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London, where she co-authored the 5th edition of the Global Climate Legislation Study. During her time at LSE she was a research assistant with LSE Cities. Jana is proficient in English, French, Spanish, Czech, Russian, and Slovak, and is currently improving her Mandarin Chinese, having held a Confucius Scholarship at Tsinghua University, Beijing.
Luke Sherlock Programme Manager, Municipal Buildings Efficiency.
Luke Sherlock is responsible for managing the C40 Municipal Buildings Efficiency Network, supporting cities in driving energy efficiency in the buildings they control, as well as managing the C40 China Buildings Programme as part of the Energy and Buildings Technical Assistance Programme. Luke joined C40 from the Aster Group, a social housing provider, where he was the Group Environment Manager responsible for a sustainability plan and Environmental Management System covering more than 27,000 properties. His previous roles included leading the development and implementation of a new sustainability strategy for the Devonshire Group, a diverse privately owned property portfolio, and energy management and sustainability reporting at Burberry, a FTSE 100 company. He holds a Masters degree in Nature, Society & Environmental Policy and a Bachelors degree in Geography, both from the University of Oxford, and is learning to speak Mandarin Chinese.
Frances Downy Programme Manager, Private Building Efficiency.
Frances Downy manages the Private Building Efficiency Network at C40, where she works with cities to accelerate implementation of energy efficiency measures in private sector buildings . Prior to C40, Frances (Frankie) worked as a Development & Project Manager for International Programmes at the Energy Saving Trust. There she managed several European Commission funded energy efficiency and renewable energy programmes that worked with industry, civil society, national and international agencies throughout Europe. Frances also chaired a working group for EU member state governments on sharing best practice on effective ways to implement the Renewable Energy Sources Directive. She has a Master’s degree in Climate Change from the University of East Anglia and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Geoscience from Cardiff University.
Kate Laing Network Manager, Mobility Management.
Kate Laing manages the Mobility Management Network at C40. She supports a network of global cities delivering strategies and measures to help cities increase, integrate and influence the choices of travel mode available to citizens, and ultimately to encourage the adoption of more climate-smart mobility options. Prior to C40, Kate worked in Johannesburg as a principal consultant for Pegasys, where she delivered integrated public transport planning projects with a focus on Bus Rapid Transit implementation.
Kate has a Master’s degree in Economics from University College London and a Bachelor’s degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Cape Town.
Maria Lucila Spotorno Network Manager, Bus Rapid Transit.
Lucila manages C40's Bus Rapid Transit Network and work related to clean buses as part of an undertaking with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC). Prior to joining the C40, Lucila served as a National Transport Plan Coordinator for the presidential elections of Mauricio Macri at the think tank Fundacion Pensar in Argentina, where she led and developed the Transport Policy Group, outlined policies for the sector, and established relationships with key stakeholders. Lucila also served as a transport advisor of Buenos Aires Undersecretary of Transportation supporting the Head of Transport with the creation of the Metropolitan Agency of Transport in Buenos Aires. She has recently finished her internship at Eurofima in Switzerland, where she worked on the development of a green bond guideline for the financing of railroad rolling stock in Europe. Lucila has a Master's degree in Sustainability (Transport) from Leeds University in the UK and a Bachelor's degree in Law from UADE University in Argentina.
Snigdha Garg Senior Manager, Adaptation Research and Integration.
Snigdha Garg serves as the Senior Manager, Adaptation Research and Integration. In this position, she is responsible for managing adaptation research projects of C40 and mainstreaming adaptation across C40's projects and programmes. Before joining C40, Snigdha graduated from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies with a Masters in Environmental Management. She previously worked with ICLEI South Asia for three years on building climate resilience strategies, disaster risk reduction, developing climate change mitigation and adaptation plans for cities, and bench-marking basic services against national standards for South Asian cities. She has experience in sustainability consulting, project management and urban resilience. In addition, she also holds a Masters of Environmental Studies from TERI University, India and a Bachelors of Science from Delhi University, India.
Alfredo Redondo Network Manager, Climate Change Risk Assessment.
Alfredo Redondo manages the Climate Change Risk Assessment Network, which is lead by C40’s Chair Mayor Paes. The Climate Change Risk Assessment Network is the largest city-to-city exchange group in C40, representing more than half of C40 cities. In this role, Alfredo works closely with participating cities to help build resiliance capacity, identifying vulnerabilities, and develop action plans to manage risk assessment.
With experience working at both national and international levels on human rights, sustainability and climate change, Alfredo recently led the Rio+YOU campaign, which produced social media content in 5 languages, reaching over 2 million people via simultaneous events in over 200 cities and 38 countries during Rio+20. He is also a co-founder of Fundacion TierraVida, which drives sustainability through education, advocacy and leadership development for young people. Prior, Alfredo's background is in international diplomacy and finance, having worked at the Argentine Embassy in London and in the public sector consulting on IDB fund management in Mexico and Argentina.
Alfredo holds a Masters in Public Policy from King's College London and a BA in International Relations from Universidad Empresarial Siglo 21, Córdoba, Argentina. Originally from Argentina, Alfredo speaks Spanish, English and Portuguese and is based in C40's Rio de Janeiro office.
Laura Jay Deputy Director for North America.
Laura Jay serves as a Deputy Director for North America. Previously, Laura managed the Land Use Planning Network at C40. In this role, Laura worked with a network of urban planners in C40 cities to support the development of land use plans and policies to address climate goals to create more compact, connected and resilient cities. Prior to joining the C40, Laura served as a Project Manager at Terrapin Bright Green where she worked with government agencies, developers and non-profits to create more sustainability policies and designs. She has also worked at the U. S. Green Building Council on the development of their strategic plan. Laura has a Master's degree in Urban Planning from Columbia University in New York and a Bachelor's degree from Wheaton College in Massachusetts.
Stefania Amato Network Manager, Food Systems.
Stefanie oversees the Food Systems Network as part of C40's Urban Planning and Development Initiative. Before joining C40, Stefania worked as policy advisor and project manager at the Mayor’s Office of Milan (2011-2015), where she focused on the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and overall Food Policy for the city. In particular, Stefania helped design both measures and served as a liaison for local and international stakeholders. Stefania also worked as a World Health Organization (WHO) consultant for policy alignment and aid coordination in the health sector in Moldova (2011-2014) and Tajikistan (2006-2009). She has a PhD in Institutions and Policies from UCSC, Milan, and a MSc in Political Economy of Late Development from the London School of Economics.
Clare Healy Network Manager, Transit-Oriented Development.
Clare Healy manages the Transit-Oriented Development Network at C40. In this role, Clare supports a network of global cities to deliver compact and well-connected, mixed-use communities through facilitating the sharing of good practices. Prior to C40, Clare was working as a Senior Urban Planner for consultancy Arup, where she was most recently based in Hong Kong delivering government-led master planning projects. Clare is a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and has a Master’s degree in Spatial Planning from University College London and a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Nottingham.
Cristina Miclea Project Officer Climate Action Plans.
Cristina serves as Project Officer - Climate Action Plans, supporting the development of the C40 Climate Action Planning and Assessment Framework and the delivery of climate action planning technical assistance to 8 global cities. Cristina joined C40’s Measurement and Planning Programme in 2017, initially leading on the analysis of city GHG inventories, targets, and climate action plans and making this data more accessible to cities and C40 staff. Previously, Cristina managed and delivered building energy data projects and building energy efficiency policy analysis as part of C40’s Energy and Buildings Initiative. She also provided support to network managers on planning and delivering city interactions and workshops in New York City, Shenzhen and Paris. Before joining C40, Cristina worked as a Fellow for the MIT Climate CoLab, analysed corporate emissions reports from the world’s largest listed companies at the Environmental Investment Organisation and conducted consultancy work for a London local borough. She completed a Masters in Environmental Technology from Imperial College and holds a First Class Honours Degree in Psychology from University College London.
Claire Ferguson Senior Manager, Financing Sustainable Cities Initiative.
Claire serves as a Senior Manager for C40's Financing Sustainable Cities Initiative. This joint initiative of C40, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, and the Citi Foundation is helping cities develop business models to accelerate the implementation of sustainable urban solutions. Prior to joining C40, Claire worked at CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) consulting with North American corporations on reporting and improving their climate change targets and strategies. She delivered a speaker series to educate corporations on best practices in climate strategy and led CDP’s North American engagement on corporate green bond issuance. Claire also brings experience from work at the B Team on organizational strategy and from Portland Communications on non-profit communications. Claire holds a B. S.F. S. in Science, Technology, and International Affairs from Georgetown University and a M. P.A. in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University.
Ilan E. Cuperstein Clean Energy Network Manager.
Ilan E. Cuperstein is the C40 Clean Energy Network Manager. Prior, he served as the City Adviser to Rio de Janeiro, where he was responsible for assisting the city government in planning and implementing climate change plans both in adaptation to climate risks and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. Before joining C40, Ilan was the Brazilian representative at the China Brazil Center for Climate Change and Energy Technology Innovation, where he was responsible for setting up the office in Beijing, establishing institutional relations between partners in Academia, NGOs, government agencies and companies concerning climate change and energy issues. As an international advisor at COPPE/UFRJ, he was also responsible for managing international partnerships related to biofuels, solar energy, innovation policy and urban sustainability. Ilan has a BA in International Relations from PUC-Rio and an MSc in Environment and Development from the London School of Economics.
Aris Moro Project Officer, C40 Cities Finance Facility.
Aris serves as a Project Officer for the C40 Cities Finance Facility. The Facility aims to provide technical assistance to cities in low - and middle-income countries to help with late-stage preparation of climate-related urban projects. Previously, Aris worked at C40 as a research assistant to the Executive Director and as a content coordinator for the C40 Cities Awards at COP21 in Paris. Prior to joining C40, Aris worked for Carbon Analytics, an environmental accounting start-up, and for ABC Trust, an Anglo-Brazilian NGO helping children in vulnerable urban environments. Aris holds a MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from LSE and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of York and the University of California, San Diego.
Regina Vetter Network Manager, Cool Cities.
Regina Vetter serves as the Network Manager for the Cool Cities Network at C40. In this position, she is responsible for supporting cities to manage the urban heat island effect and to implement greening and cooling infrastructure solutions. Previously, Regina worked as C40’s Workshop Project Officer, where she supported all Global Initiative networks in the conceptualisation, planning, and execution of successful workshops in order to provide a platform for direct peer‐to‐peer exchange between individuals in C40 cities.
Regina holds a Master degree in Environmental Policy & Regulation from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor degree in Geography & Politics from Royal Holloway University. Before joining C40, she worked for the German GIZ in Costa Rica supporting the national government on its carbon neutrality goal, as well as for the London Sustainability Exchange and for Siemens’ ‘The Crystal’, an urban sustainability exhibition in London. She speaks German, English and Spanish.
Xueye Liu Mobility Management Project Officer.
Xueye is responsible for the development and delivery of C40’s Mobility Management network among C40 Chinese Cities. She will be based in Beijing. Before joining C40, Xueye was a Planner at China Urban Construction Design & Research Institute Co. Ltd, where she was responsible for planning, project management and client relationships. She led and implemented 5 projects, including 3 strategic planning, 2 survey projects and 1 design project by working close with Chinese government departments such as the NDRC, MOHURD and all levels of municipal governments. Overall, she participated 20 projects varies from compiling national standards for Chinese national parks to designing national parks regimes.
Michael Doust Programme Director, Measurement and Planning.
Michael Doust serves as the Programme Director of Measurement and Planning at C40. In this position, he is responsible for global standards, measurement, reporting and climate action planning. Prior to joining C40, Michael worked for the Greater London Authority where he led the development of London's GHG inventory and was responsible for strategy development, and planning and review of Mayoral climate change programmes. Previously, Michael worked for two other municipal authorities in the UK as well as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He is a Chartered Environmentalist and has a Master's degree in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford.
Tom Bailey Senior Research Manager.
Tom Bailey serves as the Head of Research. Tom is responsible for driving a number of research areas, from assessing the climate action being taken by C40 cities to developing an evidence base to support C40's city diplomacy work. Prior to joining C40, Tom was a Senior Consultant in Arup's Energy and Climate Change team, both in London and in Hong Kong, where he led projects in strategic city and national climate policy modeling and planning, urban energy infrastructure delivery and low-carbon energy system design. He has experience across the green urban infrastructure development process and has spent an extended period seconded to the GLA in London, writing the Mayor’s Climate Change Mitigation and Energy Strategy. Tom has also helped drive a successful internal sustainability change program at Arup. A Chartered Environmentalist, Tom has a Masters degree in Sustainable Energy Systems from Imperial College London and a Bachelors in physics from the University of Manchester.
Zarina Moolla Project Manager, Standards.
Zarina serves as C40’s Project Manager, Standards for Mitigation Goals and Emissions Accounting Standards. In this role, she works with member cities to develop relevant, consistent standards to effectively measure the impacts of policies and actions on emissions and to assist cities with setting emission reduction targets. Prior to joining C40 Cities, Zarina worked at the National Business Initiative (NBI) South Africa as a Project Manager for Climate Change Mitigation, where she managed work on the CDP climate change and water programmes in South Africa. She also worked with companies to build capacity and provide best practice guidance on greenhouse gas reporting. Previously, Zarina worked as a Programme Officer for environmental, water and energy projects at the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), where she managed a low carbon cities project, focusing on the City of Durban. Zarina holds an MSc in Environmental Science and a BSc Honours in Geography and Environmental Management, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Rachel Huxley Research Manager.
Rachel Huxley serves as Research Manager for C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. Rachel is working on establishing a priority programme of research on the co-benefits of urban climate action as well as supporting work on barriers to climate action. Rachel is also undertaking a PhD on Sustainable Cities at the University of Leeds, her research is looking at the processes and practices of transition and decision making. Prior to this Rachel was Chief Executive of Peterborough Environment City Trust, leading the Trust’s work on sustainable behaviour change and engagement project delivery, as well as, working strategically with city partners to develop a sustainable city plan. As part of her work on sustainable cities Rachel established and led the Sustainable Cities Network, an informal network of leading UK cities to enable sharing of best practice and challenges. She has also worked for Change Agents UK delivering the graduate placement programme, empowering young people and organisations to create sustainable change. Rachel has a BSc first class honours in Environmental Biogeoscience.
Max Jamieson Programme Manager, Technical Assistance.
Max Jamieson manages C40’s measurement and planning technical assistance programme. The programme helps cities develop city-wide greenhouse gas emission inventories and set ambitious emission reduction targets to support development of robust, evidence-based, climate action plans.
Prior to joining C40, Max was a managing consultant in the energy and climate team at the interdisciplinary consultancy, ICF. There, Max helped businesses and governments tackle energy and climate related issues. He worked on sustainable energy policy development and evaluation for the European Commission, UK government and regulators, as well as supporting a range of corporate clients measure and manage their greenhouse gas emissions.
Max has previous experience working at the UK Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs and at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Max holds a Masters in Environmental Technology and Energy Policy from Imperial College London and a BSc in Marine Geography, from the University of Wales, Cardiff.
Molly Wang Project Manager, Technical Assistance.
Molly Wang serves as Project Manager where she supports the delivery of a Technical Assistance programme to help C40 cities establish greenhouse gas emissions inventories, set emission reduction targets, and develop climate change action plans. Prior to joining C40, Molly led energy management and carbon reduction activities at a local authority in the UK. In that role, she conducted mandatory emissions reporting, delivered varied energy and water saving projects, and managed multimillion pound energy supply contracts. She also brings experience of sustainable transport programmes from her time at the Energy Saving Trust and has worked on the energy efficiency recycling fund at Salix Finance. She is a Certified Energy Manager with a MSc. in Climate Change from the University of East Anglia and a BSc. in Environmental Science and Engineering from Fudan University in Shanghai.
Ilona Rayan Research Team Coordinator.
Prior to joining C40, Ilona worked for over eight years in foreign diplomatic Missions, most recently as the research officer at the Permanent Mission of Fiji to the United Nations. As a part of the Fiji delegation to the United Nations she was tasked with assisting the Ambassador and diplomatic staff on issues such as peacekeeping and humanitarian affairs, human rights and sustainable development. She also assisted in the coordination of official visits of the President, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Fiji during the annual UN General Assembly. Her experience has left her with a thorough knowledge of the work being done by the United Nations, its many organs as well as different Non and Inter-Governmental Organizations. In addition to her professional experience Ilona has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from Hunter College and a Master of Science in Global Affairs with a concentration in International Development and Humanitarian Assistance from New York University.
Malcolm Shield Project Manager, Technical Assistance, Seconded to C40 by the City of Vancouver.
Malcolm Shield serves as C40's Project Manager for Technical Assistance. He joins C40 on a two year secondment from the City of Vancouver, Canada. He is Professional Engineer having completed his Masters of Engineering at Imperial College, London, and a Doctorate in natural gas combustion at the University of British Columbia. Malcolm joined the City of Vancouver in 2010 and worked on the development of the carbon reduction pathways that underpin the City’s Greenest City Action Plan. As Climate Policy Manager at the City, Malcolm was responsible for the City’s renewable energy planning and carbon management as well as the implementation of its decarbonisation strategies. Malcolm was also responsible for delivery of the City’s electric vehicle strategy, which covers an extensive multi-vendor trial of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, key utility and private sector partnerships, public outreach and building code amendment. Malcolm is a Project Management Professional and an ISO-certified greenhouse gas inventory quantifier.
Irene Skoula Private Building Efficiency Network at C40 (Interim)
Irene Skoula manages the Private Building Efficiency Network at C40 (maternity cover), which is focused on accelerating implementation of energy efficiency measures in private sector buildings. Irene was previously the C40 City Advisor for the City of Athens, where she facilitated the delivery of a measurement & reporting system of GHG emissions data and a fully ‐ integrated Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Action Plan.
Before joining C40, Irene was the Head of the Department for Environmental & Energy Projects in one of the biggest consultancy firms in Greece. For more than 10 years, she worked with Greek and European local authorities for the development and implementation of sustainable energy action plans.
Gifti Nadi City Adviser for Addis-Ababa.
Gifti Nadi serves as C40’s City Adviser for Addis-Ababa. In this position, she primarily works with the political and operational leadership within city government to facilitate the delivery of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. Gifti has more than 15 years of experience in the fields of capacity building, public policy, climate change, media, gender equality, health and rural development. Most recently, she worked with the Ethiopian Development Research Institute and Ethiopian Economics Association as part of the Think Tank Initiative's Policy Engagement and Communications program. Her previous roles also include time at UNDP's Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP) in Nairobi, and at the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) as a Senior Program Officer for Africa. Gifti holds a Master’s degree in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland.
David Craven Programme Manager, Climate Positive.
David Craven serves as Programme Manager, Climate Positive. Prior to joining C40, David held leadership positions focused on the creation of a more sustainable built environment across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, including roles as a Director with the Green Building Councils of both Australia and New Zealand, and Leader of Sustainable Buildings with Sustainability Victoria. He also led projects in London with Brookfield Multiplex and the global architectural practice Woods Bagot. David has experience in establishing and managing green building rating systems, developing voluntary industry leadership programs, introducing building energy efficiency regulation and creating sustainable building and precinct design strategies. David holds a Bachelor of Architecture with Honours from the University of Melbourne.
Julia Lipton Programme Manager Climate Action Plans.
As C40's Programme Manager Climate Action Plans, Julia works with C40 cities to update their climate action planning to accelerate action and achieve the Paris agreement. Previously to this, Julia was City Adviser to Sydney, where she worked with the city and private sector stakeholders to develop sector sustainability plans to drive emissions savings in industry sectors. Before joining C40, Julia managed the City of Sydney’s Residential Sustainability Programs and worked for the NSW Government fostering business partnerships in energy efficiency and managed the UK’s Corporate Responsibility Index in Australia and New Zealand. Julia has a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in international development.
Cristina Mendonca Senior Manager, Implementation Research & Engagement and Manager, C40's Rio Office.
Cristina Mendonça serves as C40’s Implementation Research & Engagement Senior Manager, coordinating research aimed at removing direct barriers to implementing climate actions on the ground. She is the Research and Engagement Manager for the Coalition for Urban Transitions (a New Climate Economy special initiative). Also, as Manager of C40’s Office in Rio, she advises and collaborates with the city’s political, administrative and technical leadership to design and implement the strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and climate risk. Prior to that, Cristina worked closely with the Chair and C40’s Executive Leadership to set and communicate strategic vision and to support and coordinate Steering Committee participation. Cristina has been working with the Clinton Climate Initiative and C40 for the past 10 years. Before joining C40, Cristina worked for 14 years advising companies on industrial processes, sustainable development, innovation technology, and renewable energy with a focus on optimizing production processes. Cristina is a chemical engineer and a specialist in research and development in chemical process. She holds a Masters in Urban and Environmental Engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University in Rio and from the Technische Braunschweig Universitat, and an Executive MBA from the COPPEAD Graduate School of Business at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Antoine Metten Steering Committee Engagement Officer.
Antoine serves as the C40 Steering Committee Engagement Officer in the Office of C40 Chair, based in Paris. In this position, Antoine manages the day-to-day activities of the Steering Committee – C40’s main governing body comprised of elected mayors representing each of C40's 7 regions - and provides direct support for the external engagements of the C40 Chair (Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo) and the C40 Steering Committee members (Vice Chairs). Antoine also works with the Head of the Office of the Chair and Head of the Executive Director’s Office to set and implement Mayor Hidalgo’s strategic vision for her tenure as C40 Chair. Antoine previously served as Assistant to the Office of C40 Chair in Rio under former Chair of C40, Mayor Eduardo Paes. Prior to joining C40, Antoine worked at the Office of the Brazilian State Secretary for Public Health and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean in Santiago de Chile. Antoine holds a Masters Degree in Political Science from Sciences Po and postgraduate degree in Urban Planning from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Luan Baptista Global Initiatives Officer.
Luan Baptista Ribeiro is the C40’s Team Coordinator for Global Initiatives. In this role, Luan works closely with the Director of Global Initiatives to manage and track the spectrum of interactions among C40 member cities. Prior to joining the C40, Luan has been involved in a number of projects focused on regional innovation and the impact of transportation on urban development in Regeneris and Urban Flow. Prior to moving to the UK, Luan worked in the International Relations Secretariat in city of Sao Paulo where he was responsible for facilitating the exchange of best practices and policies on urban regeneration with cities in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. He also worked closely with the Mayor and the Secretary in promoting Sao Paulo municipal projects in a range of international events. Luan has a Master’s degree from the Bartlett Development Planning Unit at University College London and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo. Luan is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English, and is competent in French.
Caroline Watson Network Manager for Low Emission Vehicles.
Caroline serves as Network Manager for Low Emission Vehicles. Previously, Caroline worked at environmental behaviour change charity Global Action Plan where, as a Partner, she led their Air Quality Portfolio. Working with local authorities, cities, and the NHS, Caroline designed and delivered programmes to protect health and reduce dangerous air pollution. Prior to this, Caroline was Strategy Manager at the Energy Saving Trust managing electric vehicle research and delivery programmes. At EST she worked with business fleets to increase uptake of low carbon vehicles, and chaired the Low Emission Vehicle Partnership car working group and the European Energy Network's Transport Working Group. Caroline has also worked as Policy Advisor in the UK's Environment Agency and as a Researcher to a Member of the UK Parliament. Caroline has a masters degree in Environmental Politics from Keele University.
Brooke Russell Deputy Director, Communications.
Brooke Russell serves as the Deputy Director of External Relations and Communications at C40. Brooke is responsible for editorial planning and execution across targeted distribution channels; in this capacity, she supports C40 staff, cities and partners in the development of a diverse range of content. Before joining C40, Brooke was for three years at the Clinton Climate Initiative, where she helped to build the organisation’s Communications department, bringing 14 years of prior experience as a contributing writer to organisations including the Economist Intelligence Unit, the London School of Economics and McKinsey & Co. Brooke holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Columbia College at Columbia University and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where she concentrated on international environmental and resource policy, and development economics.
Emily Morris Senior Manager, Editorial and Content.
Emily serves as the Head of Editorial and Content at C40. In this role, she supports a broad range of communications activities, from developing content in partnership with internal and external stakeholders to project management of special media campaigns and video projects. Emily also works closely with staff in C40 member cities on various communications initiatives and announcements. Prior to joining C40, Emily worked in the Marketing and Communications Department of the Lebanese American University in Beirut, and as a Regional News Editor at an English-language newspaper in Damascus. Before that she worked in Kenya with International Peace Initiatives, an NGO dedicated to supporting and funding local initiatives that mitigate the effects of poverty, disease and violence. Emily holds a Masters degree in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh and a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Boston University.
Caterina Sarfatti Programme Manager, Inclusive Climate Action.
Caterina Sarfatti serves as a Programme Manager for Special Projects at C40. In this role, Caterina currently works on C40's Inclusive Climate Action programme. Formerly, Caterina worked with the delivery and event teams on a series of key strategic events that formed the 'Road from Paris' to the 2016 C40 Mayors Summit in Cuidad de México (CDMX). Caterina also served as the Deputy Director for Europe. Before joining C40, Caterina worked in the City of Milan , where she served as policy advisor and project manager at the International Relations Office, focusing on the coordination of EU projects. In particular, Caterina led projects on smart cities and environment, social innovation and social cohesion, migration and integration. Caterina was also the key coordinator of Milan's Smart City policies at the Mayor’s Office. Caterina holds degrees in Political Theory and Political Science from Sciences-Po (Paris) and Master degrees in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (Université Assas-Paris II) and in Global Environmental Policies (Università La Tuscia). She is the author of several articles on Smart Cities.
Jared Pruzan Senior Manager, Special Projects.
Jared currently serves as a Senior Manager for Special Projects, where he is responsible for assessing, scoping and creating new projects at C40. His previous roles include: Head of Network Communications, where he managed the organization's digital properties; strategic advisor for the C40 Exchange, a virtual community and knowledge-sharing portal for members and staff; and Manager of the City Adviser Programme annual competitive bid process. He also served as Manager of the Sustainable Urban Development Network. Prior to joining C40, Jared worked as a Financial Analyst at Lazard and as the coordinator of a nonprofit research initiative within Harvard University's David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. Jared earned a Masters of Public Affairs in International Nonprofit Management from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative Literature from Yale University.
Josh Harris Senior Manager, Press Relations.
Josh is the Press and Communications Manager at C40. In this role, he works to showcase the efforts of C40 and it’s member cities to journalists worldwide. Josh works closely with media teams in C40 member cities to help them secure additional international press coverage for their climate efforts. Prior to joining C40, Josh led the European media relations team for the humanitarian aid NGO, International Medical Corps. Josh has previously worked in communications roles in the Houses of Parliament, Lloyds Banking Group and the Overseas Development Institute, and has spent time working in DRC, Jordan, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.
Niki Hitchcox Senior Business Manager.
Niki Hitchcox serves as Senior Business Manager at C40. Prior to joining C40, Niki delivered major public events on behalf of the Mayor of London, including London’s New Year’s Eve Fireworks display, which reached an international audience of 500,000 and received global recognition as the most watched television show in 2013. During the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Niki delivered the city’s ‘Live Sites’ which involved a diverse range of entertainment and live screening of all sporting events, followed by a meet-and-greet with Team Great Britain medal winners. More than 1.4 million people visited these three live sites over a one-month period. In her 10 years of experience in the Events industry Niki has produced large-scale conferences, conventions and exhibitions, as well as smaller workshops and CEO networking events around the world. Delivering content for clients from the Government, Financial, Telecommunications and Pharmaceutical sectors, Niki has worked on event conceptualisation right through to delivery.
Clarence Nicol Head of Human Resources.
Clarence Nicol serves as C40’s Head of Human Resources, responsible for developing and managing HR activities within C40. Prior to joining C40, Clarence worked for London’s Metropolitan Police, providing strategic and operational HR service to the Police Officers and Police Staff protecting Parliament. Clarence previously worked for the British Council as a HR Consultant, supporting teams in the UK and overseas. Though based primarily in the UK, Clarence also worked in Ghana and Sierra Leone where he designed and implemented change projects. Clarence holds a BA degree from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone as well as a Masters degree in Human Resources Management from London South Bank University.
Eric Ast Manager of Research Special Projects, City Intelligence Team.
Eric Ast serves as the Manager of Research Special Projects on the City Intelligence Team. Eric is responsible for performing analysis on urban sustainability and developing common global metrics for measuring the action and impact the world’s megacities are having on climate change. Prior to joining C40, Eric was a Managing Energy Analyst for Bright Power in New York City, where he consulted owners of affordable multifamily housing on portfolio energy and water efficiency strategies, and helped local property owners comply with the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan. Previously, Eric was a Senior Business Analyst at Capital One, working on customer management strategy across a domestic credit portfolio. Eric has a dual Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Engineering and Economics from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Science degree in Sustainable Technology from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.
Marvin Barrios Head of Operations.
Marvin Barrios serves as the Head of Operations at the New York office of C40, where he supports the Director of Finance & Operations oversee the administrative, human resources, information technology and legal functions for the global organisation. Before joining C40, Marvin was the Grants Manager at Bienvenidos in Los Angeles where he managed government contracts, programme budgets and accounting functions; prior to this role, he oversaw the Accounts Payables and Receivables Department. He began his career at Bienvenidos by providing support to the President and Board of Directors, and then to the HR and IT departments. Prior to Bienvenidos, Marvin worked at the City of Los Angeles at their redevelopment agency where he provided administrative support to the Regional Director. Marvin graduated from the Advanced Technologies Academy with concentrations in Accounting and Marketing.
Daniel Samuels Manager of Network Communications, City Intelligence Team.
Daniel Samuels serves as the Manager of Network Communications at C40 on the City Intelligence Team. In this position, he is responsible for the development and overall management of the C40 Exchange—C40’s online knowledge management, communication and collaboration system. He also coordinates and curates the C40 Newsletters, including the weekly C40 Report to the monthly C40 Newsletter . Prior to this, Daniel was a Project Analyst with the Clinton Foundation working primarily on C40-CCI (Clinton Climate Initiative) projects, where he helped launch an intranet that evolved into the C40 Exchange. Daniel came to the Clinton Foundation after spending 8 months in Ghana working for the Kokrobitey Institute, a sciences, arts and humanities school, that promotes cultural understanding and community service. Daniel holds a Bachelor in Economics and Social Sciences from Sydney University, Australia.
Hanya Gartner Senior Manager, Business Innovation and Data Programmes.
Hanya serves as Senior Manager, Business Innovation and Data Programmes for C40 on its City Intelligence Team. Based in the New York office, Hanya is responsible for managing the annual city reporting programme, as well as developing data outputs for C40 cities and stakeholders. Prior to joining C40, Hanya worked in Ernst & Young’s Climate Change and Sustainability team in Australia, where she contributed to a range of projects in the public and private sectors, including GHG assurance, environmental and occupational health and safety management systems, and corporate sustainability reporting assurance and advisory services. Previously, Hanya worked for engineering firms URS Corp (now AECOM) and GHD as a civil engineer and project manager across environment, water, energy and resources, and transportation. She has a Masters of Environment from the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Engineering from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Lisa Kim Operations Manager.
Lisa Kim serves as the Finance Analyst at the New York office of C40, where she supports the Head of Finance in the accounting functions for the global organization. Before joining C40, Lisa managed office administration for the nonprofit arts organization, OrigamiUSA. Prior to this role, Lisa assisted the Accounting Department and the President at the literary agency, Sterling Lord Literistic. In addition to working in the publishing industry, Lisa spent time teaching high school English literature and writing in New York City. Lisa holds an MA in English Education from Columbia University and holds a BA in Journalism & Mass Communications and Sociology from New York University.
Chris ‘Schmo’ Schmalz IT Manager.
Chris ‘Schmo’ Schmalz serves as C40’s IT Manager. This role is responsible for the internal information technology operations of the global organization. Primary areas of focus include managing support channels, implementing technology projects, monitoring systems and managing internal policies and processes. Prior to starting with C40, Chris worked for nearly seven years for Apple with a focus on account management and business sales to large organizations and not-for-profits. Chris has an extensive technology support background having worked for integrators and service providers before his career with Apple. Chris earned a BA in History from DePauw University in Greencastle Indiana.
Matt Jones Operations Manager.
Matt Jones serves as the Operations Analyst in C40's New York office, where he supports the Head of Operations with administration, human resources, information technology, and legal functions. Before joining C40, Matt was the Assistant Policy Officer for the Low Income Investment Fund. In this role, he provided administrative and analytical support to the Director of Federal Policy. Prior to this position, Matt interned for a Member of the United States House of Representatives. Matt began his Career at the Relay Foundation, a San Francisco based non-profit, where he worked with the CEO and COO to build and establish the organization shortly after its creation. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA in Political Science.
Anelda Blom HR Advisor.
Anelda Blom serves as C40’s HR Administrator, where she supports all Human Resources functions for the organization. Prior to joining C40, Anelda worked for Golder Associates Africa, providing HR consultative and operational support service to line managers and employees in South Africa, Ghana, Mozambique, and Botswana. Previously, Anelda worked for CBARS as an HR Information System Consultant, providing functional application support and management information service to CBARS. Anelda holds a BCom degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Pretoria.
Josh Weinberg Management Accountant.
Josh supports the Head of Finance, with particular responsibility for statutory accounting, quarterly and monthly management reporting, banking, and U. S. and U. K. accounting and tax matters. He also serves as an audit liaison. B efore joining C40, JoshI trained as an accountant at the UK National Audit Office, conducting financial and value-for-money audits of UK government bodies, including charities, where he pioneered their data analytics approach to audits. Josh also conducted financial and performance audits of UN organisations. He is a chartered accountant with an ACA from ICAEW, and holds an MSc in International Health Policy (Health Economics) from LSE, and a BA in Maths from Oxford University.
Lisa de Souza HR Advisor.
Lisa de Souza serves as C40’s HR Advisor, providing day to day HR support and contributing to the long-term strategic development of the HR function within the organization. Prior to joining C40, she held various HR roles within the Financial, Pharmaceutical and Automotive sectors in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Lisa has worked in the capacity of an HR Business Partner and HR Manager, where she provided strategic HR advice to line managers and departmental heads. Lisa was also responsible for the delivery of Generalist HR services, with a strong focus on operational efficiency and effectiveness. Lisa holds a Master’s Degree in HR from Murdoch University.
Emmanuelle Pinault Head of City Diplomacy – Political Engagement.
Emmanuelle Pinault serves as the Head of City Diplomacy – Political Engagement at C40. In this role, she is responsible for assessing and implementing C40's city diplomacy strategy in the climate global political agenda, as well as engaging C40 member cities into the Compact of Mayors. Prior to joining C40, she worked for twelve years as an independent consultant on international relations and cooperation with national and local governments in Africa and Latin America. Her latest position was senior adviser on international affairs and climate change to the Mayor of Bogota, Colombia, where she designed and implemented the city’s climate change international strategy, and developed strategic mitigation and adaptation partnerships with several city networks, UN agencies, nonprofits and funders. She also managed the Cities and Climate Change Bogota Summits in 2012 and 2015, and delivered Bogota City Marketing Strategy 2013-2015, working closely to the private sector. Emmanuelle holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, from the Institute of Political Studies, Lyon (France), and a Postgraduate Diploma in Sociology, from the School of High Studies in Social Sciences – EHESS, Paris.
Sara Radelet Senior Fundraising Manager.
Sara Radelet serves as Fundraising Manager for C40 and has over 20 years experience in fundraising and organisational management, with prior work in the higher education and arts sectors. Sara’s expertise is in grant-seeking, funding stream development and engaging donors and partners in support of charitable causes. Prior to joining C40, Sara was Advancement Coordinator at the American University of Paris, assisting in strategy development, and prospect identification and engagement for the launch of the University’s first Capital Campaign with a goal of €20 million. Previous appointments include securing funding for the renovation and launch of a performing arts center in Pittsburgh (and serving as the founding Executive Director); and spearheading the strategy and implementation of an $8 million Capital Campaign for a cutting-edge artist residency space and arts museum. Sara holds a BA in the Liberal Arts from The George Washington University.
Markus Berensson Research Manager.
Markus Berensson serves as Research Manager for C40 Research and Innovation Team. He is working on the Deadline 2020 Programme, building on C40's Deadline 2020 research, as well as a number of forward looking research areas. Prior to joining C40 Markus was a member of the City of Stockholm’s Urban Development Committee and Political Advisor in Stockholm City Hall, where he was involved in a wide range of reforms within the energy sector, urban planning and sustainable transport. Markus has also worked a Senior Political Advisor in the Stockholm County Council where he was responsible for a sustainable regional development plan and helped drive an administrative reform aimed at strengthening regional governance. Markus is currently reading for a MSc in Sustainable Urban Development at the University of Oxford.
Kate Godding Senior Manager, Business, Data & Innovation (Interim)
Kate serves as Senior Manager, Business Innovation and Data Programmes for C40 in the Business, Innovation & Data Team. Based in the London office, Kate is responsible for managing the annual city reporting programme, as well as developing data outputs for C40 cities and stakeholders. Previous to this role, Kate was the Grants & Contracts Manager for C40, acting as the central point of responsibility for all formal and legal agreements C40 enters into. Kate’s has also attained qualifications from CIM and APMP. Kate is vice-chair of the board for the Young Energy Professionals, a group sponsored by Energy UK and EY to bring together young energy professionals looking to make a change within the industry.
Nicola Smith Executive Assistant to the Executive Director.
Nicola (Nikki) Smith serves as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. In this position, she is responsible for all administrative support for the organisation, including managing the administrative officers located in C40 offices across the globe. In this role, she specifically supports the Executive Director, organising and supervising the business activities that facilitate the smooth running of the Executive Director’s office. In her career, Nikki has held administrative and customer-facing positions in government and other public-sector organisations, including the London Fire Brigade and the Greater London Authority, where she spent 11 years providing administrative support to the Mayor of London’s private office.
Irma Carranza Regional Coordinator.
Irma Carranza serves as Regional Coordinator. In this position, she provides administrative support to the Director of Initiatives and Regions, the Regional Director of Latin America, and the Regional Director of North America. Before joining C40 Cities, Irma was a partner in the City of Santa Monica’s Cradle to Career Initiative looking at and measuring youth well being. Prior to this, she worked at the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy as an organizer working to bring good jobs into underserved communities. Prior to LAANE, she worked over ten years in several clerical and administrative supportive roles with the City of Santa Monica, including serving the Civil Engineering and Architecture Division staff. Irma attended Santa Monica College and Los Angeles Trade Tech.
Agathe Cavicchioli City Diplomacy Manager.
As City Diplomacy Manager, Agathe’s role is to engage C40 members in the C40 City Diplomacy Strategy and support C40’s engagement and participation in intergovernmental climate, urban and development policy-making processes. Agathe works closely with the Head of City Diplomacy to drive strategic and effective engagement of the C40 network in global climate policy dialogue and to maximise its impact in the global political stage. Prior to joining C40, Agathe managed low-carbon development projects for an international local government network and supported the network’s global climate advocacy strategy and engagement in the UNFCCC process. Agathe has an interdisciplinary background in climate science, international climate policy and urban planning. Her experience includes research and consulting for international organizations, NGOs, consultancies, local governments and research institutes in Europe, the US, Brazil and Bangladesh. Agathe holds a MA in Climate and Society from Columbia University and joint Master degrees in European Affairs and Urban Sustainable Development from Sciences Po Lille and Lille University of Science and Technology.
Andrew Armstrong Building Energy Code Analyst for the Building Energy 2020 Programme.
Andrew serves as New Building Energy Code Analyst for the Building Energy 2020 Programme, a buildings and energy technical assistance programme for C40 cities. Andrew is responsible for providing cities with technical assistance focused on supporting cities with their plans to implement ambitious building energy performance requirements including building energy codes. Prior to joining C40, Andrew was a Sustainability Consultant in London for TÜV SÜD Real Estate, a building services engineering consultancy, working in the building engineering team. Andrew was responsible for designing and implementing energy strategies for a broad range of developments including the delivery of low and zero regulated carbon emission housing developments. In his previous roles he conducted environmental assessments of the built environment which take into account a range of wellbeing and sustainability issues including the impacts of carbon emissions. Andrew is qualified as a domestic energy assessor (DOCEA), BREEAM New Construction Assessor and holds a BSc in Biology from the University of Sussex.
Anelise Rosa Events Officer, Financing Sustainable Cities Initiative.
Anelise is delivering a series of Financing Sustainable Cities Initiative (FSCI) events including our annual Forum and a series of city academies and workshops. She also works with the FSCI team to facilitate cross-cutting support to C40 Networks on city finance. Before joining C40 in 2016 to work on the C40 Cities Mayors Summit, Anelise was studying for a MSci in Natural Sciences at UCL, specialising in biomedical sciences and organic chemistry. As a student, she became interested in sustainable development and global health through working nationally and internationally with student advocacy groups including Universities Allied for Essential Medicines and Medsin UK.
Anirudh Sharma Clean Energy Finance Manager.
Anirudh serves as the Clean Energy Finance Manager for C40’s Financing Sustainable Cities Initiative (FSCI). In this role, he provides support to cities engaged with the FSCI on energy infrastructure finance and business models through peer-to-peer learning opportunities and technical assistance provision. Anirudh leads the C40 Clean Energy Finance Academy and supports additional events under the initiative. Prior to C40, Anirudh worked with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority as a member of the RetrofitNY team with the objective of creating a market for highly energy efficient solutions for affordable housing in the state. He has also worked with the International Finance Corporation in New Delhi, India on voluntary green building standards and with microfinance institutions in South Asia to develop sustainable energy lending programs. He holds a Master of International Affairs in Energy & Environment from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the College of William and Mary.
Anthony Courreges Manager, Clean Transportation Finance.
Anthony serves as Clean Transportation Finance Manager for C40’s Financing Sustainable Cities Initiative (FSCI). In this role, Anthony leads the development and successful implementation of a range of city-city interactions and technical assistance on urban transportation finance. He supports city achievements of strong finance-related outcomes, bringing cities together to share experiences and learn from each other to discover new solutions. Prior to joining C40, Anthony acquired significant experience managing projects in the built environment in Europe and in the United States. Until 2017, he worked in the U. K. as a Senior Sustainability Consultant for Mott MacDonald, where he collaborated with a variety of public and private clients to develop, refine and successfully implement sustainability strategies in the built environment. A Chartered Engineer, Anthony holds a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Energy Sciences from Polytech' Nantes Graduate School of Engineering.
Arun Rao City Intelligence Analyst.
Arun serves as an analyst in the City Intelligence Team, supporting organisational strategy using data to promote urban sustainability and managing analysis projects in support of internal business intelligence, external publications and tools. He also supports staff in ensuring data processes and resources are as simple, fast and efficient as possible.
Prior to joining C40, Arun worked as a sustainability consultant, carrying out energy assessments on residential and commercial building developments and modelling a number of large renewable energy projects. He has also worked as an intern both at CDP, where he assisted in the implementation of their UN Sustainable Development Goals strategy and at Pell Frischmann Consultants, investigating low-carbon, transit oriented developments in India. Arun holds a BEng in Materials Science and Engineering from Imperial College London, an MSc in Materials for Energy and Environment from University College London and an MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Chantal Oudkerk Pool Head of Adaptation Planning.
“As Head of Adaptation Planning and through the Climate Adaptation Academy,​ Chantal supports the C40 member cities in developing and implementing their plans to build climate resilience and adapting to climate risks. After obtaining her master’s degree in Urban Planning and International Development,​ she held various positions within the City of Rotterdam. From 2005-2007,​ she lived in Bangladesh where she worked for UNICEF and Habitat for Humanity on projects related to water supply, sanitation and housing. Chantal joined the Rotterdam Climate Proof programme in 2008 where she first coordinated the research base for the Rotterdam Adaptation Strategy (RAS) before becoming responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the RAS. She was involved in the establishment of C40’s first network, Connecting Delta Cities (CDC), and has coordinated the exchange of knowledge and best practices between delta cities since 2008. Chantal has also been the project leader for the Rotterdam-Ho Chi Minh City partnership programme on adaptation since 2009, organised two large international conferences (1000+) on adaptation and several CDC/C40 workshops."
Claire Markgraf Senior Manager for the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy.
Claire is C40's Senior Manager for the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy. C40 is a founding member of the Global Covenant, which is an initiative aimed at supporting cities of all sizes to commit to mitigation, adaptation, and energy access action. Prior to joining C40, Claire worked for the World Bank on low carbon cities and solid waste. She has a master's degree from MIT.
Clémence Pène Head of Digital and Citizen Engagement.
Cl é mence serves as Head of Digital and Citizen Engagement for C40. She leads on C40’s digital communications strategy based on innovative campaigns, governance tools and citizen engagement in order to grow and strengthen C40’s online community. In this capacity, Clemence builds and maintains strong relationships with C40 Mayors, digital advocates, civic and tech startups, and other key influencers. Prior to joining C40 , Clémence was the Digital Director during Anne Hidalgo's Campaign in Paris and served as the Digital Strategy and Open Governance Advisor to Mayor Hidalgo where she oversaw the participatory budget innovation from its inception to its current status as the most ambitious and efficient in the world.
Culley Thomas Head of Modelling - Vermont.
Culley Thomas serves as the Head of Modelling within Measurement and Planning at C40. Culley is leading the development and enhancement of a suite of tools and information systems that improve cities’ ability to evaluate and implement climate action strategies. Prior to joining C40, Culley was a Senior Strategic Consultant in AECOM's Climate and Sustainability group based in San Francisco. In that position, he led the development of numerous analytic and decision-support models related to urban low carbon planning, climate vulnerability analysis, sustainable infrastructure, and municipal finance. He also served as project manager or technical lead on more than 45 city climate action planning projects and developed many community and project-scale greenhouse gas inventories. Culley also served as a board member of the Tropical Forest Group, advocating for policies and practices that facilitate reduction in emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). Culley has a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s degree in International Development from University of California, Davis.
Desirée Bernhardt Network Manager, Low Carbon Districts.
Desirée Bernhardt manages the Low Carbon Districts Network at C40. In this role Desirée supports a network of global cities led by Melbourne and Stockholm to deliver ambitious low-carbon, district-scale development projects.
Prior to joining C40, Desirée worked as a project officer and researcher at the University of South Australia. Desirée has also held internships at the United Nations Environment Programme in the Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, and at International Bridges to Justice in Geneva.
Desirée has an advanced Master’s degree in Socio-Ecological Economics and Policy from the Vienna University of Business and Economics, and also holds a Bachelor’s degree in European Studies from the Hague University of Applied Sciences where she specialised in languages and international human rights law.
Donna Hume Head of Air Quality.
Donna Hume serves as the Head of Air Quality at C40. She is responsible for developing C40’s global air quality strategy, which aims to support cities to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions at the same time. Prior to joining the C40, Donna was a Senior Campaigner at Friends of the Earth where she was responsible for leading the organisation's climate change campaigning. She led a team of people that prevented any fracking taking place in UK for the past 6 years, including by securing moratoriums on fracking in Scotland and Wales, helped secure a commitment to UK coal power phase out by 2025, and worked with Friends of the Earth International on a global campaign to keep fossil fuels in the ground in 30 countries.
Prior to that Donna held a number of other roles at Friends of the Earth: on overseeing campaign strategy and development, and in the political, economic and energy teams. During that time she supported the set-up of the organisation’s air quality campaign, built a 200 organisation strong coalition of businesses and civil society to support clean energy, and led a successful campaign to secure ongoing UK Government support for the solar industry. She has also worked at the Environmental Justice Foundation on a global campaign exposing unethical practices in cotton farming. Donna has a Bachelor’s degree in History from King’s College London.
Ezgi Kelleher Clean Energy Business Model Analyst.
Ezgi supports C40 cities with technical assistance to select and implement innovative business models for clean energy projects as part of the Energy & Buildings Technical Assistance Programme. Prior to joining C40, Ezgi worked with local governments in solar PV consultancy projects which included feasibility assessment, financial model development, procurement and deployment. Ezgi was also responsible for project management of building energy efficiency projects. She was previously a member of a research group in KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and her research focused on renewable energy in the context of transmission network and electricity market. Ezgi holds a MSc in Sustainable Energy Systems from the University of Edinburgh and has a BSc in Industrial Engineering from Bilkent University.
Flavio Coppola Land Use Planning Network Manager.
As Land Use Planning Network Manager, Flavio coordinates a network of urban planners in C40 cities to help them reach their climate goals through the development of land use plans and policies that promote compact, connected and resilient cities. Prior to joining C40, Flavio was an urban economics consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area and provided cities and transit agencies with economic analyses to help create sustainable and high-quality places in California and the rest of the US. In previous capacities, he has worked for local governments, non-profits and consulting firms in San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, London, and Paris, on projects pertaining to sustainable policy and transportation, urban planning, and economic development. Flavio holds a Bachelor Degree in Political Science and a Master's Degree in Regional and Urban Planning from Sciences Po Paris, and a Master of Science in Local Economic Development from the London School of Economics. He speaks English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Farsi.
Francesca Towner Personal Assistant.
Francesca Towner serves as one of the Personal Assistants within C40. In this capacity, she provides administrative and scheduling support to the Deputy Executive Director, Director of Global Initiatives, and Director of Regions. Francesca is responsible for establishing and maintaining administrative processes and office systems across the organisation. In her 15 year career as a Personal Assistant, she has held several positions across a variety of sectors including 6 years working within the Transport department at the Olympic Delivery Authority (London 2012).
Giulia Pivetti Workshop Coordinator.
Giulia serves as Workshop Coordinator, supporting the Measurement and Planning team in coordinating technical assistance workshops to help cities build GHG inventories, set emission reduction targets and develop climate action plans. Prior to joining C40, Giulia worked for the World Bank in Tanzania and Rwanda as Municipal Finance Analyst, supporting the City Creditworthiness Initiative, a program dedicated to helping sub-national authorities improve their financial performance. She has previously worked for other International Institutions, including the United Nations Capital Development Fund in Dar es Salaam, the United Nations World Tourism Organization in Madrid and the European Commission in Brussels. She holds a Master Degree in Economics and Management of Public Administrations and International Institutions and a Bachelor Degree in Economics of International Development and Cooperation.
Guillaume Joly Residential Retrofit Policy Analyst.
Guillaume serves as Residential Retrofit Policy Analyst at C40 and is based in London. In this role, he supports the delivery of a Technical Assistance programme to help C40 cities establish and improve ambitious residential retrofit policies. He delivers direct support and through sharing best practices and tangible mitigation outcomes, meanwhile paving the way to creative and alternative approaches to be considered. Prior to joining C40 Guillaume worked for several French local authorities on a range of residential retrofit projects including improving subsidies for fuel poor households, defining local zero-emission strategies and setting environmental standards for retrofits. He also chaired a non-profit association for citizens; empowerment and sustainability. He holds a Master’s degree in Local Social Development and access to public utilities for economically deprived households and a Master’s degree in Local energy and telecommunication Networks Governance and built environment production.
Helen Ho Data & Innovation Officer.
Helen is responsible for the annual city reporting programme and works in collaboration with C40 partner organisations to assist member cities in disclosing climate data and tracking their performance. She also works to understand the data and information needs of member cities, and develops and delivers programmes aimed at improving city data management processes. Helen joined C40 in 2016 on the Research, Measurement & Planning team and previously worked on climate change, energy and transport policy at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). She holds an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and a BSc in Natural Sciences from University College London.
Indra Levite Measurement and Planning Officer.
Indra Levite joins the C40 London office where she serves as a Measurement and Planning Officer. Prior to joining C40 Indra worked for the Secretariat for the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2015 and has gained experience in the fields of sustainable urban planning and climate change issues through internships at the Latvian Ministry for Environmental Protection and Regional Development as well as the Riga City Council Planning Department. She holds a BA in Geography from the University of Sussex and a MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London. Indra speaks Latvian, German, English and French.
Inés Lockhart Project Manager for Technical Assistance.
Inés Lockhart serves as C40's Project Manager for Technical Assistance and joins C40 on a secondment from the City of Buenos Aires. She provides technical assistance to the Compact of Mayors cities in Latin America, supporting them in measuring GHG emissions, setting ambitious reduction targets and developing a climate strategy. Inés joined the Environmental Protection Agency in 2008 and has worked as Buenos Aires’ City Climate Change coordinator. She led a team responsible for the GHG Inventory development and climate hazards identification, setting targets and was involved in strategy planning. Inés managed and coordinated the Inter-ministerial team together with the Advisory Committee towards the development of the city´s Climate Change Action Plan 2010-2030, which was launched in 2009 and recently updated in 2015, in line with the Compact of Mayors requirements. Inés has also been the technical liaison for the city over the years in the different international networks, and the local focal point in the national climate change commission. Born in Argentina, she speaks Spanish and English fluently. Inés studied Environmental Science in Buenos Aires.
Isabel Fernández Communications Coordinator.
Isabel Fernández serves as Communications Coordinator for C40’s Measurement and Planning Initiative. This initiative supports cities with the development of evidence-based climate action plans, including greenhouse gas emission inventory development and scenario planning. Isabel’s work focuses on supporting city officials engage relevant stakeholders in the climate action planning process and coordinating the development of learning resources and training materials. Prior to joining C40, Isabel worked for eight years at ICLEI, a global network of cities, towns and regions promoting sustainable development at the local level. She developed communication strategies, managed content for online channels and social media platforms, as well as recruited and maintained media partnerships. She contributed to several international and EU-funded projects in the field of sustainability management and urban governance, working closely with local governments, and with a focus on tools for urban management and knowledge brokerage processes. Isabel was also responsible for the organisation of large-scale conferences for local governments on topics such as climate change, renewable energies, smart cities and transition initiatives.
Isabel holds a Master Degree in Law from the University of Oviedo (Spain) and University of Freiburg (Germany). Originally from Spain, Isabel speaks Spanish, English, German and French.
Jason Youvert Helpdesk Technician, NYC.
Jason Youvert serves as our Helpdesk technician, working out of the C40 Cities office in New York. Jason has extensive experience across various disciplines in the Information Technology industry, working for Grammy award-winning artist Kanye West, Tesla and Nike Inc. Prior to joining C40 Cities, Jason was a Lead Genius for Apple for over ten years, where he provided support to customers with an exceptionally high satisfaction rating. In this role, Jason diagnosed hardware and software issues on all Apple Macintosh and iOS devices across the New York and Los Angeles markets. During his time at Apple Jason attended John Jay Criminal Law College.
Jessica De La Rosa Community Coordinator.
Jessica serves as Communication Coordinator for C40 and is responsible for advocating the organisation on social networks. In this role, Jessica promotes C40’s achievements and activities and connects with cities and partners to develop joint campaigns to help build a strong and engaging brand. Before joining C40 in 2016 to work on the C40 Summit, Jessica was a Digital Content Editor for one of the biggest digital media websites in Mexico. She has also collaborated as an intern in the Department of Sustainable Development for the Mexican oil Industry PEMEX, and she has volunteered in the organisation of several events, including TEDxEastEnd in London and the World Youth Conference. Jessica holds a BA in Communications Science from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She is fluent in Spanish and English.
Joshua Gardner Programme Manager of Global Initiatives.
Josh is the Programme Manager of Global Initiatives at C40, supporting the delivery of C40’s thematic initiatives and networks and strategic engagement with other C40 teams. Before joining C40, Josh worked as a sustainability consultant specializing in climate change in Melbourne, Australia. Most recently, he served as Project Coordinator for climate science and policy institute Climate Analytics to support the delivery of UNDP and Climate Vulnerable Forum’s Low Carbon Monitor report. He was a Senior Consultant with Ernst & Young in the Climate Change and Sustainability team, and in this role was seconded to City of Melbourne as part of Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities initiative. His consulting roles have seen Josh work with a diverse range of clients in government, not for profit and the private sector to assist them across a breadth of sustainability issues, often with an emissions reduction lens. Josh graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and Bachelor of Arts, majoring in politics.
Judith Neijzen Regional Coordinator Europe and Africa.
Judith is the Regional Coordinator Europe and Africa and part of the Regions team. She is based in Copenhagen and provides support to the Director of Regions and to the Regional Directors for Europe and Africa. In addition, she works with the Regions team on key initiatives and coordinates various activities based in the Copenhagen office. Prior to joining C40, Judith was responsible for the communications and marketing at the International Federation for Housing and Planning. During her studies, she interned at the Food Security Department of the Dutch embassy in Bangladesh and researched urban living in Taiwan as part of the Netherlands Asia Honors Summer School. Judith holds an MA in International Business Communication from Copenhagen Business School and holds a BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges from Leiden University.
Kathrin Zeller Network Manager, Waste to Resources.
Kathrin Zeller serves as a Network Manager for the Waste to Resources Network at C40, aiming for the acceleration of the transition from solid waste management towards sustainable materials management. In her most recent experience in Germany she worked at a municipal PPP for waste treatment in the city of Cologne within their international projects. Prior to that she served as a project coordinator for topics of climate, environment and energy at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Rio de Janeiro. One of her projects was to help establish the Brazilian city network CB27. Kathrin holds a master degree from the University of Cologne/ Germany in Regional Sciences of Latina America with a focus on theory of economic and social policy, and a MBA of the Leuphana University Lüneburg/ Germany in Sustainability Management. Kathrin is based in the office in Rio de Janeiro and speaks German, English and Portuguese.
Katie Goldman City Advisor to Los Angeles.
Katie Goldman is the City Advisor to Los Angeles where she is providing technical assistance to the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability to update LA’s climate action plan. She has over fifteen years of experience as a carbon accountant including developing greenhouse gas inventories, greenhouse gas measurement and verification protocols, climate action plans, and guidance on assessing climate policy impacts. Katie has worked for the US government, non-profit organizations, and academia, and as an independent consultant. Prior to joining C40, Katie was a Senior Fellow at the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute where she focused on building professional capacity in carbon accounting and provided technical assistance to the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency. Katie has been an instructor at University of California Los Angeles’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, where she mentored undergraduates in completing climate policy projects; and a Senior Policy Manager at the Climate Action Reserve where she developed carbon offsets protocols. Katie has also worked on local climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives in Los Angeles as the Director of Policy for Climate Resolve. Katie has a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University and a Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Kayley Goff Awards and Events Project Manager.
Having joined the team in 2016, Kayley primarily works on the annual C40 Cities Awards Programme and other international C40 events. This includes mayoral gatherings, conferences and media related events. Prior to joining C40 Kayley worked for The Prince’s Trust, City University London, and Blenheim Palace on a variety of events including; festivals, award ceremonies, gala dinners, conferences, ceremonial graduations and large scaling sporting events, from idea development to delivery. She holds a MA in Sports Business Management, specialising in Major Event Management from The University of West England and a BSc in Equine Science from Oxford Brookes University.
Malvina Bondy GHG Emissions Data Analyst.
Malvina serves as a GHG Emissions Data Analyst within the C40 Measurement and Planning modelling group. She develops decision support tools and coordinates the compilation of important datasets associated with city-scale GHG emissions and climate action planning.
Prior to joining C40, she worked with the German development corporation GIZ on social protection projects including climate risk insurance in partner countries as well as undertaking research on quantifying the effects of urban air pollution at the London School of Economics. She also brings experience from the field of urban mobility from her time with the Future Cities Catapult. Malvina holds a MSc with Distinction in Environmental Economics & Climate Change from the London School of Economics as well as a MA in Economics from the University of Aberdeen. Born in Germany, Malvina speaks English, French and German.
Manisha Gulati Programme Manager, Finance Facility.
Manisha is an economist who specialises in energy, climate change, low carbon development, and resources nexus. She has over 15 years of experience in Asia and Africa where she has advised governments, business, global policy makers, donors, and civil society as well as delivering high impact policy advisory and research initiatives. Manisha’s skills include the ability to conceptualise, establish and implement high-impact policy focused initiatives, and to apply theory to specific policy context to identify creative, practical approaches to addressing challenging situations. Manisha holds a Masters in Business Economics and a BA (Honors) in Economics from the University of Delhi in India.
Mariola Panzuela Malgosa Network Manager, Transit Oriented Development - Barcelona.
Mariola manages the Walking and Cycling Network at C40. In her role Mariola supports cities shift from motorized private transportation modes to active mobility solutions, such as walking and cycling. Enhancing walking and cycling initiatives and policies has the potential to boost citizens’ physical and mental health, safety and social equity, and improve the city’s air quality and noise pollution while generating no emissions. Mariola’s professional background is in strategy consulting. Prior to joining C40, Mariola worked as a Senior Manager for Dalberg Global Development Advisors advising governments, multilateral organizations, UN agencies and foundations on urban issues, such as mass transportation, from a social and economic development angle. Before Dalberg Mariola worked as a Senior Associate at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) supporting Fortune 500 private sector companies in strategy design and implementation.
Mariola holds a Master in Public Administration by Columbia University (New York) and a Bachelors and Master in Business Administration by ESADE (Barcelona).
Mary Sokolow Events Coordinator.
Mary Sokolow serves as Events Coordinator at C40. In this role, Mary supports the delivery and production of C40 events, including coordinating with the various C40 Teams to manage event marketing and branding, invitations and other related communications. Mary is also responsible for managing and strengthening C40’s global contact database for all events. Prior to joining C40, Mary held internships at the French Meeting Events Industry Council (UNIMEV) in Paris, where she was involved in the production and on-site organization of their annual meeting; and at Bloomberg Philanthropies in New York, where she was part of the team developing a variety of events in the fields of Arts, Culture and Environment. Mary also worked at Mouth, a social media and marketing agency where she worked on the design and implementation of social media strategies for clients. Mary is a graduate in Foreign Languages from Sorbonne University and also holds a Masters Degree in PR and Events Management from the Superior Institute of Communications (ISCOM).
Mikkel Petersen Fundraising Coordinator.
Mikkel serves as Fundraising Coordinator for C40. He fills a supportive role in developing and implementing C40's fundraising plan and contributes to cultivating and maintaining strong donor relationships. Throughout his career, he has focused on public sector donors and philanthropies on issues such as climate change, anti-corruption and urban development. At the City of Copenhagen, he helped secure funding for integrated urban renewals in the municipality. Prior to joining C40, he was raising funds for the "Economy, People & Planet" conference, organised by danish organisation Transition Now. During his studies, Mikkel interned at the Transparency International Secretariat in Berlin, where he assisted in gaining funding for both projects and core operations from governmental donors such as DFID and Danida. Mikkel is fluent in Danish, English and German. He holds a MSc in global studies and social science from Roskilde University.
Natalie Isaac City Advisor to Melbourne.
Natalie Isaac is the City Advisor to Melbourne where she is providing technical expertise to the City of Melbourne to update Melbourne’s climate action plan (Zero Net Emissions Strategy 2020 – 2050). She has over seven years of sustainability expertise in the development, project management and delivery of environmental projects. Natalie has provided consulting advice to government (local, state and national), not-for-profit, charity and private sector organisations both in Australia and the United Kingdom. Prior to joining C40, Natalie was contracted to AECOM as a Senior Environmental Consultant, having previously worked in the London office. Her recent project work included providing input into a Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Framework for Adaptation on behalf of the Department of Energy, Land, Water and Planning and the provision of Environmental Impact Assessments to the Australian Defence Force. Other project experience includes developing and delivering: sustainability strategies, environmental management systems, emissions inventories, carbon footprint and verification reports, stakeholder and industry consultations, training and workshops, implementation plans, renewable energy planning policy and heat mapping studies, behavioural change programmes and renewable energy feasibility studies. Natalie has a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Nicola Mander Head of Climate Action Planning, Africa.
Nicola is the Head of Climate Action Planning, Africa. She coordinates a programme of technical and capacity building support to Africa’s C40 cities aimed at assisting them to develop ambitious climate action plans that align with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Prior to joining C40, Nicola was the Managing Director of FutureWorks Sustainability Consulting, where she assisted governments, businesses and development agencies throughout Africa in responding proactively to emerging environmental scarcities and threats, with the aim of supporting economic resilience and improved social equity.
Nidia Garcia-Erceg Air Quality Policy Adviser-Los Angeles.
A native of El Salvador, Nidia serves as City Adviser at C40 for the office of Mayor Garcetti in Los Angeles. She will be responsible for the Air Quality and Health strategies in the Sustainable City Plan, and leading on the promotion of the new Health and Air Quality programme for C40.
Formally Nidia worked as the Deputy Policy Director at Coalition for Clean Air focused on freight and goods movement. She has worked for non-profits for over a decade facilitating community meetings with electeds, and agencies around the topics of resource management, conservation, leadership and environmental justice. Before joining CCA she led a national campaign for the Sierra Club coordinating their effort to turn the San Gabriel Mountains into a National Monument signed by Obama in 2014. She serves on several advisory boards, including the California Coastal Commission protecting the CA Coastline, and CicLAvia helping transform how people experience the city of Los Angeles. Nidia holds a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning from Cal Polytechnic Pomona focused on environmental policy.
Nina Pincus Operations Analyst.
Nina serves as Operations Analyst at the New York office of C40, supporting the wider operations, finance and legal teams. Before joining C40, Nina worked at Mizuho Securities where she worked in the Corporate Access department, liaising with the Tokyo office and coordinating non-deal Roadshows for Japanese companies. Prior to this, Nina lived in Tokyo where she worked as a marketing and sales coordinator at a media company, helping produce a biweekly magazine called Metropolis Japan. Nina graduated from Scripps College with a BA in Foreign Languages, focusing on Spanish and Japanese.
Oliver Walker Project Assistant for the C40 Cities Finance Facility.
Oliver is the Project Assistant for the C40 Cities Finance Facility. He has previously been a member of the C40 regions team, where he was involved in engaging C40 cities in committing to the Deadline 2020 programme and enforcing the participation standards. Previously he has worked as a campaign manager for a political party and continues to work as a SCUBA diving instructor in both Malta and the UK. Oliver holds a Master’s degree in Climate Change from the University of East Anglia during which he worked with local authorities to identify the most appropriate GHG inventories to encourage meaningful emissions reduction, and a bachelor’s degree in Zoology from the University of Manchester.
Orsi Balog Women4Climate Project Manager.
With several years of experience in the development sector, Orsi has worked with groups such as Amnesty International and SaveAct, focusing on women empowerment, education and human rights. In 2016 she cofounded a volunteer organisation, which in close collaboration with the municipality, has fostered refugees integration into the Dutch sociocultural landcape. Her aim is to understand and streamline, lessons learned and best practices, by using a transdisciplinary approach, that enables inputs and scoping across scientific and non-scientific stakeholder communities, in order to facilitate an innovative, dynamic and adaptive way of addressing challenging systemic issues. She has therefore worked with multiple grassroots movements, NGOs and social and science labs, to foster innovation, and to sharpen advocacy toolkits and outreach strategies across Europe, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Orsi has a BA in International Relations from the European University-Munich, and was awarded a MSc double degree in Public Policy and Human Development by the United Nations University and the University of Maastricht, with a specialisation in Development Law and Multi-level Governance. As part of her dissertation, she explored the intersectoral policy coordination between civil society groups and governments.
Paul Cartwright Programme Manager, New Building Efficiency.
Paul Cartwright serves as Programme Manager for the New Building Efficiency Network. Paul is responsible for managing the New Building Efficiency Network supporting cities to accelerate actions to improve energy efficiency in new buildings, as well as managing the South Africa Buildings Programme as part of the Energy and Buildings Technical Assistance Programme. Prior to joining C40, Paul was a Principal Consultant at BRE (Building Research Establishment), a building research and consultancy organisation in the UK. Paul lead a multi-disciplinary team of sustainable building professionals delivering applied research and consultancy projects focused on improving the performance of buildings for both public and private sector organisations. Paul took key roles in delivering a number of building performance innovation projects including working with industry, public sector and academic partners to develop solutions for scaling-up the delivery of low carbon housing. He holds a Bachelors degree in Geography and International Relations from Lancaster University and a Masters degree in Urban Development Planning from University College London.
Paul Jorgensen Project Manager, Climate Action Planning Africa Programme.
Paul serves as a project manager for C40’s Climate Action Planning Africa Programme. Prior to joining C40, Paul worked as an environmental consultant for SRK Consulting, assisting a diverse client base in providing advisory services and solutions for environmental and social challenges. This included developing climate change policies, strategies and implementation plans for the private sector and city governments. He has previously held positions as a junior lecturer at the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa and a guest researcher at the United Nations University, Germany. He holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Science and a Bachelor of Social Science in Economics and Geography. During his Masters degree, Paul was awarded the Green Talents Award, an award which is granted by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) to young and early professionals in sustainability research.
Pedro Ribeiro Project Officer, Adaptation Initiative.
Pedro Ribeiro is the C40 Project Officer in the Adaptation Initiative and supporting adaptation networks. Pedro main role at C40 will be to facilitate and manage non-network, ad hoc, and evolving connections and sharing between cities, and Pedro serves as a member of the Adaptation Programme team.
Before joining C40, Pedro worked at the Rio de Janeiro Resilience Office. Pedro was part of the Rio’s Resilience Strategy development, where he focused on the cities urban vulnerabilities including risks due to Climate Change. In the Resilience Office, Pedro was also responsible to lead initiatives on Heat Waves/Urban Heat Islands and Urban Water Harvesting. These Initiatives required the integration of different stakeholders, including different City Hall’s departments and the Academy.
Pedro is currently attending a post graduate course on Ecological Landscape at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica of Rio de Janeiro and holds a Bachelor in Environmental Sciences at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State.
Pegah Noori khah Building Energy Data Analyst.
Pegah serves as Building Energy Data Analyst at C40 and is based in London. In her role she provides cities with technical assistance on building energy data analysis that will inform and support ambitious policies. In addition she supports technical workshops, building energy data related research products and peer to peer comparison research. Prior to joining C40 Pegah worked for Siemens Global Centre of Competence for Cities as an Infrastructure Researcher. There she worked on projects including C40's Air Quality research, Digitalization and Industry 4.0 study, and an infrastructure overview project with Myanmar. Previously she worked as a web/graphic designer gaining experience in data visualisation and communication. Pegah holds a Masters in Smart Cities and Urban Analytics from University College London and a BA in Architectural Engineering from Azad Tehran Central Branch, Iran. She speaks Persian and English.
Rafael Ramos City Adviser to the Mexico City.
Since September 2017, Rafael Ramos serves again as City Adviser to the Mexico City government. His main task is to support the City to align its Climate Action Program with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Rafael served as C40 City Adviser to Mexico City from 2007 to 2016. Before joining C40 Rafael was the Director of the Mexico City's Ambient Air Monitoring System in the Secretary of the Environment. Prior to this, Rafael was a Consultant on air quality at private Environmental Engineering firms for more than 15 years.
Rafael holds a MSc degree in Control Systems from the London Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, and a BA degree with Honors in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Rié Hirai Senior Manager of Creative Content.
Rié Hirai serves as C40’s Senior Manager of Creative Content. Rié is responsible for developing the visual identity of C40 to strengthen the organisation’s brand recognition and reputation across a broader audience worldwide. Before joining C40, Rié served as Senior Creative Director for the City of Paris. In this role, she helped define and design strong print and digital communication campaigns, including those for the City’s Participatory Budgeting and Car-Free Day. Together with Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s communications team, Rié developed a wide range of data visualizations and content using Paris open data. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication from the Royal Academy of Arts in Brussels.
Sherwin Sampson IT Technician.
Sherwin serves as our helpdesk technician working out of the C40 Cities office in London. Sherwin has extensive experience across various disciplines in the media industry, working for Sony Music, 19 Entertainment and most recently Ascential PLC. Prior to joining C40 Cities, Sherwin was also a Creative for Apple, where he instructed and lead local businesses and consumers in the creation and production of digital content for personal and professional projects. Sherwin has a Bachelor’s Degree in Multimedia Technology from Brunel University.
Silvia Marcon Head of the Chair's Office.
As Head of the Chair’s Office, Silvia works with the Chair of C40, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, her team in Paris, and the C40 Executive Director team to set the Chair's strategic vision, implement the Chair’s priorities and coordinate Steering Committee engagement. Silvia manages Chair-level external communications and leads the Women4Climate initiative, designed to advance and support the emergence of the next generation of female climate leaders in C40 Cities.
The former director of green Think Tank Fondation de l'Ecologie Politique-FEP (France), Silvia has worked for several years at the French WWF office as the Institutional Relations Manager, responsible for the National Energy Transition Bill. Silvia graduated in International Relations from the University of Trieste (Italy), and holds a Masters degree in Urban Sociology from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences/EHESS-Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris, France).
Tim Pryce Energy and Buildings Programme Director, Maternity Cover.
Tim Pryce serves as Programme Director of the Energy and Buildings Initiative (maternity cover) at C40. He is responsible for delivering C40's global energy and building strategy, including its programme of technical assistance to cities. Tim was previously Head of Public Sector and Cities at the Carbon Trust, with responsibility for strategic leadership of its work with public bodies and local governments. He led his team to deliver several multi-million dollar donor-funded programmes with measurable carbon savings. This included the Carbon Trust public sector programmes, the Low Carbon Cities Malaysia programme, and the setup of the Welsh Government Resource Efficient Wales programme. Tim has worked with over 3,000 public sector bodies and 400 local governments in the UK, Turkey, Latin America, Malaysia and China, and ran sessions on city climate leadership at COP22. Tim is a qualified chartered accountant, and started his career at the UK National Audit Office, conducting reviews of UK flood risk management strategies and the EU Emission Trading Scheme among others. He has a BA Hons in Geography from the University of Oxford and an MSc in Applied Meteorology from the University of Reading.
Trabalhando juntos.
History of C40.
In less than a decade, C40 has positioned itself as one of the most effective organisations working to address climate change.
Chair of the C40.
The C40 Chair is the elected leader of the organisation. Learn more about this pivotal position here.
Board of Directors.
The C40 Board of Directors oversees the management and day-to-day activities of the C40.
Steering Committee.
C40 mayors serve in rotation on the Steering Committee, which provides strategic direction and governance for C40.
Parceiros & amp; Funders.
C40’s partners and funders understand the importance and impact of cities on climate change and are committed to advancing urban leadership in driving solutions.
We are looking for individuals who believe that cities play a large part in creating a better world for everyone.

Why Food Forests?
Image source: Permaculture a Beginner’s Guide, by Graham Burnett.
We’re all familiar with the concept of forests — lush, abundant expanses of pristine wilderness, teeming with life, a richness of biodiversity and awe-inspiring to behold. Trees and plants intertwined, filling every possible space, the very well-spring of life itself!
Forests exist fine on their own. There’s no mowing, weeding, spraying, or digging required. No pesticides, fertilisers, herbicides or nasty chemicals. No work and no people either . They somehow do very well, thank you.
Now, imagine if everything in this lush, abundant, spectacular forest was edible !
If you can imagine what this would look like, if you can picture this in your mind’s eye, then you’re not far from the mark of what a food forest is like in real life.
By understanding how forests grow and sustain themselves without human intervention, we can learn from Nature, copy the systems and patterns to model our own forests — ones filled with trees and plants that produce food we can eat. We can design and construct the most sustainable food production systems possible; perfected, refined and cared for by Mother Nature herself.
If this concept brings up any doubts or scepticism for you as to whether this is something that works in real life, let me reassure you that food forests are a proven concept. Yes, they’re up and running around the world, and they even work in urban areas. I should know, I design and build them!
So, you’re probably wondering how it all works, what the benefits are, whether it’s more productive or cost effective than regular commercial agricultural systems, and so on. Well, we’ll address all these questions and more as we explore the case for food forests in this article, so I welcome you to read on!
It’s either this…
Or this…. The difference is obvious!
Forests are home to approximately 50-90% of all the world’s terrestrial (land-living) biodiversity — including the pollinators and wild relatives of many agricultural crops ( Source: WWF Living Planet Report 2010 ) Tropical forests alone are estimated to contain between 10-50 million species – over 50% of species on the planet . Rainforests cover 2% of the Earth’s surface and 6% of its land mass, yet they are home to over half of the world’s plant and animal species.
From these basic facts, it should be evident that forests themselves are synonymous with life, biodiversity and fertility. Where life gathers, complex and mutually beneficial relationships are created between organisms; natural harmonious communities form, and life forms multiply and proliferate.
If forests are where most of the life on the planet is, then anything less than a forest is most likely less suited to supporting life. Life supports life, yet we have forgotten that we are in fact part of the web of life itself, and depend on other life to sustain ours.
Humans tear down forests to create ‘ fields’ . The word derives from the idea that everything in the area has been ‘ felled’ – that is cut down and cleared. In these cleared areas we build cities and farms. How much life and biodiversity do you see in your surroundings day to day compared to what exists in a forest? The answer should be self-evident, and the concept that ‘forests are life’ axiomatic.
Nature has been growing plants for 460 million years, and trees for 370 million years — Modern humans first appear in the fossil record in Africa about 195,000 years ago . Trees once covered nearly all of Earth’s land mass, today they cover about 3.9 billion hectares or just over 9.6 billion acres, which is only about 29.6% of Earth’s total land area. Today, there are only three great forests left on Earth: the Amazon Forest of Brazil, and the boreal forests in Russia and Canada.
Trees have been around for much longer than humanity. All the oil and coal we are burning away at a frantic rate was formed from the decomposed remain of ancient forests, millions of years old, which is why they’re called fossil fuels!
We are relative newcomers on this planet, yet we think from the perspective of a single lifetime, and so often from a much shorter time span. Forest have formed a balanced ecosystem that spanned the length and breadth of the planet long before humanity appeared, but now forests are in a pitiful state. What we seem to forget is that these forests were responsible for nursing and rearing all life on this planet at one point or another, and still function as the planet’s life support system.
Forests are the perfect design.
With 460 million years experience, and a 9.6 billion acre garden, Mother Nature has refined the way to grow self sustaining gardens better than anyone! No weeding, spraying or watering. Nature has supported, fed, clothed and sheltered humanity for 95% of its existence – agriculture only first emerged 10,000 years ago. It stands that Nature is obviously the best ( and only !) model available for us to imitate for growing gardens.
Here is where some real perspective can radically change our view of the world and our sense of place in it.
In our day to day lives, when we want to learn how to do something, we usually (hopefully!) intend to do whatever it is that we want to do well! That is, with a degree of competency, efficiency and effectiveness. We may even strive towards mastery, chasing the elusive goal of perfection.
This seems to be the case whether we are learning to play a sport, take up a new hobby, or starting a serious enterprise. Obviously, the best place to start is to see if someone has already done what we’re trying to do, and then we look to the best to learn from. We look for people to model ourselves on – Exemplars . By definition, an exemplar is a model or pattern to be copied or imitated. If we’re learning to play a sport, we naturally won’t want to model amateurish or incompetent people. Instead, we choose to imitate the champions in the area. So, what makes them champions? Their scale and quality of their successes, their experience, and their credentials.
So what if that enterprise we were undertaking was that of growing food ?
Think of the best gardener you know, how much skill, experience and success do they have under their belt? What system of growing plants have they devised,  and how sustainable are these systems? Are they energy intensive or energy neutral ?
Now, lets reflect back to Mother Nature herself, hundreds of millions of years of growing every plant in existence , thriving without human intervention (without human existence for the greatest part), without any inputs of energy other than those supplied by natural systems — truly an exemplar to model.
What do we do then as a people? The most illogical thing imaginable, of course! We try to reinvent the wheel. But not only do we try to do the absurd and match nature, we delude ourselves that we can better nature in our insignificantly short lives, in our insignificantly short industrialised society, in its insignificantly short trial period where we are yet to determine whether this path taken by human society is even a viable one!
Humans in modern societies have the misconception that nature has to be fought, conquered and controlled. That’s a far cry from the ancient or more ‘primitive’ societies who see the Earth as their Mother. An interesting point to reflect on.
Improve on Nature. & # 160; If this is an improvement on a forest for sustaining life, I think we’re in trouble….
Here are some of the consequences of out inept attempts to ‘better’ nature (see pictures below). Modern agriculture creates unbalanced monocultures that are preserved through relentless chemical warfare. Not only are we doing a terrible job of it, but we’re poisoning Nature and ourselves in the process.
Somewhere between 8500 and 7000 BC, humans in the Fertile Crescent in Middle East began the systematic husbandry of plants and animals – a system we call Agriculture . Surely we can do better than bare field row-planted monocultures after 10,000 years of practising agriculture?
Nature is referred to as ‘Mother Nature’ for a reason, it’s what mothered us; that is fed, clothed and sheltered us for most of our relatively short existence on this planet. Perspective can be a threatening thing to our slumbering minds! Somewhere along the line, we lost our reverence for Nature, our belief in the connection to all living things, and our sense of harmony with our surroundings. We discarded those ‘primitive’ beliefs because we gained ‘progress’. We had our supposed ‘Age of Enlightenment’, religiously followed the cult of rationalism where we swapped our reverence for Nature with a misplaced reverence for the human mind, and while we lay prostrated at the altar of human reasoning, we lost our place in the world. Regrettably, since we became convinced that nothing existed that was higher than the human mind, our arrogant thinking led us to believe that ‘our place’ was above Nature. Being in such an exalted place meant we ruled Nature, and if it disobeyed, we would beat it into submission.
We may laugh at the true story of the Roman Emperor Caligula had declared himself a god and had the sea whipped with chains for its disobedience, but how different is modern humanity’s approach to Nature – as something to be fought, conquered and controlled. The same brutal wars we wage on each other, with the same deadly weapons, we do to Nature also. We wage chemical and biological warfare on Nature and her creatures, and while it appears to be the most futile, pointless and destructive of wars, we persist even to our own detriment. Such is our short-sightedness as a species. With this anthropocentric perspective, where everything revolves around mankind, no good can come of this.
Humanity is collectively guilty of trying to twist and deform the facts about how nature works to fit into what are predominantly closed minds filled with ill-founded beliefs.
These distorted beliefs are very real. Biotechnologists firmly believe that humanity’s ‘salvation’ lies in them ‘engineering’ staple crops through genetic modification to provide all our needs and save humanity from starvation. This form of messianic thinking is seriously deluded, and their corporate overlords couldn’t care less  other than from the profits these patented life forms could potentially generate. Call me critical, but these claims are not scientific, and as a person with qualifications in the sciences, I frankly find these claims offensive, for they are simply ‘faith based statements’ without any evidence to support the veracity of such claims, masquerading as science.
Meanwhile, traditional agricultural practices are destroying large tracts of land through soil erosion, salinity, overuse of chemical fertilisers, destruction of supporting ecosystems (that bring rain for example). If one takes off the ideological blinkers, and steps outside of the context of our current age and society, it is glaringly obvious we’re heading for a dead-end and quickly gaining speed, hastening an ominous conclusion.
Just to add a bit more perspective to the picture about how lost humanity is, I have heard academics arguing against the ‘green movement’, raising the preposterous argument that “nature (and therefore life) has no value above its usefulness to humanity” – need I say more….
Now, if anyone thinks our current path is “improving on nature”, and has placed their faith in this process, I seriously urge them to critically examine their world view. If you can see that things aren’t quite right, but want to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem, then read on!
Why reinvent the wheel when a better one already exists, look to Nature! We can design and build natural ecosystems full of life, that look after themselves, just like a forest — but which contain plants of our choosing. The design system of Permaculture looks at natural systems and patterns, and emulates them to design food production systems and human settlements that integrate harmoniously with Nature.
 Why dig like this?
 When the experts are available….
We look at Nature’s system, and we copy them, so nature does our work for us, just like using earthworms to dig! That’s the spirit of Permaculture. No need for hard work …
Nature grows in a highly optimised pattern, utilising multiple layers and making the most of both horizontal and vertical space.
A food forest typically is comprised of seven layers, the uppermost layer being the canopy layer. The canopy layer is comprised of tall trees — typically large fruit and nut trees. Between the tall canopy layer trees, there is a layer of low growing, typically dwarf fruit trees. Mind you, a dwarf fruit tree can be up to 4m (12’) tall, so don’t think these are necessarily very low trees! Nestled between all the small trees are the shrubs – which are well represented by currants and berries. Filling the remaining space are the herbaceous layer, these are the culinary and medicinal herbs, companion plants, bee-forage plants and poultry forage plants. Any remaining space is occupied by ground cover plants. These form a living mulch that protects the soil, reduces water loss to evaporation, and prevents weeds growing. We can still go a level deeper to the rhizosphere, or root zone, the underground level which is occupied by all our root crops, such as potatoes, carrots, ginger, yacon, etc. While that might seem like a lot of plants in one space, we still have one more to fill, the upright vertical space. This is filled by climbers and vines, which can be run up trellises, arbours, fences, trees or any other vertical support. This category includes grapes, climbing beans, many berries, passionfruit, kiwi fruit, climbing peas, chokos and many other species that love to climb.
Now there are a lot of misconceptions about what a food forest actually is that I would like to clear up.
Rows of trees are not food forests . They are instead what is described as an orchard. Rows of trees with some other plant underneath are not food forests ,  they are orchards with under-plantings. Rows of trees with rows of other plants alternating between them are not  food forests , they are orchards employing intercropping.
A food forest my not necessarily have all seven layers, but it does have multiple layers, and even more importantly, it is a virtually self-sustaining living ecosystem.
In terms of form , the very thing that differentiates it from a two dimensional field of lettuce or any other monoculture is that it is a three dimensional structure.
In terms of function , being a living ecosystem gives it properties and attributes that are not present in agricultural systems and many gardens.
The benefits to be realised from food forests are as follows:
High density planting ensures high yields. Biodiversity ensures continuous food supply throughout the year.
Natural Mulch, Compost & Fertilizer.
Just like a forest, food forests are self-mulching and cover the soil on their own to retain moisture. With such a high plant density, a high volume of fallen leaves accumulates and rots down to add organic matter to the soil. Decomposers, the class of insects that break down organic matter, such as earthworms, wood lice (pill bugs, slaters), and  millipedes, work to help the natural composting process.
No chemicals required! Food forests use natural predators to get rid of pests – letting the experts do the work, naturally. Predatory insects have a permanent home (a natural ecosystem) and abundant food sources (nectar rich flowers) in a food forest. Provide these and they will come on their own! A regular veggie patch is a home only for pest insects, there’s nowhere for good bugs to live! An abundant, living ecosystem will attract birds and other larger predators, further contributing to natural pest control.
Resilience Through Biodiversity – Strength in Numbers.
Nature does not grow large areas of one plant species ( or plants in neat rows either !), Nature prefers biodiversity, not monocultures! Mixing different types of plant together makes them grow better, period. It creates a natural synergy that benefits all the plants involved. The plants as a result are more resistant to pests and disease, and are more productive ( and nicer to look at !). The use of Companion planting allow us to recreate nature’s biodiversity to gain these benefits.
In Nature, when plants die off, they stay in place. They’re not uprooted and binned! Don’t uproot annuals that have finished, cut the stem at soil level . The roots rot away to create thousands of intricate air and water channels in the soil. The tops of the chopped plants create a natural sheet compost system like the forest floor Preserve your soil, build paths. Don’t step in your garden beds, the soil is alive. ( It’s actually a more complex ecosystem than anything that exists above ground ). Stepping in your garden beds compacts the soil, closing all the air and water channels, making it harder for water and air to reach plant roots, which impairs the growth of plants.
A Food Forest is built to emulate a real forest — only we fill it with the food plants and trees that we want.
Real forests don’t need any work, they self-maintain — no pesticides, herbicides, weeding, crop rotation, mowing or digging. Food forests don’t need any of this either! Less work, more food, all natural! Why would you do anything else?
In conclusion, if we look beyond our modernised culture to Nature’s most advanced and life-abundant plant growing systems, it is clearly evident that working with Nature is the wisest and most productive path to sustainable food production.
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51 thoughts on “ Why Food Forests? & rdquo;
I would say that every human on earth should have access to a food forest, food forests are a VERY important part of human biophilia, as we were evolved as hunter-gatherers. A human being that doesn’t have access to a food forest is hindered from being a full human being, the contact with the human origin is cut off, the roots back to ancient Africa are missing. Simply, access to a food forest in your neighborhood is a fundamental part of human life, to experience our human-gatherer origin. To feel the soul and spirit of our forefathers!
Read Jarred Diamonds article; The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race: mnforsustain/food_ag_worst_mistake_diamond_j. htm.
-I agree with the thrust of this article but would caution would be designers of food forests in Temperate climates to think long and hard about how they design such a forest. Here in Auckland New Zealand we have one demonstration food forest which through poor design has hardly produced a yield after ten years. Food forests are an amazing idea and I absolutely love working in them but as with all Permaculture the design must be site and climate specific.
Hi, I’m located on Auckland’s north shore and looking for someone who can help us design a food forest for our property. I see that you are in Auckland John, would you be interested do know or can recommend someone?
Hey, i know this is a long time after you posted your comment, but try James Samuel for a recommendation in your area. If he can’t help you, he is sure to know someone who can :)
This cheerleading for food forests can get some people interested, such as myself, but if you want to really get the attention of the people who can make things happen I think you need to use words like yield, inputs, wage, dollars, marketing, nutrition, efficiency, labor, return on investment, etc.
I’m very interested in “food forests,” but after working to establish one and seeing quite a few unadvertised pitfalls, I have more questions than answers about the universal applicability of this idea.
And to say that the choice is between forest or desert is ridiculous. There are many ecological and agronomic options between them and many are probably far more productive in various particular situations.
I’m a food forest advocate for a reason, it works! Lowest labour, highest yields, one of Nature’s most efficient food production system (other than aquaculture – which produces fish and aquatic plants, not trees and terrestrial edible plants!), greatest return on investment (you can build one for zero dollars).
Re-read my history of forests and humanity in the article – there’s nothing special about the very, very short history of the western world’s short experiment called ‘industrialised society’, other than our disconnection from Nature, our increasingly destructive ‘Earth pillaging’ practices, our arrogance and smug superiority (we don’t know our place in this ecological system we call planet Earth), and overpopulation – all of which work against us…
The article is a reasoned rationale of why we would choose to build food forests over other systems, it’s not cheerleading, it’s all spelled out in there.
Not sure what kinds of ‘food forests’ you’ve worked on, looking around the Internet, many people wrongly classify orchards, or underplanted orchards, as food forests, and this is incorrect. If it’s a living ecosystem, it will have all the life in it – plants, insects, birds, etc. If it doesn’t, then it isn’t a living ecosystem.
I’ve built a few food forests now, and I haven’t encountered any ‘unadvertised pitfalls’, so if you would care to share you’re experience, I’m sure we’d a;; like to hear what you have to say.
If we have an optimum model in Nature for growing trees and vegetation, why would you use a lesser system? If it’s not a living ecosystem, then it’s devoid of life, it’s literally an ecological desert.
Modern agriculture, which creates large expanses of bare dirt, devoid of all lfe, what are these abominations other than artificially created deserts? If I gave you a pristine forest, and asked you to turn it into a desert, wouldn’t you do exactly what farmers do with their land?
These ecological voids are then planted up with a monoculture of one annual vegetable, chemically fertilized and artificially irrigated. Nothing like ‘dustbowl irrigation’ & # 8211; expending huge quantities of water irrigating wide open expanses of windswept dry soil with no organic matter, with widely spaced plants to eliminate any microclimate, best way to maximise evaporation! Then comes harvest time, in come the tractors, tonnes of diesel burning machinery, compacting the soil and creating hardpan, atripping off the artificially maintained vegetation away back to bare soil, returning it to a desert.
What does Nature try to do with bare soil? Turn it back into a forest of course. If you look up the concept of ecological succession, more particularly forest succession, you’ll see this is scientific fact. You can swim with the current and assist Nature to build a climax forest faster, or you can struggle pointlessly and expend huge anounts of energy trying to revert ’emerging forests’ back to bare soil!
Yes, nature will rescue the bare dirt (farm?)by filling the space with pioneer plants (weeds) to stop erosion and recreate life in the distrurbed area. Modern agriculture’s response is to bring out the chemical weapons and poison what’s left of the ecosystem with herbicides, which will create a lethal cocktail with the pesticises they were spraying there beforehand. Couple that with the soil damaged from overuse of phosphate fertilizer – I can go on, hope you get the picture…
JBob, clearly the only choice IS between sustainable, highly productive, natural systems, or deserts, because the latter is all that is being left behind after the land is subjected to the destructive modern agricultural practises, and that’s not my opinion, that’s a fact. If we keep up our destructive practices, it will all become desert, so it’s time to turn the tide and start repairing the planet. The best way to do that is with forests! And what better solution that forests that provide us with food in the process.
A food forest can be profitable, monetarily as well as nutritionally and aesthetically. I do not see anything wrong with selling part of the surplus produced by a food forest. Even the most faithful permaculturists require money from time to time. The problem begins when people have to depend on money for everything and this is one key characteristic of our current global society. Growing one’s own food can help reduce the dependence on money to satisfy the need for food and the techniques taught in permaculture can be useful in this regard.
I believe that once food forests and improved standard of living are proven to be inextricably linked, those who have the means to set up a food forest will at least want to try it out. At the very least it will serve as one way in which individuals and communities can take responsibility for supplying the food needs.
Uau! Thank you for this amazingly informative article. Will definitle use this going forward with permaculture here at Ebony Acres, Killarney Valley, KZN, SA!
Yes Arian, I fully agree that a food forests should not be for profit, but for community. I believe many parks should have been re-designed into food forests, giving the park a multilayered function.
Having a community food forests is much better than a community garden, because if you don’t have time to maintain a food forest one year or some, it will just take care of itself. Further you can also make small vegetable gardens in a food forest, so small that when you quit it the forest will soon reclaim it.
It’s also important to remember that food forests are not just for humans, but for birds, butterflies, fish, deer etc., putting in favorable plants for all kind of species. This making the experience greater, and making it a real hunter/gatherer food forests.
Holmstad, I feel I must respond to your statement that food forests should not be used for profit. That sounds like the point of view of someone who lives in a western society where the idea of permaculture and “food forests” is the pursuit of mainly people who have jobs that pay for the rest of their expenses in life and the permaculture just provides some or maybe even a large part of their food necessities. Try telling that to small scale farmers in third world countries who rely on their 5 acre or less plot of land for ALL their income. Income to feed and clothe and educate their children, medical needs, transportation etc. And then add climate change and uncertainty of production to the mix of things this kind of family has to deal with. I am originally from Kenya now living in the US and wanting to make a transition back to a simpler way of life. I know that my grandparents only had their plots of land from which to provide for their families. My parents had jobs but still held on to some agricultural land. If permaculture is to spread fast enough to make a real difference in the future of our planet, it needs to be developed and taught in a way that even small scale farmers can provide food for their families AND be able to have a surplus to put on the market to provide cash for their other necessities. And I’m not talking luxurious living either. I think it is safe to assume that most of the people involved in permaculture have other sources of income that allow them to experience other aspects of modern culture and society. They can have technological “toys” and take advantage of mobility to get to know other parts of the world and their own countries. I know for sure that my grandparents all died without ever having seen the ocean with their own eyes. And Kenya has gorgeous beaches which are visited by tourists from all over the world! And there are still many people like my grandparents living in Kenya today. If you think the west was hit hard by the recent economic crisis, think about what it life is like for small scale farmers in “third world” countries. Hundreds of thousands of young people who have no jobs would probably turn to agriculture and permaculture if they new they could at least make some money from it.
Here follow the lists of the species they have used at the food forest at Holma Gård in Høør in Southern Sweden, close to Malmø:
Esbjörn Wandt per e - post, telefon 046-20 01 09, mobil 0734-44 80 28 eller per brev till: Esbjörn Wandt, Sandbyvägen 164, 247 54 Dalby.
Hey Angelo – I really enjoyed your article. Top work.
Hi John – I’m in a cooler climate than you with poorer soils. I’m interested in what was the specific design problem that caused a food forest to produce no output in 10 years. How is that even possible? The reason I ask is because over my way, even the most dodgy, uncared for, by the side of the road seedling apple tree will produce output within a decade. What could they possibly have done wrong, there’s got to be a lesson in there for all of us?
Hi JBob – Again, your comments veer into the negative. Given that you have access here to a whole lot of people who have their own, or are involved in others, or the design of others food forests, why don’t you state what your unadvertised pitfalls are? Estamos aqui para ajudá-lo. It could be something site specific, or something that someone else has seen and can advise you. A strong person always knows when to ask for help. If you can’t ask for help, then stop whingeing.
Angelo I’m very interested in this idea as I soon hope to start planting out our land with a variety of fruits, nuts, herbs, veggies, fodder plants, etc. One concern I have with the food forest idea is yield with the possums and cockies also looking for a feed and no doubt loving the new paradise I’ve just created for them. Having trees in rows obviously makes netting easier so I’m curious as to what design solutions you have come up with.
Agree with your comments, I’m in a cool temperate climate, and my 3 year old food forest was producing in it’s first year. Mind you, I took a year to ‘build the soil’ first, as the soil was in a very poor state.
A food forest embodies the application of all the Permaculture principles. I set about designing a ‘garden’ which embodies as many Permaculture design principles as possible, and inevitably ended up designing a food forest. With a design that incorporates possibly all the design principles, the underlying requirement is that the designer:
uma. understands design principles, and.
b. Knows how to apply the design principles in a practical sense.
With the example you state, you’ve shown a classic example of what Bill Mollison terms a “type 1” design error. To quote Bill Mollison:
One of the great rules of design is do something basic right. Then everything gets much more right of itself. But if you do something basic wrong – if you make what I call a Type 1 Error – you can get nothing else right.
Source: Permaculture, Design For Living – an Interview with Bill Mollison, by Alan AtKisson.
Designing and building a food forest is not that hard if you get the basics right, and have a reasonable level of plant knowledge to know what you’re doing.
By creating sound designs, building working demonstration food forests, and teaching design fundamentals, we as permaculturists can offer the world a more viable model for food production.
I have seen a food forest in cold Canada, I have seen the food forests in the South Pacific, by people who call it gardening. Funciona. I do believe what you give you will receive. A food forest is not an experiment to be judged, it is the call of Nature. Gaia thanks you for your gift. The food forest is a dynamic play of creation with man and Nature.
Good stuff. But the reference to fossil fuel is outdated; that petroleum is composed of fossil remains was but a theory promulgated long ago by an educated guesser and spread as though it were proven. (Much like the Hundredth Monkey scenario). Studies by Russian geologists (and others) demonstrate that petroleum is actually created deep below the Earth by geologic processes that entail enormous temperatures and pressures, and is slowly pushed to the surface. Technically that makes it renewable, but its downside wins (or loses) the day. This doesn’t doesn’t negate your central theses, but its good to be up-to-date, n’est ce pas?
I have to say that the idea that all landscapes with bare soil will return to forest by nature given enough time is false. Roughly 2/3 of the worlds land mass are brittle environments that will turn to desert and stay as a desert unless there are properly managed animals grazing across them. Therefore perennial pastures are a much more suitable system than food forests for most of the planet. Food Forests are great, but they are far more work on a large scale than pastures are. It does take a lot of work to get a Food Forest established, but there is nothing wrong with some hard work either. It is more constructive to embrace a range of solutions rather than to promote just one for the whole world and every climate within it. Meat production in a food forest is a concept you don’t hear much about and I would love to see what is being done in this area.
What is the starting point for creating a food forest? I think you should start with what does a person need to feed itself (with family) for a day, a week, the rest of his/her life to reach optimal health and go from there. From my point of view I think ideally it should provide 100% of the nutritional needs indefinitely. Isso é possível? Are there live examples that were established fairly recently? Show me. If it is not possible why not? Personally I would like to find/connect to one or more examples in Latin America so that I can learn how it is done and learn how to develop my own. I must disclose that I am vegan.
I too am looking for viable examples in Latin America, specifically the central mountain region of Mexico, to connect with and share ideas.
This is a well-written article that serves as a great food forest primer; digging into it I realize I disagree with one thing about it. It is overly simplistic to learn permaculture and think food forests are the best solution to our food production problems. I would encourage anyone that finds themselves there to dig deeper. Permaculture is about design, and design requires one to consider all facets of a situation to make the best decision. On a parched hilltop piece of eastern Colorado prairie (and in many other cases) it is highly unlikely you will arrive at the solution of developing a food forest. I love a food forest as much as any other, I develop multiple every year, but to suggest they are the best solution implies they are appropriate everywhere. Fundamentally, I disagree with that kind of thinking. Besides that this is a great article. My only suggestion is to tone down the sales pitch a bit so readers aren’t encouraged to impose design solutions, but instead to make informed solutions through observation and site analysis.
Well said Evan and I think you were a little harsh Chris. There is certainly not a clear choice between deserts and lush forest and this is well stated by Evan. I have yet to see a well established and productive food forest but I understand there are a couple of excellent examples established in Brazil. Tagari in NNSW has, from what I saw on a visit there, a good productive and rampant system and there is also, I am told, one good example in SA. Apart from that the systems as described by Angelo sound to be a more academic treatise as opposed to a description of a practical example. Forests in whatever form should probably be regenerative, a word that is well and appropriately used by Darren Doherty in his RegenAg organisation rather than sustainable. This word is over used, poorly understood and frankly, probably past its use-by date.
For those who asked for them, here are some unadvertised pitfalls I’ve encountered in my subtropical semi-arid, irrigated “food forest.” I’m not saying any or all of these are insurmountable, but they all add up to make pasture/rangeland meat production FAR easier than food forestry in my opinion.
Diseases: Three year old loquat died of fireblight, I think. Some kind of persistent leaf spot necrosis on chinese jujubes. Panama disease or some similar leaf disease killed bananas. Not really a disease, but the indian jujube grew beautifully for 3 years until it suddenly split to the ground – now a 3″ stump that might hopefully regrow. Citrus greening disease will almost certainly wipe out all citrus in the area in the near future. Threat of laurel wilt disease spreading to this area makes avocado planting a very poor risk.
Pests: Leaf-footed bug feeding will cause 100% loss of otherwise bountiful pomegranate crop. Same bugs also eat quite a few mulberries. Possums eat every single fig as they ripen unless continuously trapped and killed. Birds pecking on citrus causes about %10-25 fruit drop. Pill bugs in mulch make direct seeding impossible for many crops.
Weather: Unusually cold or late winters set back marginally adapted tree species by years, compared to grassland that will bounce back within weeks. High water table floods land during tropical storms/heavy rain. Peaches are especially susceptible to waterlogging and several have died teaching me that lesson.
Cultural: Pot-grown trees often have root-bound or deformed roots that cause problems only months or years after planting. Keeping perennial rhizomatous weeds (Cynodon) out of new forests takes a lot of labor.
I’m not giving up, and I think it will eventually all pay off, but I would not tell anybody it’s “easy.”
Yes Joni, even Christopher Alexander thinks the word sustainable is over used and today sounds like a kind of disconnection. From what I understand from this interview he has stopped using this word, from the understanding it’s taken in today’s societies: energybulletin/stories/2010-12-23/interview-pattern-language-author-christopher-alexander.
Bill Mollison was right about how much you learn from observation. When working out how to build urban food forests, I incorporated the technique of Backyard Orchard Culture, which restricts the height of trees to how high you can reach with a pair of secateurs to prune the tops. I keep them a bit higher than that, but not much more.
With around 35 fruit trees, and dozens of berries packed into a standard sized inner city block, losses to animals were almost non-existent – with no netting. We have possums, flying fox fruit bats, and lots of birds, including rainbow lorikeets in the area.
These critters would attack the neighbours single fruit trees, but wouldn’t come into a backyard full of fruit trees. I finally worked out why – security! No animal or bird feels secure in a tree so low that you could reach them by hand, they feel too vulnerable, it’s not worth the risk, so they search out for taller trees that they feel safe in.
Remember, in any ecosystem, there is a food chain amongst the fauna, and small predators have their niche in the overall order of things. We create systems and we omit a component that occurs naturally as part of the harmonious balance. How many animals occupy the niche of small predators in most gardens? Usually none, so the systems run out of balance, and the ‘problem’ fauna becomes a problem. I have three domestic cats, well fed, so they don’t harm the local fauna, but they act as a deterrent.
No bird will risk landing on the ground to eat strawberries, but they can gorge themselves on the higher branches of the mulberry tree, and the canes of my bramble-berries, which I intentionally grow along the top of the fence, to feed the birds. This way everyone’s happy. Fruit bats cant take off easily from low fruit trees, so they avoid them. Possums are about the same size as cats, and respect each others territory, so the possums occupy the front yard area, above the ground only, but don’t eat anything, they respect that another smll animal has claimed the territory below them and avoid it.
It operates just like a real forest setting, where all the ecological niches are filled and everything is kept in balance.
Mind you, it’s not always 100%, I lost 6 apples to half a dozen cheeky rainbow lorikeets (small parrots)who performed their playful antics and acrobatics two meters away from myselff and two cats. They add so much joy and colour, and are amusing to watch, so I didn’t chase them away, I let them have an apple each and photographed them instead!
Randje, fossil fuels are renewable. Not sure about that, the carbon comes from somewhere, remember, life forms on this planet are carbon based. If petroleum isn’t formed from old forests, its news to me! I’ll considere myself corrected if I see some references to solid rersearch. Thanks for the positive comments regarding the general gist of the article!
Evan, yes that’s correct, all ecosystems have the capacity to self-repair and regenerate following a disturbace, up to a acertain point, beyond that, as you mention, they revert to deserts. That’s why we have the responsibility to play a part to tip the balance back in the favor of Nature!
I honestly don’t understand your comments about grazing animals on pastures for food production. Overgrazing is the fastest way to turn a pasture into desert, and grazing prevents the growth of shrubs, the next stage of forest succession.
Grazing animals compact the soil, accelerating soil erosion. Pastures grow fodderr for grazing animals, which produce meat, and even as a meat eater, I recognise that meat production from pastures is the most inefficient way to produce food possible. This is why nobody is producing meat in food forests, it’s easier to eath the vegetables yourself! Mind you, people do grow rabbits for meat in such environments, but they aren’t free range!
Food forest are one of the most productive, but unfortunately most ignored systems. My approach is scientific, identify the most productive systems, implement them, test them, and evaluate them, then share my findings. I’m sharing what my results are here, not theory. I also understand that aquaculture systems are even more productive, but they produce fish, aquatic plants, crustaceans, etc, not terrestrial plants and trees. When I get a chance to build these systems, I’ll promote them too. Why would I look at inferior systems? I’ve also been experimenting with hydroponic systems for three years now (not sustainable), with the intention of converting them to more ecological aquaponic systems at a later date, for comparison’s sake.
Hi Joni, there are amy food forest around, you’ve just got to do some searching!
I must say, I was pleasantly amused by your comment “Apart from that the systems as described by Angelo sound to be a more academic treatise as opposed to a description of a practical example.” You must have missed my previous article, entitled “Lessons from an Urban Back Yard Food Forest Experiment” & # 8211; see here: permaculturenews/2011/04/13/lessons-from-an-urban-back-yard-food-forest-experiment/
If you can get to Melbourne, Australia, you can visit, we have hundreds of people a year come through on our regular tours, see my website for all the hard data, it’s a fully documented study!
Of course forests are regenerative, yet to see one that isn’t – the term is particularly befitting for Darren Doherty’s well-respected work in the area of silviculture, timber production. Since your harvesting the trees themselves, the regeneration of the forest is therefore critical!
Sustainability is a simple concept – the dictionary definition is “The maintenance of the factors and practices that contribute to the quality of environment on a long-term basis.” We can get lost in definitions, it’s more important to practice it…
Hi JBob, I think it’s important to have a catholic perspective on food forests. Unlike the communists, who just made 5 years plans, I’ve heard the catholic church makes 500 years plans. For me too 2 of 3 trees died of frost, so now I plant only one tree per year, and if it’s a severe winter it’s most likely only one tree dies. Except for hazelnuts, which grow like a wildfire. But if the nuts are able to mature in my climate/spot, I don’t know yet. But with climate change they’ll might do in future? For rounded root balls it’s important not to dig the holes round, but square.
Anyway, Sepp Holzer has made very successfull food forests up in the Austrian Alps, so I’m sure I’ve something to learn from him. See this 45 minutes documentary with Sepp Holzer: cultureunplugged/play/930/The-Agro%20Rebel.
I don’t rememer if you have posted this documentary on your blog Craig, but if you’ve not I think you should!
Also, if any other have links to other films of Sepp Holzer, please past these links on this commentary field, so that I can repost them on my blog.
Thanks for sharing your experience, unfortunate as it was.
My personal experience with food forest designs was that once the natural synergy established itself between all the plants and trees, most pests disappeared, and no more diseases either, it almost seemed miraculous.
My experience is with a cool-temperate climate, and we have had issues with sudden and extreme weather conditions. Early this year when a cyclone hit Queensland, Melbourne’s climate temporarily reverted to tropical, with high heat and constant rain! Everyone lost their all their grapes and early stone fruit, including me. Lost about 10% of my harvest this year.
Your weather conditions appear to be affecting the species you’re growing.
I’ve found that biodiversity makes a big difference. Try various species, of early, mid and late bearing varieties, to determine which perform the best.
With grafted fruit trees, certain rootstocks are more tolerant of flooding than others with particular species.
Don’t be afrain to experiment till you find a formula that works.
In areas prone to flooding, to minimise the damage, planting very ‘thirsty’ plants in the vicinity can alleviate the issue for other nearby trees.
Furthermore, focussing on biodiversity as a solution, don’t just use trees for food production, try plenty of berries and perennial food plants, to create a more resilient food production system.
Heavily planting with companion plants is the key to getting rid of pests and diseases, it’s definitely worth trying out.
You mentioned pill bugs (aka wood lice, slaters) – these little guys are part of the decomposer class of soil life, they prefer decomposing organic matter. Use plenty of mulch and compost on your garden, chop and drop any plant waste back into the garden beds, utilise sheet composting over the garden beds, and they will be happy and not touch your seedlings. It worked for me.
It really sounds like your circumstances are a bit more difficult than what people normally experience, but I’m glad you’re hanging in there and not giving up.
I can’t stress enough the need to experiment, if it isn’t working, dare to try something different, do things in a different way, and see what happens. We learn from our mistakes, many people create the unrealistic expectations that they will get things right the first time round.
Don’t be discouraged, hoping your garden returns to life and rewards your hard efforts.
Hey Angelo – The rains earlier this year that you mentioned dumped 250mm here in 5 days. I’m only 60km north of you and I’m noticing that as the climate is warming we are getting more tropical weather patterns coming down from the north. Just the other day we received a downpour of 75mm.
The only way to adapt to these conditions is to increase the organic matter in the soil, I also plant fairly closely together mimicking the surrounding forest. I think this advice may apply to areas other than cool temperate environments too.
It’s not a demonstration farm and I’m a bit busy for the next month, but you’re welcome to drop by sometime.
JBob – I’m sorry to hear about your troubles. Can I suggest that you have a good look at a local patch of native forest and try to replicate it’s arrangement. By this, I’m mean: look at the diversity of species; the ground cover; the height of the canopy trees; the organic matter on the forest floor; and what sort of birds and animals call it home (ie. how can you lure them to your patch?).
Also have a look at other peoples fruit trees, or fruit trees by the side of the road and try to learn. The question is, why does it work here?
How do you get enough chilling hours for a peach tree in a subtropical area?
But most importantly increase the organic matter and biological activity in your soil.
Sorry should have gone into more detail in my comment above, the problem with the food forest I referred to is that it was waaaay overplanted. The designers relied on tropical models for their design and did not take into account the lower levels of light and shorter days that New Zealand has. This has resulted in a situation where the yield from the food forest is virtually nil wheras a conventionally planted fruit area nearby is producing wonderfully.
I think food forests are amazing but design is crucial, this very site informed the design of my personal food forest which is producing loads of food 5 years after establishment.
Thanks Chris and John, you’ve both highlighted some very important points regarding food forest design.
Observation is all important in Permaculture, and the important thing for people to remember is that they should be replicating the forests in their climate/region for optimum results. Look at what grows well around you, and how it’s growing. There are reasons why it’s that way. Analyse Nature’s work, see the patterns, replicate them. Your comments illustrate this point clearly.
To put it in a less clinical and more human way, let Nature be your teacher, still the chattering human mind, re-integrate with Nature, see your surroundings ‘with new eyes’ and let her wisdom speak. Those who ‘understand’ Natures intentions can flow with Nature’s creative currents and create harmonious designs.
John, great comments about plant spacing. People in Australia make the opposite mistake space plants in traditional vegetable gardens like they do in the UK, with its overcast weather and low levels of sunlight. In Australia our country is literally sunburnt, we’re under the hole in the ozonelayer, UV levels are extreme, the sun is so intense that you can pack plants very close together and they still grow. Wide plant spacing here increases evaporation of moisture from the soil, and created lifeless UV sterliized soil.
As I mentioned before, food forest designs virtually apply every Permaculture design principle known, and a good understanding of these principles and how to apply them is crucial. It does take a lot more design skill and horticultural knowledge to design and build a successful food forest, both of which can be gained over time with practice and experience.
All good things take time, a lesson we all learn from hands on gardening, as we tend to our plants from season to season, and year to year!
Im just not agree with the concept that is wrong to follow the path of human reasoning. Actually if we could really be full reasonable, we would be able to see that we are part of a system, we are not special, we are not the center. We dont need to call it “reverence” for the Nature coz that remarks us as an entity outside of Nature. Its not like “Humans and Nature”, we all are the same system, humans are a small part of Nature, we are just another node of the net.
The moment when we got lost, was when we placed our species (humans)and its survival as the center of the Nature/World, then we focused only in helping ourselves and saving ourselves, saving our children, while passing over all the rest of the living species.
Human mind is so powerful and the key for approaching to the Universe’s design, but what our mind’s development brings to us, shall be only a much more responsible role. The only difference between the rest of species and we, is that we can be conscious of our role as a part of this SYSTEM, we are not&never more important than the rest of living species in this world. If any little piece of Nature dies, then part of us dies as well.
No Alberto, the moment when we got lost was when we started looking at our world as parts, not as wholes! Please read Michael Mehaffy and Nikos Salingaros essay in Metropolis Magazine from yesterday, The “Wholeness-Generating” Technology of Christopher Alexander: metropolismag/pov/20111024/the-%e2%80%9cwholeness-generating%e2%80%9d-technology-of-christopher-alexander.
Complex organic matter may have been found beyond the Solar System.
Titan Has More Oil Than Earth.
billions of dinosaurs in outer space or life not needed to form hydrocarbons.
Thanks for the links Duane,
A bit off the topic of the article, but I read the articles anyway, since you went to the trouble to post them.
In the first, it’s speculative, all they have detected are infrared spectra emissions in the 3.3-3.4um range, and they’re speculating as to what they might be!
In the second, it has nothing to do with oil, the title is a misnomer. The gist of the article is that liquified methane and ethane gas have been detected on the moon Titan. These are very small molecules, nothing like the long chain hyrocarbons and aromatic componds that make up oil. There’s no big deal about this either, all the planets in our solar system except for mercury and venus have small amounts of methane in their atmospheres.
Regardless of how the oil got there, the point is that we’re using it in very inefficient ways, and it will run out. In 2007, the world was using 13,610,000 m3 per day of crude oil, it’s projected to reach 16,500,000 m3 per day in 2030. The first figure equates to roughly 13.5 million tonnes of oil a day! The planet is a ‘closed system’ and in physics, the ‘law of conservation of matter’ tells us that we retain the matter in the system, it doesn’t go anywhere, it can only change from one form to another. It stays in the same ‘goldfish bowl’ and everything in there is exposed to what we produce!
This 13.5 million tons of matter lost a day from below the Earth’s surface is not going to magically recycle itself, the matter has been removed from under the ground, and is simply converted chemically and displaced to the surface.
By burning oil, all the carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, methane, volatile organic compounds, particulates and heavy metals such as mercury end up in the biosphere. The chemicals we make from the oil end up in the same place too. All the intentional poisons we create, such as pesticides and herbicides, end up in the system, destroying life as they move through it.
The planets capacity to neutralise all these chemical pollutants is impaired because why? Because we’re tearing down the forests, the focal points of life on the planet. Hence the need to repair the declining forests and switch to more energy efficient processes to produce food, which is what this article is about!
So, all life on the planet ends up swimming in a toxic chemical soup of pollutants, including ourselves, and the oil can’t return, because all the atoms of all the substances that made up the oil are now above ground! Nothing is going to pump over 13 million tonnes of matter a day back into the depths of the Earth, so you have a net loss in the subterranean system, and the oil therefore progressively runs out…
The planet is a vehicle moving through space, Nature is the life support system, the food production system, and the waste recycling system. And it’s the only one, there are no backup systems! We’re irresponsible passengers willfully and ignorantly destroying our own support systems – we can kid iurselves that our actions don’t and won’t have consequences, that the oil won’t run out, but all that will do is create a very tragic ending to a sad fairytale…
Fantastic article and follow up comments.
I too am interested to know what and if there is some new findings that conclusively refute that oil came from the decomposition of organic matter, and if so from what and from where.
I find it hard to believe that it comes from decomposing rock formations combined with gases. Interesting take though.
But hasn’t there been enough research of artificial produced oil already that makes it fairly obvious that is is from matter?
Other than that information the points raised are excellent and enlightening.
I grew up on a Ranch and my grandfather believed in rotation, and in leaving as much of the natural wood (trees and plant growth) untouched as possible. He also allowed many of the native bushes along with fruit bearing bushes to grow between fields. It cut down on the crop area of the fields but his yields were always some to the best around. And we never suffered dramatically from insect infestations. The forests were left intact along the waterways and in key areas of the land. There were plenty of wildlife, deer, birds, and many others that some consider pests, but not my grandfather. He knew that nature has its own balancing system in place and he tried his best not to disrupt it very much.
Nature does not grow large areas of one plant species (or plants in neat rows either!), Nature prefers biodiversity, not monocultures! Mixing different types of plant together makes them grow better, period.
Not true. At least there are enough examples to the contrary that I know of to refute this. There are vast tracts of land that are dominated by only a few or even one species that occupies one of the seven forest layers. In a pasture near my home that contained cows many eons ago, it is a virtual carpet of bitterweed. There are areas in Alabama I believe that grow cedars almost exclusively. There are areas in the Great Smokey Mountains National Frest that are dominated by a single species of conifer. Paw paw trees tend to crowd out all other understory trees. The pine savanahs of the Mississipi Gulf Coast are dominated by pines. The area around Brice’s Crossroads was a monoculture of black jack oak during the time when Forrest fought his most famous battle there.
There are plenty of examples where monocultures exist in nature.
Vast mangrove swamps along tropical coasts come to mind too…even though there is a good deal of diversity in the things that live in the water among the mangrove roots!
The planet was once covered in ginkgo trees too! It’s just a matter of time. If you look into the concept of ecological succession, more specifically forest succession, you will understand how Nature, over a period of 50-300 years, builds forests.
If you look at any one place at this point of isolation, you won’t see the dynamic system. Nature looks to stabilize any ecological system before it progresses it to the next stage. Your example of Bitterweed dominating cow pastures is a beautiful example of this.
Bitter weed (Helenium amarum) is poisonous to most livestock, causing weakness, diarrhoea and vomiting to animals that ingest it. The perfect plant to cover an area with to protect and build the soil that has been subjected to overgrazing. By repelling herbivores, other plants can take root, and a forest can eventually grow.
The Bitterweed is the first stage of forest succession, fast spreading annuals that stabilize the ecosystem. Once the cows are all gone, seeds of perennial grasses and herbs will grow there, then shrubs, eventually pioneer trees (mainly softwood trees), and then finally the climax forest of hardwood trees.
I bet the framers or government just spray the Bitterweed with herbicides, and keep regressing Nature’s efforts back to the first stage of forest succession – the annual pioneer plant or ‘weed’ stage.
In your other examples, you must distinguish between a species dominating and it been an exclusive monoculture. Certain species will better fit an ecological niche, but not to the exclusion of everything else. Surveys of a forest dominated by one tree species will report hundreds of other plants, trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses and fungi. You also need to consider how much human intervention is taking place.
Here in Australia, our government is fond of planting high density monoculture of eucalyptus trees in our bushland (though to their credit they do sometimes plant other native plants to maintain the biodiversity) – but each year spend millions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of man hours, and dump hundreds of tons of herbicides into the ecosystem, poisoning everything as a result, in an effort which they call ‘land care’, trying to stop Nature’s efforts to diversify the plants that make up the ecosystem.
Yes, paw-paw trees tend to shade out the understory, that’s what they are supposed to do, but they are only 12 feet high at the most. But most tropical upper canopy trees grow tens of metres high. Tropical understory trees and plants grow in shady conditions – a case in point are all the indoor plants we dearly love and keep in our houses, the reason why they grow in the low light indoors and need a warm indoor environment is because they grow on the shady floor of tropical rainforests. Tropical vines are quite adept at climbing the tall upper canopy trees to reach up to the light, and they will have no trouble using paw-paw as a trellis.
With ecological succession, most make the mistake of looking at a brief snapshot in time, and think they are looking at a static system. In any of the formative stages of ecological succession, a certain plant species may feature strongly (Nature uses whatever species are available and doesn’t discriminate) in Nature’s effort to create a balanced ecosystem.
I hope all those pastures of Bitterweed turn into large, lush forests! Remember, in Permaculture, we can assist Nature’s processes and also accelerate them. So if you can’t wait 300 years for these areas to turn into forests, plant some perennial plants, herbs, shrubs and trees, and watch it transform into a forest in your lifetime, and the Bitterweed will disappear on its own accord when there is no bare, overgrazed soil for it to seed-seed on.
I will write an article on forest succession soon to explain the ecological process in more detail, and I appreciate your comment as it highlights the importance of this natural process.
PS & # 8211; forgive my typos in the comment above, I wrote it in a hurry!
I have had a problem with pill bugs in my beginnings of a forest garden. all the mulch is a breeding ground for them and as much as they like the mulch and rotting flora they also like to munch on seedlings, to the extent that not a single weed will step foot in the garden without being eaten alive at infant stage. Nor will a single vegetable sprout from seed without being devoured as soon as the leaves appear. Nor can I plant seedlings bought from the store. My experience with this has found me a solution to the pill bug problem. I left them alone and regard them as seedling soldiers to defend my garden from weeds and only plant well established plants that are vigorously growing and hardened off enough that they are not such a succulent invitation to the pill bugs.
My family has used the same farm land for over 50 years.
I am a organic raised bed gardener.
We do not have a desert, so I think you are stretching the true on your first two photos.
Olá & # 8211; nice to see this article – just to note that the image used at the top of this article ‘Seven Layers of a Forest Garden’ is in fact mine, from my book ‘Permaculture a Beginners Guide’. Whilst I’m very happy to see this image used, and freely give permission for it’s reuse, I would appreciate a credit if possible. Many thanks, and best wishes, Graham Burnett.
Thanks for adding the credit to my artwork, its greatly appreciated!
Just bought 3 acres of farmland in a Bulgaria, going to start off with fast growing alders and comfrey, to get right into the ground. After which I’ll plan from there. I believe there’s little need in mass scale planning. When something needs planted, it will be planted. There’s too much emphasis on grand plans, it’s the smaller details make the bigger picture.
How are the alders doing? I like the alder and comfrey idea as a way to transition the land to create a supportive habitat for a future food forest. Some species of alder can handle pollarding which is a great way to grow them up to shade, biotill, biofertilize, and create stick mulch when it is pollarded. Location of these chop and drop hedge rows tends to be pretty dependent on where things like buildings, roads, waterlines, and swales will be later though.
One observation about the smaller details making the bigger picture–pretty much every farm I have been to is “designed” like that. Lack of consideration and planning for energy, nutrient, water, wildlife, and human flows seems to lead to energy/input drains rather than energy and input harvest. The permaculture design process can feel slow, but that extra time and consideration can really help people do it right the first time rather than creating a double job.
Food forests are an important strategy in ending the 6th Mass Extinction on a good note while addressing climate change, population growth, and other environmental issues. Presentations and info at agroforestrydesign/info.
Food forests will replace gas station on every corner! Its up to each of us to live the change we need for life on earth to survive.
We are living near the coast in Belgium. So we have much hard winds. We also have clay soil… So it is not, i repeat not easy to grow just annything. My apple and pear threes don’t do it very well… Do you have a solution for me?? Obrigado.
I have clay soil too. I put down 2 parts green waste (grass clippings, vegetable scraps and vegetable trimmings from my local supermarket) followed by 1 part animal manure (whatever I can get my hands on. Horse, ciw, pig, sheep, goat, chicken) and 3 parts mulched wood chips from a local arborist. The difference was profound and changed the structure of the soil deep into the clay layer. If I was doing a large area I’d run pigs through it then chop and drop a green manure planting through it then grow a mixture of woody fast growing trees and mulch them over it. Might take a few years but well worth the time spent in soil prep.
For me the concept is, wile waiting for the the main trees to be productive, use tall the layers.
Important note: different climates different speed growths and use endemic species.

Biodiversity conservation strategy melbourne's growth areas

Water tables all over the world are falling, as "world water demand has tripled over the last" 50 years. When these aquifers are depleted, food production worldwide will fall.
March 2003 Earth Policy Institute.
The World Water Forum begins in mid-March in Japan. Although the main interest of the 10,000 participants is water scarcity, they will indirectly be discussing food scarcity, since 70% of the world's fresh water is used for irrigation. Water tables all over the world are falling, as "world water demand has tripled over the last" 50 years. When these aquifers are depleted, food production worldwide will fall. These aquifers are inexorably being depleted in ways that are "largely invisible, historically recent, and growing fast", and "the near-simultaneous depletion of aquifers means that cutbacks in grain harvests will . . in many countries at more or less the same time". The aquifers of China, India and the US, which together produce one half of the world's grain, are rapidly being depleted. The water tables of China, India, Pakistan, Mexico and Yemen are dropping by 1 to 3 meters per year, as are those of the US, especially in the southern Great Plains where "thousands of farms . have gone dry". Since one ton of grain requires 1000 tons of water, this water deficit will cross international borders in the form of increasing grain prices worldwide. "Importing grain is the most efficient way to import water". Grain shortages are likely to occur soon in China, where the grain harvest is shrinking as a combined result of "aquifer depletion, the diversion of irrigation water to cities and lower grain support prices". This could "destabilize world grain markets." There are 4 potential solutions to the problem of increasing water deficits. Raising irrigation efficiency and recycling urban wastewater is being practiced with some success in some countries. More permanent solutions require raising water productivity and, most importantly, stabilizing the world's population. st.
Providing potable water to communities, especially among developing nations is a major problem. Even where there is availability of water, conveying it to communities that need it becomes an issue. Provision of drinking water is expensive and difficult. Unsafe water sources have accounted for preventable diseases in rural communities. In many countries water is shared with cattle, which has serious implications on human health. The World Water Commission reported to that an estimated investment of US$100 billion a year was needed for the water sector, in addition to the current expenditure of US$80 billion over the next 25 years. Already there are about 450 million people in 29 countries, who are facing water shortages, and chasing fewer sources of fresh water. Approximately 1.2 billion people don’t have access to potable water and 2.4 billion people lack access to sanitation services. The water crisis has also affected health matters of many people and at the moment, it is estimated that half the hospital beds in the world are being occupied by patients who are suffering from water related illnesses. About 200 million people are infected with dysentery, 20 million of whom are seriously ill. A study has shown that it is possible to reduce the number of incidents by 77%, through water and sanitation interventions. The average distance undertaken by African and Asian women and children to gain access to water is approximately six kilometres. Agriculture also has effect on water since intensive cultivation of crops causes chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides to trickle down into the groundwater. The routine application of fertilizers and pesticides are being recognized as water pollution. Waste water from manufacturing as well as chemical processes in industries have also contributed to water pollution. In 2000, the WHO estimated that of the world’s six billion people, at least 1.1 billion do not have access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion live without access to sanitation systems. An estimated 14,000 to 30,000, most being children, die everyday from avoidable water related diseases. It is important that governments develop cost effective methods to ensure safe drinking water for everyone. In order to move towards sustainability, industries must be assured of having adequate water supply but must see that water use in industrial processes is handled efficiently. Policy makers need to allocate water to satisfy environmental demands. Water managers could improve the sustainability and productivity of irrigated systems, by considering groundwater availability when allocating surface water for irrigation. rw.
California is entering its fourth straight year of drought, and water agencies are establishing permanent rules to reduce use even after the rains and snow return.
By January, cities statewide are supposed to have regulations that limit the amount of water used for landscape irrigation in future commercial and residential projects. Developers will have to abide by a water "budget" for each property.
Some water providers also are proceeding with rules to increase the number of individual meters in apartments, where residents typically pay a flat rate for water and don't know how much they use.
The Governor and lawmakers are aiming for legislation that would pay for building reservoirs and restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the main waterway from the north to the south.
Other legislation would force owners of most residential and commercial real estate built before 1994 to bring plumbing up to current requirements for water conservation. This measure could trim use in those homes and buildings by 35%.
In San Diego County, conservation mandates drove down consumption more than 10%.
Gray-water systems and water meters are two popular measures with environmentalists. Attention is also being paid to drought-tolerant plants. Karen Gaia says: Of course, the more people we have in California, the shorter showers we will have to take. In parts of Ethiopia, there is little or no water for bathing, flies abound, and blindness from flies is a common occurrence. But then we can always fool ourselves by believing that technology will take care of it.
Since the earth is 70% covered by water, and the water cycle replenishes water on a continuous basis, the idea of 'peak water' may seem strange for most people.
Glaciers are melting and oceans are rising, which means water will be more plentiful. But it is the location of the water that matters. Shortages in the wrong places could lead to food shortages, famine, and starvation in those regions, and effect the economic future of nations.
Many politicians have ignored resource issues for the last 30 years of debt - financed good times with relatively low prices for all natural resources and commodities.
Investment manager Jeremy Grantham says "We must prepare ourselves for waves of higher resource prices and periods of shortages unlike anything we have faced outside of wartime conditions."
Comparing peak oil to peak water:
While oil is non-renewable and limited, it is replaceable by other more costly alternatives; water is renewable and relatively unlimited, but there is no substitute and it is only useful in the precise places.
Oil is finite, while water is literally finite, but nearly unlimited at a cost.
Long-distance transport of oil is economically viable while with water it is not.
If the world's population grows from 6.7 billion people to 7.5 billion by 2020 - a possible projection by the U. N., water use would increase by 40% to support the food requirements of the additional people. 1.8 billion people would be living in regions with extreme water scarcity.
Since the U. S. is an exporter of wheat, soybeans, rice and corn ($80 billion worth in 2008), drought or additional consumption in the areas where these crops are grown would have worldwide implications.
70% of the globe is covered by water, but most of it is saltwater. Desalinization can convert saltwater into freshwater, but it is only useful on coastlines and is 15 times more expensive than natural freshwater.
2% of the earth's water is considered freshwater, most of which is locked up in glaciers, permanent snow cover and in deep groundwater.
Challenges of freshwater:
* Uneven distribution on the planet.
* Economic and physical constraints of tapping glacial water.
* Contamination of supplies.
* High distribution costs.
Regional scarcity solutions are not easy:
* Move the demand to where water is available.
* Shift to costly sources, such as desalinization.
In the Southwest U. S., much of it desert, solutions are difficult. Lake Mead, the country's largest artificial body of water, which provides water to Arizona, California, Nevada and northern Mexico is dangerously depleted. Housing developments in this region have been stopped by lack of water.
On the Colorado River there is more water allocated than there is water, which is not a problem as long as some people are willing to sell their water. For example, Chevron leases water from its shale oil project to the city of Las Vegas for drinking water. The day may come when Chevron won't extend the lease.
Many areas are using ground water that will be used up entirely in just a few decades.
In the U. S., suburban sprawl, with its lawns and ponds, has put intense pressure on local water supplies. In drought years Maryland, Virginia and the District fight over the Potomac water - lawns sucking up 85% of the river's flow. 67 million more people are expected to inhabit the United States by 2030, making water shortages even more severe.
In the midwest, parts of the Ogallala Aquifer - the great underground reservoir stretching from Texas to South Dakota - has started to run dry. "When you go to your house and turn the shower on and there is no water, it's a serious situation'" a farmer says.
In the last 10 years there has been a steady erosion in the amount of grain grown per capita. With developing countries growing rapidly, the need for imports of grain could drive up the cost of food everywhere.
The Chinese are converting farmland to industrial uses, while at the same time demanding more meat and grains in their diet. The price spike in 2007 and 2008 is a sign of a costly future for consumers. According to the U. N. in 2008, global food reserves were at their lowest level in 30 years.
We should call them peak cheap oil and peak cheap water, instead of just peak oil and peak water, because the cost of producing or supplying them will continue to rise.
Food shortages and skyrocketing commodity prices are inevitable, with peak water playing significant role. The evidence is before our eyes:
* Droughts in key farming belt areas.
* Less snow pack in the mountains.
* Contamination of freshwater sources by industrial waste.
* Depletion of underground aquifers.
* Higher oil prices, fertilizer costs, food transportion.
* Bio-fuels as an energy source.
* Worldwide population growth.
* Middle class enrichment of diets worldwide.
We know that peak oil is the more likely trigger for armed conflict. For example, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because the U. S. was cutting off its oil supply. The Middle East, Russia, Brazil, Canada have the oil, while the United States, China, Europe, Japan need the oil. The struggle resulting from peak water is not yet on the radar screen, but is coming up.
In the United States, we worry about oil shortages, water is another important limited natural resource, in many parts of the country.
In 2008, the nearly 5 million people in metro Atlanta came close to its principal water supply drying up. The lake may no longer be used as a municipal supply since Alabama and Florida are contending the use of the water.
Over 30 states are fighting with neighboring states over water.
In Florida lakes are drying up due to groundwater depletion from overpumping. Low river flows in the Catawba River in South Carolina prevented a paper company from discharging its wastewater, resulting workers being furloughed. North Carolina is fighting with South Caroline over the water in that river.
Fully loaded freighters cannot float in Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes. The Ipswich River near Boston was without water in five of the last eight years. In 2007, Orme, Tennessee, ran out of water altogether; it trucks in water from Alabama.
The amount of water is not the problem. It's population growth. California had a major drought in 1992, that hasn't stopped the state from adding 7 million people. Atlatnta Georgia sees 100,000 people added each year. The U. S. is expected to add 120 million people in the next four decades.
Suprisingly, some forms of renewable energy also present water problems. Refining one gallon of ethanol requires four gallons of water. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to grow enough corn to refine one gallon of ethanol.
Water shortages have been alleviated in the U. S. by diverting more from rivers, building dams or drilling groundwater wells, but now many of these rivers dry up each year. And we're pumping so much water from wells that the levels in aquifers are plummeting. We're running out of technological fixes.
Some dreamers are planning to get water from British Columbia or tow icebergs from Alaska, but they overlook the immense costs and significant environmental impacts of such grandiose proposals.
Solutions include desalination of ocean water, reuse of municipal waste and aggressive conservation strategies. Desalination and reclaiming waste water are both expensive, but aggressive conservation programs have reduced consumption dramatically.
But it's not enough. We need to pay for our water.
More than 1,000 cattle have been lost due to lack of rainfall, and up to 20 million tons of crops managed by 3.5 million small farmers are at risk of being lost, and the government has been forced to slow the flow of water to the crowded capital, due to a lowest in 68 years rainfall. 80 of Mexico's 175 largest reservoirs are less than half full.
The arid northwest region of Mexico has been hardest hit, along with the central part of the country surrounding Mexico City where 20 million people live.
Trucks are delivering water to some parts of the capital where cuts have made the flow of water intermittent.
In neighboring Guatemala, the government is distributing emergency food to 56,000 families whose crops have been damaged.
"How much of this phenomenon is from El Nino? How much is from climate change? The best thing is to hope for the best but prepare for the worst," a water official said.
The 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement said "There is a clear correlation between population growth and associated development and environmental degradation in the Chesapeake Bay system."
The steady march of people into the Chesapeake Bay region has resulted in more roads, subdivisions and businesses to serve them. Sprawl has transformed forest and farmland into large-lot subdivisions with unprecedented speed, creating long commutes for its new residents along with a diminished sense of place.
Streams and rivers, stripped of protective forests, are degraded by stormwater runoff. More than 750,000 acres of forests fell to development between 1982 and 1997-an area 20 times the size of the District of Columbia.
The collective impact of growth still threatens to slow or halt-or even reverse-Bay restoration efforts.
In the years since those efforts took place in the mid-1980s, nearly 3 million more people have arrived in Bay's watershed. They consume forests and farmland, and generate pollution. The human population of the Bay watershed is approaching 17 million.
Author/conservationist Tom Horton says in a paper titled 'Growing! Growing! Gone! The Chesapeake Bay and the Myth of Endless Growth' that those charged with protecting the natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay have accepted the fatally flawed assumptions that "Growth is good. Growth is necessary. Growth will come. Growth can be accommodated."
Most people view economic growth as necessary and population growth as unstoppable. Horton questions growth itself. "It's hypocritical to take people's money to restore the Bay while ignoring how many people live around the Bay and the growth projections for the future," Horton said.
The Chesapeake 2000 agreement warned that growth might "eclipse" any gains the region had made in protecting the Bay.
By 2007, the EPA announced that nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from developed and developing land is adding pollution to the Bay faster than existing programs can control it.
In March, the Bay Program's annual status report said that human activity is "overwhelming nature and offsetting cleanup efforts."
"Smart growth is still growth," Horton said. "Environmental groups want to focus on behaviors, not the number of people out there behaving. There's nothing wrong with that, but they are ignoring a big part of the problem."
The assumption that "growth is good" leads state and local governments to pursue growth even as its citizens complain about the impacts on traffic, schools, water treatment systems and open space. Elected officials who champion the Bay can also find themselves supporting projects that create more pollution.
Maryland, for example, has welcomed a large influx of military jobs through the Base Realignment and Closure process. BRAC could bring an estimated 28,000 new households and a combination of 60,000 military and civilian jobs to the state by 2011. Touted as an economic boon, the state must now grapple with BRAC-driven needs for roads, schools, public transportation and stormwater controls with a budget that already feels the pangs of recession. At the same time, the state continues to put funds and energy into restoring the Bay and shares the Bay Program's burden to stem pollution from developed land.
Horton said that growth should give way to stability-in terms of the economy, population and land use. He argues that stability could provide a high quality of life and a better relationship with the natural world, without the high costs extracted by growth.
Experts call it a "steady-state" economy. It's been an academic concept since the 18th century, but never part of the mainstream dialogue.
A steady-state economy depends on balance, with the right number of jobs, goods and services for a relatively stable population. The growth economy, on the other hand, depends on more people to consume ever larger amounts of products and natural resources.
"We have to be clear that we are not talking about fewer jobs," Horton said. "There's a difference between economic development, which generates jobs, and economic growth, which physically expands the human footprint."
"We would still be innovating and developing," Horton said, "just like a person grows mentally, spiritually, and maybe even more physically fit, even though they aren't growing taller or fatter."
Still, given the current economy, that's a tough sell. Americans equate growth with jobs and purchasing power. In an economy that's lacking both, growth seems important.
Daly believes that growth helped to cause the recession and won't lead to sustainable solutions. "There was too much borrowing against the future," Daly said. "This, I think, is the thrust of growth."
A steady-state economy recognizes boundaries. This challenges the U. S. notion of freedom. Most people accept the principle of growth, if not its outcomes, because they associate it with freedom and a persistent sense that "more" must be better.
Horton calls that a myth. Limits exist already, and unending growth will bring more. "I defy anyone to show me a place that has grown while making fewer rules," he said. "Yes, we have all these freedoms, but if you pursue any of them to excess it limits others. If you are free to build where ever you want, you limit hunting, bird watching and other uses of the land. What we seek is a balance, and right now we are way out of balance."
In a steady-state economy, balance also requires a stable population.
In the Bay watershed, the human population has been growing for centuries and picked up speed in the 20th century, when it gained more than 10 million people. In 2000, the total population stood at roughly 15.7 million. Today's population is approximately 16.8 million and it may reach 20 million by 2030.
This year, Negative Population Growth hopes to rally student involvement to halt the surge of population growth in the Bay region. The campaign includes radio station advertising and a free poster showing the connection between population growth and "overdevelopment." More than 1,500 schools in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and Washington, D. C. received the poster.
Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, agreed that growth can't continue without limits. But he does not see human population as a pressing problem for the Bay.
"Land development has grown at about five times the rate of the population," Boesch said. "It's not driven solely or even principally by population growth."
Immigrants from outside the United States play a role in population growth, but Boesch said that they do not contribute to sprawl. "For the most part, those folks are not buying in the outlying suburb housing developments," Boesch said. "Their economic status and cultural interests don't require expansive land development."
But taken as a whole, the population of the Bay region is both soaring and sprawling.
William Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, says "The number of people is absolutely at the heart of environmental degradation on this planet," Baker said. "And we consume more, which means that we pollute more."
"Growth for growth's sake is a Ponzi scheme doomed to failure," Baker said. "It's built on a house of cards."
"I think there are plenty of economists out there who can tell you that growth is not the answer to poverty, it's not the answer to affordable housing, and it's not the answer to environmental problems," Horton said. "So let's analyze whether growth is good or not and try to envision our lives without growth as the prime directive."
The Chesapeake Bay watershed gained more than 10 million people during the 20th century. From 1950 to the present, the population has grown by more than 1 million people every 10 years. Today's population is approximately 16.8 million and may reach 20 million by 2030.
Since 2000, "natural increase"-more births than deaths-has been the largest source of population growth for the Bay region as a whole, accounting for 60.65 percent of the growth. International migration, at 29.68 percent, is the second largest source of growth, followed by the domestic migration of Americans moving into the region, at 9.67 percent. Although the rate of population growth has slowed over the last three years, the total number of people continues to climb. Karen Gaia says: Donald Boesch is only thinking of the sprawl aspect of population growth. He overlooks the water pollution aspect altogether - not completely related to land use.
According to the American Meteorological Society and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, The Yellow River in northern China, the Ganges in India, the Niger in West Africa, and the Colorado in the southwestern United States, among others, are losing water. These are in some of the world's most populated regions.
The causes are mainly climate change and population growth. The flow was found to decrease as population needs increase.
Damming, irrigation and other water use were other factors that could add up to a threat to future supplies of food and water.
"Reduced runoff is increasing the pressure on freshwater resources in much of the world, especially with more demand for water as population increases."
The research looked at records of river flow in 925 big rivers from 1948 to 2004, finding significant changes in about a third of the world's largest rivers. Rivers with decreased flow outnumbered those with increased flow by 2.5 to 1.
Freshwater discharge into the Pacific Ocean fell by about 6% - the equivalent of the Mississippi River water flows each year.
Annual river flow into the Indian Ocean dropped by about 3% during the 56-year period.
The Columbia River in the U. S. Northwest lost about 14% of its water volume from 1948 to 2004, due mostly to reduced precipitation and higher water usage.
On the other hand, the Mississippi River drains 22% more water since 1948 due to increased precipitation in the Midwest.
Arctic Ocean water derived from melting ice rose about 10% annually. Increased warming since the 1970s has caused earlier spring seasons with earlier snow melt and higher river flows in the western United States and New England and earlier breakup of river-ice in Russian Arctic rivers and many Canadian rivers.
In one of the most serious water shortages in sprawling Mexico City in recent memory, toilets remained unflushed for the quarter of Mexico City's 20 million urban residents who are without water. Officials have had to ration water of the main reservoir system due to depleting supplies.
The Mexican capital needs to seriously overhaul its water system. The biggest metropolis in the Western hemisphere is becoming an alarming cautionary tale for other megacities. Scientists have warned us about our pumping up too much water while destroying too many forests, and inviting conflict over the precious commodity.
One housewife says "We have got no toilets, I can't wash my children, can't cook, I can't clean the mess off the floor, And the worst thing is, we have got almost nothing to drink."
The thirsty city sits on what was once a great lake, where the Aztecs founded their island citadel in 1325. As the growing population lowers the well water, Mexico City is sinking about three inches a year, putting extra pressure on water distribution pipes, which are now so leaky they lose about 40% of liquid before delivering to homes.
Mexico City relies on a network of reservoirs and treatment plants that pump in water from hundreds of miles around. But rainfall is low, so the system is low. Its main basin is only 47% full, compared 70% average for early April. "This could be caused by climate change and deforestation," says the under director of the National Water Commission. In the April action, the entire system will be shut down for 36 hours.
Poor neighborhoods seem to be affected more than rich. Fleets of water trucks have been sent out. Ramon Aguirre, director of Mexico City's water department, says says the long-term solution involves teaching people to ration their water much better. "We need to educate people from when they are children that water is valuable and needs to be used wisely," he says.
The average Mexico City resident uses 300 liters of waters per day compared to 180 per day in some European cities, "Cheap subsidized water is not helping people. It is giving them a bad service."
Over 50 million people are affected by a severe drought in southwest China. The lack of rain and unseasonably high temperatures has left 16 million people without easy access to drinking water.
Since last autumn many regions have received only half their usual rainfall. The nation expects that nearly a million hectares will not produce crops due to the drought.
China has sent more than 50 million US dollars to the impacted regions and 4,000 troops to aid drought - victims. China has also initiated hundreds of cloud - seeding operations in an effort to force rain in the regions. China's National Meteorological Center told the China Daily that they expected increases in extreme weather across China.
"Extreme weather will be more frequent in the future due to the instability of the atmosphere, and global warming might be the indirect cause," adding that extreme weather events, such as droughts, had increased in severity and frequency since the 1990s in China.
It is not possible to link a single extreme weather - event to climate change — such as one drought — a pattern of increasing and worsening droughts in many parts of the world is expected under climate change scenarios.
The drought is the worst some places have seen in a century. rw.
The UN released its third World Water Development Report at the 5th World Water Forum. According to the report, population growth, climate change, reckless irrigation and chronic waste are placing the world's water supplies at serious risk. Tell President Obama to support policies that not only address population growth, but help to increase access to safe drinking water and improve sanitation, especially in the world's poorest nations. rw.
Surging population growth, climate change, reckless irrigation and chronic waste are placing the world's water supplies at threat. A grim assessment of the state of the planet's freshwater, described the outlook for coming generations as deeply worrying.
Lack of access to water helps drive poverty and breeds the potential for unrest and conflict. Water is linked to climate change, energy, food supplies and prices and troubled financial markets. Unless their links with water are addressed water crises may worsen into a global crisis and leading to political insecurity.
There were six billion humans in 2000, now risen to 6.5 billion and could scale nine billion by 2050.
Population growth is driving the demand for water, prompting rivers to be tapped for nearly every drop and driving governments to pump out so-called fossil water. These are aquifers that are hundreds of thousands of years old and whose extraction is not being replenished by rainfall. This means depriving future generations of liquid treasure.
There is misuse or abuse of water, through pollution, irrigation, pipe leakage and growing water-craving crops in deserts.
Shifts to weather systems, will alter rainfall patterns and reduce snow melt.
Demographic growth is boosting water stress in countries, where hydrological resources are often meager. The global population is growing by 80 million people a year, 90% in poorer countries. Demand for water is growing by 64 billion cubic metres (2.2 trillion cubic feet) per year.
In the past 50 years, extraction from rivers, lakes and aquifers has tripled. Agriculture accounts for 70% and reaches more than 90% in some developing countries.
Pollution and excessive extraction costs billions of dollars. The UN MDGs set the deadline of 2015 for halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. The target on drinking water is on track but the tally of people without improved sanitation will have decreased only from 2.5 billion to 2.4 billion.
Conflicts about water can occur at all scales Between 92.4 billion and 148 billion dollars are needed annually to build and maintain water supply systems,
sanitation and irrigation. Sustainable water management is needed with realistic pricing to curb waste. Int India, free or almost-free water has led to waste in irrigation, causing soils to be waterlogged and salt-ridden. rw.
Mexico City is launching a rationing plan in an effort to conserve water after development, mismanagement and reduced rainfall caused supplies to drop. Water will be cut or reduced in 10 boroughs in Mexico City plus 11 other municipalities in the state. This affects an estimated 5.5 million people and includes neighborhoods ranging from affluent Lomas de Chapultepec on the western edge of the city to poor, densely populated Iztapalapa in the southeast.
Similar cuts will be carried out every month until the rainy season begins, usually around May. "We are running out of water," a senior official with the National Water Commission, told Mexican radio.
The level at the main reservoir has dipped below 60% of capacity, the lowest in 16 years.
Experts say Mexico has failed to take actions needed to upgrade aqueducts, pipes and treatment plants and has allowed construction projects in areas that should be used for catching runoff and replenishing aquifers.
By one study, 10 million people nationwide do not have access to potable water; many must buy it from water trucks at exorbitant prices. Many Mexico City residents were filling buckets, cisterns and bathtubs to spell them through the weekend.
Polanco is a district where a building boom has stretched municipal resources.
Water is getting more complicated with all the people arriving. Water pressure is good at night, but in the day it gets very low.
Mexico City's population increased sixfold in the last half of the 20th century. Officials said rationing was a stop-gap measure and conservation and investment in water-delivery systems were necessary. rw.
A survey of California winter snows shows it is facing one of the worst droughts in its history. The state, is in its third year of drought and its main system supplying water to cities and farms may only be able to fulfill 15% of requests.
"The snowpack is carrying only 61% of the water of normal years. California is headed toward one of the worst water crises in its history, underscoring the need to upgrade the water infrastructure by increasing water storage, improving conveyance, protecting the ecosystem and promoting greater water conservation".
The Sierra snowpack alone provides two thirds of California's water supply.
December through January tend to be the wettest months but thus far the Sierra has only received one third of its expected annual snowfall.
This could be a crisis situation, in addition to conservation and rationing it could cause higher prices for produce. Twenty-five local water agencies are mandating rationing. The state Department of Water Resources is arranging water transfers through its Drought Water Bank program and expects to release a full snowpack runoff forecast in two weeks. rw Karen Gaia says: California has received much unexpected rain since this survey. Still, with climate change, the problem is likely to come up again next year.
Water experts are saying that in Malaysia the Klang Valley and Putrajaya are going to go thirsty because of rising demand from population pressure, industry, and the degradation of the environment resulting in loss of catchment areas and highland forest cover. River basins are reaching their limits of sustainability. Water supply capacity is barely going to match demand next year in the Klang Valley.
Climate change, ever-increasing population and its demand on the decreasing water resources is a worldwide phenomenon, which to this warning in the 1990s: "If the wars of the 20th century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water."
The Department of Statistics estimates a population of close to 30 million by 2010 and water demand is expected to increase to more than 16,270 million litres in 2010. Projected production capacity is 18,482 million litres a day. While there are alternate energy resources, there is no replacement for water. rw.
African states lack the resources to deal alone with climate change and must share water better to feed growing populations. The continent has failed to feed a fast-growing population due to under-investment, bad farm management and more frequent droughts and floods, leaving it hooked on food imports.
The cost of those imports soared to $49.4 billion in 2008 from $10.5 billion in 2005. That has put a strain on countries that subsidize imports to make them affordable.
The World Food Program estimates that nearly a sixth of the world's population, almost 1 billion people, are hungry.
African officials said governments should redouble a 2003 promise to commit 10% of national budgets to boosting farm output. They called for modern irrigation systems that store water and channel it where needed.
They agreed to seal more region-wide deals to share the water. Cooperation on weather forecasting and early warning systems will minimize the impact of drought, desertification, floods and pests.
The skills and the resources to make Africa self-sufficient exist if only governments would cooperate on managing their water. There are countries that progressed in technology and human resources but have a deficit in natural resources, while others lack the technology and human resources.
Africa's population of 967 million, of whom 53% are under the age of 20, is forecast to reach 2 billion in 2050.
New water control programs for African farming would cost $65 billion over the next 20 years. rw.
As the global population keeps growing and global warming changes the climate, experts are warning that billions more will suffer lack of water. Wadi Faynan may be one of the oldest sites where humans made a permanent settlement, learned to farm and changed the course of human civilisation. But the tiny community drawn to water would eventually all but destroy the resource which made life possible. And it now threatens us on a global scale.
First people cut trees for shelter and fuel, until rains swept away the soil and the springs dried up. Farmers began diverting water for crops to feed the growing population. The climate that encouraged the first settlement was becoming drier and hotter.
Wadi Faynan was abandoned the first time because of a change in the climate, and later because it became too polluted. Today the Bedouin have laid pipes down to suck what is left of the spring to irrigate tomato fields. Rains now occur less than every other year.
The farmers in Wadi Faynan are not alone. Like communities around the world, they are paying the price for thousands of years of exploitation of our environment. One billion people do not have enough clean water to drink, let alone have enough left for nature.
Lack of water is blamed for millions of deaths each year. Mostly it is the poor who suffer, but increasingly rich nations are struggling, too. Australia has accepted that the lack of rain is permanent.
Last autumn the Red Cross delivered water to Orme in the state of Tennessee. In California, Governor Schwarzenegger declared the first state-wide drought for 17 years.
Barcelona, Spain, began importing tanker-loads of water from cities along the coast. Even in the UK, water has become such a problem that one company plans to build a desalination plant. The UN has raised the spectre of "water wars". Politicians, economists and engineers are pressing for dramatic changes to the way water is managed. The water crisis is an expression of the environmental catastrophe because the natural system has been so fundamentally altered by human activity. More than 97% of all the water on the planet is salt water, and most of the freshwater is locked up in the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. The UN says individuals need five litres of water a day simply to survive in a moderate climate, and at least 50 litres a day for drinking and cooking, bathing and sanitation. Industry accounts for 90% of all water used by humans.
There's enough water, but too often it's in the wrong places at the wrong times in the wrong amounts.
Global population, economic development and a growing appetite for meat, dairy and fish protein have raised human water demand sixfold in 50 years. The UN defines scarcity as less than 1,000 cubic metres of renewable clean water for each person every year. By this measure, half the world's population lives in countries suffering water scarcity. Lack of clean drinking water and sanitation are largely blamed for the deaths of 11 million children. Communities around the world have been forced to tap rivers and lakes and aquifers, sometimes millions of years old, far beyond the limit at which they can replenish themselves. Many aquifers are replenishable, but not all, and many that can be recharged don't get enough rain to match demand.
Anyone interested in this subject must read the full article that is full of information and stastics. rw.
Georgia's water supply is finite, it always will be. The quantity of water varies depending on rainfall, but there is data to have an excellent idea of averages and extremes.
Georgia's population represents a constantly growing demand on water supply and quality. During extreme droughts, the conflict between an ever-growing population and a finite water supply becomes obvious.
It should be obvious, at least to those caught up in the belief that a viable economy demands constant growth, even though rational thought, should logically lead to a contrary opinion.
Ecologists use the term "carrying capacity" to describe how many plants or animals a given piece of real estate might support. Farmers recognize the concept, knowing that the number of cows their pastures will support depends on the type and quality of the forage, availability of water, the acceptable growth rate and other factors.
The concept of carrying capacity is just as applicable to humans as to cows. In the US, mankind has artificially extended human carrying capacity while maintaining a high living standard by using stored energy reserves from eons past and perpetual growth and improved living standards have become basic expectations.
Georgia has long used state resources to promote economic growth, fueled by population growth, without considering the ultimate outcome.
Even while announcing a lawsuit aimed at forcing the more of a finite regional water supply to Georgia, Gov. Sonny Perdue was on a mission to attract more industry to the state.
The sole reason when we already have full employment is to attract more people. More people equal a larger GDP, for which groupthink demands a favorable view, regardless of the effect on quality of life.
Georgia's population is about 9.5 million. If growth rates of the past dozen years are maintained, population will double to about 19 million in just 26 years (2033) and double again to 38 million by 2059.
From an ecological perspective, it is imperative that we stop and determine what an optimum population might be. Instead, we continually ask ourselves to use less water, go further into debt, sit in longer traffic snarls and lower our living standard in various other ways so we can accommodate more people.
The ultimate irony was when Gov. Perdue asked everyone to pray for rain. Does he expect God to increase our water supply while the Governor does his best to increase demand? rw.
One-third of the world's population is water-stressed, with 8% severely water-stressed, including the western United States and northern Mexico, South America, India, China, Africa surrounding the Sahara Desert, and southern Africa and Australia.
In Africa and many parts of Asia, this means inadequate water for drinking, sanitation and crops. In emerging economies it translates as an inability to meet the dietary and lifestyle aspirations of a growing middle class.
Water stress in places such as Phoenix and Las Vegas means an inability to sustain a growth economy and support lavish lifestyles. Per capita water use varies according to a country's technological capacity and economic profile, but almost 66% of water is used for agriculture. Domestic households use 10%, industry 20%, and 4% is lost from evaporation.
It takes 57 gallons of water to produce a pound of corn and 855 gallons of water to produce a pound of corn-fed beef. World trade can exacerbate or relieve water stress.
The world will grow to 9.3 million in 2050, with nearly all growth in developing countries lacking capacity to increase water supplies. The world is rapidly urbanizing, concentrating demand in small areas. Currently, the developed world is more than 70% urbanized, whereas less than 40% of the population of Africa and Asia is urban. However, 50% of Africans and Asians and 60% of the world will live in urban areas by 2030.
Cities will intensify aquifer drawdown, leading to conflicts between sectors, people, regions and countries. The rising middle class in many developing countries demand better diets and urban lifestyles.
Climate change has the potential to alter both water supply and demand. Increasing temperatures suggest increased evaporation and decreased stream flows, rising seas that could contaminate freshwater. Variable precipitation will likely mean more frequent high-intensity droughts and floods and less available rainfall in arid and semiarid regions.
Water and energy are closely intertwined. Water provides the steam driving nuclear turbines and cools thermal plants and powers hydroelectricity. Loads of energy go toward desalinating, pumping and moving water. Producing 1 kilowatt of electricity requires an estimated 36 to 53 gallons of water.
Large-scale desalination plants require large amounts of energy making them accessible for Middle Eastern countries with large energy reserves, but non-viable for places that are poor. We have long recognized that energy is a global resource, and water, too, is global. Rich countries, using energy to solve water-shortage problems, may accentuate global warming.
Dams can lead to population displacements, among poor and indigenous populations, and international tensions.
For the 1 billion people who lack access to safe drinking water and the 2.4 billion who lack adequate sanitation, climate-induced water stress may devolve into humanitarian crises and mass population displacements.
Water resources are in crisis, with or without climate change, because, Earth's freshwater supply is limited and geographically variable. Pressure upon it will only increase with global climate change. Meanwhile, easy-fix technological solutions, with their high energy requirements, are not affordable for poor countries. rw.
Population growth is a bigger threat to the world's food production and water supplies than climate change. Overpopulation's impacts are potentially more destructive than those of climate change.
Climate change is overshadowed by the amount of water, land and energy needed to grow food to meet the projected increase in population. We are facing a crisis.
The price of rice in Thailand had risen from $A200 a tonne to $A800 a tonne, and India had banned rice exports in a bid to ensure the country had sufficient supplies of this food.
Australias needs smarter ways to improve water efficiencies so we can continue to grow those crops.
Many politicians are out of touch with crucial issues facing rural Australia, particularly poverty and the loss of jobs in communities built on wealth generated by irrigated food production.
Irrigators are trying to make a living for their families, and have made a lot of effort to achieve water efficiencies. Australia must also think about the future social and environmental implications of its "population footprint".
It has to be a decision about geographic spread and location, about benefits for indigenous communities, for river systems and wetlands. It's a big exercise and needs to be done very carefully. rw Ralph says: Not only in Australia! Water will continue to be a problem in many countries. Remember, ----More People Need More Water, and there is a limit to the water available.
The Middle East and North Africa are forced to choose between growing more crops to feed an expanding population or preserving their supply of water.
This region has drained aquifers, sucked the salt from seawater and diverted the mighty Nile to make the deserts bloom. But they used so much water that today, some countries import 90% of their staples.
The population of the region is expected to reach nearly 600 million by 2050. Then the amount of fresh water for each person will be cut in half, and could inflame political tensions. These nations are turning to expensive schemes to maintain their food supply.
Djibouti is growing rice in solar-powered greenhouses, fed by groundwater and cooled with seawater, probably the most expensive rice on earth.
Several oil-rich nations have started searching for farmland in Pakistan and Sudan, with the goal of growing crops to be shipped home.
In Egypt, officials are looking into growing wheat on two million acres straddling the border with Sudan.
Saudi Arabia tapped aquifers to become self-sufficient in wheat production in the 1980s. This year, however, the Saudis will phase out the program because it used too much water.
Egypt dreamed of converting desert into farmland. The most ambitious of these projects is in Toshka where the farm was started in 1997. But no one has moved there, and only 30,000 acres or so have been planted.
The farm's manager says the Sahara is perfect for farming, as long as there is plenty of fertilizer and water. It's a nice project, but it needs a lot of money.
Mubarak calls his country's growing population an "urgent" problem that has exacerbated the food crisis.
Adding 1.3 million Egyptians each year is a daunting prospect for a country in which 2% of citizens live in poverty.
People used to buy pasta for their kids. But now that it cost's four and a half pounds, they give them bread instead.
Economists say that, rather than seeking to become self-sufficient with food, countries in this region should grow crops for which they have a competitive advantage, like produce or flowers. A 39-year-old runs a 150-acre tomato and pepper empire in the Negev Desert of Israel. His plants, grown in greenhouses with elaborate trellises and then exported to Europe, are irrigated with treated sewer water that he says is so pure he has to add minerals. The water is pumped through drip irrigation lines covered tightly with black plastic to prevent evaporation.
Israel has become the world's leader in maximizing agricultural output per drop of water. Egypt's new desert farms now use drip irrigation.
Another 200 million cubic meters of marginal water are to be recycled, in addition to promoting the establishment of desalination plants in Israel.
Four years of drought have created "a deep water crisis," forcing the country to cut farmers' quotas.
Under a 1959 treaty, Egypt is entitled to a disproportionate share of the Nile's water, that rankles some of its neighbors. It has built canals to bring Nile water to the Sinai Desert, and to the vast emptiness of Toshka.
An adviser says that the country has little choice. All of Egypt's farms and population are now crowded onto just 4% of its land.
Egypt is establishing an estimated 200,000 acres of farmland in the desert each year, even as it loses 60,000 acres of its best farmland to urbanization. The scourge is development. rw.
Global food shortages have forced the Middle East and North Africa to choose between growing more crops to feed an expanding population or preserving their scant supply of water.
For decades nations in this region have drained aquifers, and diverted the Nile to make the deserts bloom. But those projects used so much water that it remained more practical to import food. Some countries import 90% or more of their staples.
The population of the region has more than quadrupled since 1950, to 364 million, and is expected to reach nearly 600 million by 2050. By that time the amount of fresh water available for each person will be cut in half and declining resources could inflame political tensions.
The countries of the region are caught between rising food prices and declining water availability. Losing confidence in world markets, these nations are turning to expensive schemes to maintain their food supply.
Djibouti is growing rice in solar-powered greenhouses, fed by groundwater and cooled with seawater, producing the most expensive rice on earth.
Several oil-rich nations, including Saudi Arabia, have started searching for farmland in politically unstable countries with the goal of growing crops to be shipped home.
In Egypt, where a shortage of subsidized bread led to rioting in April, government officials say they are looking into growing wheat on two million acres straddling the border with Sudan.
Nutritional self-sufficiency presents challenges that are not easily overcome. Saudi Arabia tapped aquifers to become self-sufficient in wheat production in the 1980s. This year, the Saudis said they would phase out the program because it uses too much water.
Egypt, too, has for decades dreamed of converting huge swaths of desert into lush farmland. When the Toshka farm was started in 1997, the Egyptian president, compared its ambitions to building the pyramids, involving roughly 500,000 acres of farmland and tens of thousands of residents. But only 30,000 acres or so have been planted.
The Sahara is perfect for farming, as long as there is plenty of fertilizer and water. "You can grow anything on this land, but it needs a lot of money."
Adding 1.3 million Egyptians each year to the 77 million squeezed into an inhabited area roughly the size of Taiwan is a daunting prospect. Economists say that countries in this region should grow crops for which they have a competitive advantage, like flowers, which do not require much water and can be exported for top dollar.
Israel has become the world's leader in maximizing agricultural output per drop of water, and many believe that it serves as a viable model for other countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Israeli government strictly regulates how much water farmers can use and requires many of them to irrigate with treated sewer water, pumped to farms in purple pipes. Another 200 million cubic meters of marginal water are to be recycled.
Egypt has the Nile and is entitled to a disproportionate share of the river's water, a point that rankles some of its neighbors. It has built canals to bring Nile water to the Sinai Desert, to desert lands between Cairo and Alexandria and to the vast emptiness of Toshka.
Egypt is establishing an estimated 200,000 acres of farmland in the desert each year, even as it loses 60,000 acres of its best farmland to urbanization. For farmers the new buildings not only ruin the rural tranquility of their ancient fields, but they also reduce yields. rw.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's order certifying that California is in a drought and directing state agencies to think what to do about it is only the latest sign that a way of life built on available water is coming to a close. The continuing water crisis raises the question of whether we are approaching the limits of growth in California.
California's economy and population exploded, fueled in large part by abundant water supplies. Snowmelt which historically has filled the state's major reservoirs has been shrinking steadily. California's rights to Colorado River water have been scaled back. Court orders aimed at protecting endangered fish have slashed water deliveries from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta. Reduced rainfall has made it difficult to replenish groundwater basins.
Now, the situation is that the water agencies are beginning to give the public a taste of what lies ahead.
The largest water agency in the region and the principal supplier to the cities announced a 30% reduction in deliveries to agricultural customers. The agency adopted a plan that could result in similar cutbacks to urban consumers and rate hikes of up to 20%. Such steps alone will probably not make enough of a difference to avert a water-supply crisis. There is a finite amount of water in Southern California, and it has not increased since 1990. Major sectors of the state's economy such as agriculture and real estate development will soon face unimagined restrictions.
Environmental groups contending that many water-use practices violate the state's constitutional mandate that water be put to beneficial use to the maximum possible extent and that waste or unreasonable use be prevented. They object to pumping water from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta to irrigate cotton and alfalfa, as well as lawns. These environmentalists plan to petition to permanently reduce Delta pumping that would affect every aspect of water use.
State laws require water agencies to document sufficient long-term supplies to support large developments. The Eastern Municipal Water District, the largest water agency in Riverside County, recently delayed approval of a huge industrial development because it couldn't guarantee water supplies. The state Supreme Court overturned approval of a major new planned community in the Sacramento area because the project's environmental impact report did not adequately address long-term water supplies.
Don't expect new homes to be built along a new golf course or the shores of a man-made lake. The appliances in the new homes will be low-flow, and the pavement outside permeable to help replenish groundwater. The Legislature is considering a requirement that all urban water agencies reduce their consumption by 20% within 12 years.
Agriculture is also feeling the sting of dwindling water supplies. Agencies throughout the state are pressing farmers to cut their water consumption by not growing water-intensive crops, investing in more efficient irrigation systems and even taking land out of agricultural use altogether.
Yet it is unrealistic to expect that California's population will stop growing.
The current shortage of water is largely the product of global warming. The easiest way to increase water supplies is conservation.
California is approaching the limits of growth. Those areas with limited local water supplies already are off-limits for development, and big users of water, such as agriculture, are cutting back. rw Ralph says: Natures resources are limited and it is time we limited the number of people using them.
Coca-Cola CEO pledged in Beijing that every drop of water his company uses would be returned to the earth or compensated for through conservation and recycling programs. It takes about 2.5 liters of water to produce just one liter of its products. In 2006 Coca-Cola used 80 billion gallons of water. Some 40% went into drinks. The other 60% was consumed by the firm's supply chain and in the production of ingredients.
It's essential that Coca-Cola addresses water issues as part of its corporate social responsibility. Population growth and climate change mean that water is no longer available in limitless quantities. Coke last year announced it would spend $20 million over five years to help the WWF preserve seven of the world's major rivers.
But Coke is trying to protect its brand and ensure the availability of a crucial ingredient. By 2025, two-thirds of the global population will face water shortages. Businesses that don't address shortages run the risk of plant closures, water rationing and sullied reputations.
In 2006, when a New Delhi research group found high levels of pesticides in locally produced soft drinks, several Indian states banned their sale.
Last December, Coke spent $10 million to establish the Coca-Cola India Foundation, which has installed 320 rainwater harvesting structures in 17 Indian states, and plans to provide clean drinking water to 1,000 schools by 2010.
The company is likewise trying to avoid incurring public wrath in China. In the first quarter of this year, Coke's sales there rose by 20% compared with the same period last year; sales growth in North America was flat in the quarter. But in the future, double-digit increases could be constrained by China's environmental problems. China is home to roughly 20% of the world's population, but only about 7% of the world's water. That means there are some 300 million people living in water-scarce areas ' and increasingly, citizens and officials are becoming more militant about protecting the resource. That kind of pressure is one of the reasons why Coke has partnered with local NGOs to promote environmental education, rainwater harvesting and river conservation in China ' and why the company's Chinese bottling plants are on the cutting edge of the company's conservation and recycling efforts. Between 2004 and 2007, Coke's 37 bottling plants in China reduced water usage by 27%.
At Coca-Cola's biggest bottling plant in China, wastewater is shunted to a separate building behind the factory where it is treated so it can be used for secondary uses. Leaking pipes have been fixed to save water, and a dry lubricant is used to keep conveyer belts running smoothly with less water.
The company has yet to silence its critics. A left-leaning think tank in Ottawa faults the firm for not setting a target date for its water-neutrality goal, and for not establishing water-efficiency requirements for its agricultural suppliers. rw Karen Gaia says: To be truly sustainable, you don't use scarce water to make a non-nutritious drink.
The amount of water in the world is limited. It covers about two-thirds of the Earth's surface, admittedly. But most is too salty for use.
Population is rising, but water supplies are not.
Only 2.5% of the world's water is not salty, and two-thirds of that is locked up in the icecaps and glaciers.
Of what is left, about 20% is in remote areas, and much of the rest arrives as monsoons and floods.
Humans have available less than 0.08% of all the Earth's water. Yet over the next two decades our use is estimated to increase by about 40%.
In 1999 the UN reported that 200 scientists in 50 countries had identified water shortage as one of the two most worrying problems for the new millennium. We use about 70% of the water in agriculture. But by 2020 we shall need 17% more water than is available if we are to feed the world.
There are several reasons for the water crisis. One is the constant rise in population, and the desire for better living standards.
Another is the inefficiency of the way we use much of our water. And pollution is making more of the water that is available to us unfit for use.
Increasingly, governments are turning away from reliance on rainfall and surface water, and using subterranean supplies of groundwater instead. But that is like making constant withdrawals from a bank account without paying anything into it.
Rivers, wetlands and lakes that depend on it can dry out. Saline seawater can flow in to replace the fresh water that has been pumped out.
Some ways to begin to tackle the problem are irrigation systems which drip water directly onto plants are one, precision sprinklers another.
Plant less water-intensive crops, and perhaps desalination may play a part - though it is energy-hungry and leaves quantities of brine for disposal.
But we should remember that we have only one interdependent planet to share. rw.
At The African Union Summit leaders will be discussing Meeting the MDGs on Water and Sanitation . Will they take into consideration women's concerns, and remind them that women amount to almost more than half of the population in Africa? MDG's goal 7 calls on governments to ensure environmental sustainability. The goal is to reduce the proportion of the people without access to safe drinking water. Many countries have used the MDG's as a standard for their policy and planning processes. Goal 3 calls on governments to promote gender equality and empower including in decision making and policy formation.
States are required to ensure that women have access to clean drinking water and advocates for women's control over productive resources and in decision-making, implementation and evaluation of policies and programmes.
There are various uses of water. Women in Africa will walk 10-15 kilometers to get water and carry up to 15 litres per trip, yet their role in water and sanitation is overlooked. This should be the basis upon which women should be fully involved in public decision making with regard to water resources.
In lower income rural areas, women have to use lower quality water which makes the household susceptible to waterborne diseases. The unavailability of clean water then becomes burdensome reducing the quality of life.
Women have no rights to land for varying reasons yet they are the majority of the world's agricultural producers. They are the least title holders among the property holders in the world. Legislative provisions may be gender neutral but most land is registered in the name of the eldest male of a household. This excludes women from and predicates the rights to use land to the male title holder.
There is little incentive for women to make environmentally sound decisions and their lack of access to credit hampers them from buying technologies that would be less damaging to natural resources. These factors may lead to declining productivity and increased environmental degradation. Women are increasingly becoming heads of households partly due to the numerous conflicts in Africa, HIV/AIDS and other existing social problems. They are then solely responsible for providing for their families, yet they do not have the legal access to water and land. Women and girls face the threat of becoming economically unstable and dependant on their male relatives or husbands.
The absence of clean water increases the impact of HIV/AIDS. Bad hygienic conditions affect people living with HIV and they need more water for better health and general hygiene. The proximity of sanitary facilities to the household increases security and privacy for women. It also reduces health and digestive system problems that arise when women have to wait until nighttime to relieve themselves. Separate sanitation facilities for girls and boys in schools boost the school attendance of girls and ensure a safe and healthier learning environment.
Poor sanitation heightens the conditions women face during menstruation because it is difficult to concentrate knowing there is no proper sanitary facilities to use. In Rwanda secondary school girls have proposed an increase in tuition fees so that schools can provide sanitary towels.
Lack of adequate sanitation and clean water makes women susceptible to infections that affect their sexual and reproductive health. States must ensure that when discussing about water and sanitation they take into consideration how the lack of these impact women and the society at large.
There is a need to break the social barriers restricting the participation of women in community forums that influence water policies. Some of the basic rights are intertwined, for example the rights to water and land, and a practical approach needs to be established.
During conflict, sanitation facilities in camps are generally poor and women rely on foreign aid to cater for their needs. There is a need for women to be integrated in the process of peace building and natural resource management.
The African Union Protocol on the Rights of Women and the United Nations MDGs have given standards that ensure the right to water and proper sanitation is assured to all citizens and most importantly to women. African leaders can no longer afford to ignore the voice of women. rw.
Scores of countries are overpumping aquifers to satisfy their growing water needs. This has pushed water withdrawals beyond recharge rates. The failure of governments to limit pumping to the sustainable yield of aquifers means that water tables are falling in countries that contain more than half the world's people. Most of the world's aquifers are replenishable, when they are depleted, the maximum rate of pumping will be reduced to the rate of recharge. Fossil aquifers, however, are not replenishable. For these, including the US Ogallala aquifer, the deep aquifer under the North China Plain, or the Saudi aquifer, depletion brings pumping to an end. Farmers who lose irrigation water have the option of returning to dryland farming if rainfall permits. But in more arid regions, such as in the southwestern United States or the Middle East, the loss of irrigation water means the end of agriculture.
Falling water tables are already affecting harvests in some countries, including China, which rivals the US as the world's largest grain producer. A groundwater survey revealed that the water table under the North China Plain, that produces over half of the country's wheat and a third of its corn, is falling fast. Overpumping has depleted the shallow aquifer, forcing well drillers to turn to the deep aquifer, which is not replenishable.
Under the North China Plain, the average level of the deep aquifer is dropping nearly 3 meters (10 feet) per year. Around some cities, it is falling twice as fast. As the deep aquifer is depleted, the region is losing its last water reserve.
China is mining underground water in three river basins in the north, the Hai, which flows through Beijing and Tianjin; the Yellow; and the Huai. Since it takes 1,000 tons of water to produce one ton of grain, the shortfall in the Hai basin of nearly 40 billion tons of water per year means that when the aquifer is depleted, the grain harvest will drop by 40 million tons.
Water shortages are even more serious in India. The 100 million farmers have drilled 21 million wells, investing $12 billion in wells and pumps. A survey reported that half of India's traditional hand-dug wells and millions of shallower tube wells have dried up. India's grain harvest plateaued in 2000. A World Bank study reports that 15% of India's food supply is produced by mining groundwater. 175 million are fed with grain produced with water from irrigation wells that will soon go dry.
In the US, in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas the water table has dropped by more than 30 meters (100 feet). Wells have gone dry on thousands of farms in the southern Great Plains, forcing farmers to return to lower-yielding dryland farming. Irrigated land accounts for only one fifth of the U. S. grain harvest, compared with three fifths of the harvest in India and four fifths in China.
Pakistan is also mining its underground water. Observation wells in the fertile Punjab plain show a fall in the water table between 1982 and 2000 that ranges from 1 to nearly 2 meters a year. Water tables around Quetta, are falling by 3.5 meters per year. Six basins have exhausted their groundwater, leaving their irrigated lands barren. Within 10 15 years virtually all the basins outside the canal-irrigated areas will have depleted their groundwater supplies, depriving the province of much of its grain harvest.
Iran is overpumping its aquifers by an average of 5 billion tons of water per year. Under the Chenaran Plain in northeastern Iran, the water table was falling by 2.8 meters a year in the late 1990s. New wells being drilled both for irrigation and to supply the nearby city of Mashad are responsible. Villages in eastern Iran are being abandoned as wells go dry.
Saudi Arabia developed an extensive irrigated agriculture based largely on its deep fossil aquifer. After several years its wheat harvest dropped from a high of 4.1 million tons in 1992 to 2.7 million tons in 2007, a drop of 34%. Some Saudi farmers are now pumping water from wells 4,000 feet deep. In early 2008 the Saudi government announced plans to phase out wheat production entirely by 2016.
In Yemen, a nation of 22 million, the water table under most of the country is falling by roughly 2 meters a year as water use outstrips the sustainable yield. In western Yemen, the estimated annual water extraction of 224 million tons exceeds the annual recharge of 42 million tons, dropping the water table 6 meters per year. World Bank projections indicate the Sana'a Basin may be pumped dry by 2010.
With its population growing at 3% a year and with water tables falling everywhere, Yemen is fast becoming a hydrological basket case. With its grain production falling, Yemen imports four fifths of its grain supply.
Since the overpumping of aquifers is occurring in many countries more or less simultaneously, the depletion of aquifers and the resulting harvest cutbacks could come at roughly the same time, producing a potentially unmanageable food scarcity. rw Karen Gaia says: I guess some people think that technology will take care of it. They are too afraid to think that maybe there are too many people. If technology will take care of it, why doesn't the article mention it? Could it be that there is not an economical technological solution?
Cyprus will ferry water from Greece this summer. Australian cities are buying water from that nation's farmers and building desalination plants. China plans to divert Himalayan water. And 18 million southern Californians are bracing for their first water-rationing in years.
Dow Chemical Chairman Andrew Liveris told the World Economic Forum in February, "water is the oil of this century." Global population growth, pollution, and climate change are shaping a new view of water as "blue gold."
Water has snared the attention of big equipment suppliers as well as big private water companies. Notably France-based Suez and Aqua America, the largest US-based private water company.
Drinking water distribution, management, waste treatment, and agriculture are a nearly $500 billion market and growing fast. But governments pushing to privatize to maintain public water systems are colliding with a global "water is a human right" movement. We're at a point where decisions need to be made about how this basic human need, water, is to be provided. The profit motive and human need for water are in conflict.
It's obvious that we're running up against limits to new supplies. It's no long er cheap and easy to drill another well or dam another river.
The world's re maining accessi ble fresh-water supplies are divided among industry 20%, agriculture 70%, and domestic use 10%, according to the UN.
Fresh-water consumption has more than doubled since World War II to nearly 4,000 cubic kilometers annually and set to rise another 25% by 2030. Waste, climate change, and pollution have left clean water supplies running short.
Population and economic growth across the developing world is a major factor driving fresh-water scarcity.
The US may consume even more water by importing goods that require lots of water to make. As scarcity drives up the cost of fresh water, more efficient use will play a huge role. Drip irrigation is more frugal than "flood" irrigation. But water's low cost in the US provides little incentive to build new systems. Leaking water pipes waste billions of gallons daily.
Dozens of desalination plants are in planning stages or under construction in the US and abroad.
When for-profit companies sell at a price based on what it costs to produce water, that higher price curbs water waste and water consumption. Water should be priced at the cost to provide it, and subsidized for those who can't afford it.
But private companies' promises of efficient, water delivery have not always come true. Last year Bolivia's president celebrated the departure of French water company Suez, which had held a 30-year contract to supply La Paz.
Water is a public resource and a human right that should be available to all. Private-water industry officials say those pushing to make water a "human right" are ideologues struggling to preserve inefficient public water authorities that sell water below the cost to produce it.
Water scarcity may be one of the most underappreciated global political and environmental challenges of our time.
In January, a report identified 46 countries with a combined population of 2.7 billion people where contention over water has created "a high risk of violent conflict" by 2025.
In the developing world rising economic success means a rising demand for clean water and an increased potential for conflict. China is one of the world's fastest-growing nations, but its lakes, rivers, and groundwater are badly polluted because of the widespread dumping of industrial wastes. Tibet has huge fresh water reserves.
Little has been reported about China's keen interest in Tibet's Himalayan water supplies, locked up in rapidly melting glaciers.
China is proceeding with plans for nearly 200 miles of canals to divert water from the Himalayan plateau to China's parched Yellow River. Himalayan water is sensitive because it supplies the rivers that bring water to more than half a dozen Asian countries.
Once this issue of water resources comes up it also raises emerging conflicts with India and Southeast Asia.
Canada, which has immense fresh-water resources, is wary of its water-thirsty superpower neighbor to the south, observers say. Canada has 20% of the world's fresh water. The prospect of losing control of its water under free-trade or other agreements is something Canadians seem to worry about constantly.
A year ago, Canada's House of Commons voted 134 to 108 in favor of a motion to recommend that its federal government "begin talks with its American and Mexican counterparts to exclude water from the scope of NAFTA." rw.
Water is unequally distributed around the world. All humans do not have access to safe drinking water.
Many women in Mali, West Africa, have to walk several hours to the nearest river and back every day to collect water. Only half of the people in Mail have access to safe drinking water. In Yemen women fill canisters with water at a cistern before transporting it away on donkeys. Mali and Yemen are two countries out of over 50 that are threatened by acute water shortages that already affects roughly one third of the world's more than 6.6 billion people. However, Mali and Yemen are two examples for international development cooperation. In Yemen, leaky pipe networks are being repaired with German support and water supply and sewage disposal systems have been renewed in three Yemeni coastal towns. A network of water taps developed in cooperation with German development workers now exists in many small towns in Mali.
Germany is one of the largest bilateral donors and a partner for 28 countries. The Federal Government has committed to 400 million euros a year. More than 450 million euros are planned for 2008. A large proportion, 40%, goes to Africa. Germany is collaborating with 11 countries there on various water projects. They are also assisting the Kenyan government in the reform of the water sector and how to develop efficient water management procedures. German cooperation has been active in neighboring Tanzania since the end of the 1980s. The health situation has significantly improved for some 300,000 people. Diseases caused by contaminated water have decreased substantially.
Germany is also making a contribution to the MDGs of the UN. Water is high up on the political agenda and will become the key to success for all the UN MDGs that depend on progress on nutrition, education, poverty and the environment and crucially on the development of irrigation in agriculture. The UN has proclaimed the period from 2005 to 2015 an International Decade for "Water for Life".
According to figures published, only 0.35% of all the water on Earth is freshwater - the rest is salty seawater or ice. The lack of freshwater is being intensified by climate change. It is having an effect on precipitation. Precipitation is becoming more extreme. Where there is little rain today, there will be even less tomorrow, and where there is already lots of rain, it will rain even more.
Water shortages are being made worse by population growth, urbanization and industry. In the past 100 years there has been a tenfold increase in global water consumption.
Agriculture and industry are also dependent on water. Agriculture consumes nearly two-thirds of all drinking water reserves. In a number of regions, supplying enough water for the population and to meet the demands of agriculture and industry has already become a challenge during dry periods. That can also lead to social and economic tensions that reach beyond national borders.
Conflict potential exists and the security significance of water has grown. Yet cooperation in the use of transborder waters predominates in the world today. rw.
A UN official warned that the Philippines may have to feed people to save them going hungry as the price of rice soars out of reach of ordinary households.
The World Food Programme director said, "People who were able to meet their own food needs have been pushed over that precipice and are no longer able to feed their families," .. "We're seeing it in many countries."
The UN agency provides food aid to about 1.1 million of the Philippines' 90 million people. The UN was unlikely to ramp up its food aid since the Philippines is considered a "middle-income country" with lower priority.
Manila could be hit in the pocket by having to boost spending on subsidies to maintain current prices of the lowest-quality rice that it sells to the poor.
Rising rice prices and tight supplies could impact most severely on poor households in the rebellion-torn southern island of Mindanao. Any increase in the rice price is going to put them in a very difficult situation. rw.
Blantyre is losing its reputation for tranquility.
Residents find themselves waking up to the hustle and bustle of women as they move around the city in search of water. Water cuts sometimes last up to three days, And the Blantyre Water Board (BWB), the city's sole water supplier, has warned that the cuts are likely to persist until 2013 as it replaces dilapidated equipment.
Businesses have resorted to installing on-site water tanks. The 2007 Malawi MDG Report indicates that the country is making progress towards reaching the target which calls for the reduction by half of the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water. The access to water has improved from slightly over 47% in 1992 to 75% in 2006. But Superintendent Clive Bismarck explained that transformers have been breaking down at the point where the water is pumped from river to pipeline.
BWB's ability to cope with demand is being outpaced by the growth of Blantyre. The utility can pump 75,000 cubic metres of water daily against a demand for 95,000 cubic metres.
Malawi is one of the fastest urbanising countries in the world with an urban population growth rate of 6.3%. Water shortages cause city residents to flush their toilets less frequently and to compromise on household hygiene. As a result, the risk of water-borne diseases has become a problem.
There are instances of cholera throughout the year, as poor hygiene is conducive to the spread of the bacterium.
Since the beginning of this year at least eight people have died in a cholera outbreak in areas around Blantyre. Up to 291 cases of cholera were reported within a three-week period.
The BWB Chief Executive Officer had been suspended ahead of investigations into the causes of the water shortages.
He had said that the shortages were a result of the water system being inadequately maintained and over-utilised. He has been reinstated.
Many residents have now resorted to using rain water from ditches.
Those who have cars drive to BWB headquarters where they draw water from taps at the utility's offices. rw.
The world faces "water wars" unless action is taken to prevent international water shortages and sanitation issues escalating into conflicts. The warning came as 27 international charities marked World Water Day, by writing to Gordon Brown demanding action to give fresh water to 1.1 billion people with poor supplies. Two-thirds of the world's population will live in water-stressed countries by 2025.
The coalition of charities has appealed for a global effort to bring running water to the developing world and supply sanitation to a further 2.6 billion people. Each year 443 million school days are lost globally to diarrhoea and 1.8 million children die unnecessarily from these diseases.
Rising temperatures together with extreme weather will increase pressures on water supplies. A growing and urbanised global population will increase demand for food and water. Over 1 billion people suffer from water shortages and 30 countries get more than a third of their water from outside their borders. With climate change, those figures are likely to grow, increasing the possibility of disputes.
The whole of sub-Saharan Africa and most of south Asia and western South America are at risk of water shortages if global warming continues.
If average global temperatures go more than two degrees above pre-industrial levels you are looking at 2 to 3 billion people potentially suffering water shortages. It's a serious business. rw.
Beijing has always been a dry landscape but has never had to cope with 17 million people, comparable to the total of Australia's population. Civic officials have a "to do" list and among the multitude of tasks are, demands for clean air, improving traffic flows, constructing subways, bettering air transportation and implementing waste water management systems. At the same time higher learning institutions are bursting at the seams with students. Water supply has first place on the list.
Complicating matters, the last 9 years has seen rainfall below average levels. Local Miyun reservoir is down to one third the volume a decade ago. The local rivers and reservoirs are exhausted so the city has turned to Hebei Province for its supply.
As the city went up, the groundwater went down, 76 feet in the last half-century! Parks, lakes, golf courses and modern high-rise apartment buildings are all adding to the consumption.
For the short term a canal will bring water from the Yangtze and its tributaries. For the mid - to long-term plans to channel water from the south appear problematic, recalling the record droughts that took place there last year. Making matters grimmer is the revelation of climate change and forecasting concern for the future of major rivers flowing out of Tibet and the three major rivers running down into southern China and beyond.
Hong Kong, which drains most of its supply from nearby Dongjiang in Guangdong, may also soon feel the pinch. Water management becomes a national and global priority. UN Secretary General mentioned that the international community needed to start conceiving strategies for using water more efficiently and sharing it more equitably. He said population growth and climate change would only worsen.
Appreciating this necessity for urban regions to become more water self-reliant the example of Singapore offers some hope. This week the Minister for Water Resources Dr Yaacob Ibrahim opened the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, while speaking about the constraints of climate change and long-term sustainability. He recognized the economic opportunities such issues present, and how his government had identified the environment and water technology as areas deserving of strategic research and development dollars. The vision is for Singapore to solve world water woes like those now and soon to be faced in China.
Singapore has developed renewable sources in the form of "Newwater" a product arising from public utilities which can now meet 15% of the nation's water needs; desalination plants, which meets 10%, in addition to vigorous water conservation.
The eighth Forum for Asia will question how to secure Asia's future through renewable energy sources, and how the private sector can contribute towards this. rw.
The water shortage will have wide-ranging consequences for agriculture and energy production. Our planet is facing a water crisis, more than a billion people in developing nations lack access to safe drinking water, and more than 2 billion lack proper sanitation. Water shortages are likely to spread into other key sectors. Some of this world crisis will be driven by climate pressures, but much of it will be driven by population growth and economic development. As nations grow more prosperous, their citizens are switching to more protein-rich Western diets. These nations are also increasing their energy consumption. The US is already using more than 500 billion litres of fresh water per day for cooling electric power plants.
Global energy demand is projected to increase 57% by 2030, and water demand for food production may double. By 2050, feeding the world's population may require the volume of Lake Superior every year. Yet many of the world's rivers and lakes are already overused: China's Yellow River doesn't always reach the ocean, and Lake Mead in the American southwest could be dry by 2021 if water usage is not curtailed.
There are many new ideas and fresh approaches that could ease the water crisis if we can collectively figure out how to implement them. The key to tackling the crisis is managing green water': the more abundant moisture that infiltrates the soil from rainfall, and that can be taken up by the roots of plants. Experts estimate that in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 95% of crops are rain-fed, only 10% 30% of the available rainfall is being used in a productive way. The fixes are decidedly low-tech: harvesting rainwater, planting roots deeper, better terracing, and switching from ploughing to tilling, the gains could be enormous. In heavily irrigated regions equally simple improvements in water usage could take the pressure off drinking water.
The world is going to need all the solutions it can get but low-tech efforts can offer big gains at comparatively modest costs.
For the energy sector, there are big gains to be had from water conservation and reuse. For example, power plants could switch to brackish groundwater or treated wastewater. Here again, the fundamental challenge is to agree on who is in charge. In the US the water policy is rarely coordinated at a regional or national level, and coherent solutions are almost impossible.
This has recently begun to change, but it has to change everywhere. Unless policy-makers want water resources to be constantly squabbled and fought over, with farmers pitted against city dwellers, upstream users against downstream users, and region against region, every nation needs to think about water strategically. rw.
A new poll by Unilever, RBC and the Canadian Partnership Initiative of the UN Water for Life Decade shows that 80% of Canadians are confident that the country has enough fresh water to meet the country's long-term needs. Two-thirds disagree that Canada has a fresh water shortage problem at all.
Canadian NGOs and a report from Environment Canada asserts Canada faces threats to its fresh water resources.
Water scarcity has constrained economic growth in parts of Western Canada and low lake levels have caused a reduction in shipping loads and reduced water availability for clean hydro-electric power on the Great Lakes. With climate change, water quality and availability will deteriorate. The health of the economy is linked to the availability of fresh water. Environment Canada estimates that water contributes $7.5 to $23 billion annually to Canada's economy.
We need to change our attitude toward water and implement conservation techniques in our everyday lives. When it comes to water sustainability, everyone has an important role to play. Although water is a renewable resource, it is not limitless. Canada possesses only 6.5% of the world's renewable fresh water. Canadians are the second largest wasters of water, second to only the Americans.
Almost all (97%) of Canadians agree that an abundant supply of fresh water is important to Canada's national economy. Twenty-eight per cent of Canadians identified removal of water to the United States as the number one threat to Canada's supply of fresh water. This belief is incorrect. The greatest threat to Canada's supply of fresh water is our belief in its absolute abundance which is being challenged by heavy use, rapid growth and by climate change and global warming-induced drought. be 'confident' that Canada in general has enough fresh water to meet our long-term needs. rw.
A good agenda on water and sanitation is crucial to eradicating poverty and achieving development goals.
All 17 local governments, communities and all stakeholders are asked to ensuring the availability of clean and safe water.
Today, about 700 million people in 43 countries have inadequate sanitation, and by 2025, this could increase to more than three billion.
The global water situation remains fragile and there is a need for a sustainable approach to resource management.
Available supplies are under duress from a high population growth, unsustainable service patterns, poor management practices, pollution, investment in infrastructure and inefficiency in water and sanitation use.
They would need more water to grow food, provide potable water and sanitation services, operate industries and support expanding cities. The water demand gap is likely to grow wider, threatening development and environmental sustainability. All are charged with promoting echnology transfer, mobilisation of resources and scaling up good practices and lessons learned.
The UN declared March 22 of every year as World Water Day. rw.
A Qiyuan from Shaanxi province, told the UK's Financial Times that people in north-western provinces may see social upheaval and environmental harm because of the strain on local water supplies.
China is building a network to divert water to the north that will divert water from rivers in the south via tunnels, dams and canals to cities in the north. Part of the project was brought forward to provide water for the Olympics.
In order to preserve the quality of Beijing's water we have to close all our factories, he said, and the government needs to compensate Shaanxi.
The project is blamed for the Yellow River silting up and causing flooding. It is unusual for a leading communist official to be so openly critical of government policy.
Shaanxi and Hebei province are required to pump clean water to Beijing in time for the Olympics.
They are on the northern stretch of a larger water transfer project designed to bring supplies from the Yangtze River in the south to northern industrial areas, including Beijing.
The project, costing tens of billions of dollars, is due for completion by 2010, but the authorities are hoping the northern leg of the network will be ready for the Olympics.
Water demand could rise to 30% above average as thousands of visitors arrive for the games.
Hebei province, which lies next to Beijing and supplies most of its water, is suffering from severe drought, caused by a lack of rain and snow.
Hebei province is being asked to provide an extra 300m cubic metres of back-up supplies to Beijing's 16 million residents. Several hundred kilometres of pipe and channels are being constructed to supply the capital, but farmers complain that lack of water is undermining agricultural land.
About 33,000 sq km (12,740 sq miles) of farmland was now affected by drought, while a quarter of a million residents were facing problems with drinking water.
Two western routes move water from the upper Yangtze to the Yellow river, the central route will divert water from the Danjiangkou reservoir underneath the Yellow river to Beijing and Tianjin. The Eastern route will pump water from the Yangtze to supply Shandong and Jiangsu provinces. The project is expected to cost at least $60bn and the estimated completion date is 2010 but Beijing hopes some northern sections will alleviate water shortages in time for the Olympics.
Critics say the diversions will drain farmland, forcibly relocate tens of thousands of people and impair water quality. rw.
Saudi Arabia plans to halt wheat production by 2016 because of concerns about scarce water resources. The Saudi government has not publicly given details, which comes as global cereal prices surge. Saudi Arabia will begin reducing production annually by 12.5% and will use imports to bridge the gap. The US estimates that Saudi Arabia's wheat imports will reach 3.4m tons by 2016, which could be in the top 15 largest importers of the cereal. The country at present produces about 2.5m tons annually.
The increase in demand would tighten global wheat supplies even further. The US report said that "the main reason for change in wheat production was concern over the depletion of fossil water since the crop is grown on 100% central pivot irrigation. The Saudi administration launched an agricultural development programme in the 1970s, including the establishment of irrigation networks, to become self-sufficient for some food supplies. Saudi Arabia became a net exporter and by 1991 production had reached 3.8m tons.
Demand for water is increasing rapidly as the population has swelled from 7m in 1974 to about 24m, with the government seeking to boost industry. The country has no permanent rivers or lakes and very little rainfall. The government has relied on dams to trap seasonal floods, tens of thousands of deep wells and 27 desalination plants. It is so expensive to produce water in Saudi Arabia. rw Karen Gaia says: I believe this makes the case against desalination as a cure-all for the world water crisis. Saudi Arabia is a fuel-rich country, and if desalination were feasible for agriculture, the Saudis could do it.
Seven organisations including the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) have announced a partnership to address the lack of access to clean water.
The Initiative will work in Burkina Faso, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Mali, Nicaragua, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. It will spend US$15 million in its first year, with a similar sum for each of the following nine years.
This partnership comes at a time when climate change threatens to reduce water availability. The organisations involved have different strengths which, when employed in partnership with local organisations and government agencies, will help to improve the management of water resources and sanitation for millions of people.
Projects will deliver water and sanitation in rural communities. In addition, strengthen institutions, build capacity to sustain long term projects, increase community participation, improve local governance, facilitate inter-governmental coordination and cooperation, raise awareness, emphasize innovation and support the development of responsible water policies. rw.
Human activity is responsible for up to 60% of changes contributing to dwindling water supplies in the arid and growing West and those changes are likely to accelerate. This will add to calls for action from Western states competing for the precious resource to irrigate farms and quench the thirst of growing populations. Researchers studied climate changes in the West between 1950-1999 and noted that winter precipitation falls increasingly as rain rather than snow, and river flows decrease in summer, and warming is exacerbating dry summer conditions. They found that most changes in river flow, temperature and snow pack between 1950 and 1999 can be attributed to human activities that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
The changes differed significantly from trends due to natural fluctuations between wet and dry periods. The picture is quite grim and suggests the need for conservation, more water storage, and a slowdown on development in the desert Southwest.
The research "foretells of water shortages, lack of storage capability, transfers of water from agricultural to urban uses and other critical impacts." rw.
With officials projecting that Atlanta could run out of water within three months, Georgia politicians have pleaded with the Army Corps of Engineers not to release more water from the reservoir as part of an effort to save two species of mussels 200 miles downriver.
Yet there is a growing sense that the metropolis itself is the problem. Atlanta's rapid growth, and its disregard for conservation, is straining the region's ecosystem.
The governors of Florida, Alabama and Georgia agreed to reduce by 16% the amount of water released from Lake Lanier, which would give some relief. But experts say the Southeast's struggles over water resources are far from over.
What has got to be on the table is Atlanta's unrestricted growth and cavalier attitude to water use. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist wrote in a letter to President Bush that Florida's $134 million commercial seafood industry depended on the water and added that his state had acted responsibly in enacting water legislation. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley argued that downstream communities and a nuclear-power plant in his state required water, too.
Within Georgia the drought has brought to the fore long-simmering resentment against the booming capital of the New South. There is concern that Atlanta could slake its thirst on Augusta's water supplies. Atlanta is a greedy, poorly designed behemoth of a city incapable of hearing the word 'no' and dealing with it. They cannot bring themselves to tell their constituents that perhaps if they didn't have six bathrooms, it might ease the situation a bit.
While other cities have water-conservation measures, Atlanta, one of the country's fastest-growing metropolitan regions, has been particularly shortsighted.
Atlanta's population climbed to 4.1 million from 2.9 million. Its draw on the water increased to 420 million gallons a day from 320 million. For its drinking water, Atlanta relies almost entirely on Lake Lanier, a 38,000-acre man-made reservoir in northern Georgia built in the 1950s.
Not surprisingly, developers and members of the business community rankle at suggestion that the state should introduce legislation to prohibit developers from building if no water is available. rw Karen Gaia says: several states do have legislation to prohibit developers from building if no water is available. However, counties often play a shell game with the water to make developers happy. If states where water is a problem were take a careful look at their water supply and were to act responsibly, there would be litttle or no more development allowed.
The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess.
Water managers will take bold steps including conservation, recycling, desalination and stricter controls on development.
The last century was the century of water engineering. The next century is going to have to be the century of water efficiency.
Experts estimate that upgrading pipes to handle new supplies could cost the nation $300 billion over 30 years.
There's not going to be any more cheap water.
Australia is in the midst of a 30-year dry spell, and population growth in urban centers of sub-Saharan Africa is straining resources. Asia has 60% of the world's population, but only about 30% of its freshwater.
By 2050 up to 2 billion people could be facing major water shortages.
The U. S. used more than 148 trillion gallons of water in 2000 for residential, commercial, agriculture, manufacturing and every other use - almost 500,000 gallons per person.
Coastal states like Florida and California face a water crisis from rising temperatures that are causing glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise. More water lost to evaporation and rising seas could push saltwater into underground sources of freshwater.
Florida biggest problem was it has too much water. But decades of dikes, dams and water diversions have turned swamps into cities.
Little land is left to store water, and so much of the landscape has been paved over that water can no longer penetrate the ground to recharge aquifers.
Florida's environmental chief is seeking legislative action to get municipalities to reuse the wastewater.
Florida reclaims 240 billion gallons annually, but it is not nearly enough. The state projects that by 2025, the population will have increased 34% from about 18 million to more than 24 million people, pushing annual demand for water to nearly 3.3 trillion gallons.
There are more than 1,000 desalination plants in the U. S., many in the Sunbelt. The Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Plant is producing about 25 million gallons a day of fresh drinking water, about 10% of that area's demand. The $158 million facility is North America's largest plant of its kind.
Californians use nearly 23 trillion gallons of water a year, much of it coming from Sierra Nevada snowmelt. But climate change is producing less snowpack and causing it to melt prematurely, jeopardizing future supplies.
Experts also say the Colorado River will provide less water in coming years as global warming shrinks its flow.
California, like many other states, is pushing conservation as the cheapest alternative. Water efficiency is the wave of the future. rw Karen Gaia says: desalinazation often depends on fossil fuels, whose supply is shrinking.
The use of water is constantly changing as our population continues to expand, and we respond to any number of external events, including new technologies, global climate, and energy availability. Arizona initially developed through exploiting its natural resources, often at rates that would deplete the region over time. We will need the ability to make adjustments in a timely manner and avoid crossing critical thresholds that could result in irreversible shortages.
Groundwater overuse could dewater an aquifer and compact its underground structure. This could lead to permanent loss of water storage capacity, increased vulnerability to drought, drying up of streams, or land subsidence. All of which have occurred in Arizona.
To meet demand, we must increase our investments in new water resources. Many of our leaders miss this fundamental relationship. They want to allow continued growth, but do not want to invest in the tools needed to manage and serve our complex communities.
Arizona has made significant advances in linking water and growth including requiring Arizona's larger or faster-growing local governments to consider water adequacy in their long-range plans. They require a 100-year renewable water supply before land can be subdivided, and last year's legislation allowing cities and towns to require new subdivisions to have a 100-year water supply.
Arizona's leaders will be considering transportation and water-management initiatives. It is hoped that we will, envision and plan for strong and healthy communities and be willing to invest to make it happen.
Priority goals for assuring a sustainable Arizona water supply include:
Develop long-range water-demand projections.
Forge regional partnerships.
Secure future supplies.
Understand and prepare for climate change.
Modify the state's regulatory and water-management organizations to require water adequacy in urban and rural areas, and to facilitate water transfers.
Address environmental quality, related to water management. rw.
The international community must review its goal to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
The target, one of eight goals includes the aim of halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.
To meet the target, an additional 1.6 billion people need access to improved sanitation by 2015, but the world is likely to miss this by almost 600 million people.
Parts of Asia, northern African and Latin American are on track, but in sub-Saharan Africa, the number of people without access to sanitation has increased from 335 million to 440 million.
The whole approach to meeting the target has to change and it is imperative that we see the scale of the challenge.
A UN report found there were problems in meeting environmental sustainability, including improved water supplies.
One of the reasons was the failure of international governments to live up to their financing commitments.
One sixth of the world's population get their water from sources contaminated by human and animal feces and half of all people in developing countries are estimated to have an illness related to sanitation and water quality. rw.
Yemen suffers an imbalance between annual rainfall and water demand. Average renewable water resources are 125 cubic meters per capita, approximately 10% of the amount consumed by a Middle Easterner. Yemen is among the 10 water-poorest countries in the world.
The water volume in Yemen is about 5.1 billion cubic meters. Rainwater is 93% of the total water resources, while surface water, ground water and unconventional source waters (seawater distillation, reuse of sewer water, etc.) represent 4.86%, 2.08%, and 00.01% respectively.
The total water demand is increasing from 4.5 billion cubic meters in 1990 to an estimated 13 billion cubic meters in 2020. The current demand has three main areas: agriculture (95%), households (3.2%) and industries (1.8%).
Water shortage is expected to reach 15 billion cubic meters in 2020. The problem is getting worse due to pollution from human activity which negatively impacts water quality. There is a possibility for increased untreated sewer water to make its way down to the water-bearing layer. The problem is going to exacerbate in the future, given the quick-paced population growth. Water pollution primarily affects the the poor and marginalized who are more vulnerable. They are mainly herders and small farmers whose livelihood depends on water. The shortage and low quality of water affect the poor urban centers where it is difficult to find any source of water.
The importance of water is not limited to drinking and irrigation to produce crops and food but it is important for sustainable development because water availability is linked to public health, poverty, education and development in general. Water scarcity and competition for it may be a cause for economic and social instability, especially as 53% of Yemen's workforce is employed in the agricultural sector.
Consecutive Yemeni governments have adopted improper measures for managing water affairs. Usually focused on cost management, which implies that the government provided fresh water at the lowest cost possible. It gave little attention to fair distribution of water.
Estimates indicate that the cost of facilities reached $113 million, an average of $1.20 per cubic meter, which is high by all means.
Qat, which covers some 40% of the irrigated area, consumes 60% of the usable water in Yemen and is around double the volume of water consumed by the city of Sana'a.
To maintain water resources and optimize their use could be achieved through water demand management (WDM), a package of measures to urge individuals to regulate the quantity and price of water, the way they access it and the way they dispose of it. It is necessary to adopt a comprehensive view of water as an essential component of any good governance strategy. Water issues must be incorporated into school curricula and become a subject of scientific research and knowledge transfer activities. rw.
Target 10 of the MDGs is to "halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation". This study presents cost estimates of attaining this target. Taking into account population growth, costs per capita for investment and recurrent costs are applied. Estimated spending in developing countries to meet the MDG target is US$ 42 billion for water and US$ 142 billion for sanitation. The cost of maintaining existing services totals US$ 54 billion. Spending for new coverage is largely rural (64%), while for maintaining existing coverage it is largely urban (73%). Additional costs, of between 10% and 30% are required for effective implementation. Estimates of cost should include the operation, maintenance and replacement of existing coverage as well as new services and programme costs. rw Karen Gaia says: with the earth's resources already strained, and the economy failing, it is nearly too late to realize that money will not solve the problem of too many people for too few resources.
Gov. Easley's request to turn down the taps has resulted in a 11% drop in water use in the City of Durham. Old habits die hard.
The scrambling to tap new sources of water has dominated, but we're failing.
That failure has some saying Easley and the legislature should do more to coordinate a statewide effort. The governor and his office have repeatedly said that, short of declaring a state of emergency and launching public relations campaigns calling for conservation, his office has relatively little power. Local leaders say the state needs to spend more money on a regional approach. No long-term solutions are being considered within Durham County.
Water experts say a carefully calibrated tiered water system promotes year-round conservation and is one of the best ways to reduce water usage. Greensboro put one in place in 2001 and average household use has dropped by 25%.
But leaky pipes account for 14% loss of water in Durham. The city would identify and triage the hemorrhaging offenders. Getting municipalities up to speed depends on better coordination among municipalities, rewriting statewide building and plumbing codes, tracking and regulating well water use, and storm water management and gray water laws. Important information is lacking. An obvious step would be to throw more money and celebrity power behind a statewide education campaign. Durham grows closer to sucking muddy water from below the intake on its reservoirs. rw.
In the mid-90s, a two-year drought triggered more than $630 million (AUS) in federal farm support. With the current drought, spanning five growing seasons, the Australian government has spent $2.4 billion on relief measures. Some analysts are projecting a decline in that country's agricultural productivity.
Climate change is a driver in the downsizing of the farm sectors, although shrinking rural populations, global competition for commodity crop market share and perhaps most importantly, land-use issues. But there is no underestimating the impact of sustained drought which is linked to global warming. Since 2002.
Annual grain harvest harvests have dropped from 37 million metric tons (MT) to less than 25 million MT.
The national sheep herd has declined by 21%
Cattle have dropped from 27.7 million to 25.4 million.
Milk production has fallen from 1.4 billion liters to 9.23 billion liters.
Wool production has dropped from 645,000 MT to less than 438,000 MT.
The decline has been dramatic when coupled with a surge in the financial fortunes of much of Australia's interior and western regions due to China's demand for coal and metals. Some are projecting that farming would become a mere afterthought in the 21st century.
On the measures of population and national income, farming matters less to Australia's make-up today than truck driving. It's hard to argue with the numbers. More than 50,000 ag-related jobs have been lost in the last decade and the total workforce of 360,000 people in ag, forestry and fishing sectors is now less than 3.5% of the nation's workforce from more than 5.2% in 1997.
Prime Minister Rudd was cautioning that big challenges lay ahead for the Australian farm economy.
Adapting to climate change is about tackling a major economic and agricultural reform necessary to underpin the future of Australia's food supply.
Drought is crippling our regional and rural communities, crops are failing. Feed-grain and water prices are rising. Farm debt is higher than at any other point in history and there are warnings about the impact of declining food exports and rising food prices on the Australian and global economies.
It is clear that agriculture was not at the top of the new government's “To-Do” list. Among Labor's top priorities were educational reform, action on climate change, new measures for national security, economic reforms in non-farm sectors to benefit workers and new national health-care reforms.
Even the climate change initiatives centered mostly on funding “green” power sources, implementing “clean coal” technology and increasing the country's investment in solar power generation.
Typical of the lobbying was the Victoria Farmers Federation, which called for “continued development of the Australian farm industry” and demanded increased spending to fund a review of the nation's quarantine system. New climate change initiatives; and upgrading Australia's irrigation and transport.
The New South Wales Farmers Association launched an effort to secure aid for farmers in eastern and central Australia who have been forced out by drought.
A brief “state of the industry” review reveals the impact of four consecutive seasons of below-average rainfall on the country's key ag sectors. The 2008 forecast is 5.9 million MT, down from 8.3 million MT in 2002. Australian feed and malting barley prices are forecast to remain high as a result of EU deficiencies and increased world demand.
» Grain production has dropped the 2008 sorghum forecast is 1.92 million MT, versus 2.12 MT in 2002, and the 2008 oats forecast is 10.3 million MT, versus 14.32 million MT in 2002.
Wheat estimates are for 15.5 million MT. Growers who find themselves with positions above what they will eventually deliver are exiting, which in turn is pushing prices up further.
The outlook Australian lamb industry remains reliant on an improvement in seasonal conditions. The drought has had a significant impact on the nation's sheep flock, with sheep slaughterings increasing by 12% in 2006 and 2007. Lamb numbers are down by 9%.
Dry seasons have caused reluctance among growers to sow canola.
The federal government has pledged more than $714 million (AUS) to help stricken farmers.
More than a century ago, Australia's Surveyor General, drew a line across the map dividing the country's southern region into farming lands, or grazing lands. But climate change, some say, has shifted the line south, and the region where much of the country's produce, wine grapes and cereal crops are now produced may no longer have a future in farming.
More than 40% of the farmers in South Australia receive government assistance. Many rural towns and regions have lost as much as 90% of their former farm populations.
For many farm families, seeking greener pastures has meant moving away to take jobs in cities and the mining industries farther north. rw.
A hand-dug water well has served Crenshaw's rural Pawnee County home for more than a century, but last year, it ran dry. The Crenshaws spent $1,200 to drill another well. It was dry, but then rains came and their old well came back to life.
This past spring and summer, record rains caused widespread flooding. The state's water wealth, experts warn, could become a mirage. Growing population and increased demand could bring more water problems and dry wells in the future.
"We are beginning to see the limits of the water resources that the state has," said Miles Tolbert, state secretary of the environment. Oklahoma's problem is complex. Sustainability is a concern, especially for those who draw water from depleted underground aquifers. However, some parts of the state rely upon abundant lakes and reservoirs.
All of these factors add up to an estimated $5.4 billion in water improvement projects needed throughout the state.
Demand for water is soaring. Supplies are limited and shrinking. Prices are rising. Last year the Legislature voted a new Comprehensive Water Plan that will address water needs, competing water interests, vulnerability to drought and flooding, environmental protection and economic development through 2016.
The state predicts that Oklahoma will add 17% more residents during the next 20 years, with a population of 4.2 million by 2030.
The state will use more than 744 million gallons of water in the year 2030.
The effects of growing demand and limited supplies were sped up during last year's drought. In one instance, Lone Chimney Lake ran out of potable water. That left the towns of Glencoe, Morrison, Yale, Blackburn, Skedee, Marimec, Terlton, Pawnee and Cleveland high and dry.
That reality is apparent in areas that draw water from wells.
Drought-breaking rains helped refill the state's 34 major reservoirs, most of which are now into their flood-control pools. These reservoirs store more than 4.2 trillion gallons of water.
But underground aquifers are depleted.
These aquifers will hold more than 24 times the amount of water pooled in the reservoirs. But pressure on their stores is growing.
The state reports a tenfold increase in the number of wells drilled into these aquifers since 1972. The Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer in south central Oklahoma has declined more than any other bedrock aquifer since 2000. It dropped more than 21 feet. The Blaine aquifer in southwestern Oklahoma dropped more than 9 feet. The Garber-Wellington, in central Oklahoma, fell more than 6 feet.
Disparities in the state's water reserves beg questions about pooling resources. While Oklahoma looks inward to settle these issues, it also must handle outsiders' claims to its water.
Two Texas Tarrant Regional district that serves Fort Worth and Arlington, and the Upper Trinity district in Denton County have applied to buy the state's water.
The Oklahoma Water Resources Board has a moratorium on out-of-state sales. But the Tarrant district has sued, challenging the ban as unconstitutional.
Authors of the state's water plan set out to have 42 meetings to discuss local and regional water supplies with the public. They plan to inventory the state's water supplies and size up the needs of local and regional water districts.
It is a process that will affect the way water flows throughout the state. rw.
What happens when there is not enough water to go around? Atlanta is a city in trouble in a region in trouble. Sonny Perdue, Georgia's Baptist governor, led a crowd of hundreds in prayers for rain.
It seems, however, that the Almighty was otherwise occupied and the regional drought continued. Water rationing has hit the capital. Car washing and lawn watering are prohibited. Harvests in the region have dropped by 15 to 30%. By the end of summer, local reservoirs and dams were holding 5% of their capacity.
But that compares Ankara, Turkey, hit by a fierce drought and high temperatures. Over the last decade, 15 to 20% decreases in precipitation have been recorded, accompanied by record temperatures and increasing wildfires in areas where populations have been growing rapidly. Or the drought that has swept huge parts of Australia, the worst in a century. Morocco has 50% less rainfall than normal. In Mexico's Tehuacán Valley, the drought conditions have made subsistence farming next to impossible. Four cities in Southern California, top the national drought ratings: Los Angeles, San Diego, Oxnard, and Riverside.
We don't think of our country as water poor. But acording to the National Climate Data Center, federal officials have declared 43% of the contiguous US to be in "moderate to extreme drought." The Southwest is in the grips of a 'mega-drought,' even the 'worst in 500 years.' Such conditions may represent the region's new "normal weather."
The water level of Lake Superior, has fallen to the lowest point on record for this time of year. In the Southeast, 26% of which, according to the National Weather Service, is in a state of "exceptional" drought, tt has been the driest year on record for North Carolina and Tennessee, while eighteen months of blue skies have led Georgia to break every historical record, whether measured by the percentage of moisture in the soil, the flow rate of rivers, inches of rain.
Rock Spring, South Carolina, has been without water for a month. Farmers are hauling water by pickup truck to keep their cattle alive. Atlanta, its metropolitan area "watered" mainly by a 1950s man-made reservoir, Lake Lanier, which, is turning into baked mud. With a population of five million and known for its uncontrolled growth (as well as lack of water planning), the city is expected to house another two million inhabitants by 2030. And yet, Atlanta will essentially run out of water.
The worst outcome would be mass migrations with bitter interstate court battles over the dwindling water supplies. But before that, if too much water is siphoned from agriculture, farm towns and ranch towns will wither. If drought becomes more widespread, more common in heavily populated parts of the globe already bursting at the seams (and with more people arriving daily), if whole regions no longer have the necessary water, How much burning and suffering and misery are we likely to experience? rw.
Mr. Beattie said Australia's ageing population of 21 million was too small to meet future needs. The credentials of the Queensland government to make any statement on this issue are very poor. It has failed to plan for the large numbers of Australians attracted to SE Queensland when climate change data suggested that they could not be sustained. In South Australia there are targets for a large increase in population in the face of continuing water shortage. Governments worry about the increasing numbers of elderly Australians and reason that we need more young people to pay for them. How naive, population growth in perpetuity!
No-one likes to talk about it, but population is the common denominator of climate change. Climate change cannot be arrested with an expanding population.
2 billion airline journeys each year are the fastest increasing cause of green house emissions, but the world's population creates 4 times as much carbon dioxide each year as the airlines. Add energy usage and consumption and even if the world managed to achieve a 52% cut in its 1990 emission levels it would be cancelled out by population growth. The most effective global climate change strategy is to limit the size of the population.
Now Mr. Beattie wants skilled immigrants. We support necessary immigration of refugees but not immigration that purloins skilled workers from developing countries.
Procreation is a sensitive issue. This is why it's not on the climate change agenda. But liberty is a matter of degree and in this crisis there is no right to a liberty that affects the future of the entire community. Perhaps the ultimate deterrent to procreation is whether you want to create offspring to compete for space when everywhere else is uninhabitable. rw.
India needs 5.6 times its current installed capacity; to 'electrify' everyone in Indian. To reach world level of consumption might result in environmental disaster if coal technological options take primacy over sustainable ones. The plan for milking Himalayan waters is showing devastation that is being documented with the hope that our concerns result in saner voices prevailing in Delhi.
The Himalayan potential for hydro-power is 'reassessed' at 248,871 MW. The estimated country-wise potential is: Pakistan: 41,722 MW, India 108,143 MW; Nepal 83,000 MW; and Bhutan 16,000 MW. In Himachal Pradesh about 286 micro hydel projects of below 10 MW have been approved, many under execution. True data are not available; much is under wraps.
At least one major dam has been constructed without environmental clearance; rivers are being diverted, debris from construction work is destroying forests, shrubs, creating water channels that were never there. This is eroding ecosystems that have supported thousands of livelihoods in the mountain areas and millions in the basins that are served in the plains. Those who oppose this destruction are called 'anti-development.'
Himachal Pradesh state, accounts for about 20% of hydro-electric potential of India. The state of affairs is documented with examples from several project areas and villages where ecosystem destruction has threatened livelihoods. This paper explores impact on ecosystems at three Chamba and one Kangra village with photographic evidences. The response of the government is discussed and the responses of the civil society are briefly documented.
Given the scale of hydro-electric projects in this ecologically sensitive state, and the Himalayan region in general, the paper raises questions of long term sustainability and survival of millions of South Asians.
Follow the link to the entire article. rw.
The Arizona Water Institute announced that 12 projects will receive a total of $555,000 in AWI funds.
Chris Scott, an assistant professor in the UA Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, is studying how the rapid population growth in the Arizona-Sonora border region will impact energy and water sustainability.
George Frizvold is developing agriculture scenarios and their implications for water supplies. Other projects involving UA scientists range from the impacts of forest thinning on water balance, improving water management on the Navajo Nation, enhanced drought sensitivity and monitoring, and habitat protection along the Verde River.
The Arizona Water Institute was formed in 2006, and is a collaboration of Arizona's three universities. Its charge is to develop solutions to the state's water challenges, including enhancing educational opportunities related to water and providing better access to information. Capitalizing on technology transfer and water management expertise, it is expected to help develop sustainable water supply solutions that can be used throughout the world. rw.
While social taboos hinder the education of girls in India's poor communities, in Bangalore access to water could be just as responsible.
Women used to travel two to three miles to fetch water. We were not able to send our children to school because they had to come with us to fetch water. They had to wait all night to get a bowl of water. Some young girls get molested. In some areas, slums have given way to high-tech companies employing thousands of graduates from India's elite technological institutions. Nearby are the slums housing the untouchables shunned by the rest of the community. Bangalore has about 365 slums, home to a fifth of the city's 6.5 million population and most lack water and sanitation.
The contrast between the two reinforces the difficulties faced by the urban poor and the need for new initiatives. Public service utilities could not give water and sanitation connections to the settlements because the latter do not have land titles. Years of lobbying finally persuaded public authorities to find a way around this requirement.
At Sundamnagar, a community of around 300 households, AVAS was able to buy land and work out a land title. AVAS also gave collateral so each family could borrow up to 20,000 rupees (500 US dollars) to build a house.
AVAS gave emphasis to educating women, by setting up a water and sanitation (WATSAN) committee in each community. Most committee members are women.
It is the women who maintain the system. If the water doesn't come and leakages happen, they immediately take it up. Most of the men watch TV at home all day, and those who work spend most of their money on alcohol.
Sundamnagar was supposed to be the pilot project but water is not coming to the homes and people are refusing to pay.
The women took the case to the chairman of the Bangalore water board. They said water was being diverted to other communities and pressure was not enough to bring water into their homes. Monthly meter readings are not being made, and they refuse to pay for a service we are not receiving, but water is essential so they are trying to work out a solution.
In Palya, the residents get two hours of water a day, more than enough for each family: they have time to sleep, take a bath and do all the housework.
The community is clean because there are toilets inside the houses and they have adequate water supply.
Today, the children go to school regularly and they are doing well.
Many of the children are going to pre-university college, technical education. All the residents are happy.
There is no pollution in the slums. By organising and motivating the community, informing them about the norms, rules and regulations, they will not only pay but will also help maintain the systems properly. rw.
The politicians and the press are reluctant to use the word "crisis" in reporting the drought in the Southeast U. S. and Atlanta potentially running out of water within a year. We are going to see more and more water crises in the coming years, especially in the overpopulated Southwestern U. S. Population growth, fueled immigration, is putting tremendous pressure on the ability of many areas to sustain vast numbers of people.
The Atlanta area ignored a potential water crisis and invited it by not putting limits on population growth. The Atlanta region has a very limited water source, limited by an interstate pact with Florida and Alabama from taking more than a certain percent of the water from the Chattahoochee River, because it is crucial that the river maintain a certain flow level all the way into the Gulf of Mexico. More people mean more businesses, schools, etc. No one has put restrictions on keeping Atlanta's lawns, including golf courses, as green as ever.
The drought-impacted area stretches from mid-Alabama across a swath of Georgia and South Carolina and into North Carolina. The lack rain has set the clock ticking on what could result in a major disaster. Population planning must be long term and permanent.
In California, the recent action by a federal judge to reduce pumping water from the North to the South has created a dilemma that cannot be solved overnight. The water squeeze reflects decades of political gridlock and also an ever-growing population. Rearranging the water allocations for the state will mean rushing a water bond issue through the legislature. This isn't an issue you can vote against. Indeed, if they want to keep the water running, California voters are going to have to pay billions more tax dollars until they finally unite and resoundingly say "NO" to more population growth. rw.
The lush fields of cauliflower, apricot trees and melon is proof of Egypt's determination to turn its deserts green.
Egypt is slowly greening the sand that covers almost all of its territory as it seeks to create more space for its growing population.
With only 5% of the country is habitable; almost all of Egypt's 74-million people live along the Nile River and the Mediterranean Sea. Crowded living conditions will likely get worse as Egypt's population is expected to double by 2050.
The government is keen to encourage people to move to the desert with an estimated $70-billion plan to reclaim 1,2-million hectacres of desert over the next 10 years. The government will need to tap into scarce water resources of the Nile River as rainfall is almost non-existent in Egypt.
The plan has raised controversy among some who say turning the desert green is neither practical nor sustainable.
The director of the Stockholm International Water Institute in Sweden questions the wisdom of using precious water resources to grow in desert areas unsuited to cultivation and where water will evaporate quickly.
The scope of the reclamations could add to regional tension over Nile water sharing arrangements. Egypt's project called "Toshka", would expand Egypt's farmland by about 40% by 2017, using about five billion cubic metres of water a year.
That worries neighbours to the south who are already unhappy about Nile water sharing arrangements.
Ethiopia, where the Blue Nile begins, receives no formal allocation of Nile water, but it is heavily dependent on the water for its own agricultural development.
The Toshka project will complicate the challenge of achieving a more equitable allocation of the Nile River. But other experts suggest that it may be more imperative for Egypt's government to mollify its own population rather than heed its neighbours concerns.
Overcrowding is straining infrastructure in the cities and the government is worried that opposition groups such as the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which has a fifth of the seats in Parliament, might capitalise on discontent.
A desert reclamation project last decade, south of Cairo, destroyed much of the Wadi Raiyan oasis and its population of slender horned gazelles.
A lodge, which costs $400 per night and has attracted guests such as Britain's Prince Charles and Belgium's Queen Paola, shows that the desert would be better used for ecotourism than farming.
At the Desert Development Centre, irrigation water comes through a canal connected to the Nile, about 15km away, where it is used to keep crops flourishing and grass green for hardy hybrid cows to graze.
Experts believe greening the Sahara might be Egypt's best hope of bringing prosperity to its people.
Proximity to markets in Europe and a lack of pests, which usually thrive in humid environments, make desert farming economically viable. Water supply, Tutwiler said, shouldn't be an issue at least for the next ten years. It makes sense, he says, to expand agriculture onto land that was once useless. rw.
Georgia Gov. declared a water emergency in north Georgia on Saturday as its water resources dwindled to a dangerously low level. But an Army Corps of Engineers official denied there is a crisis.
The Gov asked for President Bush's help in easing regulations that require the state to send water to Alabama and Florida and to declare 85 counties as federal disaster areas.
He blasted rules governing the water supplies, noting that if the state got rains, it could not by law conserve those, but must release 3.2 billion gallons a day downstream.
The Army Corps of Engineers said if there were nine months without rain, water supplies still would be adequate. The corps, releases 5,000 feet of water per second from the dam between Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River.
The figure was based on a Florida hydroelectric power plant's needs, as well as concern for endangered species in the river. Georgia filed a motion to require the Army Corps of Engineers to restrict water flows from the lake and other Georgia reservoirs. The corps said it needs 120 days to review its water policies, according to Perdue.
Rainfall is far below normal for this time of year.
Lake Lanier levels have dropped to a historically low and is hurting businesses and scaring away tourists.
A new biological review of endangered species needs will end in November to see if water requirements can be reduced. Georgia, Alabama and Florida have been wrangling over how to allocate water from the Chattahoochee watershed as metro Atlanta's population has doubled since 1980. Georgia has imposed a ban on outdoor water use by homeowners in the region. rw.
Water will become the dominant global issue this century, and its availability could threaten the world's social stability. Rapid urbanization is placing enormous pressure on the availability of clean water and other natural resources. There is a need for "a fundamental change" in the way the world approaches water and sanitation. For the first time, more people live in cities than in rural areas, by 2030 the urban population will reach 60%. Urbanization is a reality that we must turn to our advantage as cities are the centres of economic and social development.
The urban poor pay exorbitant prices for water to private vendors. Policymakers must work together to ensure realistic pricing policies for water "that will allow its conservation, discourage waste, and ensure that the poor will be able to meet their basic needs. The current level of investment in water and sanitation in developing countries remains woefully inadequate. The private sector can bring efficiency gains and investment funds to the water sector.
Climate change, and its threat of extreme weather, jeopardized the urban poor's access to safe, drinkable water and reliable sanitation, rw.
The demand for bricks has been a bonanza for many of the 54,000 people who've settled in Sudan after fleeing the war in Darfur. But making bricks requires water, and that's placed a huge strain on a region parched by years of drought. Nine of the boreholes that refugees rely on for water have run dry near Abu one of the largest camps in northern Darfur. The refugee crisis has badly overtaxed water supplies in parts of Darfur, and shortages could imperil the health of tens of thousands of people.
"Livelihoods that are thriving are placing unsustainable demands on natural resources.
As the population of camps continues to rise to 2.2 million, aid workers are scrambling to find new sources of water and urging refugees to conserve supplies.
UN officials in Sudan say the shortages could complicate the deployment of 20,000 peacekeeping troops seen as the best chance yet to end the conflict.
U. N. planners aren't sure how to provide enough water in such an inhospitable environment. By agreement, the current 7,000-strong African Union peacekeeping mission shares water with the relief effort. The water needs are going to increase. The arrival of several thousand peacekeepers only adds to that.
A Texas-sized region of mostly arid scrubland at the southern edge of the Sahara, Darfur has suffered for decades from a lack of water and a near-total absence of infrastructure.
Experts trace the origins of the current conflict to competition between farmers and nomadic livestock-herders over water and arable land, both of which have been disappearing.
Since 2003, hundreds of thousands of villagers have fled their homes and clustered near large towns.
Meanwhile, the area is getting drier. Average annual rainfall has declined by one-third over the past 80 years. Much of Darfur lies on a formation of igneous rock that doesn't hold water well, so the store of water in bore wells, doesn't get replenished.
American geologists who rediscovered a large, ancient lake deep underground in the far north of El Fasher last month said tapping into it could help solve the region's water shortage. But scientists think the lake has dried up.
Relief agencies are exploring other ways to supply water. Tanker trucks have been bringing water to one large camp in southern Darfur for two months, an expensive and risky alternative. But the water supply is a highly sensitive issue for Darfurians, who see it as a source not only of sustenance but also of commerce.
Making one brick can require up to a quart of water, but relief workers say they can't force people to stop the practice.
It's an ongoing crisis with no end in sight. rw.
If climate change initiates different conditions, communities may face problems from coastal inundation to drought to flash floods.
Discussions about how to adapt are being fueled by a changing political climate and a convergence of immediate problems. Coastal planners and property owners face erosion damage. Hurricanes have reminded U. S. coastal communities of their vulnerability.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, sea levels could continue to rise for centuries. Scientists concluded this year the planet is likely to see more heat waves, hurricane intensity, and forest fires. Coastal communities may face a choice: Do they try to keep waters at bay, or just let the sea advance? Communities are likely to mount a defense of heavily developed areas, but retreat as an option for undeveloped lands.
Sea walls may not have to go up until they're needed. But communities that decide on retreat may want to set rules ahead of time.
In the U. S., about 5,000 square miles of dry land lies within two feet of high tide, including development and critical infrastructure. A three-foot sea rise in San Francisco Options for protecting the city include elevating buildings and freeways, erecting levees, and replenishing beaches.
Florida is the state most vulnerable to natural disasters. A sea-level rise would inundate large areas. Hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 led to soaring home owner insurance rates. Miami-Dade County as a low-lying coastal community, probably has less time than people living in other parts of the country. South Florida gets most of its water from the porous Biscayne Aquifer.
Use of the aquifer is being curtailed to protect the Everglades, so managers have been looking elsewhere to meet the needs of rapid growth. But the aquifer is vulnerable to contamination. With rising seas, it may also be vulnerable to saltwater intrusion. Miami-Dade County expects to have desalinization process in production by 2012.
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers are considering climate change. Officials in New Orleans are building in extra capacity under the assumption that the walls will still function 50 years from now. The agency chartered to coordinate coastal restoration is calling for wetlands restoration. More than 1.2 million acres of coastal Louisiana have disappeared since the 1930s. Katrina and Rita alone removed 200 square miles of marsh.
In addition to absorbing the force of storms, wetlands slow erosion and filter pollution. Wetlands have shown a natural resiliency but if development blocks their path, wetlands may have no room to move.
Sea walls keep waters at bay but can cause the adjacent beaches to erode entirely.
On the Chesapeake Bay the thousands of miles of shoreline include swamps, marshes, and other wetlands with different levels of salinity. The bay is fed by fresh water from rivers such as the Susquehanna River, closer to the Atlantic, the water turns brackish. The changing waters provide habitats for 2,700 plant and animal species.
Subsidence has combined with rising waters to drive the Chesapeake's level up about one foot over the last century, nearly twice the global average. Residents abandoned a number of shrinking islands throughout the 20th century.
Also at risk are the tidal wetlands of the Eastern Shore, one of the Mid-Atlantic's largest expanses of coastal wetlands. On the Maine coast, state restrictions include a ban on seawalls along the sand dune system, to allow the system to function in a natural way, Just as coasts may get too wet, some inland areas may get too dry. The Great Lakes, could see a drop in water levels due to evaporation.
Such a decline could affect global shipping and the communities on both sides of the U. S.-Canadian border. Evaporation and a drop in precipitation could strain water supplies, especially in the West. The snowmelt replenishes rivers through spring and into summer. But the water is melting earlier in the year, reducing flows during the hot months when communities need it most.
The 2005 version of the California Water Plan, issued every five years, includes a range of options, including desalinization and water banking.
A 2005 salmon recovery plan outlines a 50-year restoration effort. But a NOAA study noted that higher Snohomish River water temperatures and the altered flows caused by climate change will make recovery targets harder to reach.
King County calls for the county's $1.7 billion Brightwater Treatment Plant, now under construction, to produce seven million gallons of reclaimed water a day by 2010. Changed conditions will be worked into designs of roads, bridges, landscaping, and efforts to protect water quality in Puget Sound and its tributaries. rw.
UN Under-Secretary-General Anna Tibaijuka, says that whenever she goes home on vacation, she is deprived water in herhousing compound in Dar-es-Salaam.
She told IPS she has to buy water in her own home town, growing at 4% per annum with its population doubling every 15 years.
She said the growth of urban centres over the last 30 years is rapidly depleting once plentiful water resources. Mexico City has sunk some eleven metres over the past 70 years due to withdrawal of water from the city's groundwater sources. The UN says more than one billion people do not have access to drinking water and more than two billion have no sanitation facilities.
Tibaijuka told a meeting of more than 2,000 water professionals, technicians, scientists and policy makers, that water is going to be the dominant world issue. We need to better utilise our abundant human and natural resources and scarce financial resources.
A minimum investment of 8.0 billion dollars annually would assure that every country in that region could halve the proportion of people without access to water and sanitation.
The author of the study says that the 8.0 billion dollar annual investment will yield a 54 billion annual return.
Every dollar invested in access to water and sanitation returns six dollars in health, livelihood and educational benefits.
Despite such clear justifications Asian governments have not stepped up investments.
ADBS will establish a Water Financing Partnership Facility to mobilise 100 million dollars in co-financing from development partners in the North.
Pakistan's Minister for Environment said last month that climate change poses serious risks and challenges, particularly to developing countries.
He added that to enable developing countries to pursue sustainable development and to address the challenges posed by climate change, rich nations should provide adequate, new and additional financing. Also he called for the transfer of technology to developing countries, through financial instruments and mechanisms.
Industrial nations should implement their commitments relating to economic and social development and environmental sustainability. rw Ralph says: Perhaps we should tie increased aid to reduced population growth. Karen Gaia says: yes, instead of investing in a very limited resource where returns will be small.
There are the developed countries who are using more water, wastefully, than they should, and there are developing countries, where over a billion people do not have clean drinking water. Africa is the most vulnerable.
Africa has the lowest water supply and sanitation coverage in the world and is said to be the most vulnerable to climate change, which will result in more sufferings and devastation on the continent. The main cause is a lack of clean, safe drinking water.
The African Union should make the provision of safe drinking water a priority. Otherwise, the future for Africa is bleak. rw.
According to the World Wide Fund Turkey (WWF Turkey), Turkey will be faced with grave water shortages after 2050, if it continues managing its water in an inefficient fashion. Turkey is not a water-rich country. Water resources will be used at full capacity in 2030. Turkey is set to suffer from a water shortage crisis after 2050. WWF Turkey suggests a set of precautions from improving water management to using the country's dams more efficiently. Dam investments should be made from risk and cost-benefit analyses. WWF Turkey points out that new dam-building and irrigation projects should be in accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive.
The condition of the wetlands in Turkey is not promising, owing to the management of these areas. The wetlands have been spoiled due to dams being built on rivers without sufficient planning, half of which have dried over the last five decades owing to pollution, illegal fishing and hunting. Lake Kestel in Burdur, Lake Gavur in Kahramanmaras, Lake Sugla and Lake Samsam in Konya have been dried up to transform these areas into agricultural land, while Lake Aksehir of Konya has, shrunk to from 350 square kilometers to just 30.
Lake Tuz occupied 260,000 hectares of land in 1997, it has shrunk to 160,000 hectares. Unfiltered wastewaters coming from agricultural land and Konya's lack of proper facilities for the disposal of sewage have aggravated the situation. The Hotamis Wetland has almost completely dried up as a result of irrigation channels. The Esmekaya wetland bordering Aksaray has been damaged by the unfinished project to transform it into a dam lake and has completely dried out.
WWF Turkey says that problems stem from poor management of water resources. Monitoring water resources is the DSI's responsibility, while protecting them from pollution and carrying out inspections are the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The result is the lack of coordination and cooperation between institutions, incompatibility of the legal regulations and conflict of authority. rw.
Venezuela has fulfilled millennium goals regarding drinking water. 94% of the urban population and more than 82% of rural communities have guaranteed drinking water supplies.
This is 10 years ahead of the United Nations goal. Achieving the goal relied on community participation via civilian organizations to analyze water problems in each region and then to present projects to resolve the situation. rw.
Venezuela fulfilled millennium goals regarding drinking water assured the Vice Minister of Water Resources. Currently, 94% of the urban population and more than 82% in the rural region have drinking water supply guaranteed.
Achieving this goal counted on the participation of the communities through civilian organizations that analyses water problems in their region.
Projects are presented to government entities to solve the problem. It is set down in the nation's Constitution, that water is a public right.
The UN Objectives of Development call for the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, reduction of infant mortality and universal right to primary education.
These goals should be reached before the end of 2015.
Objective number seven calls for a reduction by half of the percentage of persons lacking access to drinking water. rw.
Water resources are unevenly distributed throughout the countries of Southern Africa. The Congo River, flowing through the rainforests of Central Africa, is second only to the Amazon. Lake Tanganyika contains the second largest volume of freshwater in the world, and Lake Victoria has the second largest surface area of any freshwater lake.
Five river basins carry more than enough water to ensure that all inhabitants of the region are well supplied. The region is also home to two deserts - the Kalahari the Namib Desert. Long dry periods have proved disastrous for farmers in marginal areas and left urban slums vulnerable to diseases.
This uneven distribution has motivated engineers to devise plans to improve the management of Southern Africa's water resources. However, in spite of the overall regional availability of water and substantial international aid, there are still many rural and urban poor who do not have access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
In Mozambique, 43% of people have access to potable water, and in Angola, 53%, Zambia, 58%.
The U. N. committed to stop the unsustainable exploitation of water resources. Eight Goals aimed at reducing poverty and improving living conditions for the poorest people by 2015.
Goal seven includes a target to halve the number of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
While the international community as a whole appears to be on track to meet this target, sub-Saharan Africa is falling short.
Authorities in Southern Africa are slow in piping water to rural areas that experience water shortages because in some cases dams have not been built, while in others existing facilities have not been properly maintained.
Poor farming methods have exacerbated water shortages, and instead of water being stored in the soil, it gushes through erosion channels into the nearest river. Rapid population growth and urbanisation are putting strain on the water authorities in urban areas. Effluent remains exposed among the shacks, and creates a breeding ground for bacteria.
Most countries in the region have devoted resources to their national water authorities, and are working with donor agencies to improve water provision. Most of the rivers and lakes are relatively clean when compared to the industrialised world, and other emerging countries. However, much remains to be done. rw Ralph says: The only true solution is to halt the population growth. The basic source of so many of our problems.
The world's demand for water has tripled over the last half-century and the demand for hydroelectric power has grown even faster.
Scores of countries are overpumping aquifers, including each of the big three grain producers--China, India, and the United States. There are two types of aquifers: replenishable and nonreplenishable aquifers. Most of the aquifers in India and the shallow aquifer under the North China Plain are replenishable. When these are depleted, the maximum rate of pumping is automatically reduced to the rate of recharge.
For fossil aquifers, such as the U. S. Ogallala aquifer, the deep aquifer under the North China Plain, or the Saudi aquifer, depletion brings pumping to an end. In more arid regions, such as in the southwestern United States or the Middle East, the loss of irrigation water means the end of agriculture.
Chinese wheat farmers in some areas are now pumping from nearly 1,000 feet. Pumping water from this far down raises pumping costs so high that farmers are forced to abandon irrigation and return to less productive dryland farming. China is overpumping three river basins in the north including the Huai. Since it takes 1,000 tons of water to produce one ton of grain, the shortfall in the Hai basin of nearly 40 billion tons of water per year means that when the aquifer is depleted, the grain harvest will drop by 40 million tons. In India, water shortages are serious because the margin between food consumption and survival is so precarious. In India the 21 million wells drilled are lowering water tables in most of the country. In North Gujarat, the water table is falling by 20 feet per year. In Tamil Nadu, a state with more than 62 million people, wells are going dry and falling water tables have dried up 95% of the wells owned by small farmers, reducing the irrigated area by half over the last decade.
Well drillers are going as deep as 1,000 meters in some locations. In communities where underground water sources have dried up entirely, all agriculture is rain-fed and drinking water is trucked in.
In the U. S. parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas the underground water table has dropped by more than 100 feet and wells have gone dry on thousands of farms. Irrigated land accounts for only one fifth of the U. S. grain harvest, compared with three fifths of the harvest in India and four fifths in China.
In the Pakistani part of the fertile Punjab plain, the drop in water tables appears similar to that in India. Wells show a fall in the water table between 1982 and 2000 that ranges from 1 to nearly 2 meters a year.
In Quetta, water tables are falling by 3.5 meters per year. Within 15 years Quetta will run out of water.
Iran is overpumping its aquifers by 5 billion tons of water per year, equivalent to one third of its annual grain harvest. Under the Chenaran Plain in northeastern Iran, the water table was falling by 2.8 meters a year in the late 1990s. New wells being drilled both for irrigation and to supply the nearby city of Mashad are responsible. Villages in eastern Iran are being abandoned as wells go dry.
Saudi Arabia developed an extensive irrigated agriculture based largely on its deep fossil aquifer. After several years the government was forced to face fiscal reality and cut the subsidies. Its wheat harvest dropped from 4 million tons in 1992 to 2 million tons in 2005. Saudi farmers are now pumping water from wells that are 1,200 meters deep (nearly four fifths of a mile).
In Yemen, a nation of 21 million, the water table under most of the country is falling by 2 meters a year as water use outstrips the sustainable yield of aquifers. World Bank projections indicate the Sana'a Basin, site of the national capital, Sana'a, and home to 2 million people, will be pumped dry by 2010.
The Yemeni government has drilled test wells 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) deep, but have failed to find water. Yemen must soon decide whether to bring water by pipeline from coastal desalting plants, or to relocate the capital. Israel is depleting both of its principal aquifers. Israel's population, whose growth is fueled by both natural increase and immigration, is outgrowing its water supply. Conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians over the allocation of water are ongoing. Because of severe water shortages, Israel has banned the irrigation of wheat.
In Mexico, the demand for water is outstripping supply. In the agricultural state of Guanajuato, the water table is falling by 2 meters or more a year. About 51% of all the water extracted from underground is from aquifers that are being overpumped.
Depletion of aquifers means creating potentially unmanageable food scarcity.
Two rivers are dry before they reach the sea. The Colorado, and the Yellow, the largest river in northern China. Other large rivers that are reduced to a mere trickle during the dry season are the Nile, the Indus, which supplies most of Pakistan's irrigation water; and the Ganges in India's densely populated Gangetic basin. Since 1950, the number of large dams has increased from 5,000 to 45,000. Each dam deprives a river of some of its flow.
Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and, most important, California depend heavily on the Colorado's water and the river is drained dry before it reaches the Gulf of California. This excessive demand for water is destroying the river's ecosystem. A similar situation exists in Central Asia. China's Yellow River has been under mounting pressure for several decades. Since 1985 it has often failed to reach the sea, although better management and greater reservoir capacity have facilitated year-round flow in recent years. The Nile now barely makes it to the sea. Pakistan is heavily dependent on the Indus. This river not only provides surface water, it also recharges aquifers that supply the irrigation wells dotting the Pakistani countryside. In the face of growing water demand, it too is starting to run dry in its lower reaches. Pakistan is in trouble.
In Southeast Asia, the flow of the Mekong is being reduced by the dams on its upper reaches. The downstream countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Viet Nam complain about the reduced flow but this has done little to curb China's efforts to exploit the power and the water in the river.
The same problem exists with the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Virtually all the water in the basin is being used. If people upstream use more water, those downstream will get less. Balancing water demand and supply is imperative. Failure to do so means that water tables will continue to fall, more rivers will run dry, and more lakes and wetlands will disappear. rw.
In the Southwest and parts of the Southeast there is drought, and water supply depletion, and with climate change; things can only get worse.
In Cleveland, over the past four decades, the population has bled to less than half, as it has in Buffalo and Detroit. And the loss continues.
The crises of the rust belt and the Southwest are, inexorably linked. Each has what the other does not. In Phoenix, affluence; in Cleveland, and in Detroit, near-endless water in the Great Lakes alone, as much as 25% of the world's supply.
It's time to stop spending money to build carrying capacity in places that don't have it by nature, and start investing in places that do.
The population of the US is expected to reach 450 million by 2050. The predicted pattern of settlement for these new citizens will take them to the seven most built-out regions of the country Arizona, Texas, Florida and California among them. You're going to have 150 million people living in at least seven of the major regions that don't have water. It's an ecological disaster waiting to happen.
In 1922, seven states signed the Colorado River Compact, which divvied up the waterway's seemingly abundant flow. But recent observation show only 2% of the water makes it beyond the U. S. border. With climate change, river flow has been dwindling. It is the main water source for more than 30 million people from Colorado to the Mexico border. Climate change projections show temperatures in the most parched regions of the Southwest increasing between five and seven degrees.
In Arizona, the Greater Phoenix region continues to bust at the seams. Greater Phoenix will likely crest at 4 million people some time this year. It is a city that shouldn't be there, so distant is the water supply.
Technology may well make such things as desalination possible, but at a destructive energy cost that simply exacerbates the problem. rw.
Temperatures on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau have risen about 0.42 degrees C each decade since the 1980's. China is also likely to experience the effects of severe drought.
Along the Cordillera Blanca, glaciers are retreating about 200ft per year. China's population constitutes about one fifth of the world's total Andes Amazon provides about one fifth of the world's fresh water.
The world's largest population and the world's largest river basin are, at the mercy of glacial ablation. The result will undoubtedly provide obstacles, but it will also provide opportunities for investors.
A typical Westerner consumes a hundred times their own weight in water every day, because it takes between 2,000 and 5,000 litres of water to grow one kilogram of rice, 11,000 litres to grow the feed for a quarter-pound hamburger, 50 cups of water for a teaspoon of sugar and 140 litres of water to produce just one cup of coffee. Two-thirds of all the water taken from the environment goes to irrigate crops. Every T-shirt takes 25 bathtubs of water to produce. Every small car uses 450,000 litres. The global virtual-water trade is estimated at around a thousand cubic kilometres a year, or 20 river Niles. Two-thirds of this is in crops, a quarter in meat and dairy products, and a tenth in industrial products. Jordan, for example, imports 80%-90% of its water in the form of food.
London's long-term average rainfall has now dropped below that of Istanbul, Dallas and Nairobi. Australia is suffering severe droughts, India's water table is at an all-time low and dropping fast, China is suffering from annual droughts, with Peking besieged by sand storms from the ever-expanding Gobi Desert.
Rivers are running dry across the world. Governments who concentrate on draining subterranean aquifers need to look for other solutions. We could grow crops with a quarter of the water we currently use. People don't pay an economic price for water because Government subsidies keep prices artificially low. So where can investors make profits from an industry that is the third-largest in the world? Invest in companies that provide solutions to the problems caused by decades of water mismanagement.
Desalinization is set for growth. The city of Almeria collects and recycles all of its water, using it for agriculture. The Programa Agua will supply desalinization facilities along the Mediterranean coast.
Huge volumes of power are needed to drive the pumps, but so many people are investing that the unit costs are coming down.
Malta and the Canaries have been using desalination for four to five decades. Big cities are beginning to take it seriously. New water-quality standards are being put in place in China and India, which will drive major new investments in water treatment and purification. There are countries with an over-abundance of water, with opportunities for sale to other countries. Canada, has the same amount of water as China, but just 2.3% of its population. As the value of water rises, countries like these will start to export their spare reserves to those more in need and willing to pay. Turkey exports water to Israel and Cyprus in large balloons that can hold up to five million gallons of water. Singapore buys 10% of its water from private-sector suppliers who have built desalinization plants. One South Korean firm makes desalination plants and is the world's largest maker of plants that purify seawater. The global water industry is valued at $300bn a year and it can't be long until investors finally catch on. rw Karen Gaia says: Many of the solutions are so energy-intensive that, as the price of a smaller and smaller supply of oil goes up with an increasing demand driven by population, no one will be able to afford water coming from a desalinazation plant. There is only a limited supply of water at any one time, and throwing more money at it will only succeed in securing the water supply for the rich.
The Oklahoma Legislature was motivated to update the state's 1995 water plan because of dwindling reservoirs and aquifers.
The goal is to provide a safe and dependable water supply for all Oklahomans, while improving the economy and protecting the environment.
The water plan is expected to consider population growth, future water needs, competing water interests, vulnerability to drought and flooding, environmental protection and economic development.
Surface water is considered to be publicly owned and subject to appropriation by the OWRB for “beneficial use.”
Groundwater is considered private property that belongs to the overlying surface owner.
Since 1973, water wells have increased tenfold. Laws were written to encourage Oklahoma to use water to thrive and grow.
Public water supplies are the primary user of surface water or reservoirs, with irrigation for agricultural uses the biggest user of groundwater.
All of Oklahoma's aquifers dropped several feet from 2001 to 2006, as a result of drought.
The Arbuckle-Simpson and Blaine aquifers dropped more than 21 feet and almost 10 feet, respectively, during that period, but respond very quickly to drought or to rain. Oklahoma had a population of about 3.5 million in 2000. That's projected by to increase by 38% by 2060.
Current Oklahoma law allows the OWRB to issue groundwater use permits based on an assumed 20-year lifetime for the aquifer, which is unsustainable. It was recommended to transfer water from the Kiamichi River in southeastern Oklahoma.
Mayor Cindy Rosenthal said the state water plan has to emphasize conservation. Destructive competition will happen if there is not funding assistance.
Norman environmental specialist Debbie Smith said she would like the state to require communities that receive financial assistance to develop a water conservation plan. Everybody knows that water conservation is the cheapest way to get more water.
But if there is no sustainability, it's not going to work, There should be no ownership of water.
Americans as a whole do not have any idea of the value of water. rw.
Decades of drought triggered Darfur's violence as rival groups fought over scarce water and arable land.
Now, the war is making the environment even worse.
Darfur could be repeated in much of North Africa and the Middle East, because growing populations are straining a very limited water supply. Darfur's ethnic African farmers and tribes of Arab nomads had long been competing for the region's meager resources, But the droughts of the 1980s sharpened the conflict.
When African tribes took up arms against Sudan's Arab-dominated government in 2003, the Arabs in Darfur were willing allies of the government because they were competing with the farmers for water.
The world must learn from the Darfur conflict, the effects that global warming have on hopes for peace.
Annual rainfall in North Darfur has dropped by nearly half since 1917.
In 2003, 7.48 inches of rain fell while Darfur's population increased sixfold over the past four decades, to 6.5 million.
Arab nomads drifted south, bringing their cattle to lands that African villagers were farming.
The herds destroyed fields and worsened soil erosion so the Africans rebelled when the central government seemed indifferent to their plight.
On a recent morning, camels grazed on what used to be fertile fields. Village after village destroyed and abandoned, with houses plundered and water pumps knocked down. Nomads have cut down many of the trees that are crucial because they help stabilize the soil and provide shade for crops. Even steps to reduce human suffering are causing environmental problems.
International relief organizations set up vast camps to care for and protect those at risk. Aid groups dug bore holes to provide water. Darfur's land is largely hard rock, so most of the scant rain that does fall washes away, and the underground reserves are the only reliable water source. But the wells are depleting that water.
The problem has become so severe that some camps in neighboring Chad may have to be moved. In El Fasher's Abu Shouk camp, seven bore holes have already dried up. Refugees are rapidly destroying forests around the camps by cutting trees for firewood and to reinforce the mud walls of their homes.
Many earn money by producing mud bricks, which requires lots of water along with more wood to fire the kilns. It takes the equivalent of 35 trees to bake bricks in just one kiln. Once the war is over, families will require more wood to rebuild their homes. A traditional family compound requires the wood from 30 to 40 trees, which means 12 to 16 million trees for the 2.5 million refugees. A U. S. aid group has introduced a stove that uses up to 80% less wood and three-quarters of the camp's families now use the stoves. In Southern Darfur, groups are seeking to reconcile farmers and nomads to protect what has not yet been destroyed.
There used to be forests here, antelopes, even sometimes elephants. The Arabs agreed to pay for damage done to crops by their cattle because they realize they must live in harmony with the African farmers.
Sudan's government says it has plans for a pilot project to spend $10 million to replant trees and build dams.
We need the richer countries to realize desertification is the emergency and help us. rw.
Mayors of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River cities want a greater focus on water conservation. Although the lakes are full of water, only 1% is renewable. Water treatment and distribution is energy-intensive, consuming less water means reducing greenhouse gases. And municipalities save money through water conservation.
But cities facing aging infrastructures need help upgrading them. 29 municipalities have joined the challenge of reducing water use by 15% over year 2000 by 2015. About half have conservation plans running, and those cities have saved 58 billion gallons of water since 2000.
In Wisconsin conservation has been emphasized for cities using wells. This fall the utility will bring in a company to help detect leaks. As to whether pumping less water will save money, that's harder to determine. Pumps have to run all the time to maintain water pressure so savings would probably be negligible. rw.
Desalination is very energy-intensive and involves emissions of greenhouse gases that scientists say are a factor in the shrinking supplies of freshwater.
Arid countries should rely more on water conservation and recycling. Desalination projects have been linked to pollution and ecosystem damage.
The lure of widespread water availability from desalination has the potential to drive a major misdirection of public attention, policy and funds.
Concerns about global warming, which could erode the world's icecaps and glaciers, which provide 69% of freshwater, are expected to spur investments in the technology.
Some farmers have used desalination to grow thirsty crops in dry areas, an unsustainable trend given its high energy costs. Regions have ways to supply water that are less risky to the environment.
The WWF estimated there were more than 10,000 desalination plants around the world. Half of the desalination capacity is in the Gulf area, where wealthy oil-producing nations use it for about 60% of their water needs.
Australian cities have also relied heavily on the technology and Spain has used it extensively.
Large-scale desalination could also endanger sea life, and demands research into the tolerance of marine organisms and ecosystems. Desalination could have important uses in cases such as environments with brackish water, the WWF said that big plants ought to be approved only in where they meet a real need and must be built and operated to minimize environmental damage. rw.
The search is for land to build Victoria's $3.1 billion desalination plant. A 20-hectare site on the Bass Coast is needed for what will be one of the world's biggest desalination plants.
The project is to boost drinking water supplies to Melbourne, Geelong, Western Port and Wonthaggi by 150 billion litres a year by 2011.
Obstacles include environmental concerns and mounting pressure in the Bass Coast Shire.
But the plant will provide water supplies for the drought-stricken region, including Phillip Island, where storages are down to 7%.
In 2003, Bass Coast was regional Victoria's fastest-growing municipality. The permanent population of 30,000 is expected to double in 30 years.
Staff had started approaching landowners about sites.
Under acquisition laws, people can be forced to sell their properties.
A letter was circulated in Wonthaggi after the proposal to pump a third of Melbourne's water from the ocean was made public.
The impact of a desalination plant on the coastal landscape could be an issue. South Gippsland Conservation Society expressed concern about the project impact. Melbourne Water's own feasibility study also highlighted water quality risks because of the plant's proximity to Wonthaggi's sewage treatment outfall, and economic risks from past coal mining activity that could restrict tunnelling and construction.
Noise and vibration would have to be managed with large buffer zones around the plant. The plan won support from the Australian Industry Group and the Property Council.
Environment in Victoria was also upbeat. "There are potential benefits from desalination. It can take pressure off our stressed rivers during drought."
But international conservation group WWF released a report condemning reliance on desalination because of its high energy use and possible risk to marine life.
The proposal includes an 85-kilometre pipeline to pump water into Melbourne's Cardinia Reservoir.
The feasibility study estimated the carbon dioxide emissions from the plant would be 1 million tonnes a year if it was powered by coal, but the Government promised to add 90 megawatts of renewable energy to Victoria's grid equal to the plant's power needs. rw Ralph says: A perfect example of how the ever growing population exceeds nature's resources.
To save the state from washing into the ocean at 24 square miles per year, Louisiana officials are developing a $50 billion plan to provide flood protection and reclaim land-building sediment from the Missisippi river.
This will be one of the great engineering challenges of the 21st century, but something has to be done.
The plan allows the Mississippi to flow out of its levees, creating seven or more new waterways that would carry a volume of water similar to that of the Potomac River. Those diversions would carry the Mississippi and its land-enhancing sediment into the eroding coastal areas. Other elements in the plan call pumping sediment to rebuild marshes and barrier islands. Hundreds of miles of new or reconstructed levees would add flood protection.
The plan faces two political hurdles. First, the state legislature, must approve it on a straight up-or-down vote. Shipping and fishing interests have been quiet so far.
Winning federal approval and money, is expected to be more difficult.
Washington has been unwilling to commit such large sums of money. A $14 billion Louisiana coastal restoration program was shrunk to about $1 billion in 2004 after the Office of Management and Budget called it too expensive.
But that was before the wetland loss was making the state far more vulnerable to storm surge. We didn't want to take risks before, but now we're ready.
For decades, the steady loss of Louisiana's coastal wetlands was considered a slow-motion disaster, but not an emergency.
Most of southeastern Louisiana was built over the past 6,000 years by the sediment of the Mississippi River, which naturally changed course and flooded over the millennia. Since the settlement of New Orleans, the levees built to prevent flooding have contributed to a loss of land.
The river could no longer occasionally change course and overflow to spread its sediment and build up the land. At the same time, the wetland vegetation that had helped hold the existing land together was crisscrossed with navigation canals, paths for oil rigs and gas pipelines.
Since the 1930s, an estimated 1,900 square miles of land have been lost. Entire communities have shrunk over the decades to narrow strips. After each storm, more families relocate to higher ground.
The most prominent argument over the plan concerns the extent and location of the new levees, which could extend protection for much of southern Louisiana.
Some communities, are facing the prospect of being left out.
On the other side environmentalists and scientists say the vast earthen walls will damage any wetlands they cross. In the long run, building the levees could be self-defeating.
Healthy tidal wetlands are not compatible with levee construction, and without healthy wetlands the land loss will continue.
"We are not embarrassed to say we want to provide hurricane protection to as many communities as we can," said Jon Porthouse of the state's Department of Natural Resources. "But there is a lot of planning to be done before we say, 'The levees will go here.' "
River diversions may pose larger challenges. River diversions will not rescue threatened communities. It could be hundreds or thousands of years before we see a spot of land. By removing the flow from the Mississippi River's main channel, the more than 6,000 ships that travel through New Orleans to the ocean each year may have to find an alternate route nearby, possibly through a system of locks and canals, that would increase travel time and add to costs. The diversions would also dilute salt water in estuaries, altering the region's shrimp and oyster harvest.
If we solve this problem, it's going to hurt some people, but if we don't solve it, it's going to hurt all the people."
Some global-warming scenarios lead scientists to say it is just a portent of what could happen to other coastal areas in the United States. rw.
A picture of an urbanized and traffic-choked Arizona makes today's growth problems trivial.
Predictions of population growth, a boom in developments, and government's inability to deal with transportation demands that come with growth over the next 30 years.
The 13.3 million people living between Sierra Vista and Prescott will increase by 8 million in the next three decades.
The state must do a better job of preparing for that growth. Nobody has figured out where Arizona will get enough water to accommodate the projected growth, or money to build the transportation to accommodate 8 million additional residents.
In 1960, Tucson was 71 square miles and the population 213,000. In 1970, the city was 80 square miles and the population had jumped to 263,000. In 1980 the city's population jumped to 330,500 and borders expanded to 100 square miles, about half of what it is today.
From 1980 to 1990, the population jumped another 75,000. By March, 1990 it had spread across another 57 square miles.
Nowadays, Tucson's population is roughly a half million and the metropolitan region is nearly 228 square miles.
Growth that is unmanaged and uncontrolled has produced costly and potentially dangerous water problems and a transportation "system" that has become a nightmare. If the planners are accurate, in the next 30 years we can expect uninterrupted development from the southeastern part of the state to Prescott Valley, 100 miles northwest of Phoenix.
Other planners look at expanding from Sierra Vista through Prescott and on to Las Vegas. When Arizonans talk about quality-of-life, they refer to good weather and open spaces.
Rarely do we hear from voters who are advocates for sustainable cities where water conservation becomes public policy, where higher densities are a necessary antidote to sprawl. Arizona needs an education program to create a society with an awareness of what it means to live in a land of limited resources. rw.
The Sierra Nevada snowpack is at its lowest level in 20 years, less than 40%. The size of the snowpack, the source of most of the state's drinking water, has prompted calls for immediate conservation. Orders to curtail use of water could become mandatory this summer. This year the snowpack didn't grow after the first week in March. There was a lot less snow falling and a lot more snow melting. But the state water agency isn't expecting shortages this summer because the reservoirs are relatively full. The Department of Water Resources will take the last manual measurements of the snow season. The April 1 reading was 40% of the average, and monitors show the snowpack is 38% of average. Each of the state's main sources of river water, the east side of the Sierra and watersheds of the Colorado and Feather rivers, have less snow than normal. Ware allocation will be 60% of the contractors' requests, which is typical. But the federal Bureau of Reclamation has cut by 50% its water allocations for farmers south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Towns south of the delta will get 85% of their federal water supply. It is hoped that a voluntary effort will avoid mandatory rationing later this summer. There is a possibility there will have to be mandatory cuts on both city and regional customers. The low snowpack in 2007 is too speculative to try to connect an individual year or an individual event with long-term climate change. This has been a very dry year, firefighters are asking people to clear away dead trees and plants and remove leaves from gutters. rw.
This winter was the fourth driest on record. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission warned its 2.4 million Bay Area customers last week that mandatory water rationing might be imposed as early as this summer. The Sierra snowpack, source of 65% of the water supplying San Francisco, the Peninsula and Silicon Valley, is less than half of normal. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is only 27% full.
Most of California's major water providers joined SFPUC in issuing the first call for immediate water conservation. California already made major strides in reducing its water use, so another new round of significant cutbacks could be harder to achieve. The state's water consumption has held steady since 1970, even while population more than doubled to some 37 million. But with the state's population on track to reach 55 million by 2050, overall water demand is going up.
The Earth seems to be entering one of its recurrent warming cycles. Much of California and the West have a predominantly dry climate. Water supply relies heavily on an annually replenished snowpack and rivers. Salt water from rising ocean levels could contaminate the crucial Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water supply.
Remedies range from building more dams to spending billions on consumer rebates for installation of water-saving devices. Large-scale measures with potential promise include increased use of recycled water for irrigation, and improved coordination of reservoir water releases in response to weather conditions.
Californians need to become accustomed to drought-time water habits for the long term rw.
South of the border between California and Mexico, vast farms thrive on water that seeps underground from a leaky irrigation canal in the Imperial Valley. California water managers want to capture the leakage to supply the subdivisions near San Diego, and more efficiently use their share of the Colorado River. California environmentalists and Mexican farmers took the battle to federal court, but the Court of Appeals ruled last week that the project can proceed. Officials who say they are merely fixing a leak, and ensuring that they don't have to look to Northern California for additional waste. But with a persistent drought that some scientists say is worsened by global warming, and booming populations, the decision could exacerbate tensions over water between the two nations. The project would replace the earthen ditch with a concrete-lined channel for 23 of the canal's 82 miles. It is expected to recoup enough water for half a million people. Most will go to the San Diego County Water Authority, with 17% reserved to settle water disputes with American Indian tribes. The seven states that rely on the Colorado River consider the project key to an agreement that would reduce California's overuse of the river's water. But Mexican farmers charge that lining the canal would deprive them of the seepage that has flowed across the border since 1942. Environmental groups insisted that federal environmental protection and endangered species laws required the United States to study the impact on wetlands in the Mexicali Valley. The federal appeals court issued an emergency injunction blocking the project, but claimed that the Mexican plaintiffs could sue for monetary damages in the U. S. Court of Federal Claims. The court ruled that environmental concerns were trumped by the tax bill signed by President Bush in December. Construction could begin by June 1. Plaintiffs are contemplating an appeal to the full Ninth Circuit. In a time of increasing population and decreasing water supplies as a result of global warming, it is critical to save every drop of water. Water managers are concerned that the Colorado River is overcommitted -- with promises of water exceeding the river's annual flow. Its once-vast delta has been reduced to a smattering of wetlands fed by waste, such as the seepage from the All-American Canal. Pressure on water sources is likely to grow, along with tensions among the river's many users, as drought increases and human populations boom in the American Southwest and northwestern Mexico. This situation creates a precedent that could affect the relationship between the two countries. If the canal is lined with concrete, the accidental wetlands will dry up, eliminating the habitat for the Yuma clapper rail and a rare stopover for migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway. Whenever you're increasing the efficiency of water-delivery systems, you're harming wetlands. Nobody wants to waste water, but the water that goes to these habitats is not wasted. rw Karen Gaia says: Dry up Mexico so that Mexicans are forced to migrate to the U. S. and use that same water in the U. S. that they would have used in Mexico. Sounds like a vicious cycle to me. Already 1/9th the population of Mexico has have moved to the U. S. This will just add to the millions that have already come here, most of them working at slave wages. Having people come to the U. S. to earn money breaks up families, sends the smartest most gifted people away from their countries and leaves the source country with poor planning capabilities, not enough doctors and other professionals, and an unsustainable economy. People who think immigration is good should open their eyes and see what it is doing to the world.
The FAO said that two-thirds of the world's population could be threatened by water shortages by 2025. Today 1.2 billion people live in areas with insufficient water and an additional 500 million could soon face shortages.
Climate change and pollution are making it difficult for southern countries to provide themselves with food.
Africa has 9% of the planet's water resources, but uses only 3.8%. Water resources on the continent are not well-distributed. Lake Victoria, Africa's largest freshwater reserve, fell two meters below normal in 2005.
Because of measures taken by countries with water access, the level was increased by 70 centimetres in 2006, but there is concern about next season.
Since 2002, Europe has committed 535 million dollars for short-term water-access projects, and 475 million for long-term projects. Italy's deputy foreign minister said access to water should be viewed as a basic and right and not be subject to private interests seeking to profit from it. rw.
A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture - the first of its kind, brings together the work of over 700 specialists, examining policies and practices of water use and development in the agricultural sector over the last 50 years.
One-third of the world's population live in areas where water scarcity must be reckoned with. Much of this cannot be avoided, but can be averted through better water management. As a rule of thumb, about one litre of liquid water gets converted to water vapor to produce one calorie of food. A heavy meat diet requires much more water than a vegetarian diet.
The relation between water and food is a struggle for over two thirds of world's 850 million under-nourished people. There is water scarcity in India and China, because of rapid economic growth in both countries. Diets are more dependent on animal products. In China, meat demand has quadrupled over the last 30 years, and in India milk and egg products are increasingly popular. Growing cities take more water, and environmental concerns are rising.
Water use in agriculture is one of the major drivers of ecosystem degradation. Flows of rivers in important food producing areas dry up because of the water needed for irrigated agriculture. More people require more water for more food; more water is essential in the fight against poverty; yet we should limit the amount of water taken from ecosystems.
In the worst case scenario where practices don't change, water use will double. Agricultural practices are changing, but not fast enough.
With wise policies and investments it is possible over the next 50 years to limit future growth in water withdrawals to 13% and cultivated land expansion to 9%. But complicating the situation are climate change and the increased use of biofuels. Water scarcity is with us to stay, and we have to learn to live with it.
Consider agriculture as an ecosystem producing multiple services for people and sustain biodiversity. We need to place the means of getting out of poverty into the hands of poor people by focusing on water as a means to raise their own food and gain more income.
Growing more food with less water can reduce future demand for water, thus easing competition for water and environmental degradation. A 35% increase in water productivity could reduce additional crop water needs from 80% to 20% by 2050.
Improving access to water, and using it better are essential in the fight against poverty.
Poverty, hunger, gender inequality, and environmental degradation continue to afflict developing countries because of political and institutional failings. While water scarcity is here to stay, many of the problems associated with water scarcity can be avoided. This will require that we deal with difficult choices and tradeoffs. rw Ralph says: Not a single suggestion that if we reduce the world population we cut the demand for water. I can remember only 70 or so years ago as a young boy walking through the British countryside and drinking from any stream Ii found. Water was universally available. It is the growth in population that is causing most of the problems we discuss in this web site, but no one wants to talk about it. Karen Gaia says: the article ignores the problems of biofuels which will take over most of the water and the land used by poor people to grow food - just to keep the rich people of the planet in their cars and SUVs.
Breast-feeding may be the best option for HIV-infected mothers in developing countries. HIV-positive mothers generally are counseled to feed their babies formula, but that has caused problems in nations where clean water and other needs may not be met.
A pediatrician said that instructing HIV-infected mothers in developing nations to breast-feed would result in about 300,000 children becoming infected with HIV, but would save 1.5 million from dying of other diseases.
He suggested that HIV-positive women in countries with an infant mortality rate of 25% or higher be urged to breast-feed.
Women with HIV are at risk of passing the virus to their infants during pregnancy, birth or breast-feeding. Without intervention, 20 to 45% of babies would contract the virus from their mother. Studies showed a six-fold risk of death from infectious diseases in babies fed formula compared to those exclusively breast-fed.
In industrialized countries, that rate has been cut to less than 2% by drug treatment, Caesarean section and other methods.
A study out of Durban, South Africa, found that 4% of babies who were breast-fed contracted HIV.
If you have clean water, access to electricity and so on that's for formula. If you don't, then the need is for exclusive breast-feeding. rw.
A plan to introduce recycled drinking water in Queensland has split the Labor states. John Howard unveiled a $10 billion plan that seizes control of the Murray-Darling Basin, and Queensland Premier Beattie said the state's southeast could be drinking recycled sewage next year.
Beattie said he was scrapping his plans for a plebiscite on the issue, claiming he had no choice but to make Brisbane drink recycled waste water.
The decision to introduce treated sewage for drinking has the support of the Prime Minister and the federal Opposition. South Australian Premier Rann and NSW Premier Iemma, rejected the Queensland plan.
Mr Rann said he would prefer desalination.
Malcolm Turnbull, who will be sworn in as minister for the environment and water resources, called on the states to be open-minded.
Put everything on the table, assess all costs and then make a decision.
Farms could be compulsorily acquired to modernise irrigation channels and cut water wastage.
Farmers are concerned that buying water entitlements could force them off the land. Mr Beattie predicted other major centres would introduce recycled water as critical shortages worsen.
People in southeast Queensland are expected to be drinking recycled effluent by the end of next year when a pipeline feeding the main water storages is completed.
And if below-average rainfall continues, they could be drinking it for up to 10 years.
Two of the state's main dams are now at 23% capacity. Mr Beattie said the Government would ensure the new standard of drinking water was 100% safe. rw.
With about 1,000 new residents moving to Florida daily, the state's population will grow by 5 million during the next 17 years. Recently, a report by 1000 Friends of Florida made dire predictions about Floridians' future quality of life based on future growth. Yet, Gov. Bush spearheaded growth management reforms that fund the infrastructure to meet growth demands.
This system bases decisions about new development on the ability to construct roads, build schools and supply water. Cities and counties must have plans and funding in place to meet the demands before new development is approved.
The reforms also require a closer link between local growth, development plans and the revenue for roads and transit systems. The law also places emphasis on approaches to improve the transportation system and prepare for future demands. This recognized the need for a connection between regional water supply planning and growth management.
The reforms established a trust fund to support water restoration and sustainability. More that $200 million was made available for desalinization, reuse and conservation projects.
The state has also taken strides in land conservation and restoration. Florida invests more money in land acquisition than any other entity in the nation. The state has invested more than $2 billion of a $3.3 billion commitment to restore America's Everglades. Florida is on a path to manage growth, that guarantees room on our roads, space in our classrooms and water for our natural environment. rw Karen Gaia says: desalinization takes large quantities of energy. Does Gov. Bush have a plan for the impending energy problems? In addtition, up until now, the pressure to develop in Florida has been tremendous. When money is involved, loopholes in the law can readily be found.
A new study about water woes in the growing West in Science magazine said human activity is responsible for up to 60% of changes contributing to dwindling water supplies in the region. The study is likely to add to urgent calls for action already coming from Western states competing for water to irrigate farms and quench the thirst of growing populations.
Devastating wildfires, avalanches and drought have also underscored the need. The researchers studied climate changes in the West between 1950-1999. They noted that winter precipitation falls increasingly as rain rather than snow, snow melts faster, river flows decrease in summer months, and overall warming is exacerbating dry summer conditions. rw.
Beijing's annual water supply is around 3.73 billion cubic meters in 2010. The disposable volume will not be more than 3.26 billion cubic meters excluding at least 470 million cubic meters needed to maintain the city's ecological system. The total number this water can feed depends on living standards and water consumption.
Beijing's GDP averaged $5,547.6 last year, with 50.1 cubic meters of water consumed for each 10,000 yuan ($1,250). Based on this, Beijing's water resources were able to feed a maximum of 14.36 million people in 2005.
But Beijing had more than 15 million residents and four million migrants at the end of last year.
The municipal government has vowed to increase its per capita GDP to $8,000-8,500 and cut water consumption for each 10,000 yuan of GDP to 40.08 cubic meters, down 20% from 2005. Beijing will then be able to accommodate between 13.37 million and 14.20 million people in 2010. But the city's permanent population would have exceeded 17.13 million by then.
To feed an additional three million people with its limited water resources, Beijing needs to further slash water consumption for each 10,000 yuan of GDP to 33, or even 31 cubic meters.
That would result in water rationing and higher prices. One approach is to relocate some people.
The government has also encouraged people, retirees in particular, to live in Hebei. But those who do complain of isolation, with few friends and little access to public services.
A decreased reliance on the working population means increased productivity, which is only one eighth the level of developed countries. Meanwhile, Beijing is pinning its hopes on making other provinces as appealing as Beijing in terms of opportunities for education and employment. rw.
A dam, built to direct water into an L. A. aqueduct evaporated Owens Lake into salt flats and started a century of simmering resentment over L. A.'s habitat-destroying thirst. In 1991, the L. A. Department of Water and Power agreed to restore the Lower Owens River. In 2005, DWP was spurred into action when informed it would be charged $5,000 a day until the project was completed. The river rehabilitation is not expected to cause water shortages or rate hikes for DWP customers, as water will be pumped back to the aqueduct once it reaches the lake. It will, however, boost habitat for a variety of species, as well as the tourism economy of small towns along the river's banks. rw.
The crisis in water is the violation of the basic human right to water. One in every six is denied the right to clean, accessible and affordable water. 2.6 billion people do not have even rudimentary forms of sanitation and causes nearly two million child deaths each year.
Access to water is intrinsic to human development. Worldwide, 443 million school days are lost each year because children are too weak from water-related illnesses.
Developing countries lose billions of dollars annually due to the productivity losses associated with water. The deficits in water and sanitation are trapping households in cycles of poverty. Few countries treat water as a political priority. The limited coverage of water utilities in slums means that the poorest tend to pay the most for water. The international community has failed to prioritise water and sanitation. The poor, women and children have least voice in asserting their claims to water.
Many countries have made progress by legislating on the right to water, and communities have shown leadership in improving sanitary conditions.
In South Africa, the right to water has enabled the Government to protect and promote the right to water for every individual. However, access to potable water is not universal. The challenge lies in expanding access and engaging communities in the adoption of solutions that respond to environmental and resource constraints.
Governments should support a plan to raise the profile of water and sanitation, garner resources, and monitor performance. There is tahe water shortage that affects nearly 800 million people and threatens the collapse of ecological systems, intensifying competition for water and heightening cross-border tensions. For millions of people, access to water resources is coming under stress.
Agriculture is the main user of water. Declining flows in rivers, shrinking lakes and falling water tables are symptoms of unsustainable water use in some regions. As competition for water intensifies, the inequalities between small and large farmers will come to the fore with greater prominence. This is a crisis that will affect future generations. Global warming will put increasing pressure on water availability and in the long-run will result in a decline in water availability as ice caps retreat.
Two-fifths of humanity lives in river and lake basins shared by two or more countries. Shared management of river basins can yield significant benefits. Water has to be priced to reflect its scarcity. If the rich world is serious about helping developing countries then giving priority to water and sanitation will go a long way towards making more effective use of aid. rw.
Water is a basic human need. Access to water has implications for improving life. One in every six people in the world is denied the right to clean, accessible and affordable water. 2.6 billion people do not have sanitation. That deprivation causes nearly two million avoidable child deaths each year. Access to water is intrinsic to human development. The human cost manifests itself in lost education and gender inequalities. 443 million school days are lost each year because children are too weak from water-related illnesses.
Developing countries lose billions of dollars annuallly due to losses associated with water delivery and management. The deficits in water and sanitation are trapping households in cycles of poverty. Few countries treat water as a political priority and the limited coverage of water utilities in slums and informal settlements means that the poorest tend to pay the most. Third, the international community has failed to prioritise water and sanitation. The poor, women and children - are the ones who have the least voice in asserting their claims to water.
Many countries have made progress by legislating on the right to water, and communities in slums and villages have shown leadership.
Access to potable water in South Africa is not universal and coverage rates still vary significantly.
South Africa has not yet matched its success in expanding access to water with comparable outcomes in sanitation. The challenge lies in expanding access and engaging communities in the identification and adoption of the most appropriate solutions.
Globally, there are several steps to address the water crisis: Setting targets for utility companies to increase water access; ensuring that policies are clearly understood and providers are made accountable for meeting those objectives. Enforcing a minimum entitlement of water for all citizens, provided free to those who cannot afford to pay.
And at the international level, governments should support a plan to garner additional resources, and monitor performance of donor and recipient. A chronic water shortage affects nearly 800 million people and threatens the collapse of ecological systems, intensifying competition for water and heightening cross-border tensions.
Global warming could have a devastating impact. Declining flows in rivers, shrinking lakes and falling water tables are symptoms of unsustainable water use. Parts of China and India, are suffering which results in large losses in agricultural productivity. Agriculture faces increasing competition for water from industries and urbanization.
There is a need to focus on mitigating climate change and supporting adaptation strategies.
Shared management of river basins can yield significant benefits. Lack of cooperation, increases the potential for cross-border tensions. Water has to be priced in a manner that reflects its scarcity, rather than subsidised to ensure that large farmers or industries get their share at the cost of the poor. rw Karen Gaia says: Nothing is said in this article about how the growing population contributes to the scarcity of water.
A report concludes that many communities and facing water shortages as a result of climate change could boost supplies by collecting and storing rain. Kenya, with a population under 40 million, has enough rainfall to supply the needs of six to seven times its current population.
Ethiopia has a potential rainwater harvest equivalent to the population needs of over 520 million people.
However, a third of rainfall is needed to sustain the forests, grasslands and healthy river flows.
The potential of rainwater harvesting potential may be more than adequate to meet a significant slice of population needs.
Until recently countries have relied almost exclusively on rivers and underground supplies.
UNEP is urging governments to invest in a technology that is low cost, simple, and able to transform the lives of countries Africa-wide.
Small-scale rainwater harvesting projects lose less water to evaporation because the rain or run-off is collected locally and also holds potential for assisting managers of protected areas with the technology already having been tested. We are going to need technologies to capture water and bolster supplies. Conserving and rehabilitating freshwater ecosystems will be vital.
In South Australia, over 40 per cent of households use rainwater stored in tanks as their main source of drinking water. Germany has over half a million rainwater harvesting schemes.
Large-scale infrastructure can often by-pass the needs of poor and dispersed populations. Rainwater harvesting can act as a buffer against drought while also supplementing supplies in cities. Women, in a pilot in Kisamese, Kenya, are gaining four hours in a day because of the reduced demands on their time to find and fetch water. Overall, Africa has more water resources per capita than Europe. However, much of Africa's rain comes in bursts and is never collected. The time has come to realize the great potential for greatly enhancing water supplies. In South Australia, over 40% of households use rainwater as their main source of drinking water. This is a first rate, low cost technology. Kenya's water minister announced all new buildings must include rainwater harvesting measures and similar plans have been drawn up in India.
Rainwater harvesting has been installed in a Maasai community. The project can store over half a million litres of water and has led to the development of small gardens and improved agriculture contributing to food security. rw Karen Gaia says: The article mentions storage tanks for drinking water, but nothing about storing water for agriculture - which uses far more water than people do for drinking water. The Maasai are herdsmen, meaning they need enough water to water grasses needed by their goats and cattle. Suppose they were able to capture enough water to water their grasses - how would they distribute it to the croplands? I don't believe that this is a simple solution like the article suggests.
Westernport Water chief David Mawer has warned Bass Coast Council that Phillip Island Australia could run dry if residents failed to curb consumption. The Candowie Dam, which supplies the island and several Bass Coast towns, was at 36% capacity, following the lowest rainfall since 1902.
State Water Minister has proposed linking the Bass Coast with Melbourne's supply after the forecast of an annual shortfall of 1700 megalitres by 2030.
Westernport began tapping bores at the Corinella aquifer on the Bass Coast where the company has been granted a permit to extract water from the Bass River, but it is little more than a dusty basin.
The water will be under further strain over summer, with the population swells from 12,000 to almost 50,000. But they can't hose down their boats or water the pot plants.
Westernport residents had only been placed on stage one restrictions a month ago. The island's infrastructure had failed to keep pace with development, with a further 1400 apartments and 300 holiday villas in the pipeline. rw.
Australia is having its worst drought, perhaps in 1,000 years. Prime Minister Howard said that statistics showed that the country's most important river system, within the Murray-Darling Basin, could run out of water in six months. About 30 rivers and hundreds of tributaries run across the basin, which feeds about 70% of Australia's irrigated farmlands.
At a summit meeting it was agreed to draw up contingency plans to secure water supplies. The drought is likely to cut agricultural output by 20% and GDP by around 0.7%. Howard has abandoned his previously sceptical response to the idea that pollution is driving climate change.
A poll showed that 91% of Australians believe global warming is a problem and 62% are unhappy with the government's response.
Climate change will be a major issue in elections next year.
Last month, as evidence of the consequences of global warming mounted, he announced that 500 million dollars (385 million US) would be spent on clean energy initiatives.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, said Monday in Japan that he now believed global action was needed. rw.
About 6,000 people a day most of them children die from water-borne diseases.
A Danish textile company has come up with a new invention called Lifestraw meant to render dangerous water drinkable.
The invention is a plastic tube with seven filters, followed by resin impregnated with iodine and another of activated carbon. It lasts a year.
Lifestraw filters out at least 99.99% of many parasites and bacteria. It is less effective against viruses, like polio and hepatitis, and it wouldn't protect American backpackers against giardia.
Nor does it filter out metals like arsenic, and it has a slight iodine aftertaste. It can be manufactured for about $3, but needs more field-testing. Only about 100,000 have been handed out, 70,000 to earthquake victims in Kashmir last year. rw Karen Gaia says: this wonderful. However, will technology keep up with the demands of overpopulation?
Human activities degrade the water, air and other surroundings that sustain life. The problem is a rapidly growing population and new generations that expect ever higher standards of living. Climate change will impose severe weather patterns, shortages of freshwater and displacement of entire communities. Many leaders recognize the crisis that awaits our grandchildren but hesitate to restrain the growth. Adding to the hesitation is an overwhelming confidence in new technology that might eliminate disease, shortages or an over-heated planet. The only sure solution is pursuing balance through sustainability.
The notion of sustainable development is easier said than done. Evolution will pose problems as humans exploit environmental resources, manipulate genetics and release into nature chemicals that induce DNA species change. The source of man's problems is the rapid increase of the human species Rapid, technological advances made this possible. The drive to produce more and faster is ceaseless.
The human species will increase by 2.5 billion people in 50 years. Most will anticipate a higher living standard and lifespan or 5% to 10% growth - a doubling of production in 25 years to $100 trillion.
Warming of the planet, is the leading problem confronting man so why don't we act en masse? One explanation is that political and economic interests want to preserve "business as usual," another is ignorance and intellectual laziness. Humanity must reduce greenhouse gas emissions within 10 years to avoid raising earth's average temperature 3 degrees Celsius this century. If the average global temperature rises by 3 degrees, 50% of all species would become extinct in their natural habitat.
As Himalayan glaciers melt, groundwater levels are falling throughout China, Pakistan, India and the US. Agriculture accounts for 70% of all freshwater usage.
Greenhouse gases are connected to energy production and consumption, which connects to the explosion of population, which increases water shortages made worse by energy demands, practices of forest and agricultural management. When in fear, humans act to reduce risk. Yet we do not act on climate change, perhaps because climate is not owned by any nation.
The market economy's failure and the problem it poses is that it is not able to integrate the ecological costs.
Today many place their hopes in new technology. But we should recall that the promises of "old" technologies, such as the combustion engine, have led to the problems of our time. Our mode of capitalism should be replaced by a market economy that builds upon creative evolution. Then we could, perhaps, recover a balance in the critical equation between economy, energy and environment. rw.
David Feldman is working on three projects to educate the public and government officials on the issues facing water supply in East Tennessee and the world.
We have learned how to use water in a sustainable way, we have to now reorient political institutions to manage water so we don't keep making the same mistakes. Feldman's other two projects include writing a state-of-the-environment report for Tennessee and analyzing how decision-makers use, or do not use, the scientific models that can help them make better decisions.
"Water is related to urban sprawl," Feldman said.
Atlanta, Ga., is an example and its growing population affects even communities in East Tennessee.
Feldman said officials were looking to divert water from the Tennessee river. The legislation requires any municipality or private water-supply company seeking the state's water resources to apply at the state's Department of Environment and Conservation.
When municipalities make their application, they must conduct an environmental assessment that details the impact on the source, as well as provide evidence that the municipality researched alternative sources.
If the department grants permission, the municipality must obtain a permit for the water, which the state department can decide to renew every five years. The municipality must treat and return the water to the basin of origin.
He said that as part of a team appointed to prepare a report for the U. S. Global Change Research Program, he works to understand the communication breakdown between government officials and scientists.
Environmental scientists construct models about rising sea levels, dam construction implications and even the run-offs effects of the Tennessee river, which are based on probability and long-term consequences.
Policy-makers do not understand what the models are or what they are supposed to predict. The models are geared toward high-level decision-makers who work in the Tennessee Valley Authority or the Army Corps of Engineers. Most decisions over water are made at the local or state level, but these officials do not use these models to make policy.
It is important for policy-makers to understand, as the race for water grows proportionally to the population. Feldman said on a global level, there is not enough clean water to grow population and provide food. He is determined to spread awareness about the concern over water supply and how the policy-decisions of today affect all natural and man-made resources. rw.
The Chinese government has earmarked US$500 million to improve drinking water quality in rural areas.
More than 300 million farmers, 37.5% of China's rural population, struggle to get safe drinking water.
This is expected to help half of the affected people change their water supplies by the end of 2010. Last year in South China, at least 150 epidemics of typhoid, dysentery and diarrhoea were reported, with more than 80% as a result of polluted water. Industrial discharge of polluted water is estimated to have increased by 30% over last year. Almost half of the waste water has not been effectively recycled despite a lot of economic input.
In the coming five years, the nation will inject US$ 41.2 billion into waste water processing to ensure 70% of waste water in urban areas gets recycled.
China is also facing a shortage of water supply. It uses 7% of global fresh water to support 21% of the world's population.
China's water market value will increase by at least 15% by 2010. At least US$125 billion is needed in the coming five years to recycle waste water, update water supply facilities, improve protection of water environment and other related projects. rw.
Dubai is worried about how it will provide water for its rapidly expanding economic activities.
A report said that the imminent shortage of water has been compounded by the real estate boom, while this region is already the driest in the world. It is the largest market for water desalination in the world.
Officials expect daily water demand to reach 341 million gallons per day and daily electricity needs to reach 8,513 megawatts by 2011.
The arid climate limits conventional water resources and temperatures are increasing. In August 2005, Dubai reached 47.3ºC, the hottest day for six years. Demand for water in Dubai during the peak summer season rose 10% to reach 184 million gallons per day in 2004. With temperatures soaring to more than 40ºC for at least six months of the year, the threat of no water or electricity is a matter of serious concern.
It is estimated that more than 7,500 desalination plants are in operation of which 60% are in the Middle East. The world's largest plant produces 128 mega gallons per day in Saudi Arabia.
Regional demand for desalinated water is growing at 6%, double the global average, and regional governments have invested an estimated 10 billion to boost capacity. But with a surging population across the Gulf, a further investment of around $100 billion is required over the next 10 years.
Lebanon and Syria were the only countries in the Middle East with adequate water supplies. That has now changed with the damage inflicted on Lebanon's infrastructure, and long before 2050, every country in the region will face water shortages that only desalination can avert.
Oman supplies 61% of residential water through desalination, and it is vital to find ways to make the process less expensive. Other measures, such as recycling water and reducing consumption, are also essential.
Qatar is funding the development of a 567MW power and 29.1 million gallons per day water desalination facility. Jordan outlined the government's commitment to utilising renewable energy by increasing the use of solar and wind power. 20% of houses in Jordan use solar water heaters and the number is expected to rise. Studies are under way for a project in Saudi Arabia, to create a solar thermal plant as part of the Ayla that will generate power for desalination and air conditioning. Over 30 water pumping stations are using solar energy, and wind turbines to pump water. rw.
As populations increase, the demand for freshwater is increasing. The supply is finite and the majority of it is threatened by the pollution we are making. There is no more water on Earth now than there was 2,000 years ago when the population was less than 3% of its current size.
Consumption that does not take these issues into account is causing wars over allocation of scarce water resources and pollution. Today, 31 countries, or under 8% of the world population, face chronic freshwater shortages. By the year 2025, however, 48 countries are expected to face shortages affecting more than 2.8 billion people, -35% of the world's projected population.
Countries likely to run short of water in the next 25 years are Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Peru. Other large countries such as China, face chronic water problems. And in much of the world polluted water, improper waste disposal, and poor water management cause deadly health problems.
Water-related diseases harm or kill millions of people every year. Overuse and pollution are taking a heavy toll on the environment and pose increasing risks for many species.
Water-borne diseases is to blame for over 12 million deaths a year. Countries such as Niger and Kenya have had droughts for many years, yet there seems to be no solutions. Scientists corroborate that human activity is contributing to the drought conditions over 30% of the world.
Improvements in water supply and sanitation can reduce infant mortality by an average of 55%.
Whether it is for farming, municipal use, or industry, there is room for conservation and more effective management to stress sustainability.
It is important to slow the growth in demand by slowing population growth. Scientists have reported that human activity is exacerbating the viscous cycle which will have an effect on global water supplies in relation to drought, dams, diversion, and lack of water. We need to see legislation addressing the climate crisis that is affecting water scarcity. rw.
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