Istanbul, Turkey (Mar.21) - WWF: Delegates of 14 countries attending the World Water Forum tonight signed pledges of support to a growing call to bring into force a global water treaty that has languished in limbo for more than a decade as anxiety grows about the increased potential for conflict in a world increasingly short of water.
The pledges were made at an awards ceremony held at the forum by a coalition of leading international and civil society organizations to “celebrate the accomplishments of the world’s leading countries in international water policy.”
Recognised by the awards were the 16 countries signed up to the UN International Convention on Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (the UN Watercourses Convention) - Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Namibia, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Syria and Uzbekistan.
The delegates said they shared WWF’s concern that the poor coordination in river basin regulation between nations “represents a major threat to international peace and to the world’s energy and food security.” The pledge also noted that climate change would worsen the global water crisis.
The pledge to push for more countries to join the convention was signed by Slovenian President Danilo Tulk, and government delegates from Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Ghana, Greece, Iraq, Niger, Sierra Leone, Spain, and Syria. Internal processes for ratification of the Convention have already started in some of the 12 countries at the event not already party to the Convention.
Dr Shaddad Attili, head of the Palestine Water Authority also signed, following the reading of a declaration by President Mahmoud Abbas earlier during the Forum that Palestine would ratify the convention once it attained statehood. When that occurs the River Jordan will have the most coverage of any international watercourse, with four of its five riparian states acceding to the Convention.
The UN Watercourses Convention provides a framework for common and cooperative management for the rivers, lakes, wetlands and aquifers crossing or forming international borders. An overwhelming majority of nations voted for the Convention in the UN General Assembly in 1997, but fewer than half the required number have proceeded to ratify it a national level.
“If fully enacted it would provide a strong basis for sharing and caring for the water draining half the world’s land surface and vital to the water supplies of 40 per cent of humanity,” said Flavia Loures, WWF International Water Law and Policy Senior Program Officer
The UN Watercourses Convention has been one of the most contentious topics at the World Water Forum, with specific mention of the convention and its potential for bridging divides on water excluded from the Ministerial Declaration due to be issued on World Water Day (March 22) tomorrow.
“It is ironic in the extreme that with a World Water day themed around sharing transboundary waters the ministerial declaration to be issued that day takes great pains to avoid mentioning the only available instrument for global co-operation,” Ms. Loures said.
In lively World Water Forum discussions on the UN Watercourses Convention, it was also seen as a key legal instrument to foster cooperation on climate change adaptation in shared freshwater systems, crucial as river flows falter and extreme events such as floods and droughts increase in frequency and severity.
Millions of dollars in aid funds for developing cooperative water management schemes for some of the world’s major – and most contentious – river systems also remain available but unapplied for, although some of the countries concerned have been able to cooperate on marine issues.
The multi-stakeholder campaign to have the UN Convention on Watercourses brought into effect is supported by the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, the European Water Partnership, Conservation International, the Global Nature Fund, Living Lakes Partners, Green Cross International, IUCN and WWF, along with many governments in Europe and Africa.
“As climate change further exacerbates the water crisis, the difficulties and cost of expanding and sustaining water security will rise, and potentially very steeply,” said Green Cross International President Alexander Likhotal.
“The risks from failing to act are increasingly understood to be high, and include economic instability, loss of quality of life and reversal of gains in poverty reduction, more frequent disaster and ecological degradation. Therefore, we are calling for a swift ratification of the Convention ."
Showing posts with label Press. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Press. Show all posts
Water declaration vague on main issues
Gland, Switzerland (Mar.22): The world will not lessen its mounting worries over water until it is clearly on track to dealing with the twin threats of water mismanagement and climate change, WWF International Director General James Leape said on World Water Day today.
He said it was good to see climate change impacts climbing up the agenda at the World Water Forum, concluding today in Istanbul, Turkey but disappointing that so little progress had been made in addressing glaring water mismanagement issues around the globe.
“All WWF’s work in this area is showing us again and again that it is the well-managed or restored river systems that cope best with the climate change impacts we are seeing now and those that are yet to come,” Leape said.
“This is clearly an issue of water management, but the ministerial declaration flowing from the World Water Forum is more a collection of platitudes than a plan for action.”
Mr Leape said that, with the World Water Forum having a theme of Bridging Divides on Water and World Water Day a theme of sharing cross border waters over borders, it was surprising that the Ministerial Declaration contained no mention of an existing international agreement on sharing waters that has languished in limbo for more than a decade without enough signatories to bring it into effect.
More than 100 countries participated in an overwhelming vote for the UN Convention on the Non Navigational Uses of International Watercourses in 1997 but only 16 countries, less than half the number needed, have so far signed it.
“It is surprising indeed that with increased conflict over increasingly scarce water expected to be one of the impacts of climate change the forum and its ministerial process did not strongly urge adoption of the only existing global instrument for reducing water conflict,” Mr Leape said.
“We see this global agreement as providing the much needed global framework to drive consistent, equitable and sustainable river basin management.
“But despite efforts to keep the UN Watercourses Convention off the international agenda we are heartened that more and more countries are showing increased interest in moving to adopt it.”
Mr Leape said that the Ministerial Declaration, while not a plan for action, had put on the international agenda the need to preserve environmental flows, the need to ensure participation in water planning and management and the issue of corruption on to the international water agenda
Water availability, quality and predictability are the main ways the majority of the world population will most immediately and most severely feel the impacts of climate change.
“Obviously, we can become more efficient in how we use water and better protect the natural landscapes that provide most people with most of their water,” Leape said.
“But we also must address the global water crisis with serious global action on climate change.”
WWF is campaigning to have the world’s nations sign up to the emissions and deforestation reductions necessary to prevent unacceptable risks of catastrophic climate change at a crucial UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December. The meeting is tasked with coming up to a replacement international agreement to the existing – and clearly inadequate – Kyoto Protocol.
He said it was good to see climate change impacts climbing up the agenda at the World Water Forum, concluding today in Istanbul, Turkey but disappointing that so little progress had been made in addressing glaring water mismanagement issues around the globe.
“All WWF’s work in this area is showing us again and again that it is the well-managed or restored river systems that cope best with the climate change impacts we are seeing now and those that are yet to come,” Leape said.
“This is clearly an issue of water management, but the ministerial declaration flowing from the World Water Forum is more a collection of platitudes than a plan for action.”
Mr Leape said that, with the World Water Forum having a theme of Bridging Divides on Water and World Water Day a theme of sharing cross border waters over borders, it was surprising that the Ministerial Declaration contained no mention of an existing international agreement on sharing waters that has languished in limbo for more than a decade without enough signatories to bring it into effect.
More than 100 countries participated in an overwhelming vote for the UN Convention on the Non Navigational Uses of International Watercourses in 1997 but only 16 countries, less than half the number needed, have so far signed it.
“It is surprising indeed that with increased conflict over increasingly scarce water expected to be one of the impacts of climate change the forum and its ministerial process did not strongly urge adoption of the only existing global instrument for reducing water conflict,” Mr Leape said.
“We see this global agreement as providing the much needed global framework to drive consistent, equitable and sustainable river basin management.
“But despite efforts to keep the UN Watercourses Convention off the international agenda we are heartened that more and more countries are showing increased interest in moving to adopt it.”
Mr Leape said that the Ministerial Declaration, while not a plan for action, had put on the international agenda the need to preserve environmental flows, the need to ensure participation in water planning and management and the issue of corruption on to the international water agenda
Water availability, quality and predictability are the main ways the majority of the world population will most immediately and most severely feel the impacts of climate change.
“Obviously, we can become more efficient in how we use water and better protect the natural landscapes that provide most people with most of their water,” Leape said.
“But we also must address the global water crisis with serious global action on climate change.”
WWF is campaigning to have the world’s nations sign up to the emissions and deforestation reductions necessary to prevent unacceptable risks of catastrophic climate change at a crucial UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December. The meeting is tasked with coming up to a replacement international agreement to the existing – and clearly inadequate – Kyoto Protocol.
New theory on largest known mass extinction in the history of the earth
Did volatile halogenated gases from giant salt lakes at the end of the Permian Age lead to a mass extinction of species?
The largest mass extinction in the history of the earth could have been triggered off by giant salt lakes, whose emissions of halogenated gases changed the atmospheric composition so dramatically that vegetation was irretrievably damaged. At least that is what an international team of scientists have reported in the most recent edition of the "Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences". At the Permian/Triassic boundary, 250 million years ago about 90 percent of the animal and plant species ashore became extinct. Previously it was thought that volcanic eruptions, the impacts of asteroids, or methane hydrate were instigating causes. The new theory is based on a comparison with today’s biochemical and atmospheric chemical processes. "Our calculations show that airborne pollutants from giant salt lakes like the Zechstein Sea must have had catastrophic effects at that time", states co-author Dr. Ludwig Weißflog from the Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research (UFZ). Forecasts predict an increase in the surface areas of deserts and salt lakes due to climate change. That is why the researchers expect that the effects of these halogenated gases will equally increase.
The team of researchers from Russia, Austria, South Africa and Germany investigated whether a process that has been taking place since primordial times on earth could have led to global mass extinctions, particularly at the end of the Permian. The starting point for this theory was their discovery in the south of Russia and South Africa that microbial processes in present-day salt lakes naturally produce and emit highly volatile halocarbons such as chloroform, trichloroethene, and tetrachloroethene. They transcribed these findings to the Zechstein Sea, which about 250 million years ago in the Permian Age, was situated about where present day Central Europe is. The Zechstein Sea with a total surface area of around 600.000 km2 was almost as large as France is today. The hyper saline flat sea at that time was exposed to a predominantly dry continental desert climate and intensive solar radiation - like today’s salt seas. "Consequently, we assume that the climatic, geo-chemical and microbial conditions in the area of the Zechstein Sea were comparable with those of the present day salt seas that we investigated," Weißflog said.
In their current publication the authors explain the similarities between the complex processes of the CO2-cycle in the Permian Age as well as between global warming from that time and at present. Based on comparable calculations from halogenated gas emissions in the atmosphere from present-day salt seas in the south of Russia, the scientists calculated that from the Zechstein Sea alone an annual VHC emissions rate of at least 1.3 million tonnes of trichloroethene, 1.3 million tonnes of tetrachloroethene, 1.1 million tonnes of chloroform as well as 0.050 million tonnes of methyl chloroform can be assumed. By comparison, the annual global industrial emissions of trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene amount to only about 20 percent of that respectively, and only about 5 percent of the chloroform from the emissions calculated for the Zechstein Sea by the scientists. Incidentally, the industrial production of methyl chloroform, which depletes the ozone layer, has been banned since 1987 by regulation of the Montreal Protocol.
"Using steppe plant species we were able to prove that halogenated gases contribute to speeding up desertification: The combination of stress induced by dryness and the simultaneous chemical stressor `halogenated hydrocarbons´ disproportionately damages and destabilize the plants and speeds up the process of erosion," Dr. Karsten Kotte from the University of Heidelberg explained.
Based on both of these findings the researchers were able to form their new hypothesis: At the end of the Permian Age the emissions of halogenated gases from the Zechstein Sea and other salt seas were responsible in a complex chain of events for the world’s largest mass extinction in the history of the earth, in which about 90 percent of the animal and plant species of that time became extinct.
According to the forecast from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), increasing temperatures and aridity due to climate change will also speed up desertification, increasing with it the number and surface area of salt seas, salt lagoons and salt marshlands. Moreover, this will then lead to an increase in naturally formed halogenated gases. The phytotoxic effects of these substances become intensified in conjunction with other atmospheric pollutants and at the same time increasing dryness and exponentiate the eco-toxicological consequences of climate change.
The new theory could be like a jigsaw piece that contributes to solving the puzzle of the largest mass extinction in the history of the earth. "The question as to whether the halogenated gases from the giant salt lakes alone were responsible for it or whether it was a combination of various factors with volcanic eruptions, the impact of asteroids, or methane hydrate equally playing their role still remains unanswered," Ludwig Weißflog said. What is fact however is that the effects of salt seas were previously underestimated. In their publication the researchers working with Dr. Ludwig Weißflog from the UFZ and Dr. Karsten Kotte from the University of Heidelberg want to prove that recent salt lakes and salt deserts of south-east Europe, Middle Asia, Australia, Africa, America can not only influence the regional but also the global climate. The new findings on the effects of these halogenated gases are important for revising climate models, which form the basis for climate forecasts.
The largest mass extinction in the history of the earth could have been triggered off by giant salt lakes, whose emissions of halogenated gases changed the atmospheric composition so dramatically that vegetation was irretrievably damaged. At least that is what an international team of scientists have reported in the most recent edition of the "Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences". At the Permian/Triassic boundary, 250 million years ago about 90 percent of the animal and plant species ashore became extinct. Previously it was thought that volcanic eruptions, the impacts of asteroids, or methane hydrate were instigating causes. The new theory is based on a comparison with today’s biochemical and atmospheric chemical processes. "Our calculations show that airborne pollutants from giant salt lakes like the Zechstein Sea must have had catastrophic effects at that time", states co-author Dr. Ludwig Weißflog from the Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research (UFZ). Forecasts predict an increase in the surface areas of deserts and salt lakes due to climate change. That is why the researchers expect that the effects of these halogenated gases will equally increase.
The team of researchers from Russia, Austria, South Africa and Germany investigated whether a process that has been taking place since primordial times on earth could have led to global mass extinctions, particularly at the end of the Permian. The starting point for this theory was their discovery in the south of Russia and South Africa that microbial processes in present-day salt lakes naturally produce and emit highly volatile halocarbons such as chloroform, trichloroethene, and tetrachloroethene. They transcribed these findings to the Zechstein Sea, which about 250 million years ago in the Permian Age, was situated about where present day Central Europe is. The Zechstein Sea with a total surface area of around 600.000 km2 was almost as large as France is today. The hyper saline flat sea at that time was exposed to a predominantly dry continental desert climate and intensive solar radiation - like today’s salt seas. "Consequently, we assume that the climatic, geo-chemical and microbial conditions in the area of the Zechstein Sea were comparable with those of the present day salt seas that we investigated," Weißflog said.
In their current publication the authors explain the similarities between the complex processes of the CO2-cycle in the Permian Age as well as between global warming from that time and at present. Based on comparable calculations from halogenated gas emissions in the atmosphere from present-day salt seas in the south of Russia, the scientists calculated that from the Zechstein Sea alone an annual VHC emissions rate of at least 1.3 million tonnes of trichloroethene, 1.3 million tonnes of tetrachloroethene, 1.1 million tonnes of chloroform as well as 0.050 million tonnes of methyl chloroform can be assumed. By comparison, the annual global industrial emissions of trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene amount to only about 20 percent of that respectively, and only about 5 percent of the chloroform from the emissions calculated for the Zechstein Sea by the scientists. Incidentally, the industrial production of methyl chloroform, which depletes the ozone layer, has been banned since 1987 by regulation of the Montreal Protocol.
"Using steppe plant species we were able to prove that halogenated gases contribute to speeding up desertification: The combination of stress induced by dryness and the simultaneous chemical stressor `halogenated hydrocarbons´ disproportionately damages and destabilize the plants and speeds up the process of erosion," Dr. Karsten Kotte from the University of Heidelberg explained.
Based on both of these findings the researchers were able to form their new hypothesis: At the end of the Permian Age the emissions of halogenated gases from the Zechstein Sea and other salt seas were responsible in a complex chain of events for the world’s largest mass extinction in the history of the earth, in which about 90 percent of the animal and plant species of that time became extinct.
According to the forecast from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), increasing temperatures and aridity due to climate change will also speed up desertification, increasing with it the number and surface area of salt seas, salt lagoons and salt marshlands. Moreover, this will then lead to an increase in naturally formed halogenated gases. The phytotoxic effects of these substances become intensified in conjunction with other atmospheric pollutants and at the same time increasing dryness and exponentiate the eco-toxicological consequences of climate change.
The new theory could be like a jigsaw piece that contributes to solving the puzzle of the largest mass extinction in the history of the earth. "The question as to whether the halogenated gases from the giant salt lakes alone were responsible for it or whether it was a combination of various factors with volcanic eruptions, the impact of asteroids, or methane hydrate equally playing their role still remains unanswered," Ludwig Weißflog said. What is fact however is that the effects of salt seas were previously underestimated. In their publication the researchers working with Dr. Ludwig Weißflog from the UFZ and Dr. Karsten Kotte from the University of Heidelberg want to prove that recent salt lakes and salt deserts of south-east Europe, Middle Asia, Australia, Africa, America can not only influence the regional but also the global climate. The new findings on the effects of these halogenated gases are important for revising climate models, which form the basis for climate forecasts.
Share water to make peace – IUCN
Istanbul, Turkey, 18 March, 2009 (IUCN) – More people and less water could mean increased conflict for scarce shared water resources. But in its latest report IUCN clearly shows how better cooperation over shared rivers can help governments avoid water crises.
“We cannot understate the importance of water for life on this planet; it’s as necessary as the air we breathe,” says Julia Marton Lefèvre, IUCN’s Director General. “Governments must realize that river basins, not national borders are the boundaries around which effective water management must be drawn.”
Released ahead of World Water Day on March 22, IUCN’s latest publication, “Share: Managing Water Across Boundaries”, shows that international rivers – those shared by neighbouring countries – provide an estimated 60 percent of the world’s freshwater. There are some 260 international river basins in the world, which cover nearly half of the Earth’s surface and are home to 40 percent of the world’s population.
“The problem with shared rivers is that if nations don’t cooperate they can all end up trying to use the same water more than once,” says Mark Smith, Head of IUCN’s Water Programme. “When they do, the environment loses out on the water it needs, and development fails while tensions rise. Cooperation on rivers means the reverse; the benefits of a healthy environment and development can be shared, while promoting peace.”
“We have alternatives to oil but there is no alternative to water,” adds Marton-Lefèvre. “During these times of financial crisis we cannot lose sight of the fundamental economic importance of water for life and commerce. A clear message is needed from governments in Istanbul as water users will only share water cooperatively when they believe it’s their best option.”
Promoting peaceful cooperation and developing synergies between authorities at all levels, is a global challenge. Traditionally, the focus in negotiations over shared rivers has been the apportioning of water. Once the water is divided, each country tries to optimize management within its borders rather than across the shared basin.
Through working together on a basin-wide approach, authorities in India and Pakistan have better managed the Indus River to support better water conservation, but also to protect food security for local populations. Such experiences are teaching us that a better way forward is to focus not on the volume of water parceled out between competing consumers, but instead to focus on basin-wide benefit sharing.
“Pragmatic solutions have been found in the past but better solutions must be sought for the future – this report shows Ministers meeting here in Istanbul the best way forward is to prevent water conflict before it starts,” adds Smith. “The need for nations to cooperate in the management of shared water resources is growing – all against a backdrop of considerable climate uncertainty.”
“We cannot understate the importance of water for life on this planet; it’s as necessary as the air we breathe,” says Julia Marton Lefèvre, IUCN’s Director General. “Governments must realize that river basins, not national borders are the boundaries around which effective water management must be drawn.”
Released ahead of World Water Day on March 22, IUCN’s latest publication, “Share: Managing Water Across Boundaries”, shows that international rivers – those shared by neighbouring countries – provide an estimated 60 percent of the world’s freshwater. There are some 260 international river basins in the world, which cover nearly half of the Earth’s surface and are home to 40 percent of the world’s population.
“The problem with shared rivers is that if nations don’t cooperate they can all end up trying to use the same water more than once,” says Mark Smith, Head of IUCN’s Water Programme. “When they do, the environment loses out on the water it needs, and development fails while tensions rise. Cooperation on rivers means the reverse; the benefits of a healthy environment and development can be shared, while promoting peace.”
“We have alternatives to oil but there is no alternative to water,” adds Marton-Lefèvre. “During these times of financial crisis we cannot lose sight of the fundamental economic importance of water for life and commerce. A clear message is needed from governments in Istanbul as water users will only share water cooperatively when they believe it’s their best option.”
Promoting peaceful cooperation and developing synergies between authorities at all levels, is a global challenge. Traditionally, the focus in negotiations over shared rivers has been the apportioning of water. Once the water is divided, each country tries to optimize management within its borders rather than across the shared basin.
Through working together on a basin-wide approach, authorities in India and Pakistan have better managed the Indus River to support better water conservation, but also to protect food security for local populations. Such experiences are teaching us that a better way forward is to focus not on the volume of water parceled out between competing consumers, but instead to focus on basin-wide benefit sharing.
“Pragmatic solutions have been found in the past but better solutions must be sought for the future – this report shows Ministers meeting here in Istanbul the best way forward is to prevent water conflict before it starts,” adds Smith. “The need for nations to cooperate in the management of shared water resources is growing – all against a backdrop of considerable climate uncertainty.”
Business facing surging water risk
Istanbul, Mar.18 (WWF): A world running short of water is presenting a new category of risk to business that many have not even begun to appreciate, the World Water Forum in Istanbul was told today.
And while some leading companies have made great improvements in using water more efficiently in their own operations, they will need to look deep into their supply chains and into the performance of water regulators, warned WWF and noted US-based water research body, the Pacific Institute.
“If you are an efficient business sitting in a poorly managed river basin you are still exposed to extremely high water risk,” said Stuart Orr, freshwater manager at WWF International.
Water is so basic a commodity that many businesses do not realise the extent to which disruptions in supply or increases in price – both predicted with increasing frequency – can effect their operations.
“The companies that will best shield themselves from the unexpected will be those that have assessed water requirements and risks in both their direct and indirect operations and in an integrated way with other emerging risk categories such as with climate and energy,” said Jason Morrison, program director at the Pacific Institute.
Morrison used an example of a brewery in an area where climate change had impacted heavily on water supplies. The company not only found unexpected cost increases and reductions in its own water supplies but also rapid increases in energy costs as hydroelectric generation capacity was reduced and difficulties in sourcing barly and hops as water-short farmers put land into fallow.
“Water risk assessment should include physical risks, such as running out of water, and reputational risks where companies can be perceived as irresponsible users of a scarce resource by communities, consumers of their products, regulators or financiers,” said Morrison.
“Companies should also consider the risk of more onerous and costly regulation and financial risks as water shortages translate into higher energy prices, higher insurance and credit costs and lower investor confidence.”
The growth in instruments such as water footprint studies and industry standards for water use and discharges was an encouraging sign, but business, often together with civil society, should also become involved in urging better water policy and management overall, Orr said.
“It will be better for business to be seen making a positive contribution to public policy processes over water in a climate of water shortages rather than as a powerful player interested mainly in grabbing or defending its share of water,” Orr said.
Business involvement in improved water management can include advocacy and lobbying for better policies in company with civil society and communities, infrastructure and other partnerships with governments and water authorities, and financial support for infrastructure and capacity building, a key factor in the developing world.
And while some leading companies have made great improvements in using water more efficiently in their own operations, they will need to look deep into their supply chains and into the performance of water regulators, warned WWF and noted US-based water research body, the Pacific Institute.
“If you are an efficient business sitting in a poorly managed river basin you are still exposed to extremely high water risk,” said Stuart Orr, freshwater manager at WWF International.
Water is so basic a commodity that many businesses do not realise the extent to which disruptions in supply or increases in price – both predicted with increasing frequency – can effect their operations.
“The companies that will best shield themselves from the unexpected will be those that have assessed water requirements and risks in both their direct and indirect operations and in an integrated way with other emerging risk categories such as with climate and energy,” said Jason Morrison, program director at the Pacific Institute.
Morrison used an example of a brewery in an area where climate change had impacted heavily on water supplies. The company not only found unexpected cost increases and reductions in its own water supplies but also rapid increases in energy costs as hydroelectric generation capacity was reduced and difficulties in sourcing barly and hops as water-short farmers put land into fallow.
“Water risk assessment should include physical risks, such as running out of water, and reputational risks where companies can be perceived as irresponsible users of a scarce resource by communities, consumers of their products, regulators or financiers,” said Morrison.
“Companies should also consider the risk of more onerous and costly regulation and financial risks as water shortages translate into higher energy prices, higher insurance and credit costs and lower investor confidence.”
The growth in instruments such as water footprint studies and industry standards for water use and discharges was an encouraging sign, but business, often together with civil society, should also become involved in urging better water policy and management overall, Orr said.
“It will be better for business to be seen making a positive contribution to public policy processes over water in a climate of water shortages rather than as a powerful player interested mainly in grabbing or defending its share of water,” Orr said.
Business involvement in improved water management can include advocacy and lobbying for better policies in company with civil society and communities, infrastructure and other partnerships with governments and water authorities, and financial support for infrastructure and capacity building, a key factor in the developing world.
UN report highlights growing water stress but could put more stress on protecting ecosystems
Istanbul, Mar.17 (WWF): A UN water report issued today gives a useful overview of a world growing increasingly short of water but puts far too little emphasis on the need to protect the natural environmental assets that supply and purify water, global conservation organization WWF said today.
Water in a changing world, the third UN Water Development Report issued by UNESCO at the World Water Forum in Istanbul, said water demand would increase due to population growth, rising living standards and changed food consumption patterns and the demands of biofuel production while water supplies were already near their limits in many countries.
WWF welcomed the report’s call for better governance and management of water and its observation that while the water sector is often taking more responsible approach to management “the key decisions about water are taken outside the water sector”.
“The report is relatively sympathetic to solutions that involve pouring concrete, without giving due recognition to the problems caused by the concrete pouring of the past,” said Dr Lifeng Li, Director of Freshwater at WWF International.
“We would have liked to see more emphasis on the importance of providing enough water for natural systems to keep functioning in order to keep providing water.
“One key contribution to water supplies running short in many areas is that the natural environmental assets that protect and purify water and help us cope with floods and droughts have been degraded through over-use and pollution.
The report notes that climate change will worsen the water situation in many already short countries but offers few pointers for adapting to this challenge.
“The key lesson of WWF’s on the ground work is that what best protects and improves the functioning of freshwater systems now is what will best protect them from climate change impacts in the future,”
The report also raises the likelihood of conflict over water between countries, regions and urban and rural users.
“We also find it puzzling that a report predicting more water conflict between countries fails to mention for the ratification and implementation of an existing UN treaty that would provide a basis for countries to share and jointly manage waters on their borders.”
The UN Watercourses Convention, approved by an overwhelming majority of countries in 1997, still lacks enough signatories to come into effect. The 263 water basins shared between two or more countries drain half the world’s land surface, account for nearly two thirds of global freshwater flows and are vital to the water supplies of 40 percent of the world’s population.
“Indeed, the convention fails to even gain a specific mention in UN Water’s brochure for World Water Day this coming Sunday, which is on the theme of transboundary waters,” Dr Li said.
Water in a changing world, the third UN Water Development Report issued by UNESCO at the World Water Forum in Istanbul, said water demand would increase due to population growth, rising living standards and changed food consumption patterns and the demands of biofuel production while water supplies were already near their limits in many countries.
WWF welcomed the report’s call for better governance and management of water and its observation that while the water sector is often taking more responsible approach to management “the key decisions about water are taken outside the water sector”.
“The report is relatively sympathetic to solutions that involve pouring concrete, without giving due recognition to the problems caused by the concrete pouring of the past,” said Dr Lifeng Li, Director of Freshwater at WWF International.
“We would have liked to see more emphasis on the importance of providing enough water for natural systems to keep functioning in order to keep providing water.
“One key contribution to water supplies running short in many areas is that the natural environmental assets that protect and purify water and help us cope with floods and droughts have been degraded through over-use and pollution.
The report notes that climate change will worsen the water situation in many already short countries but offers few pointers for adapting to this challenge.
“The key lesson of WWF’s on the ground work is that what best protects and improves the functioning of freshwater systems now is what will best protect them from climate change impacts in the future,”
The report also raises the likelihood of conflict over water between countries, regions and urban and rural users.
“We also find it puzzling that a report predicting more water conflict between countries fails to mention for the ratification and implementation of an existing UN treaty that would provide a basis for countries to share and jointly manage waters on their borders.”
The UN Watercourses Convention, approved by an overwhelming majority of countries in 1997, still lacks enough signatories to come into effect. The 263 water basins shared between two or more countries drain half the world’s land surface, account for nearly two thirds of global freshwater flows and are vital to the water supplies of 40 percent of the world’s population.
“Indeed, the convention fails to even gain a specific mention in UN Water’s brochure for World Water Day this coming Sunday, which is on the theme of transboundary waters,” Dr Li said.
Jordan's Fossil Water Source has High Radiation Levels
Ancient groundwater being tapped by Jordan, one of the 10 most water deprived nations in the world, has been found to contain twenty times the radiation considered safe for drinking water in a new study by an international team of researchers.
"The combined activities of 228 radium and 226 radium, the two long-lived isotopes of radium, in the groundwater we tested are up to 2000 per cent higher than international drinking standards," said Avner Vengosh, associate professor of earth and ocean sciences in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University.
Making the water safe for long term human consumption is possible, he said, but it will require extra steps to reduce its radioactivity.
Vengosh and his research team, made up of scientists from Jordan, Palestine, Israel and the United States, published their findings in a paper in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Jordan's annual water use exceeds the natural replenishment of its major river, the Yarmouk, and its local aquifers that are becoming saline as a result of over-pumping.
In 2007, the Jordanian government announced plans for a USD600 million project to pump low-saline fossil groundwater from the Disi aquifer, located along the nation's remote southern border with Saudi Arabia, and pipe it 250 kilometres north to the capital, Amman, a city of three million people, and other population centres.
Fossil groundwater is a non-renewable supply of water trapped underground in aquifers. In recent years, policy makers in countries facing chronic water shortages have increasingly viewed low saline supplies of fossil groundwater as an important potential source of water for human and agricultural use. Libya and Saudi Arabia, for example, have relied extensively on fossil groundwater from Nubian sandstone aquifers similar to the Disi to meet their water needs in recent decades.
Most fossil groundwater resources in North Africa and the Middle East are characterised by high-quality water with low salinity. "The assumption has been that unsafe radioactive levels occur primarily in high-saline groundwater, so low-saline sources, such as water from a Nubian sandstone aquifer, are relatively safe resources just waiting to be tapped," Vengosh said.
To test that hypothesis, Vengosh and his colleagues investigated water from 37 pumping wells in the Disi aquifer's Rum Group, where low saline groundwater is extracted from Cambro-Ordovician sandstone, and from wells in the Khreim Group, where saltier water is extracted from an aquifer containing larger amounts of clay minerals and oxides. All samples were analysed for major and trace elements and for four radium isotopes. For comparative purposes, sandstone rocks from the Disi aquifer, along with Nubian sandstone rocks from the nearby Negev Desert in Israel, were also measured for radium.
"We found a lack of correlation between salinity and radioactivity," Vengosh said. "Instead, our findings suggest that an aquifer's geological properties may be a much more significant factor."
Vengosh and his group hypothesise that an aquifer with a higher content of clay minerals and oxides provides more adsorption sites for radium, and this results in lower radionuclide levels in the water itself. Sandstone aquifers, on the other hand, offer fewer adsorption sites, and, as a result, generate radium-rich groundwater.
"Given that most of the aquifers in the region that contain fossil water are composed of Nubian sandstone and are characterised by low-saline groundwater, similar to that in the Disi aquifer, we suggest that high-radioactive groundwater may also exist in these basins. This could pose health risks for a large population," Vengosh said. Groundwater from the Disi aquifer is already used for drinking water in parts of Jordan and, more extensively, in Saudi Arabia, where it is known as the Saq aquifer.
"Making groundwater from the Disi aquifer and similar sandstone basins in the region safe for long-term human use will require a significant reduction of radionuclide levels," Vengosh said.
Health officials could reduce radioactivity to safe levels by diluting radium-rich water with low-radium water from other sources, he said, or by treating it with ion exchange, reverse osmosis desalination or lime softening. Each of these three treatment technologies does a good job of removing radium, Vengosh noted, but each produces solid and liquid residues that would have to be handled and disposed of as low-level radioactive waste.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies radium as a Group-A carcinogenic material, which means exposure to it could cause cancer.
"The combined activities of 228 radium and 226 radium, the two long-lived isotopes of radium, in the groundwater we tested are up to 2000 per cent higher than international drinking standards," said Avner Vengosh, associate professor of earth and ocean sciences in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University.
Making the water safe for long term human consumption is possible, he said, but it will require extra steps to reduce its radioactivity.
Vengosh and his research team, made up of scientists from Jordan, Palestine, Israel and the United States, published their findings in a paper in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Jordan's annual water use exceeds the natural replenishment of its major river, the Yarmouk, and its local aquifers that are becoming saline as a result of over-pumping.
In 2007, the Jordanian government announced plans for a USD600 million project to pump low-saline fossil groundwater from the Disi aquifer, located along the nation's remote southern border with Saudi Arabia, and pipe it 250 kilometres north to the capital, Amman, a city of three million people, and other population centres.
Fossil groundwater is a non-renewable supply of water trapped underground in aquifers. In recent years, policy makers in countries facing chronic water shortages have increasingly viewed low saline supplies of fossil groundwater as an important potential source of water for human and agricultural use. Libya and Saudi Arabia, for example, have relied extensively on fossil groundwater from Nubian sandstone aquifers similar to the Disi to meet their water needs in recent decades.
Most fossil groundwater resources in North Africa and the Middle East are characterised by high-quality water with low salinity. "The assumption has been that unsafe radioactive levels occur primarily in high-saline groundwater, so low-saline sources, such as water from a Nubian sandstone aquifer, are relatively safe resources just waiting to be tapped," Vengosh said.
To test that hypothesis, Vengosh and his colleagues investigated water from 37 pumping wells in the Disi aquifer's Rum Group, where low saline groundwater is extracted from Cambro-Ordovician sandstone, and from wells in the Khreim Group, where saltier water is extracted from an aquifer containing larger amounts of clay minerals and oxides. All samples were analysed for major and trace elements and for four radium isotopes. For comparative purposes, sandstone rocks from the Disi aquifer, along with Nubian sandstone rocks from the nearby Negev Desert in Israel, were also measured for radium.
"We found a lack of correlation between salinity and radioactivity," Vengosh said. "Instead, our findings suggest that an aquifer's geological properties may be a much more significant factor."
Vengosh and his group hypothesise that an aquifer with a higher content of clay minerals and oxides provides more adsorption sites for radium, and this results in lower radionuclide levels in the water itself. Sandstone aquifers, on the other hand, offer fewer adsorption sites, and, as a result, generate radium-rich groundwater.
"Given that most of the aquifers in the region that contain fossil water are composed of Nubian sandstone and are characterised by low-saline groundwater, similar to that in the Disi aquifer, we suggest that high-radioactive groundwater may also exist in these basins. This could pose health risks for a large population," Vengosh said. Groundwater from the Disi aquifer is already used for drinking water in parts of Jordan and, more extensively, in Saudi Arabia, where it is known as the Saq aquifer.
"Making groundwater from the Disi aquifer and similar sandstone basins in the region safe for long-term human use will require a significant reduction of radionuclide levels," Vengosh said.
Health officials could reduce radioactivity to safe levels by diluting radium-rich water with low-radium water from other sources, he said, or by treating it with ion exchange, reverse osmosis desalination or lime softening. Each of these three treatment technologies does a good job of removing radium, Vengosh noted, but each produces solid and liquid residues that would have to be handled and disposed of as low-level radioactive waste.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies radium as a Group-A carcinogenic material, which means exposure to it could cause cancer.
Researchers Call for Nitrogen and Phosphorus Reductions in Aquatic Systems
An international group of scientists is renewing calls for policy makers to reduce both nitrogen and phosphorus when attempting to alleviate eutrophication or nutrient pollution problems in fresh and coastal waters. In the February edition of Science, the researchers argue that dual-nutrient reduction strategies are likely to be more successful due to complex interactions between nitrogen and phosphorus in fresh and coastal water ecosystems.
"If the overall goal of nutrient reduction programs is to re-establish balanced aquatic ecosystems, research tells us to focus pollution reductions efforts on both nitrogen and phosphorus," said co-author Dr Donald Boesch of the University of Maryland Centre for Environmental Science. "Efforts focusing on only one nutrient can possibly help freshwater systems, but tend to push pollution problems downstream into coastal and estuarine systems."
"Policy makers need to adopt holistic approaches when combating eutrophication," added lead author Dr Daniel Conley of Sweden's Lund University. "Heavily polluted estuaries can demonstrate either nitrogen or phosphorous limitations depending upon the season or location, so it is important that pollution reduction measures address the true root of the problem."
Excess nutrients often lead to harmful algal blooms and oxygen-deprived "dead zones" occurring in freshwater lakes and coastal waters. Scientists attribute these elevated nutrient levels to the production of fertilisers, increased fossil fuel emissions, and effluent from municipal and industrial waste water treatment.
"If the overall goal of nutrient reduction programs is to re-establish balanced aquatic ecosystems, research tells us to focus pollution reductions efforts on both nitrogen and phosphorus," said co-author Dr Donald Boesch of the University of Maryland Centre for Environmental Science. "Efforts focusing on only one nutrient can possibly help freshwater systems, but tend to push pollution problems downstream into coastal and estuarine systems."
"Policy makers need to adopt holistic approaches when combating eutrophication," added lead author Dr Daniel Conley of Sweden's Lund University. "Heavily polluted estuaries can demonstrate either nitrogen or phosphorous limitations depending upon the season or location, so it is important that pollution reduction measures address the true root of the problem."
Excess nutrients often lead to harmful algal blooms and oxygen-deprived "dead zones" occurring in freshwater lakes and coastal waters. Scientists attribute these elevated nutrient levels to the production of fertilisers, increased fossil fuel emissions, and effluent from municipal and industrial waste water treatment.
Nutrient Pollution Chokes Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
Effective management strategies must reduce phosphorus and nitrogen inputs
Protecting drinking water and preventing harmful coastal "dead zones", as well as eutrophication in many lakes, will require reducing both nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. Because streams and rivers are conduits to the sea, management strategies should be implemented along the land-to-ocean continuum. In most cases, strategies that focus only on one nutrient will fail.
These policy recommendations were put forth by a team of distinguished scientists in the recent issue of Science. Led by Dr Daniel J. Conley, a marine ecologist at the GeoBiosphere Science Centre in Sweden and a Visiting Scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the paper reviews weaknesses in single-nutrient management strategies. In most cases, improving water quality and preserving coastal oceans will require a two-pronged approach.
Plant growth is tied to nitrogen and phosphorus availability. Human activities have greatly increased the abundance of these nutrients, causing the overproduction of aquatic plants and algae. Nitrogen pollution is largely derived from agricultural fertilisers and emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels. Phosphorus pollution is tied primarily to waste water treatment and detergents. Inputs to the landscape make their way to coastal areas through the drainage networks of rivers and streams.
Dr Gene E. Likens, one of the paper's authors and an ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, comments, "Historically, environmental management strategies in freshwater systems have focused on reducing phosphorus pollution. While this has minimised freshwater algal blooms, it passed a great deal of nitrogen pollution on to coastal ecosystems, driving eutrophication and causing serious and widespread problems in those regions."
These environmental problems include reductions in the oxygen levels of coastal water, which can cause "dead zones" and fish die-offs, the proliferation of undesirable plant growth, reductions in water quality, and the loss of important coastal fish habitat, such as sea grass and kelp beds.
Likens stresses, "By focusing only on minimising phosphorus in our fresh waters, and ignoring nitrogen inputs, existing management strategies are exacerbating the decline of coastal ecosystems. We need to stop passing the problem downstream and adopt dual-nutrient reduction strategies."
Eutrophication is a problem of global concern. Worldwide, there are over 415 eutrophic coastal ecosystems. As a result of human population growth and increased pollution, this number continues to rise.
Protecting drinking water and preventing harmful coastal "dead zones", as well as eutrophication in many lakes, will require reducing both nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. Because streams and rivers are conduits to the sea, management strategies should be implemented along the land-to-ocean continuum. In most cases, strategies that focus only on one nutrient will fail.
These policy recommendations were put forth by a team of distinguished scientists in the recent issue of Science. Led by Dr Daniel J. Conley, a marine ecologist at the GeoBiosphere Science Centre in Sweden and a Visiting Scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the paper reviews weaknesses in single-nutrient management strategies. In most cases, improving water quality and preserving coastal oceans will require a two-pronged approach.
Plant growth is tied to nitrogen and phosphorus availability. Human activities have greatly increased the abundance of these nutrients, causing the overproduction of aquatic plants and algae. Nitrogen pollution is largely derived from agricultural fertilisers and emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels. Phosphorus pollution is tied primarily to waste water treatment and detergents. Inputs to the landscape make their way to coastal areas through the drainage networks of rivers and streams.
Dr Gene E. Likens, one of the paper's authors and an ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, comments, "Historically, environmental management strategies in freshwater systems have focused on reducing phosphorus pollution. While this has minimised freshwater algal blooms, it passed a great deal of nitrogen pollution on to coastal ecosystems, driving eutrophication and causing serious and widespread problems in those regions."
These environmental problems include reductions in the oxygen levels of coastal water, which can cause "dead zones" and fish die-offs, the proliferation of undesirable plant growth, reductions in water quality, and the loss of important coastal fish habitat, such as sea grass and kelp beds.
Likens stresses, "By focusing only on minimising phosphorus in our fresh waters, and ignoring nitrogen inputs, existing management strategies are exacerbating the decline of coastal ecosystems. We need to stop passing the problem downstream and adopt dual-nutrient reduction strategies."
Eutrophication is a problem of global concern. Worldwide, there are over 415 eutrophic coastal ecosystems. As a result of human population growth and increased pollution, this number continues to rise.
Erosion Doubles along Part of Alaska’s Arctic Coast: Cultural and Historical Sites Lost
Coastal erosion has more than doubled in Alaska, up to 45 feet per year, in a 5 year period between 2002 and 2007 along a 40 mile stretch of the Beaufort Sea.
The US Geological Survey-led study reveals that average annual erosion rates along this part of the Beaufort Sea climbed from historical levels of about 20 feet per year between the mid-1950s and late-1970s, to 28 feet per year between the late-1970s and early 2000s, to a rate of 45 feet per year between 2002 and 2007. The study was published in the current issue of Geophysical Research Letters, a publication of the American Geophysical Union.
USGS scientist and lead author Benjamin Jones cautioned that it is possible that the recent patterns documented in their study may represent a short-term episode of enhanced erosion. However, they may well represent the future pattern of coastline erosion in the Arctic. "Erosion of coastlines is a natural process, and this segment of coastline has historically eroded at some of the highest rates in the circum-Arctic, so the changes occurring on this open-ocean coast might not be occurring in other Arctic coastal settings," said Jones.
The authors proposed that these recent shifts in the rate and pattern of land loss along this coastline segment are potentially a result of changing arctic conditions, including declining sea ice extent, increasing summertime sea-surface temperature, rising sea level, and increases in storm power and corresponding wave action.
"Taken together, these factors may be leading to a new era in ocean-land interactions that seem to be repositioning and reshaping the Arctic coastline," wrote Jones and his colleagues. "And any increases in the current rates of coastal retreat will have further ramifications on Arctic landscapes - including losses in freshwater and terrestrial wildlife habitats, and in disappearing cultural sites, as well as adversely impacting coastal villages and towns. In addition, oil test wells are threatened."
In fact, in another recent study along the same stretch of the Beaufort Sea, Jones and his co-authors verified "disappearing" cultural and historical sites, including Esook, a turn-of-the-century trading post now part of the Alaskan seafloor and Kolovik (Qalluvik), an abandoned Inupiaq village site that may soon be lost. At another site, near Lonely, Alaska, Jones snapped a picture of a wooden whaling boat that had rested on a bluff overhanging the ocean for nearly a century. A few months later the boat had washed away to sea. This study was published in the journal Arctic.
Understanding contemporary erosion rates is important because Arctic climate change is leading to rapid and complex environmental responses in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems in ways that will almost certainly affect the rate and pattern of coastline erosion in the Arctic, the authors wrote. "For example," said Jones, "the recent trends toward warming sea-surface temperatures and rising sea-level may act to weaken the permafrost-dominated coastline by 'helping' more quickly thaw ice-rich coastal bluffs and may potentially explain the disproportionate increase in erosion along ice-rich coastal bluffs relative to ice-poor coastal bluffs that we documented in our study."
The authors also documented sections of coastline that eroded more than 80 feet during 2007. Interestingly, there were no westerly storm events during the summer of 2007, traditionally believed to be the drivers of coastal erosion in this region the Arctic. However, 2007 did boast the minimum arctic sea-ice extent on record and relatively warm ocean temperatures. The authors emphasised that monitoring of coastal erosion should continue to better understand the causes for these heightened erosion rates, particularly as Arctic regions are being targeted for additional hydrocarbon development.
The US Geological Survey-led study reveals that average annual erosion rates along this part of the Beaufort Sea climbed from historical levels of about 20 feet per year between the mid-1950s and late-1970s, to 28 feet per year between the late-1970s and early 2000s, to a rate of 45 feet per year between 2002 and 2007. The study was published in the current issue of Geophysical Research Letters, a publication of the American Geophysical Union.
USGS scientist and lead author Benjamin Jones cautioned that it is possible that the recent patterns documented in their study may represent a short-term episode of enhanced erosion. However, they may well represent the future pattern of coastline erosion in the Arctic. "Erosion of coastlines is a natural process, and this segment of coastline has historically eroded at some of the highest rates in the circum-Arctic, so the changes occurring on this open-ocean coast might not be occurring in other Arctic coastal settings," said Jones.
The authors proposed that these recent shifts in the rate and pattern of land loss along this coastline segment are potentially a result of changing arctic conditions, including declining sea ice extent, increasing summertime sea-surface temperature, rising sea level, and increases in storm power and corresponding wave action.
"Taken together, these factors may be leading to a new era in ocean-land interactions that seem to be repositioning and reshaping the Arctic coastline," wrote Jones and his colleagues. "And any increases in the current rates of coastal retreat will have further ramifications on Arctic landscapes - including losses in freshwater and terrestrial wildlife habitats, and in disappearing cultural sites, as well as adversely impacting coastal villages and towns. In addition, oil test wells are threatened."
In fact, in another recent study along the same stretch of the Beaufort Sea, Jones and his co-authors verified "disappearing" cultural and historical sites, including Esook, a turn-of-the-century trading post now part of the Alaskan seafloor and Kolovik (Qalluvik), an abandoned Inupiaq village site that may soon be lost. At another site, near Lonely, Alaska, Jones snapped a picture of a wooden whaling boat that had rested on a bluff overhanging the ocean for nearly a century. A few months later the boat had washed away to sea. This study was published in the journal Arctic.
Understanding contemporary erosion rates is important because Arctic climate change is leading to rapid and complex environmental responses in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems in ways that will almost certainly affect the rate and pattern of coastline erosion in the Arctic, the authors wrote. "For example," said Jones, "the recent trends toward warming sea-surface temperatures and rising sea-level may act to weaken the permafrost-dominated coastline by 'helping' more quickly thaw ice-rich coastal bluffs and may potentially explain the disproportionate increase in erosion along ice-rich coastal bluffs relative to ice-poor coastal bluffs that we documented in our study."
The authors also documented sections of coastline that eroded more than 80 feet during 2007. Interestingly, there were no westerly storm events during the summer of 2007, traditionally believed to be the drivers of coastal erosion in this region the Arctic. However, 2007 did boast the minimum arctic sea-ice extent on record and relatively warm ocean temperatures. The authors emphasised that monitoring of coastal erosion should continue to better understand the causes for these heightened erosion rates, particularly as Arctic regions are being targeted for additional hydrocarbon development.
When Fish Farms are Built Along the Coast, Where Does the Waste Go?
Stanford researchers help predict where the 'icky' stuff -- fish urine, faecal matter and uneaten feed -- will end up; Research is finding that the wastes are carried greater distances that previously assumed
If you are a fish eater, it's likely that the salmon you had for dinner was not caught in the wild, but was instead grown in a mesh cage submerged in the open water of oceans or bays. Fish farming, a relatively inexpensive way to provide cheap protein to a growing world population, now supplies, by some estimates, 30 per cent of the fish consumed by humans.
Two hundred and twenty species of finfish and shellfish are now grown in farms.
Intuitively, it seems a good idea—the more fish grown in pens, the fewer need be taken from wild stocks in the sea. But marine aquaculture can have some nasty side effects, especially when the pens are set near sensitive coastal environments. All those fish penned up together consume massive amounts of commercial feed, some of which drifts off uneaten in the currents. And the crowded fish, naturally, defecate and urinate by the tens of thousands, creating yet another unpleasant waste stream.
The wastes can carry disease, causing damage directly. Or the phosphate and nitrates in the mix may feed an algae bloom that sucks the oxygen from the water, leaving it uninhabitable, a phenomenon long associated with fertiliser runoff.
It has been widely assumed that the effluent from pens would be benignly diluted by the sea if the pens were kept a reasonable distance from shore, said Jeffrey Koseff, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and co-director of Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment. But early results from a new Stanford computer simulation based on sophisticated fluid dynamics show that the icky stuff from the pens will travel farther, and in higher concentrations, than had been generally assumed, Koseff said.
"What we've basically debunked is the old adage that 'The solution to pollution is dilution,' " he said.”It's a lot more complicated."
The computer modelling (with new Stanford software that goes by the acronym SUNTANS) was conducted by Oliver Fringer, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. He created a virtual coastal marine area resembling California's Monterey Bay. Previous software, he said, has not been up to the task of accurately predicting where the unhealthy effluent from fish pens will end up, and should probably not be used by state or federal regulators when they approve locations for fish farms.
Existing software is typically derived from models that attempt to describe the drift of effluent from sewage outfall pipes, even though the substances and situations are different from fish farms. (Sewage outflow, for example, is often warmer than the ocean water.)
The fine details of modelling the flow of dissolved fish poop from a submerged cage are not as simple as they may seem. The design of the cage itself can affect the outcome. How much of the current flows through the cage, and how much goes around? Does the moving water swirl into eddies at the edges of the pen? Even the effects of the rotation of the earth on the waste plume comes into play.
The fish farmer would prefer that currents flush out his pens frequently, but as those currents take out the garbage they might unfortunately deliver it to a mangrove ecosystem or a public beach. On the other hand, insufficient flow through the pen can create a "dead zone" on the ocean floor as the faecal matter and uneaten food pile up beneath the fish.
Fringer is designing his software so that it can be used to asses any site where sufficient digital mapping of the area already exists. SUNTANS comes just in time, said Stanford oceans expert Rosamond Naylor, as federal and local officials begin spelling the details of new health and environmental regulations for fish pens.
If you are a fish eater, it's likely that the salmon you had for dinner was not caught in the wild, but was instead grown in a mesh cage submerged in the open water of oceans or bays. Fish farming, a relatively inexpensive way to provide cheap protein to a growing world population, now supplies, by some estimates, 30 per cent of the fish consumed by humans.
Two hundred and twenty species of finfish and shellfish are now grown in farms.
Intuitively, it seems a good idea—the more fish grown in pens, the fewer need be taken from wild stocks in the sea. But marine aquaculture can have some nasty side effects, especially when the pens are set near sensitive coastal environments. All those fish penned up together consume massive amounts of commercial feed, some of which drifts off uneaten in the currents. And the crowded fish, naturally, defecate and urinate by the tens of thousands, creating yet another unpleasant waste stream.
The wastes can carry disease, causing damage directly. Or the phosphate and nitrates in the mix may feed an algae bloom that sucks the oxygen from the water, leaving it uninhabitable, a phenomenon long associated with fertiliser runoff.
It has been widely assumed that the effluent from pens would be benignly diluted by the sea if the pens were kept a reasonable distance from shore, said Jeffrey Koseff, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and co-director of Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment. But early results from a new Stanford computer simulation based on sophisticated fluid dynamics show that the icky stuff from the pens will travel farther, and in higher concentrations, than had been generally assumed, Koseff said.
"What we've basically debunked is the old adage that 'The solution to pollution is dilution,' " he said.”It's a lot more complicated."
The computer modelling (with new Stanford software that goes by the acronym SUNTANS) was conducted by Oliver Fringer, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. He created a virtual coastal marine area resembling California's Monterey Bay. Previous software, he said, has not been up to the task of accurately predicting where the unhealthy effluent from fish pens will end up, and should probably not be used by state or federal regulators when they approve locations for fish farms.
Existing software is typically derived from models that attempt to describe the drift of effluent from sewage outfall pipes, even though the substances and situations are different from fish farms. (Sewage outflow, for example, is often warmer than the ocean water.)
The fine details of modelling the flow of dissolved fish poop from a submerged cage are not as simple as they may seem. The design of the cage itself can affect the outcome. How much of the current flows through the cage, and how much goes around? Does the moving water swirl into eddies at the edges of the pen? Even the effects of the rotation of the earth on the waste plume comes into play.
The fish farmer would prefer that currents flush out his pens frequently, but as those currents take out the garbage they might unfortunately deliver it to a mangrove ecosystem or a public beach. On the other hand, insufficient flow through the pen can create a "dead zone" on the ocean floor as the faecal matter and uneaten food pile up beneath the fish.
Fringer is designing his software so that it can be used to asses any site where sufficient digital mapping of the area already exists. SUNTANS comes just in time, said Stanford oceans expert Rosamond Naylor, as federal and local officials begin spelling the details of new health and environmental regulations for fish pens.
State of the Steric Sea Level Rise, 1955-2003
Based on a detailed analysis of ocean vertical temperature profiles for the 1955-2008 period, Sydney Levitus, lead author, talks about the change of global average sea level induced by the observed warming of the world ocean during the past 53 years. The warming of the world ocean is consistent with the amount of warming expected as a result of the observed increase in greenhouse gases in earth's atmosphere.
The observed ocean warming has contributed approximately 20 mm to global average sea level during this time period. This is simply the phenomenon of salt water expanding when it is warmed. This expansion effect (or contraction if cooling occurs) is known as the "thermosteric component of sea level change."
This estimate is similar to previous estimates even after recently identified instrumental errors are corrected for and additional historical data has been added to the scientists' database. The thermosteric component of sea level change is only one of several phenomena affecting sea level. Others include the melting of glaciers, the transfer of liquid water between the continents and oceans, and the impoundment of water by dams.
Levitus will also describe the changes in global sea level, resulting from changes in the distribution of temperature and freshwater in the world ocean during the same 1955 – 2008 time scale.
The observed ocean warming has contributed approximately 20 mm to global average sea level during this time period. This is simply the phenomenon of salt water expanding when it is warmed. This expansion effect (or contraction if cooling occurs) is known as the "thermosteric component of sea level change."
This estimate is similar to previous estimates even after recently identified instrumental errors are corrected for and additional historical data has been added to the scientists' database. The thermosteric component of sea level change is only one of several phenomena affecting sea level. Others include the melting of glaciers, the transfer of liquid water between the continents and oceans, and the impoundment of water by dams.
Levitus will also describe the changes in global sea level, resulting from changes in the distribution of temperature and freshwater in the world ocean during the same 1955 – 2008 time scale.
Majority of World Population Face Water Shortages Unless Action Taken
Two thirds of the world’s population will face a lack of water in less than 20 years, if current trends in climate change, population growth, rural to urban migration and consumption continue,warns United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Asha-Rose Migiro.
Speaking at a high-level symposium on water security at UN Headquarters, Migiro stressed that “if present trends continue, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with water scarcity by 2025, and two-thirds of the world population could be subject to water stress.”
“The lack of safe water and sanitation is inextricably linked with poverty and malnutrition, particularly among the world’s poor,” she said at the two-day meeting organised by the World Water Organisation (WWO).
“It limits girls’ school attendance and exacerbates maternal mortality. Yet today about 900 million people still rely on unimproved drinking-water supplies, and 2.5 billion people remain without improved sanitation facilities.”
Unless urgent action is taken the conflict between water supply and demand is set to get worse, Migiro told the symposium’s participants, comprising of experts from the UN, Member States, as well as corporate, medical, scientific, academic and non-governmental organisation (NGO) communities.
“In establishing the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one half, by 2015, the number of people without access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, the United Nations has challenged the international community to work together to improve such conditions,” she said.
The symposium aims to identify specific threats and vulnerabilities to global water security and propose practical solutions for the protection and preservation of water supplies.
Migiro noted that agriculture consumes roughly three quarters of the world’s fresh water supplies and in Africa the proportion is closer to ninety per cent.
“More than 1.4 billion people live in river basins where their use of water exceeds minimum recharge levels, leading to desiccation of rivers and the depletion of groundwater," she said.
The Deputy Secretary-General stressed that achieving water security would mean more effective water management, including enhancing food security through more equitable allocation of water for agriculture and food production.
“It means ensuring the integrity of ecosystems, and it means promoting peaceful collaboration in the sharing of water resources, particularly in the case of boundary and trans-boundary water resources.”
Speaking at a high-level symposium on water security at UN Headquarters, Migiro stressed that “if present trends continue, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with water scarcity by 2025, and two-thirds of the world population could be subject to water stress.”
“The lack of safe water and sanitation is inextricably linked with poverty and malnutrition, particularly among the world’s poor,” she said at the two-day meeting organised by the World Water Organisation (WWO).
“It limits girls’ school attendance and exacerbates maternal mortality. Yet today about 900 million people still rely on unimproved drinking-water supplies, and 2.5 billion people remain without improved sanitation facilities.”
Unless urgent action is taken the conflict between water supply and demand is set to get worse, Migiro told the symposium’s participants, comprising of experts from the UN, Member States, as well as corporate, medical, scientific, academic and non-governmental organisation (NGO) communities.
“In establishing the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one half, by 2015, the number of people without access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, the United Nations has challenged the international community to work together to improve such conditions,” she said.
The symposium aims to identify specific threats and vulnerabilities to global water security and propose practical solutions for the protection and preservation of water supplies.
Migiro noted that agriculture consumes roughly three quarters of the world’s fresh water supplies and in Africa the proportion is closer to ninety per cent.
“More than 1.4 billion people live in river basins where their use of water exceeds minimum recharge levels, leading to desiccation of rivers and the depletion of groundwater," she said.
The Deputy Secretary-General stressed that achieving water security would mean more effective water management, including enhancing food security through more equitable allocation of water for agriculture and food production.
“It means ensuring the integrity of ecosystems, and it means promoting peaceful collaboration in the sharing of water resources, particularly in the case of boundary and trans-boundary water resources.”
UAE to Adopt Blue Flag Certification for Its Beaches and Marinas
EWS-WWF joins Foundation of Environmental Education to coordinate Blue Flag Programme
Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) and WWF has announced its acceptance as an associate member of the Foundation of Environmental Education (FEE) to become the National Coordinator for Blue Flag Programme in the UAE.
Blue Flag, started in 1987, is a voluntary eco-label acknowledged by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), awarded to over 3200 beaches and marinas in 37 countries, according to the initiative's international website.
The Blue Flag works towards sustainable development at beaches and marinas through strict criteria dealing with recreational water quality to protect the public health, environmental education and information, environmental management, and safety services. The programme includes information for the public, decision makers and tourism operators.
Commenting on this initiative, Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director of EWS-WWF said: “The UAE has a beautiful coastline, extending over 1000 km. The Blue Flag programme would support the protection of this asset by presenting a platform of good public governance in the form of a certification in order to improve coastal facilities that are litter-free and boast a high recreational water quality, in addition to adequate beach users’ safety services.”
This initiative coincides with the 12th National Environment Day whose theme for the year is ‘Towards Sustainable Development of our Coastline’. The Blue Flag program is strengthened by this adopted theme for the year and by the many other decisive moves taken by the UAE Government and authorities. It is also consistent with the efforts to raise public awareness and participation in protecting coastal areas.
To facilitate the implementation of the programme EWS-WWF will be organising a Blue Flag workshop involving key stakeholders and FEE representatives to announce the launch of the programme in the UAE. A National Blue Flag Committee will be formed to play an advisory role and oversee that all criteria are fulfilled. A feasibility study and a review of criteria will be carried out in order to conduct a gap analysis.
EWS-WWF aims to initiate a pilot phase for at least one beach and/or marina to become a learning site for the rest of the country. All processes will be coordinated by EWS-WWF in collaboration with FEE and Blue Flag International.
All beaches and marinas seeking the Blue Flag certification will be subject to assessments and spot-checks from national, regional and international panels, co-ordinated by the FEE, a Denmark based NGO.
“Protection of coastal habitats is a strategic mandate for EWS-WWF in the region,” added Al Mubarak. “The Blue Flag programme will contribute to the efforts towards sustainable coastal development and will serve as an awareness tool to both beach operators and users on sustainability issues in the management of marine and coastal habitats.”
EWS-WWF is currently coordinating the assembly of a National Committee with a number of relevant stakeholders.
Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) and WWF has announced its acceptance as an associate member of the Foundation of Environmental Education (FEE) to become the National Coordinator for Blue Flag Programme in the UAE.
Blue Flag, started in 1987, is a voluntary eco-label acknowledged by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), awarded to over 3200 beaches and marinas in 37 countries, according to the initiative's international website.
The Blue Flag works towards sustainable development at beaches and marinas through strict criteria dealing with recreational water quality to protect the public health, environmental education and information, environmental management, and safety services. The programme includes information for the public, decision makers and tourism operators.
Commenting on this initiative, Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director of EWS-WWF said: “The UAE has a beautiful coastline, extending over 1000 km. The Blue Flag programme would support the protection of this asset by presenting a platform of good public governance in the form of a certification in order to improve coastal facilities that are litter-free and boast a high recreational water quality, in addition to adequate beach users’ safety services.”
This initiative coincides with the 12th National Environment Day whose theme for the year is ‘Towards Sustainable Development of our Coastline’. The Blue Flag program is strengthened by this adopted theme for the year and by the many other decisive moves taken by the UAE Government and authorities. It is also consistent with the efforts to raise public awareness and participation in protecting coastal areas.
To facilitate the implementation of the programme EWS-WWF will be organising a Blue Flag workshop involving key stakeholders and FEE representatives to announce the launch of the programme in the UAE. A National Blue Flag Committee will be formed to play an advisory role and oversee that all criteria are fulfilled. A feasibility study and a review of criteria will be carried out in order to conduct a gap analysis.
EWS-WWF aims to initiate a pilot phase for at least one beach and/or marina to become a learning site for the rest of the country. All processes will be coordinated by EWS-WWF in collaboration with FEE and Blue Flag International.
All beaches and marinas seeking the Blue Flag certification will be subject to assessments and spot-checks from national, regional and international panels, co-ordinated by the FEE, a Denmark based NGO.
“Protection of coastal habitats is a strategic mandate for EWS-WWF in the region,” added Al Mubarak. “The Blue Flag programme will contribute to the efforts towards sustainable coastal development and will serve as an awareness tool to both beach operators and users on sustainability issues in the management of marine and coastal habitats.”
EWS-WWF is currently coordinating the assembly of a National Committee with a number of relevant stakeholders.
Clean Water for a Crowded, Contaminated World
Revolutionary purification techniques address impending global water crisis
A worldwide water crisis is imminent and will severely stress much of the world by 2025 unless new purification techniques can adequately and economically treat all sources of water. That is the prognosis of water treatment expert Mark Shannon, director of the Centre of Advanced Materials for Purification of Water with Systems at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
"Current processes to purify water require a lot of chemicals and a lot of energy, making treatment too costly or unavailable for much of the developed and developing world," Shannon said. "The difficulties in treating water are only expected to worsen as resources become more constrained."
Shannon's research centre, with funding from the National Science Foundation, is developing sensors with specially designed and synthesised DNA to detect trace amounts of lead, mercury, arsenic and other contaminants. The sensors can be produced in the form of sophisticated testing instruments suitable for use by metropolitan water districts or in the form of test strips similar to those used in home pregnancy tests for households and other limited water users.
Shannon's colleagues also have synthesised chemically activated fibres and granules of carbon for removal of heavy metals and pesticides like atrazine in the presence of natural organic matter that interferes with many existing sensors. Water contaminated with pesticides is a critical problem for water in the Midwestern United States.
More than one billion people worldwide lack access to clean water and, in developing countries, more than two million people a year die from water-related problems, with the numbers growing. Because of declining snowpack storage and the loss of glaciers that feed rivers year round, major river systems throughout the world will experience periodic water shortages. Aquifers are suffering from declining water levels, salt water intrusion, and inadequately replenished fresh groundwater; in some areas, demand for potable water exceeds available resources. This worldwide water crisis is made worse by deteriorating infrastructure, growing population, contamination and high demand for water in energy-generating processes.
Despite seemingly abundant water supplies, clean water shortages will have a critical impact on the people of the US, with problems across the nation. Expected population growth, contamination of fresh water from agriculture and industry, and the traditionally low cost of water in the US coupled with the perceived risks of investing in new and unproven technologies are all preventing the commercialisation of innovative technologies. As clean water sources decrease, the US will need a new strategy for detecting and removing contaminants.
The centre’s research efforts are now able to detect specific contaminants in the parts per trillion range, where only parts per million was previously possible. The ability to detect toxic compounds at these levels will allow research to be conducted on what the health impacts are of certain contaminants at these previous unattainable lower levels.
"Low cost purification methods are in demand," said NSF Program Manager Rosemarie Wesson. "The fact that the Shannon team has developed methods to cost effectively detect and remove pesticides and heavy metals from water is intriguing. This work has not only expanded the knowledge base in the area of adsorption and sensor techniques, but the impact on society around the globe is just as exciting."
The technologies also allow for real-time detection and reduction of contaminants. Currently, water samples are taken and sent to a lab for analysis, which can lead to a two-week delay before action can take place. In the current era, where secure water sources is an integral part of national security, having real-time instantaneous contaminant detection and online catalytic reduction systems could save lives, and increase end-user health. Real-time detection can also enable select contaminant treatment, which has the potential for reducing operational costs.
"Our researcher at the centre is structured around a model of interdisciplinary and international collaborative research," Shannon said. "A reliable, sustainable supply of clean water is a worldwide need and a worldwide crisis in the making. Everyone needs to participate in the solution."
A worldwide water crisis is imminent and will severely stress much of the world by 2025 unless new purification techniques can adequately and economically treat all sources of water. That is the prognosis of water treatment expert Mark Shannon, director of the Centre of Advanced Materials for Purification of Water with Systems at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
"Current processes to purify water require a lot of chemicals and a lot of energy, making treatment too costly or unavailable for much of the developed and developing world," Shannon said. "The difficulties in treating water are only expected to worsen as resources become more constrained."
Shannon's research centre, with funding from the National Science Foundation, is developing sensors with specially designed and synthesised DNA to detect trace amounts of lead, mercury, arsenic and other contaminants. The sensors can be produced in the form of sophisticated testing instruments suitable for use by metropolitan water districts or in the form of test strips similar to those used in home pregnancy tests for households and other limited water users.
Shannon's colleagues also have synthesised chemically activated fibres and granules of carbon for removal of heavy metals and pesticides like atrazine in the presence of natural organic matter that interferes with many existing sensors. Water contaminated with pesticides is a critical problem for water in the Midwestern United States.
More than one billion people worldwide lack access to clean water and, in developing countries, more than two million people a year die from water-related problems, with the numbers growing. Because of declining snowpack storage and the loss of glaciers that feed rivers year round, major river systems throughout the world will experience periodic water shortages. Aquifers are suffering from declining water levels, salt water intrusion, and inadequately replenished fresh groundwater; in some areas, demand for potable water exceeds available resources. This worldwide water crisis is made worse by deteriorating infrastructure, growing population, contamination and high demand for water in energy-generating processes.
Despite seemingly abundant water supplies, clean water shortages will have a critical impact on the people of the US, with problems across the nation. Expected population growth, contamination of fresh water from agriculture and industry, and the traditionally low cost of water in the US coupled with the perceived risks of investing in new and unproven technologies are all preventing the commercialisation of innovative technologies. As clean water sources decrease, the US will need a new strategy for detecting and removing contaminants.
The centre’s research efforts are now able to detect specific contaminants in the parts per trillion range, where only parts per million was previously possible. The ability to detect toxic compounds at these levels will allow research to be conducted on what the health impacts are of certain contaminants at these previous unattainable lower levels.
"Low cost purification methods are in demand," said NSF Program Manager Rosemarie Wesson. "The fact that the Shannon team has developed methods to cost effectively detect and remove pesticides and heavy metals from water is intriguing. This work has not only expanded the knowledge base in the area of adsorption and sensor techniques, but the impact on society around the globe is just as exciting."
The technologies also allow for real-time detection and reduction of contaminants. Currently, water samples are taken and sent to a lab for analysis, which can lead to a two-week delay before action can take place. In the current era, where secure water sources is an integral part of national security, having real-time instantaneous contaminant detection and online catalytic reduction systems could save lives, and increase end-user health. Real-time detection can also enable select contaminant treatment, which has the potential for reducing operational costs.
"Our researcher at the centre is structured around a model of interdisciplinary and international collaborative research," Shannon said. "A reliable, sustainable supply of clean water is a worldwide need and a worldwide crisis in the making. Everyone needs to participate in the solution."
Hundreds of Millions of South Asians Face Increasing Water Stress
UN report shows vulnerability of south Asia’s transboundary basins
Over-exploitation, climate change and inadequate cooperation among countries threaten some of the world's greatest river basins, which sustain around 750 million people.
These are just some of the findings of the new report Freshwater Under Threat: South Asia produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT).
The report examines the state of freshwater resources in selected major river basins in South Asia. It identifies key threats to water resources development and management, and assesses the challenges the region faces in coping with these threats.
South Asia is home to one-fourth of the global population including some of the world's poorest people, who have access to less than 5 per cent of the planet's freshwater resources.
The three transboundary river basins assessed in the report include the largest in South Asia: the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river basin (which spans Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal), the Indus river basin (in Afghanistan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan) and the Helmand river basin (which covers Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan).
UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said: "These river systems are major economic arteries as well as social and environmental assets for South Asia. Investing in sustainable management is thus an investment in the current and future prosperity of Asia and will be a central and determining factor underpinning the transition to a resource efficient, sustainable Green Economy."
"Water is a vital resource for people's health and livelihoods, especially in South Asia where these three transboundary river basins sustain about half of the region's 1.5 billion people, and some of the poorest people in the world," said Young-Woo Park, UNEP Regional Director and Representative for Asia and the Pacific, who launched the report today at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit.
Dr Mukand Babel of AIT said that this vital resource is facing a number of threats from high population growth, unsustainable consumption patterns, poor management and use of available water resources, pollution, and inadequate investment in infrastructure as well as environmental change, particularly climate change. "This situation is exacerbated as the poor are particularly vulnerable," he added.
The report uses a vulnerability index based on resources stress, development pressure, ecological health and management challenges to assess the vulnerability of each of the river basins. Key findings of the study include:
• Climate change is likely to lead to severe water shortages in all of the basins in the long term, as about 67 per cent of Himalayan glaciers are reported to be receding, reducing the glacial runoff which feeds these rivers.
• Water resources in the Indus and Helmand river basins are highly vulnerable. This is mainly due to ecological insecurity illustrated by decreasing vegetation cover and declining water quality.
• The Indus Basin is the most resource stressed, based on water availability per person and variation in precipitation, and at the same time, most exploited among the three river basins.
• The GBM and Helmand basins are not currently water stressed, but uneven endowment and exploitation point to the need for basin-wide development and management. Management challenges pose the greatest risk for the GBM basin, which is also highly vulnerable.
• Groundwater levels are declining at a rate of two to four metres per year in many parts of the GBM and Indus basins due to intense pumping, which threatens soil and water quality and results in salt water intrusion into groundwater aquifers.
The report says urgent policy attention and accelerated research into the impact of climate change on water resources, infrastructure and management practices are necessary to avoid serious water-related vulnerability in the future. The report calls for improved cooperation among the riparian countries and integrated basin management.
Freshwater Under Threat: South Asia is the first of a series produced by UNEP that covers three sub-regions, North East Asia, South Asia and South East Asia. A similar assessment was completed for selected river basins in Africa. They are intended to complement the efforts of governments, non-governmental organisations and development agencies engaged in improving the status of water systems in Asia. In addition, they provide the knowledge and understanding necessary for forward-looking cooperation among riparian states regarding competing water demands.
Over-exploitation, climate change and inadequate cooperation among countries threaten some of the world's greatest river basins, which sustain around 750 million people.
These are just some of the findings of the new report Freshwater Under Threat: South Asia produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT).
The report examines the state of freshwater resources in selected major river basins in South Asia. It identifies key threats to water resources development and management, and assesses the challenges the region faces in coping with these threats.
South Asia is home to one-fourth of the global population including some of the world's poorest people, who have access to less than 5 per cent of the planet's freshwater resources.
The three transboundary river basins assessed in the report include the largest in South Asia: the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river basin (which spans Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal), the Indus river basin (in Afghanistan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan) and the Helmand river basin (which covers Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan).
UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said: "These river systems are major economic arteries as well as social and environmental assets for South Asia. Investing in sustainable management is thus an investment in the current and future prosperity of Asia and will be a central and determining factor underpinning the transition to a resource efficient, sustainable Green Economy."
"Water is a vital resource for people's health and livelihoods, especially in South Asia where these three transboundary river basins sustain about half of the region's 1.5 billion people, and some of the poorest people in the world," said Young-Woo Park, UNEP Regional Director and Representative for Asia and the Pacific, who launched the report today at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit.
Dr Mukand Babel of AIT said that this vital resource is facing a number of threats from high population growth, unsustainable consumption patterns, poor management and use of available water resources, pollution, and inadequate investment in infrastructure as well as environmental change, particularly climate change. "This situation is exacerbated as the poor are particularly vulnerable," he added.
The report uses a vulnerability index based on resources stress, development pressure, ecological health and management challenges to assess the vulnerability of each of the river basins. Key findings of the study include:
• Climate change is likely to lead to severe water shortages in all of the basins in the long term, as about 67 per cent of Himalayan glaciers are reported to be receding, reducing the glacial runoff which feeds these rivers.
• Water resources in the Indus and Helmand river basins are highly vulnerable. This is mainly due to ecological insecurity illustrated by decreasing vegetation cover and declining water quality.
• The Indus Basin is the most resource stressed, based on water availability per person and variation in precipitation, and at the same time, most exploited among the three river basins.
• The GBM and Helmand basins are not currently water stressed, but uneven endowment and exploitation point to the need for basin-wide development and management. Management challenges pose the greatest risk for the GBM basin, which is also highly vulnerable.
• Groundwater levels are declining at a rate of two to four metres per year in many parts of the GBM and Indus basins due to intense pumping, which threatens soil and water quality and results in salt water intrusion into groundwater aquifers.
The report says urgent policy attention and accelerated research into the impact of climate change on water resources, infrastructure and management practices are necessary to avoid serious water-related vulnerability in the future. The report calls for improved cooperation among the riparian countries and integrated basin management.
Freshwater Under Threat: South Asia is the first of a series produced by UNEP that covers three sub-regions, North East Asia, South Asia and South East Asia. A similar assessment was completed for selected river basins in Africa. They are intended to complement the efforts of governments, non-governmental organisations and development agencies engaged in improving the status of water systems in Asia. In addition, they provide the knowledge and understanding necessary for forward-looking cooperation among riparian states regarding competing water demands.
Cleaning Up the Contaminated Groundwater
Cleaning up the dangerous contaminants — dry-cleaning fluids, solvents and petroleum hydrocarbons — found in underground water presents one of the most urgent challenges facing environmental science. A report issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sheds light on a new way to monitor and improve the success of clean-up efforts using a technique developed at the University of Toronto.
"The most common method to clean-up groundwater is biodegradation — using microbes to consume the contaminants and break them down into more benign end products that are not harmful to the environment," says University of Toronto geochemist Barbara Sherwood Lollar, the scientist who initiated the concept and goals for the EPA report and is one of its five international authors.
The report outlines how this can be done using a novel technique called Compound Specific Isotope Analysis, developed in University of Toronto's Stable Isotope Laboratory. The elements of carbon that form the basis for the hydrocarbon contaminants actually come in two types called isotopes, explains Sherwood Lollar. "When microbes degrade contaminants, they prefer the lighter isotope carbon 12 over the heavier isotope carbon 13. The resulting change in the ratio of these isotopes in the contaminant itself is a dramatic and definitive indicator that the biodegradation is successfully taking place."
Beginning in the 1990s, University of Toronto's Stable Isotope Laboratory has been an international pioneer in discovering how different carbon isotopes can be used to identify whether or not biodegradation is taking place. "Today, dozens of students in Canada have been trained in this method, drawn in by the fascinating combination of fundamental research that has important applications such as the clean-up of drinking water," says Sherwood Lollar. Over the past decade, as the new technique has become more widespread, centres for research and education have blossomed worldwide.
"Much of the research on new methods of analysing groundwater contamination has been published in scientific and professional journals but this report, written specifically for the practitioners in accessible language with clear procedural information and decision-making strategies, is a milestone," says Sherwood Lollar. "It is particularly gratifying to be able to take a technique out of the lab and to put it into the hands of the people working on this issue every day around the world."
"The most common method to clean-up groundwater is biodegradation — using microbes to consume the contaminants and break them down into more benign end products that are not harmful to the environment," says University of Toronto geochemist Barbara Sherwood Lollar, the scientist who initiated the concept and goals for the EPA report and is one of its five international authors.
The report outlines how this can be done using a novel technique called Compound Specific Isotope Analysis, developed in University of Toronto's Stable Isotope Laboratory. The elements of carbon that form the basis for the hydrocarbon contaminants actually come in two types called isotopes, explains Sherwood Lollar. "When microbes degrade contaminants, they prefer the lighter isotope carbon 12 over the heavier isotope carbon 13. The resulting change in the ratio of these isotopes in the contaminant itself is a dramatic and definitive indicator that the biodegradation is successfully taking place."
Beginning in the 1990s, University of Toronto's Stable Isotope Laboratory has been an international pioneer in discovering how different carbon isotopes can be used to identify whether or not biodegradation is taking place. "Today, dozens of students in Canada have been trained in this method, drawn in by the fascinating combination of fundamental research that has important applications such as the clean-up of drinking water," says Sherwood Lollar. Over the past decade, as the new technique has become more widespread, centres for research and education have blossomed worldwide.
"Much of the research on new methods of analysing groundwater contamination has been published in scientific and professional journals but this report, written specifically for the practitioners in accessible language with clear procedural information and decision-making strategies, is a milestone," says Sherwood Lollar. "It is particularly gratifying to be able to take a technique out of the lab and to put it into the hands of the people working on this issue every day around the world."
Urban Trees Enhance Water Infiltration
A group of scientists investigate innovative ways to manage urban storm water runoff.
Global land use patterns and increasing pressures on water resources demand creative urban storm water management. Traditional storm water management focuses on regulating the flow of runoff to waterways, but generally does little to restore the hydrologic cycle disrupted by extensive pavement and compacted urban soils with low permeability. The lack of infiltration opportunities affects groundwater recharge and has negative repercussions on water quality downstream. Researchers know that urban forests, like rural forest land, can play a pivotal role in storm water mitigation, but developing approaches that exploit the ability of trees to handle storm water is difficult in highly built city cores or in urban sprawl where asphalt can be the dominant cover feature.
A group of researchers from Virginia Tech, Cornell, and University of California at Davis have been investigating innovative ways to maximise the potential of trees to address storm water in a series of studies supported by the US Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Grants Program. The results of the studies were published in a recent issue of the Journal of Environmental Quality.
Virginia Tech scientists used two container experiments to establish that urban tree roots have the potential to penetrate compacted sub-soils and increase infiltration rates in reservoirs being used to store storm water. In one study, roots of both black oak and red maple trees penetrated clay loam soil compacted to 1.6 g cm-3, increasing infiltration rates by an average of 153 per cent.
In another experiment, researchers created a small-scale version of the storm water best management practice (BMP) under study by the three universities. This BMP includes a below-pavement storm water detention reservoir constructed of structural soil. Structural soils are engineered mixes designed to both support pavement loads and simultaneously provide rooting space for trees. In this study, green ash trees increased the average infiltration rate by 27 fold compared with unplanted controls. In the experiment, a structural soil reservoir was separated from compacted clay loam subsoil (1.6 g cm 3) by a woven geotextile in 102-liter containers. The roots of ash trees planted in the structural soil penetrated both the geotextile and the subsoil within two years.
“Although we observed many roots penetrating the geotextile, roots really proliferated where there was a slight tear in the fabric,” said Susan Day, the project’s lead investigator. “Manipulating root penetration through these separation geotextiles could potentially play a large role in bio-retention system function and design, especially since the potentially saturated soils beneath detention reservoirs may have reduced soil strength, increasing opportunities for root growth by some species.”
Structural soil reservoirs may thus provide new opportunities for meeting engineering, environmental, and green space management needs in urban areas. Further research is needed on the effects of tree roots and detention time on water quality in structural soils. Monitoring continues at four demonstration sites around the country and updated information is posted as it becomes available at www.cnr.vt.edu/urbanforestry/stormwater.
Global land use patterns and increasing pressures on water resources demand creative urban storm water management. Traditional storm water management focuses on regulating the flow of runoff to waterways, but generally does little to restore the hydrologic cycle disrupted by extensive pavement and compacted urban soils with low permeability. The lack of infiltration opportunities affects groundwater recharge and has negative repercussions on water quality downstream. Researchers know that urban forests, like rural forest land, can play a pivotal role in storm water mitigation, but developing approaches that exploit the ability of trees to handle storm water is difficult in highly built city cores or in urban sprawl where asphalt can be the dominant cover feature.
A group of researchers from Virginia Tech, Cornell, and University of California at Davis have been investigating innovative ways to maximise the potential of trees to address storm water in a series of studies supported by the US Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Grants Program. The results of the studies were published in a recent issue of the Journal of Environmental Quality.
Virginia Tech scientists used two container experiments to establish that urban tree roots have the potential to penetrate compacted sub-soils and increase infiltration rates in reservoirs being used to store storm water. In one study, roots of both black oak and red maple trees penetrated clay loam soil compacted to 1.6 g cm-3, increasing infiltration rates by an average of 153 per cent.
In another experiment, researchers created a small-scale version of the storm water best management practice (BMP) under study by the three universities. This BMP includes a below-pavement storm water detention reservoir constructed of structural soil. Structural soils are engineered mixes designed to both support pavement loads and simultaneously provide rooting space for trees. In this study, green ash trees increased the average infiltration rate by 27 fold compared with unplanted controls. In the experiment, a structural soil reservoir was separated from compacted clay loam subsoil (1.6 g cm 3) by a woven geotextile in 102-liter containers. The roots of ash trees planted in the structural soil penetrated both the geotextile and the subsoil within two years.
“Although we observed many roots penetrating the geotextile, roots really proliferated where there was a slight tear in the fabric,” said Susan Day, the project’s lead investigator. “Manipulating root penetration through these separation geotextiles could potentially play a large role in bio-retention system function and design, especially since the potentially saturated soils beneath detention reservoirs may have reduced soil strength, increasing opportunities for root growth by some species.”
Structural soil reservoirs may thus provide new opportunities for meeting engineering, environmental, and green space management needs in urban areas. Further research is needed on the effects of tree roots and detention time on water quality in structural soils. Monitoring continues at four demonstration sites around the country and updated information is posted as it becomes available at www.cnr.vt.edu/urbanforestry/stormwater.
Water Pollution and Declining Male Fertility
New research strengthens the link between water pollution and rising male fertility problems. The study, by Brunel University, the Universities of Exeter and Reading and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, shows for the first time how a group of testosterone-blocking chemicals is finding its way into UK rivers, affecting wildlife and potentially humans. The research was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council and is now published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
The study identified a new group of chemicals that act as ‘anti-androgens’. This means that they inhibit the function of the male hormone, testosterone, reducing male fertility. Some of these are contained in medicines, including cancer treatments, pharmaceutical treatments and pesticides used in agriculture. The research suggests that when they get into the water system, these chemicals may play a pivotal role in causing feminising effects in male fish.
Earlier research by Brunel University and the University of Exeter has shown how female sex hormones (estrogens), and chemicals that mimic estrogens, are leading to ‘feminisation’ of male fish. Found in some industrial chemicals and the contraceptive pill, they enter rivers via sewage treatment works. This causes reproductive problems by reducing fish breeding capability and in some cases can lead to male fish changing sex.
Other studies have also suggested that there may be a link between this phenomenon and the increase in human male fertility problems caused by testicular dysgenesis syndrome. Until now, this link lacked credence because the list of suspects causing effects in fish was limited to estrogenic chemicals whilst testicular dysgenesis is known to be caused by exposure to a range of anti-androgens.
Lead author on the research paper, Dr Susan Jobling at Brunel University’s Institute for the Environment, said: “We have been working intensively in this field for over ten years. The new research findings illustrate the complexities in unravelling chemical causation of adverse health effects in wildlife populations and re-open the possibility of a human – wildlife connection in which effects seen in wild fish and in humans are caused by similar combinations of chemicals. We have identified a new group of chemicals in our study on fish, but do not know where they are coming from. A principal aim of our work is now to identify the source of these pollutants and work with regulators and relevant industry to test the effects of a mixture of these chemicals and the already known environmental estrogens and help protect environmental health.”
Senior author Professor Charles Tyler of the University of Exeter said: ”Our research shows that a much wider range of chemicals than we previously thought is leading to hormone disruption in fish. This means that the pollutants causing these problems are likely to be coming from a wide variety of sources. Our findings also strengthen the argument for the cocktail of chemicals in our water leading to hormone disruption in fish, and contributing to the rise in male reproductive problems. There are likely to be many reasons behind the rise in male fertility problems in humans, but these findings could reveal one, previously unknown, factor.”
The research took more than three years to complete and the team is now focusing on identifying the source of anti-androgenic chemicals, as well as continuing to study their impact on reproductive health in wildlife and humans.
The study identified a new group of chemicals that act as ‘anti-androgens’. This means that they inhibit the function of the male hormone, testosterone, reducing male fertility. Some of these are contained in medicines, including cancer treatments, pharmaceutical treatments and pesticides used in agriculture. The research suggests that when they get into the water system, these chemicals may play a pivotal role in causing feminising effects in male fish.
Earlier research by Brunel University and the University of Exeter has shown how female sex hormones (estrogens), and chemicals that mimic estrogens, are leading to ‘feminisation’ of male fish. Found in some industrial chemicals and the contraceptive pill, they enter rivers via sewage treatment works. This causes reproductive problems by reducing fish breeding capability and in some cases can lead to male fish changing sex.
Other studies have also suggested that there may be a link between this phenomenon and the increase in human male fertility problems caused by testicular dysgenesis syndrome. Until now, this link lacked credence because the list of suspects causing effects in fish was limited to estrogenic chemicals whilst testicular dysgenesis is known to be caused by exposure to a range of anti-androgens.
Lead author on the research paper, Dr Susan Jobling at Brunel University’s Institute for the Environment, said: “We have been working intensively in this field for over ten years. The new research findings illustrate the complexities in unravelling chemical causation of adverse health effects in wildlife populations and re-open the possibility of a human – wildlife connection in which effects seen in wild fish and in humans are caused by similar combinations of chemicals. We have identified a new group of chemicals in our study on fish, but do not know where they are coming from. A principal aim of our work is now to identify the source of these pollutants and work with regulators and relevant industry to test the effects of a mixture of these chemicals and the already known environmental estrogens and help protect environmental health.”
Senior author Professor Charles Tyler of the University of Exeter said: ”Our research shows that a much wider range of chemicals than we previously thought is leading to hormone disruption in fish. This means that the pollutants causing these problems are likely to be coming from a wide variety of sources. Our findings also strengthen the argument for the cocktail of chemicals in our water leading to hormone disruption in fish, and contributing to the rise in male reproductive problems. There are likely to be many reasons behind the rise in male fertility problems in humans, but these findings could reveal one, previously unknown, factor.”
The research took more than three years to complete and the team is now focusing on identifying the source of anti-androgenic chemicals, as well as continuing to study their impact on reproductive health in wildlife and humans.
Coke Sued for Fraudulent Claims on Obesity-Promoting "VitaminWater"
vitamins + water + sugar + hype = soda - bubbles
The Coca-Cola Company has been served notice of a class action lawsuit filed over what the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) says are deceptive and unsubstantiated claims on its VitaminWater line of beverages. Coke markets VitaminWater as a healthful alternative to soda by labeling its several flavours with such health buzz words as "defense," "rescue," "energy," and "endurance." The company makes a wide range of dramatic claims, including that its drinks variously reduce the risk of chronic disease, reduce the risk of eye disease, promote healthy joints, and support optimal immune function.
In fact, according to CSPI nutritionists, the 33 grams of sugar in each bottle of VitaminWater do more to promote obesity, diabetes, and other health problems than the vitamins in the drinks do to perform the advertised benefits listed on the bottles.
CSPI's litigation department is serving as co-counsel in the suit, filed yesterday in United States District Court in the Northern District of California. The other law firms involved in the case are Reese Richman LLP and Whatley Drake & Kallas, LLC.
VitaminWater contains between zero and one percent juice despite product names such as “endurance peach mango” and “focus kiwi strawberry.”
"When I bought VitaminWater, frankly I thought I was doing myself a favour health-wise," said the plaintiff, San Francisco, California, resident James Koh, who used to purchase and drink VitaminWater after working out at the gym. "I was attracted by the prospect of getting extra vitamins. But I had no idea that I was actually getting almost a Coke’s worth of sugar and calories. There’s no way I would have spent money on that, had I known."
VitaminWater's website, marketing copy, and labels claim that VitaminWater is healthy, claiming, for example, that "balance cran-grapefruit" has "bioactive components" that promote "healthy, pain-free functioning of joints, structural integrity of joints and bones" and that the nutrients in “power-c dragonfruit" "enable the body to exert physical power by contributing to the structural integrity of the musculoskeletal system."
While it is true that vitamins do play various roles in the human body, the statements on VitaminWater labels go far beyond even the loose, so-called "structure/function claims" allowed by the Food and Drug Administration and cross the line into outright fraud, according to CSPI.
Moreover, VitaminWater contains between zero and one percent juice, despite the full names of the drinks, which include "endurance peach mango" and "focus kiwi strawberry," and "xxx blueberry pomegranate acai," among others. A press release for the "xxx" drink claims its antioxidants makes the drinker "last longer" in some unspecified way; in any event, it has no blueberry, pomegranate, or acai juice, nor do the others have any cranberry, grapefruit, dragon fruit, peach, mango, kiwi, or strawberry juice.
According to documents filed in 2007 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Coke acknowledged that "obesity and other health concerns may reduce demand for some of [its] products," and that "increasing public awareness" about health experts’ concerns over sugar-sweetened beverage could affect the company's profitability. That year, Coke acquired VitaminWater's parent company, Glaceau. Also in 2007, CSPI sued Coke and its partner Nestlé over an artificially sweetened green-tea-based drink called Enviga. The companies claim Enviga burns more calories than it consumes, resulting in weight loss—a claim that CSPI says is not supported by the small number of studies on the drink's ingredients.
"Coke fears, probably correctly, that they’ll sell less soda as Americans become increasingly concerned with obesity, diabetes, and other conditions linked to diets too high in sugar," said CSPI litigation director Steve Gardner. "VitaminWater is Coke's attempt to dress up soda in a physician's white coat. Underneath, it’s still sugar water, albeit sugar water that costs about ten bucks a gallon." VitaminWater typically retails for about $1.49 for a 20-ounce bottle.
"My advice to consumers is to get your vitamins from real food," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "If you have reason to believe you have a shortcoming of one vitamin or another, perhaps take an inexpensive supplement. But don't seek out your vitamins in sugary soft drinks like Coke’s VitaminWater."
Since 2005, CSPI's litigation project has, on its own or in cooperation with private law firms, negotiated settlements or voluntary changes to marketing practices with Anheuser-Busch, Airborne, Kellogg, Frito-Lay, Quaker Oats, Pinnacle Foods and others. Whatley, Drake & Kallas, LLC is a 35-lawyer firm with offices in Birmingham, New York City, and Boston which concentrates on complex class action and derivative litigation, including consumer, healthcare, insurance, employee benefits, antitrust, securities, and mass tort litigation. Reese Richman LLP handles commercial litigation with a focus on consumer, antitrust, and securities class actions.
The Coca-Cola Company has been served notice of a class action lawsuit filed over what the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) says are deceptive and unsubstantiated claims on its VitaminWater line of beverages. Coke markets VitaminWater as a healthful alternative to soda by labeling its several flavours with such health buzz words as "defense," "rescue," "energy," and "endurance." The company makes a wide range of dramatic claims, including that its drinks variously reduce the risk of chronic disease, reduce the risk of eye disease, promote healthy joints, and support optimal immune function.
In fact, according to CSPI nutritionists, the 33 grams of sugar in each bottle of VitaminWater do more to promote obesity, diabetes, and other health problems than the vitamins in the drinks do to perform the advertised benefits listed on the bottles.
CSPI's litigation department is serving as co-counsel in the suit, filed yesterday in United States District Court in the Northern District of California. The other law firms involved in the case are Reese Richman LLP and Whatley Drake & Kallas, LLC.
VitaminWater contains between zero and one percent juice despite product names such as “endurance peach mango” and “focus kiwi strawberry.”
"When I bought VitaminWater, frankly I thought I was doing myself a favour health-wise," said the plaintiff, San Francisco, California, resident James Koh, who used to purchase and drink VitaminWater after working out at the gym. "I was attracted by the prospect of getting extra vitamins. But I had no idea that I was actually getting almost a Coke’s worth of sugar and calories. There’s no way I would have spent money on that, had I known."
VitaminWater's website, marketing copy, and labels claim that VitaminWater is healthy, claiming, for example, that "balance cran-grapefruit" has "bioactive components" that promote "healthy, pain-free functioning of joints, structural integrity of joints and bones" and that the nutrients in “power-c dragonfruit" "enable the body to exert physical power by contributing to the structural integrity of the musculoskeletal system."
While it is true that vitamins do play various roles in the human body, the statements on VitaminWater labels go far beyond even the loose, so-called "structure/function claims" allowed by the Food and Drug Administration and cross the line into outright fraud, according to CSPI.
Moreover, VitaminWater contains between zero and one percent juice, despite the full names of the drinks, which include "endurance peach mango" and "focus kiwi strawberry," and "xxx blueberry pomegranate acai," among others. A press release for the "xxx" drink claims its antioxidants makes the drinker "last longer" in some unspecified way; in any event, it has no blueberry, pomegranate, or acai juice, nor do the others have any cranberry, grapefruit, dragon fruit, peach, mango, kiwi, or strawberry juice.
According to documents filed in 2007 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Coke acknowledged that "obesity and other health concerns may reduce demand for some of [its] products," and that "increasing public awareness" about health experts’ concerns over sugar-sweetened beverage could affect the company's profitability. That year, Coke acquired VitaminWater's parent company, Glaceau. Also in 2007, CSPI sued Coke and its partner Nestlé over an artificially sweetened green-tea-based drink called Enviga. The companies claim Enviga burns more calories than it consumes, resulting in weight loss—a claim that CSPI says is not supported by the small number of studies on the drink's ingredients.
"Coke fears, probably correctly, that they’ll sell less soda as Americans become increasingly concerned with obesity, diabetes, and other conditions linked to diets too high in sugar," said CSPI litigation director Steve Gardner. "VitaminWater is Coke's attempt to dress up soda in a physician's white coat. Underneath, it’s still sugar water, albeit sugar water that costs about ten bucks a gallon." VitaminWater typically retails for about $1.49 for a 20-ounce bottle.
"My advice to consumers is to get your vitamins from real food," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "If you have reason to believe you have a shortcoming of one vitamin or another, perhaps take an inexpensive supplement. But don't seek out your vitamins in sugary soft drinks like Coke’s VitaminWater."
Since 2005, CSPI's litigation project has, on its own or in cooperation with private law firms, negotiated settlements or voluntary changes to marketing practices with Anheuser-Busch, Airborne, Kellogg, Frito-Lay, Quaker Oats, Pinnacle Foods and others. Whatley, Drake & Kallas, LLC is a 35-lawyer firm with offices in Birmingham, New York City, and Boston which concentrates on complex class action and derivative litigation, including consumer, healthcare, insurance, employee benefits, antitrust, securities, and mass tort litigation. Reese Richman LLP handles commercial litigation with a focus on consumer, antitrust, and securities class actions.
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