Download GDA 2007 Press Release
The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives / Global Anti Incinerator Alliance (GAIA) would like to invite all GAIA members and other allied groups to join our 6th Global Day of Action against Waste and Incineration on 28th November 2007.
As the campaign to prevent climate change is gaining ground, there still an immense need to connect this environmental challenge to issues pertaining to waste. Since the climate change debate has also become entwined with the discussion on the energy generation and consumption, it is important that we uncover the truth behind generating energy from waste that is being pushed by incinerator and landfill industries as green and renewable. We see the 2007 GDA as an opportunity to raise our concerns on waste and climate change by organizing build-up activities preceding the UNFCCC (COP 13) on December 3 to 14, 2007 in Bali , Indonesia.
The working theme for the 2007 Global Day of Action against Waste and Incineration will be “Zero Waste, Zero Warming: Dirty Technologies Will Not Clean the World.” By “dirty technologies” – we mean landfills, dumpsites, incinerators of all types, cement kilns burning wastes. Studies show that waste prevention, reduction and recycling can result in big energy savings since the demand for raw materials extraction is reduced.
GDA 2007 will draw attention to the need for safe and sustainable alternatives to end- of- pipe waste management processes that will genuinely reduce generation of greenhouse gases, promote conservation of our diminishing resources and protect human health and the environment from further toxicity.
12.11.2007 – 15.11.2007
INVITATION TO CAIWA 2007:
Dear Colleague,
The “1st International Conference on Adaptive & Integrated Water Management: Coping with complexity and uncertainty” (CAIWA 2007) will be held November 12 – 15, 2007 in Basel, Switzerland. The conference will provide a multidisciplinary platform and bring together scientists from academia, industry, and policy making/government to analyse progress, to explore new research directions and highlight policy implications of scientific findings.
It will focus on basic research findings across all sectors of adaptive and integrated water resource management. Furthermore it will share the major scientific insights from the NeWater project with the wider scientific community and embed it into the current scientific debate in all relevant themes.
The conference will be divided between scientific contributions (3 days) and practitioner insights (1 day). Furthermore it will be possible to organise special workshops under the auspices of CAIWA 2007. For further information and calls for workshops, full papers, and extended abstracts please visit the conference website , find the conference flyer attached, or send email inquiries to caiwa@usf.uos.de .
It would be greatly appreciated, if you could forward this information to your colleagues, friends, students, or any one who may be interested in the conference.
With best regards
Claudia Pahl-Wostl and
CAIWA 2007 Organising Committee
caiwa@usf.uos.de
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Healthy Environment for Our Children – Healthy Generation for Armenia
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Partnerships for Achieving Chemical Safety in Armenia
Regional Conference, 29-31, October, 2007
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Press release in English and in Armenian
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Presentations (PDF)
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Photos
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08.10.2007 – 14.10.2007
WECF takes part in the UNECE “Environment for Europe” Conference and organises it’s own network meeting.
Background
The “Environment for Europe” process is a unique partnership of the member States within the UNECE region, organizations of the United Nations system represented in the region, other intergovernmental organizations, regional environment centers, non-governmental organizations and other major groups that take a part in improving environmental protection and sustainable development issues in Europe.
The conference is in two parts:
The Eco-Forum conference from October 8 – 10, 2007
The UNECE Enviroment for Europe conference from October 10-12, 2007
WECF network meeting
WECF is preparing its network meeting from October 12-15, 2007 in Belgrade. The meeting will take part right after the Ministerial conference.
In the coming weeks more information will follow on the agenda, meetings places, and accomodation.
WECF network meeting invitation .
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The 6th Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe” will take place from October 10-12, 2007 in Belgrade, Serbia.
WECF and EEB, Eco-Accord are supporting the European ECO-Forum to prepare the NGO input.
The main focus will be made on the evaluation of implementation of decisions made in the framework of the Environment for Europe process since 1991 till now and the preparation of ECOs recommendations and statement for the Ministerial Conference in Belgrade.
For more information, contact Mara Silina, EEB at
mara.silina@eeb.org
20.09.2007 – 22.09.2007
Dear Friends,
I would like to inform you that next year the 9TH INTERNATIONAL HCH AND PESTICIDES FORUM is going to be organized by the Moldova Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources on 20-22 September 2007, Chisinau.
In this respect we are pleased to invite you to participate in the 9th International HCH and Pesticide Forum.
Details about the 9th International HCH and Pesticide Forum can be found here .
With best regards,
John Vijgen
Director
International HCH & Pesticides Association
Elmevej 14
DK-2840 Holte
Phone: +45 45 41 03 21
Email: john.vijgen@get2net.dk
Website: www.ihpa.info
| What is the hole in your bucket? | ||
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Henry! Fetch me some water! There’s a hole in my bucket dear Liza, dear Liza There’s a hole in my bucket dear Liza, a hole. Well, fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, Well, fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it
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So tell us, what is the hole in your bucket? |
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THE WOMEN FOR WATER PARTNERSHIP, WETLANDS INTERNATIONAL and WATER RIGHTS FOUNDATION INVITE YOU TO OUR SEMINAR: What is the hole in your bucket?
Equal opportunities in IWRM and WATSAN through functional networking: from principles to practises World Water Week – 17 AUGUST 2007 – Folkets Hus – 13.30 hrs |
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Every water and sanitation organisation has it’s leaky issues – corruption, poor governance, gender biases, limited incomes, lack of awareness, limited technology, need for capacity building, etc.. The Women for Water partners work worldwide towards improving water management practices and enhancing the access of marginalised groups to water & sanitation. We are both critical and loyal partners in problem analysis, project design, implementation and evaluation. We strategize and negotiate on behalf of people who have poor or no access to water and sanitation. And we are eager to share our experiences and intrinsic knowledge with policy makers, entrepreneurs, technicians, project implementers and scientists. In the course of our work we often come across fundamental problems that need to be addressed so that a project can truly provide a sustainable solution and have a long-term effect on the livelihoods of these people and communities. We call them the holes in the bucket . Unless those holes are mended before we fetch the water, it will continue to leak out and benefits will never reach the intended communities. |
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So fix it!
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This is your chance to tell us and the whole world what your hole in the bucket is and, if you already have ideas, how to fix it. |
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Tell us what your hole in the bucket is at: www.womenforwater.org |
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Updated: Friday 3 August 2007
In its most comprehensive study yet on the topic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has stressed the need for more research on children’s exposure to chemicals, arguing that it may be the origin of cancer, heart disease and chronic respiratory disease later in life. The report comes only months after the EU adopted sweeping new legislation on chemicals control, called REACH.
Related:
LinksDossier: Environment and health strategy (SCALE)
LinksDossier: Biomonitoring in health & environment policy-making
LinksDossier: Implementing the EU’s new chemicals law (REACH)
Background:
Other related news
- WHO: Diseases can be prevented by environment action
- NGOs urge precautionary principle in use of nanomaterials
- Biomonitoring still perceived as ‘controversial’ science
- EU’s REACH law enters into force amid controversy
- Member states accused of ‘cheating’ on bathing-water quality
The European Environment & Health Strategy , adopted in June 2003, aims to reduce the disease burden caused by environmental factors in the EU. The Action Plan 2004-2010 puts the emphasis on the most vulnerable groups, particularly children, and highlights the need to develop a good information base, including a coordinated approach and more research into human biomonitoring (measuring pollutants in human tissues and fluids).
The June 2007 mid-term review of the Action Plan reiterates the special attention given to vulnerable groups and states that the Commission will gradually step up its effort to exploit the outcomes of several research projects in order to translate their results into policy action. The annexe to the review highlights progress made by several research projects so far.
The EU law on chemicals REACH entered into force on 1 July 2007. It changes the way chemicals are approved in Europe , placing the burden on businesses to prove their products are safe before they can be placed on the market.
Issues:
“Air and water contaminants, pesticides in food, lead in soil, as well many other environmental threats which alter the delicate organism of a growing child may cause or worsen disease and induce developmental problems,” states the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) first-ever report highlighting children’s vulnerability to exposure to harmful chemicals at different stages of development.
The report is described as the most comprehensive work yet undertaken on the scientific principles to be considered in assessing health risks in children associated with exposure to chemicals . These principles are expected to help researchers, policy-makers and the health sector design improved child-protection risk assessments and tailored interventions.
According to the WHO, the stage in a child’s development when exposure occurs may be just as important as the magnitude of the exposure. “Children are especially vulnerable and respond differently to adults when exposed to environmental factors, and this response may differ according to the different periods of development they are going through,” said Dr Terri Damstra from the WHO explaining that, for example, children’s lungs are not even fully developed at the age of eight, and that “lung maturation may be altered by air pollutants that induce acute respiratory effects in childhood and may be the origin of chronic respiratory disease later in life”.
The organisation highlights the fact that over 30% of the global burden of disease in children can be attributed to environmental factors and states that evidence suggests an increased risk of diseases, such as cancer and heart disease, in adults, that is partly due to exposure to certain environmental chemicals during childhood.
Positions:
The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) states that it has “continuously contributed to increasing scientific knowledge by investing in research and has improved its products and processes accordingly.”
“The chemical industry calls for a sustainable and integrated approach that addresses real health priorities and seeks efficient solutions that lead to improvements in public health in Europe . Societal requirements for economic, social, environment and health improvement need to be balanced within the ongoing WHO process,” said Cefic Research & Innovation Executive Director Gernot Klotz.
According to the chairman of the French cancer research organisation ARTAC , Prof. Dominique Belpomme, the cancer rate among newborn babies has risen by a steady 1% every year in the past 20 years. “It is obvious [that the rise in cancer] is due to chemical pollution”, he said, arguing that foetuses are exposed to “hundreds of chemicals” in the womb (see EurActiv 18/10/2006 ).
Latest & next steps:
- 13-15 June 2007 : The WHO held an intergovernmental mid-term review of the 2004 Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe .
Links:
- European project: European Human Biomonitoring Homepage
- PreLex: Commission communication on “Mid Term Review of the European Environment and Health Action Plan 2004-2010” [FR] [DE]
- Commission communication: Mid Term Review of the European Environment and Health Action Plan 2004-2010 (11 June 2007) [FR] [DE] [technical annexes]
- Joint Research Centre: Physical & Chemical Exposure Unit
- Commission: European Environment and Health Homepage
- WHO Regional Office for Europe – European Environment and Health Committee: Intergovernmental Midterm Review (IMR) – Children’s Health and the Environment in Europe: Baseline Assessment: Executive summary of the EHIS-based report (June 2007)
- World Health Organisation: Principles for Evaluating Health Risks in Children Associated with Exposure to Chemicals (27 July 2007)
- World Health Organisation press release: New WHO report tackles children’s environmental health (27 July 2007) [FR]
- World Health Organisation: Environmental health
- WHO Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health: Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (June 2004)
- Cefic press release: European chemical industry urges WHO to focus its efforts on priorities (13 June 2007)
- Health & Environment Alliance (HEAL): Workshop Report “Stopping children’s chemical contamination” (16 April 2007)
Dear colleagues,
Lesha Witmer sent information about PhD courses organized by DHI Women’s Water Fund. The DHI Women’s Water Fund has been created as an initiative benefiting from the “King Hassan II Great World Water Prize” presented to Prof. Torkil Jønch Clausen of DHI at the Fourth World Water Forum in Mexico in 2006. The objective of the DHI Women’s Water Fund is to support women in developing countries in advancing their career opportunities in the development and management of water resources.
I applied and was selected to attend one week PhD Course in “Water Resources Management”, 4-8 June 2007, at the Danish Technical University . After courses study visit was organized. The visits included learning visits at Danish organizations in the field of water and mentoring program (Fund contributes to a year contact and support). We visited: DHI; KvinFo and Women Management; Centre for Health Research and Development, Health in Developing Countries; Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland; FIVA- Hydrology and Water Resources; Geographic resource Analysis and Science; Environmental Center Roskilde; Odense Water Ltd.; Grundfos-major Danish water industry; National Environmental Research Institute; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and Ministry of Equality.
The tour was organized in a way that besides learning we had fantastic surrounding by amazing and brilliant people.
A Diploma was issued by the Governing Board of the Fund at the end of the visit to Denmark.