Global Voices Online » Environment

Morocco: 50 Reasons Not to Use Plastic Bags

Jillian York — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:40:15 +0000

Everything Morocco discusses reasons to stop using plastic bags. As in many developing countries, the littering of plastic bags is a large problem in Morocco.

Japan: Six Eco Cities

Oiwan Lam — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:04:14 +0000

Martin J Frid from Kurashi blogs about Japan government's policy on eco model cities.

Pakistan: Water Conservation

Neha Viswanathan — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:43:47 +0000

Pakistaniat on the issue of water conservation in the cities of Pakistan.

Trinidad & Tobago: Practice Makes Perfect

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:19:28 +0000

“Life is a practice rushing at you, overwhelming you, tumbling you to your core. Who is throwing you your lifeline?” Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, Attillah Springer asks some searching questions.

Kenya: Protecting the Mau forest

Elia Varela Serra — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:43:13 +0000

Kenya Environmental & Political News writes about the conservation efforts to protect the Mau Complex, the largest forest ecosystem in the country.

Africa: Sustainable architecture

Elia Varela Serra — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:36:52 +0000

The face of Afrika writes about two sustainable architecture projects in Africa, one in Ghana and the other one in Zamiba, including images of both.

CAR: On the power emergency & Dzanga-Sangha natural reserve

Elia Varela Serra — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:58:03 +0000

Brock Boddie at HPDT CAR, a blog by the humanitarian and development organizations in the Central African Republic, writes about Prime Minister Faustin Touadera's emergency appeal for international support after a failure of the country’s power system, as “without electricity, cleaning water, providing minimal health care and maintaining security would all become virtually impossible”. On a different post he speaks about the Dzanga-Sangha nature reserve (including some photos), which “offers some of the most beautiful and pristine wildlife that can be found in Africa and, indeed, the world”.

Yemen: Socotra Wins UNESCO's Approval

Amira Al Hussaini — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:59:35 +0000

“The Socotra Archipelago finally got UNESCO's recognition and seal of approval and is now on its World Heritage List; it becomes Yemen's fourth site on the List,” writes Omar Barsawad, from Yemen.

Egypt: Early Morning Earthquake

Amira Al Hussaini — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:42:44 +0000

Egyptian Chronicles reports that an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale has hit Egypt. No damages were reported.

Libya: Summer Fruit

Amira Al Hussaini — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:55:03 +0000

“I think fruit is the ONLY reason I tolerate summer at all here,” writes Khadija Teri, from Libya.

Environment: Updates from African Bloggers

Juliana Rotich — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:22:35 +0000

In this edition of Global Voices environment we check in with the African environment bloggers, who have fascinating pictures to share, discussions on solar technology, concerns about forest re-allocation and updates on past stories.

Have you ever seen a frozen ocean? If not, Slashen posts some stunning pictures from Capetown South Africa.

Urbansprout discusses news from solar researchers who announced new technology involving glass sheets coated with light absorbing organic dyes. Urbansprout asks:

Can a piece of glass with a layer of paint on top of it absorb enough sunlight to generate an alternative to the rather expensive solar energy we have at the moment?

In a previous post, Urbansprout heralded the creation of the first ‘One Planet eco-village in the African continent. He notes the 10 guiding principles behind the design of the eco-villages, and expounds on what this eco-village would mean.

This is not your common garden variety ‘eco village'! Their next proposed village is Sibaya, just outside Durban – the first One Planet eco-village on the African continent.
Sibaya will be a community of indigenous gardens, a place where neighbours share cars, where cycling lanes take you to nearby restaurants and shops, where all waste is recycled and where fresh…

Moses Sserwanga writes that the Ugandan government is still trying to give away 7,100 hectares of the Mabira tropical rainforest. The prospect of turning Mabira forest into sugarcane plantations ignited protests last year, with SMS being used to mobilize Ugandans to protest the plans for a plantation by the Mehta Group. He says…

Govt is back at its cat and rat game
Without shame, and respect to public opinion, government is back to its old schemes to give away about 7,100 hectares of a national treasure- Mabira tropical rainforest- to Mehta Group for sugarcane growing.
But the most bizarre aspect of this latest government plot is the uncoordinated and contradictory actions of the technocrats who serve in the Ministry of Water and Environment.It’s hardly two years when the same technocrats who are now plotting to zone the 29,964 hectares of Mabira and effectively pave the way for its destruction- warned of the severe consequences of such actions.

He discusses the issue in light of the climatic changes set to occur in Africa, adding…

On the thorny issue of Mabira where the public has demonstrated unprecedented solidarity in the resolve to protect this national resource, government should take precaution when making decisions that will hurt national interest. The concept of sustainable development comes in hand here. Any development especially President Museveni’s much touted industrial development should be ecologically viable.

Situations where such development can cause irreversible harm to the environment should be avoided. The destruction of our forest cover spells trouble for the country’s reservoir of biodiversity. The public should remain firm in the struggle to save Mabira forest.

Phil of Kenya environment news writes of a nuclear waste plant in Kenya, saying

Kenya is a few days away from hosting the first ever dreaded and less understood radioactive waste processing facility at Oloolua, located at the institute of primate research in Kajiado district. If the facility is allowed to proceed, Kenyans will without doubt pay dearly, in the same way history is certain to harshly judge the current generation.

Phil also posts about an initiative that provides power for rural communities in Kenya.

The first power-generating centre using environmentally friendly hydro and solar power has been inaugurated in a Kenyan village 150 kilometres north east of Nairobi by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
Apart from generating electricity, the new centre, in Kibai village in Kenya’s Kerugoya division, promotes the use of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps to replace kerosene lamps that contribute to respiratory illnesses in children and women who use them on a daily basis.

More information is available on the Lighting up Kenya blog.

Dr. Leakey answers some questions from the blogger Dipesh Pabari about climate change in East Africa.

We end with some pictures of the Cobhouse that was mentioned on Global voices in March of this year. The cobhouse is an eco-friendly building that is built using clay, straw and wood.

Iran: Bloggers campaign to save wetlands

Hamid Tehrani — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:03:27 +0000

Iran has great and diverse wetland ecosystem but unfortunately some of them are in very critical condition. Several green bloggers and journalists believe that the Iranian government has been careless about these wetlands. Their decision to construct roads and build dams have damaged them severely.

Green bloggers decided to launch a campaign, which runs July 5-10, to inform people and other bloggers about the beautiful wetland nature and their endangered status. They have also published several photos to show the beauty of the Anzali wetlands in contrast to its destruction.

Beauty and Peace

Anzali, in the north of Iran, is one of the most important wetlands and has attracted several bloggers' attention. We can discover its peaceful nature thanks to Kossof, a leading photo blogger.

He also shows its beauty:

Mohsen Tizhoosh, a green blogger and activist, says [Fa] that we should launch a green campaign on the Internet in each season and promote environmental issues among bloggers. He also published another photo to remind us about the wild life in this area:

Destruction

Jamshidi, a blogger and journalist, says it seems that the Japanese care more about the Iranian wetlands than the Iranian government. She writes [Fa] that:

5 years ago, Japanese researchers and specialists studied the Anzali wetland and warned about the consequences of constructing a road… The government wants to construct an alternative road about 500 meters longer than this one, which will damage severely the Anzali wetland.

She adds “Japan paid the costs of the Anzali wetland studies. But now some people do not want to follow the environmental organization's advice because it costs too much.”

She has published several photos showing the destruction and the presence of security forces making way for the road construction:

Jamaica: Stolen Beach

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:22:56 +0000

“Apparently, some ‘enterprising' Jamaicans have figured out a solution to the growing problem of private ownership of our beachfront lands”: Long Bench reports on the stealing of a beach, adding: “If this kind of theft weren’t a sign of how actively we are digging a serious hole for ourselves in this country…I would salute the truckers as heroes in this ultimate sabotage.”

Iran:”Alone in Paradise”

Hamid Tehrani — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:25:51 +0000

Kosoof, an Iranian leading photo blogger, has published a fascinating photo from “Shoormast lake” in the north of Iran. He calls the photo “alone in paradise”.

Jordan: Save Water

Amira Al Hussaini — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:40:37 +0000

Jordanian Naseem Tarawnah calls for a stricter water conservation policy. “Yes, we have little water, but there is massive, massive, massive mismanagement when it comes to this field, because we’re still acting like a country with no water problems instead of one that is striving to save every drop,” he explains.