What does the Arab world do when its water runs out?

Water usage in north Africa and the Middle East is unsustainable and shortages are likely to lead to further instability – unless governments take action to solve the impending crisis


Poverty, repression, decades of injustice and mass unemployment have all been cited as causes of the political convulsions in the Middle East and north Africa these last weeks. But a less recognised reason for the turmoil in Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Yemen, Jordan and now Iran has been rising food prices, directly linked to a growing regional water crisis

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/feb/20/arab-nations-water-running-out

J Henry Fair: Abstraction of Destruction

Abstraction of Destruction is an exhibition showcasing J Henry Fair's images of environmental degradation, most of them taken out of planes at 1,000 feet. From oil refineries to paper mills and the oil-slicked Gulf of Mexico to the ravaged West Virginia mountaintops, the pictures appear in his recent book, The Day After Tomorrow: Images of Our Earth in Crisis. The exhibition is running at the Gerald Peters Gallery in New York

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2011/jan/13/abstraction-destruction-in-pictures#/?picture=370558414&index=0

China official warns of 300-year desertification fight

A senior Chinese official has said it
will take 300 years to turn back China's advancing deserts at the current rate
of progress.

Liu Tuo, who leads China's efforts to tackle the problem, said investment was
"seriously insufficient."


More than one quarter of China is either covered by desert or is land that is
suffering desertification.


The process is often caused by overgrazing and other unsuitable farming
techniques.


Authorities worry that expanding deserts could put crops and water supplies
in the world's second largest economy at risk.


But the official leading China's efforts against the problem said not enough
was being done.


Liu Tuo said there was a "huge gap" in the country's efforts, adding that at
current rates it would take 300 years to reclaim land which has recently become
desert.


"There is about 1.73m sq km (0.67m sq miles) of desertified land in China,
and about 530,000 sq km of that can be treated," he said.


"At our present rate of treating 1,717 sq km a year, I've just calculated
we'll need 300 years."


He also warned that global warming could exacerbate the problem by causing
drought.


Most of the desertification in China happens on the fringes of the Gobi
Desert which lies in the west of the country.

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (Redd)

Find out more about the international plan to allow countries and companies to offset their carbon emissions by paying poorer nations to preserve their forests.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/24/redd-reducing-emissions-from-deforestation

Shifting sands threaten Mali's remote communities

Last month, Madeleine Bunting visited Mali to see the impact of climate change on the west African county. In Anakila, the effects are stark, as the community tries to prevent a sand dune encroaching on the remote town
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/gallery/2010/nov/01/mali-climate-change-desertification#/?picture=368242311&index=1

Deserts and Desertification

Attached is a great multimedia resource about the causes, effects and solutions to desertification. Can be used as an introduction to the topic or a revision tool.

The resources is produced by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to highlight deserts ecosystems around the world and the problems caused by incresing desertification.

Go to the link below, scroll down to the link called 'Deserts and Desertification', click on English to watch:

http://www.unep.org/NewsCentre/multimedia/?ct=anim

Illegal logging of tropical rainforests down by up to 75%

Report says governments, pressure groups and private sector all share credit for protecting extra 17m hectares of tropical rainforest. Efforts to tackle illegal destruction of the world's rainforests have been a success, according to a new report that details a significant fall in unauthorised logging.

The Chatham House study, released today, says that illegal logging has dropped by between 50 and 75% across Cameroon, Indonesia and the Brazilian Amazon over the last decade; globally it has dropped by one-fifth since 2002. The study credits actions taken by governments and pressure groups for the improvement, as well as greater responsibility across the private sector.

Sam Lawson, associate fellow at Chatham House and lead author of the report, said: "Up to a billion of the world's poorest people are dependent on forests, and reductions in illegal logging are helping to protect their livelihoods."

The fall in illegal logging, if continued, could save billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and help the fight against global warming, the report says. The change over the last decade has seen 17m hectares of forest saved from degradation, preventing the release of 1.2bn tonnes of CO2 emissions. Viewed another way, if the trees saved were legally logged and sold, this could bring an extra US$6.5bn in additional income to the forest nations.

Stephen O'Brien, international development minister, said: "In the world's poorest countries, illegal logging fuels corruption and results in billions of pounds in lost revenue every year. For the hundreds of millions of people across the globe who depend on forests for their livelihood, curbing illegal logging means vital sources of income remain protected. This groundbreaking report sets out the success stories brought about through international efforts in reducing illegal logging, which encourages us all to pursue these efforts further."

In 2000, the UK, US, Japan, France and Netherlands imported more than 20 million cubic metres of illegally logged timber. By 2008, that dropped to 17m cubic metres. Although illegal logging has declined, it remains a major problem, the report says. Where progress has already been made, additional gains are likely to be increasingly hard to achieve. A new approach will be needed to halt completely the illegal timber trade, it adds.

The report, which compared records of wood imports to legal exports, says: "If they are to be effective, mechanisms to encourage developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation will require secure control and sound governance of forest resources. Efforts to tackle illegal logging and improve forest governance have already proved to be successful and cost-effective, and it is essential that the climate change agenda for forests serves to reinforce this response, rather than distract from it."

David Adam guardian.co.uk, Thursday 15 July 2010

The World's Disappering Forests

The Earth was once covered in ancient forests, 80% of which have been either destroyed or degraded, according to conservationists. Half of that has been in the last 30 years

Check out the link below for further information:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/interactive/2007/dec/13/forests