Biodiversity refers to the variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part. This includes diversity within species (genetic diversity), between species and of ecosystems. (GEO3, Pg 120)
While the idea of conserving the environment has steadily gained political acceptance over the past few decades, people still misunderstand and ignore the goods and services that nature, biodiversity and ecosystems provide to us.
For example, 16,119 species of animals and plants are threatened with extinction and many ecosystems – wetlands, forests – are being degraded and destroyed, while we know that natural ecosystems provide humans with a large range of highly valuable services. (IUCN)
Reduce biodiversity will lead to loss of livelihoods and unfavorable socioeconomic impacts. (Coates et. Al. 2003). In the management of biodiversity, the level of awareness and understanding of the public, the leadership of both public and private agencies, a balance between the use of modern technologies and local indigenous knowledge, the country’s level of economic development, national policies and institutional structures and international commitments are important considerations.
Dear Participants, what are your opinion about this management of biodiversity??
Sunday, 26 August 2007
Monday, 20 August 2007
Global and Ecological Disaster
In the last decades more than two billions people have been affected by disaster. The loss of lives and livelihood is immense, and the economic effect on a country’s development is considerable. Economic losses attributed to natural disaster have risen to more than 100 millions US dollars per year in the last few years from only one billion dollars per year in the 1960’s according to the natural hazards report, about 40 to 50 billion at the start of 1960’s.
Nearly three-quarters of these losses result from storms, floods and drought. While there is evidence that disaster losses can be attributed to climatic and environmental change due to human actions, rising population number and migration to areas at greater risk is contributing to the ever increasing loss of life and livelihood in the frequency of disaster, particularly in the last decades.
Disasters are routinely divided into natural and man-made, although complex disasters, where there is no single root cause, are more common in developing countries. A specific disaster may spawn a secondary disaster that increases the impact.
A natural disaster is the consequence of; when a potential natural hazard becomes a physical event (e.g. volcanic, eruption, earthquakes, and landslide …) and this interacts with human activities. Human vulnerability, caused by the lack of planning, lack of appropriate emergency management (disaster management) or the event being unexpected, leads to financial, structural, and human losses. The resulting loss depends on the capacity of the population to support or resist the disaster, their resilience. This understanding is concentrated in the formulation: "disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability”.
Disasters having an element of human intent, negligence, error or the ones involving the failure of a system are called man-made disasters. Man-made hazards are in turn may be categorized as technological. Technological hazards are results of failure of technology, such as engineering, infrastructures failures, transport accidents or environmental hazard. Green house gasses which are producing by human activities which is a major cause of global warming. This has a dramatic direct and indirect effect on the every components of ecosystems specially water resources. However we exactly don’t know how global warming will affect water resources, it is clear that water resources are already stressed. Some areas are badly flooded because of heavy rain and some places are suffering from drought because of less raining is an everyday hot news in the world, which are reasons of current instability of water regimes and it is serious impact and proved evidence of global warming. Due to production of greenhouse gasses and other human activities and that all are caused for a natural and man-made hazard. And flooding is prevalent in every corner of the world today.
As mentioned above that disasters are unwanted event and it has many kinds and it will happen every where due to geographical, geological location and ever increasing human population and their activities. What is very important that how we can manage global and ecological disaster, specially flooding?
Hope the Blogger participants will share their understanding, ideas and experiences.
Nearly three-quarters of these losses result from storms, floods and drought. While there is evidence that disaster losses can be attributed to climatic and environmental change due to human actions, rising population number and migration to areas at greater risk is contributing to the ever increasing loss of life and livelihood in the frequency of disaster, particularly in the last decades.
Disasters are routinely divided into natural and man-made, although complex disasters, where there is no single root cause, are more common in developing countries. A specific disaster may spawn a secondary disaster that increases the impact.
A natural disaster is the consequence of; when a potential natural hazard becomes a physical event (e.g. volcanic, eruption, earthquakes, and landslide …) and this interacts with human activities. Human vulnerability, caused by the lack of planning, lack of appropriate emergency management (disaster management) or the event being unexpected, leads to financial, structural, and human losses. The resulting loss depends on the capacity of the population to support or resist the disaster, their resilience. This understanding is concentrated in the formulation: "disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability”.
Disasters having an element of human intent, negligence, error or the ones involving the failure of a system are called man-made disasters. Man-made hazards are in turn may be categorized as technological. Technological hazards are results of failure of technology, such as engineering, infrastructures failures, transport accidents or environmental hazard. Green house gasses which are producing by human activities which is a major cause of global warming. This has a dramatic direct and indirect effect on the every components of ecosystems specially water resources. However we exactly don’t know how global warming will affect water resources, it is clear that water resources are already stressed. Some areas are badly flooded because of heavy rain and some places are suffering from drought because of less raining is an everyday hot news in the world, which are reasons of current instability of water regimes and it is serious impact and proved evidence of global warming. Due to production of greenhouse gasses and other human activities and that all are caused for a natural and man-made hazard. And flooding is prevalent in every corner of the world today.
As mentioned above that disasters are unwanted event and it has many kinds and it will happen every where due to geographical, geological location and ever increasing human population and their activities. What is very important that how we can manage global and ecological disaster, specially flooding?
Hope the Blogger participants will share their understanding, ideas and experiences.
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Response to Miss Sandya
Problems with trees in urban area
Green areas for every city are necessary, and it is part of urban engineering. But we have to consider the following before plantation;
1. Study the Master Plan of city.
2. Plantations of some ornamental trees disturb traffics, transmission lines after some years?
3. Whether the city needs trees for shadow or aesthetic values?
4. Concerning to the merging of roads and sub- roads and streets
5. Are irrigation facilities for plantation area available? It may be detrimental to sewage systems.
6. Age and resistance of plantation t harmful gasses.
7. Selection of trees for specific location. Specific places may need specific tree species in urban area.
8. Understanding of tree species due to geographic location
9. Need of light to those area and building that trees will grow in front of them.
10. Root system of trees need not disturb roads and pavements.
In my opinion above mentioned points are very important factors for plantation inside the cities and must be considered. Otherwise plantation in the city will bring many problems to the city as you can see in pictures below.
Green areas for every city are necessary, and it is part of urban engineering. But we have to consider the following before plantation;
1. Study the Master Plan of city.
2. Plantations of some ornamental trees disturb traffics, transmission lines after some years?
3. Whether the city needs trees for shadow or aesthetic values?
4. Concerning to the merging of roads and sub- roads and streets
5. Are irrigation facilities for plantation area available? It may be detrimental to sewage systems.
6. Age and resistance of plantation t harmful gasses.
7. Selection of trees for specific location. Specific places may need specific tree species in urban area.
8. Understanding of tree species due to geographic location
9. Need of light to those area and building that trees will grow in front of them.
10. Root system of trees need not disturb roads and pavements.
In my opinion above mentioned points are very important factors for plantation inside the cities and must be considered. Otherwise plantation in the city will bring many problems to the city as you can see in pictures below.
Monday, 6 August 2007
Urban Agriculture focus on equitable sustainability
Rapid urbanization takes place together with a rapid increase in urban poverty, urban food security and a number of environmental problems.
By 2020 the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America will be home to some 75% of all urban dwellers. It is expected that by 2020, 85% of the poor in Latin America, and about 40-45% of the poor in Africa and Asia will be concentrated in towns and cities.
Most cities in developing countries have difficulties to cope with this development and are unable to create sufficient formal employment opportunities for the poor. They also have increasing problems with the disposal of urban waste and maintaining air and river water quality.
(RUAF,IDRC,IIRC,2006)
Urban agriculture provides a complementary strategy to reduce urban poverty and food security and enhance urban environment. It plays an
Important role in urban waste management, local economic development, social inclusion of the urban poor. Specially urban agriculture leads to greening and cleaning of the city by turning derelict open spaces into green zones free of housing with positive impact on micro climate
(Shade, Temperature, sequestration of Co2).
Urban agriculture is embedded in- and interacting with the urban ecosystem, being influenced by urban policies and plans. It s an integral part of the urban system. A global estimate is that 15-20% of the world’s food is produced in urban areas(Margaret Armar-2000)
The most important that the use of urban waste(household-commercial-institutional)and waste water in farming cities, gives number of benefits to farmers, urban authorities and to city environment. Other end that improper use of urban waste/waste water leads to serious health hazards in human.
Next fact, which more people argued and recently found that the agricultural crops cultivated in roadside also contain unfavorable chemical compounds for human health.(Kampala city,Uganda-2007)
Urban soils which is closer to roads with high traffic, often contain high concentration of heavy metals, including lead, Cadmium and zinc, which seriously affect on human health, specially in children. Direct link has been proved between distance from roads and heavy metal concentrations in soil. Researchers argued that fuel exhaust are the most serious source(New Agriculturist, July 2007 )
Many challenges in farming cities,…”.How to overcome the problems in use of urban waste and road side farming in cities??”
Dear participants, What are your opinions ,to find the right balance between benefits and health risks presented by urban farming,.. to achieve productive and sustainable cities in future.
(This Topic is posted by SANDYA)
By 2020 the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America will be home to some 75% of all urban dwellers. It is expected that by 2020, 85% of the poor in Latin America, and about 40-45% of the poor in Africa and Asia will be concentrated in towns and cities.
Most cities in developing countries have difficulties to cope with this development and are unable to create sufficient formal employment opportunities for the poor. They also have increasing problems with the disposal of urban waste and maintaining air and river water quality.
(RUAF,IDRC,IIRC,2006)
Urban agriculture provides a complementary strategy to reduce urban poverty and food security and enhance urban environment. It plays an
Important role in urban waste management, local economic development, social inclusion of the urban poor. Specially urban agriculture leads to greening and cleaning of the city by turning derelict open spaces into green zones free of housing with positive impact on micro climate
(Shade, Temperature, sequestration of Co2).
Urban agriculture is embedded in- and interacting with the urban ecosystem, being influenced by urban policies and plans. It s an integral part of the urban system. A global estimate is that 15-20% of the world’s food is produced in urban areas(Margaret Armar-2000)
The most important that the use of urban waste(household-commercial-institutional)and waste water in farming cities, gives number of benefits to farmers, urban authorities and to city environment. Other end that improper use of urban waste/waste water leads to serious health hazards in human.
Next fact, which more people argued and recently found that the agricultural crops cultivated in roadside also contain unfavorable chemical compounds for human health.(Kampala city,Uganda-2007)
Urban soils which is closer to roads with high traffic, often contain high concentration of heavy metals, including lead, Cadmium and zinc, which seriously affect on human health, specially in children. Direct link has been proved between distance from roads and heavy metal concentrations in soil. Researchers argued that fuel exhaust are the most serious source(New Agriculturist, July 2007 )
Many challenges in farming cities,…”.How to overcome the problems in use of urban waste and road side farming in cities??”
Dear participants, What are your opinions ,to find the right balance between benefits and health risks presented by urban farming,.. to achieve productive and sustainable cities in future.
(This Topic is posted by SANDYA)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)