World Environment Magazine, Issue 10

WORLDENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

THE ANTARCTIC OCEAN

The Ocean We Need A Blueprint for Urgent Action on Oceans from Rio+20 Brazil The Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam Project Rio Capital of Energy

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CONTENTS 4... Contributors The People Who Made this Issue 6... Foreword Cathy Chami Tyan 8... Opinion From a Smoking Ban… To a Heritage in Fumes

Climate Change

Biodiversity

Energy

Eco-Living

18... The Rio+20 Diaries How Not to Negotiate a Major World Summit and Save the World

68... Brazil The Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam Project

100... Rio Capital of Energy

145... Attune to the Cycle of Nature in Mount Lebanon

36... The Ocean We Need A Blueprint for Urgent Action on Oceans from Rio+20

10... BookReviews The Books We Love to Read Focus Story: The Antarctic 12... BookReviews/ Ocean Focus Our Favorite 46... The Ross Sea 52... Why the Antarctic Ocean the Last Great Frontier Needs Your Help

82... International Day for Biological Diversity 2012 Merging Arts with Sciences to Raise Awareness on Marine Biodiversity Environment & Business: The Green Economy

106... Changing Lives One Wind Turbine at a Time Around the World in Photos 113... Kenya Field Trip 130... The People of Yunnan

88... Quality Living Spaces 94... Wealth of Human Investments 96... Green Grocers

60... Frozen Promises for the Final Frontier

152... Clean Lebanon Preserving a Country’s Identity 154... Horseback Riding A Holistic Experience Environment & Art 158... Keeping the Streets Alive Graffiti, Between Revolution & Evolution: A Lebanese Story 166... Agenda List of Environmental Events 168... URL page

The Ross Sea Adélie Penguins Walking on Ice Photography John Weller

Chairman, Andrea Tucci, a.tucci@worldenvironment.tv. Editorial Director, Cathy Chami Tyan, c.tyan@worldenvironment.tv Editorial Project Coordinator, Marc Wiliam Lowe, m.lowe@worldenvironment.tv Editing, Hala Habib Concept & Design, RAIDY | www.raidy.com Photography, Diego Fernandez Gabaldon, Eric Haddad, Mimo Khair, Christine Najarian, John Weller, George Zahm, WE Group Sales and Advertisements, Vanessa AbdelAhad, vanessa@worldenvironment.tv, adv@worldenvironment.tv Informations, info@worldenvironment.tv Subscriptions, Subscription@worldenvironment.tv, P.O.Box 1396 Beit Mery, Lebanon Printing, RAIDY | www.raidy.com Publisher, World Environment Group Copyright, The articles become part of the magazine’s archives. Further publishings on other issues must be authorized by the editor following the author’s consent ISSN 17379229

WORLD ENVIRONMENT MAGAZINE’s policy is to use papers that are wood free, renewable, recyclable and from sustainable sources. In addition, all waste is sent for recycling.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT MAGAZINE is available online at www.worldenvironment.tv

CONTRIBUTORS Anthony Caronia Through his extensive travelling Anthony has developed a passion for photography and for documenting different ways of life, including cultural aspects such as heritage, religion, folklore, or modernization.

Roaming across the globe for valuable insight into precious knowledge from Qatar, to Bulgaria or Guatemala, he has exhibited his work in different parts of the world and has published several valuable books, including photography volumes such as Children First (1998) or Playa del Alma (2005).

Joumana RizkYarak is a communication expert and freelance writer.

She is the owner & managing director of MIRROS Communication & Media Services, an agency operating in Lebanon and the region, both in the public and private sectors in socio-economic, environmental, health, cultural, artistic and development fields.

Márcia Régis holds a passion for environmentalism and sustainability since her days as press correspondent in Jornal do Brasil and Folha de S. Paulo, two mainstream newspapers in Brazil. She has managed an array of communications, branding, government relations and social marketing projects for local and national government (Brazil and United Kingdom), for private companies in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and for international NGOs such as WWF and LEAD International. She has worked for the past United Nations summits on environment and sustainable development and more recently for Rio+20, during which she led VEJA Online coverage as senior consultant and writer.

At the moment she is based in Rio de Janeiro and runs her own private consultancy business aimed at helping multinationals to better interact with the city of Rio sustainability and development issues. Márcia holds a MA in Documentaries from Goldsmiths College, University of London.

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Todd Southgate is a Canadian environmental documentary videomaker/journalist and cinematographer residing in Brazil. He hold’s a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies from York University in Toronto, Canada.

Todd has directed, filmed and written over 50 environmental documentaries and television specials with a variety of themes such as over-fishing, illegal logging, climate change, nuclear energy and more. For the last 12 years Todd has concentrated the majority of his television skills working in one of the world’s most intriguing biomes – the Amazon.

Elsa Sattout is a PhD Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences- Notre Dame University, LouaizeLebanon.

Teacher in environmental protection and ethics, environmental sciences, environmental economy & sustainable development, she served the world communities through International and National Environmental Governances and NGOS on issues relevant to the conservation of biodiversity and sustainability. She believes in the role of Environmental Education (EE) in building better societies caring for the environment. She also worked on strengthening the role of women in EE for a greater participation in biodiversity conservation in the Arab World.

Mimo Khair A Lebanese/American freelance photographer based in Shanghai, China, has been traveling the world in the last 15 years in search for her stories and images. She began her photographic career in New York where she lived after her studies and has since exhibited and published her work globally mostly focusing on social issues, human rights and children’s rights as well as the arts.

Mimo blogs daily at: http://mimokhairphotography.com/ She lives in Shanghai with her husband and 8-year-old daughter.

Rocil Gonçalves As an environmental activist, Rocil has used her production skills for eco-friendly purposes.

She is an Executive producer in the Brazilian film industry, and has worked on a wide array of projects. These include Green Peace documentaries on climate change, the ‘Documenta Brazil’ program in co-ordination with the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, the restoration of old movies by Jean Manzon, film production, or events. She is also the director of the “Jornal RG de Florianópolis” publication.

Mona Samari As a human rights and environment protection activist for nearly a decade, From England, Mona Samari has worked on a number of issues, including Guantanamo Bay prisoners, stateless refugees in Australia, child soldiers in Africa, human trafficking in eastern Europe and child domestic workers in West Africa, reduction of maternal mortality rates campaigns as part of the Millennium Development Goals and freedom of information and expression guarantees.

In addition to human rights work, Mona has also participated in major environmental and ocean protection campaigns.

Originally Tunisian, Mona is currently working in Tunis on a project with ARTICLE 19 on guaranteeing the protection of freedom of expression in the drafting of the new constitution. Mona also works as a freelance journalist, publishing regularly in the Human Right Defender Magazine. As a keen surfer, Mona loves the ocean and everything in it - especially sharks!

Nathalie Rosa Bucher is a freelance journalist and world traveler, of French and German origins. She has set her bags in Lebanon and has become passionate of Lebanese culture and way of life. She is also a keen believer in the urgent need of renewable energy. She is currently collaborating with MIRROS Communication & Media Services on many topics amongst them environment and socio-economy.

Mazen Jannoun is a Lebanese photographer born in 1974, just before the outbreak of the Civil War in Lebanon. In the mid-nineties he became a photographer following several unsuccessful attempts at becoming something else. After shooting editorial and advertising work for many years, his interest in photo-reportage suddenly emerged. The Lebanese coast and its beaches caught his attention as a matter of concern, after he came to the realization one day that they were considered as dumps rather than a natural heritage.

Going from North to South, four years of on-and-off documentation resulted in the birth of a series of pictures depicting the spontaneous mistreatment of Lebanon’s coast. It also resulted in friendships with many wonderful people who struggle to make their livelihood from the coast and the sea.

Nicole Hamouche contributes to several publications of the Lebanese Orient le Jour press group. She publishes socio-political editorials; social, health/ bioethics and economic investigations. She also contributed to l’Orient Litteraire, a monthly literary supplement of l’Orient le jour where she wrote both investigations and literary reviews. Nicole won a Mediterranean literary award for short stories in 2010, of Concours International de Nouvelles granted by the Forum des Femmes de la Mediterranee. After July 2006 war, she was in charge of communication and media relations for the Humanitarian Aid Department at the European Commission in Lebanon. In parallel to her journalistic activities, Nicole works as a financial advisor in corporate finance, focusing on expanding SMEs looking to raise funds as well as on entrepreneurs initiating new projects. Prior to that, she has worked for international investment banks and advisory firms in Beirut and Paris, where she has lived 14 years. She has returned to Lebanon in 2004 where she is now settled. She graduated from Institut d’Etudes Politiques and from Paris Dauphine University - Masters in Economics and Finance - and fluently speaks five languages.

Diego Fernandez Gabaldon is a humanitarian worker with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) currently based in Nairobi, Kenya. He has served in Darfur, Sudan (2004 - 2007), West Timor, Indonesia (2008), Afghanistan (2010 – 2011) and Kenya (2011). While living in communities devastated by tragedy, Diego gathered images of the dayto-day life of Darfurians, West Timorese and Afghans, capturing their beauty, resilience and humanity. Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, Diego is an economist by profession, and worked with the Spanish Embassies in Iraq and Thailand, before joining WFP. Diego’s pictures can be found at: www.diegofgphoto.net

Mariejoe J. Raidy Growing up in a region known for political upheaval and uncertainty, MarieJoe advocates for doing business in the MENA region in a way that is environmentally responsible and ethically driven.

As Partner in Raidy Printing Group, she spearheaded an effort to adopt innovative, eco-friendly printing techniques while maintaining their leading position in High Quality Security Printing, Publications Printing, Packaging and Commercial Printing. Mariejoe has also partnered with Creative Lounges, a Branding and New Media Agency operating from Europe to the world, and has also helped them become a green company while growing their portfolio in the MENA region.

MarieJoe is not only focused on environmentally responsible businesses, but also establishing a norm of individual and corporate ethics. Working with the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, she helped create the “Better Business Group” in Beirut, which encourages Lebanese individuals and corporations to adhere to a code of business ethics.

MarieJoe is also head of the Communication Committee in the Lebanese League of Women in Business, a Network Hub of the MENA Businesswomen’s Network, and Child of Lebanon, an NGO for the protection of Children in Lebanon.

Steve Campbell is the Campaign Director for the Antarctic Ocean Alliance. He has nearly 20 years’ experience in environmental and social change campaigning. Steve has worked for Greenpeace in Australia, Papua New Guinea, China, Indonesia, Europe and the Pacific, as well as working for numerous grass roots organizations in Australia.

Steve holds an honors degree in law from Macquarie University, Sydney.

David Banisar is Senior Legal Counsel of ARTICLE 19, global campaign for freedom of expression and information in London.

ARTICLE 19’s briefing paper is available at www.article19.org ARTICLE 19 co-sponsored the Choosing Our Future: Open and Participatory Sustainable Development Governance workshop at Fundacao Getulio Vargas.

Duncan Lowe Born and raised in Italy, Duncan Lowe has lived in Scotland since 2008 and is a second year student of Business and Marketing at Abertay University in Dundee.

He has a particular interest in environmental issues and has completed an internship as an research assistant on issues related to green technology challenges for sustainable shipping.

Sherine Boueiz is a dynamic international professional with a keen interest in Wellbeing and a passion for Nature. A Psychologist by background, she has worked for multinationals in the United Kingdom and in the Middle East on various Corporate Communications projects, such as Corporate Social Responsibility and development. She is also devoted to activities involving health and relaxation therapies, like TaijiQuan or Natural treatments, all with the aim of improving the quality of life.

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Autumn - Winter 2012

FOREWORD With every natural disaster such as an earthquake or a storm coming to life, we realize that there is an urgency in saving the planet before it’s too late. Forty years after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, the goal of sustainable development continues via the Rio+20 conference in 2012. Now, it has become clear that the ambitious goals of the original summit has taken a turn downward burdened by the additional recommendations through the years, which has weakened it further thus resulting in a very disappointing Rio+20 to put it mildly.

Governments failed as is depicted in Dave Banisar diaries of the whole event. His diaries are informative, insightful and witty, yet, carry a tinge of frustration as we realize that nothing will move forward anytime soon. His story gives readers an opportunity to gain inside knowledge on what happened at Rio. World Environment Magazine is a forefront player in this goal and always brings to light burning issues that affect the whole world and not just some minority here or there.

For this reason each issue of WE magazine, each article, each page is dedicated to implementing change and creating awareness.

We bring to the forefront world environmental issues and latest energy sustainability experiences to keep readers abreast of what our world should be and not what it’s heading to.

In the section dedicated to green environment and business our objective is to support business leaders in creating sustainable change.

A special focus story on the beautiful Ross Sea in the Antarctica.

Due to its remoteness, the Southern Ocean was one of the last areas of the global ocean to experience direct human exploitation. Today, this remote part of the world is suffering from rapid human induced climate change, from increased carbon dioxide emissions. Regions of the ice-dominated Antarctic are some of the most rapidly changing on the planet. By the late 19th century, some species of seals were hunted almost to extinction. By the last quarter of the 20th century, some species of whales were also nearly extinct as a result of industrial exploitation.

Around the world in photos takes you to the beautiful region of Yunnan and to the refugee camps in Kenya to give us an insight into different cultures, and mostly humanity at its best.

Finally, on a lighter note WE covered the spectacular street art of painting graffiti on white walls around the city of Beirut.

Ultimately, our goal is to remain a platform for the world's most authoritative voices on climate change, alternative energy resources and sustainability.

Maybe it is time corporations are given a chance to make the earth a better place through their corporate social responsibility agenda.

As we were about to go to print we received the news that World Environment Magazine won the Green Media Award.

We would to thank all our readers and contributors who made this dream possible.

- Cathy Chami Tyan, Chief editor

pinion From a Smoking Ban… To a Heritage in Fumes For the first time in Lebanon, a civilized and much awaited law passes (banning smoking in public areas). This will essentially benefit future generations and alleviate the financial consequences of lung cancer and many other smoke-related illnesses on Social Security... and for the first time as well, Lebanese people seem to abide by such a law willingly and respectfully... But what was seen on television last week was beyond anything the human mind can comprehend: Representatives from various syndicates criticizing the law and defending the "narguileh" as being part of our cultural heritage.

Personally, I am not against the concept of shisha cafés, but I was outraged because our entire architectural heritage was destroyed before our eyes in the last 5 years (Phoenician, Ottoman, French colonial, etc....) and nobody complained. But now, everybody’s all worked-up about the "Narguileh", as if it were the core of our identity!

I would like to reiterate to those gentlemen that France and the United States for example, have the most flourishing touristic sectors in the world, and yet, one can barely smoke a cigarette in their own homes!

Tourism in Lebanon is not going to be on a rise simply because tourists are permitted to smoke in our restaurants or not. Tourism will only get better when we acknowledge the importance of our cultural identity and our environment. We should begin by building the image of a dynamic country that has low levels of pollution and enjoyable temperatures (only attained by planting thousands of trees in the capital)… a country with clean sandy beaches and turquoise waters accessible to all… a country that would offer family-oriented activities, green parks and organized ski slopes with an array of winter activities… a country that has at least one theater! a country that has a cultural added-value: a history that tourists would be interested to learn about. So it’s a form of tourism that goes beyond the spectrum of night clubs and leisure services for the selective few, which would include adequate 2 and 3 stars accommodation, with a vision of attracting a more diversified clientele.

So I believe our problem extends way beyond the cigarette ban or the political quandary... Our problem is that we lost our cultural identity, therefore leaving us with nothing sustainable to sell, with no grounds to build a long term tourism marketing strategy. This is identified as “irreparable damage”. Politicians come and go, war lords die and are forgotten, political agendas and alliances change, but a country's Heritage does not, and this is what tourists should come to experience. Nobody's visiting Lebanon to admire our horrendous concrete tours and other architectural disasters built at the expense of our heritage, or to swim in one of the most polluted seas in the world, or to live a phony version of St Tropez clubbing. If they can afford to have the real thing in France or Dubai, why would tourists come to Lebanon? Because of the Narguileh?!

The issue of our dying touristic sector remains the hardest issue to resolve (alongside the environment). This is a problem that future generations are going to suffer from indefinitely. Meanwhile, we are blinded by our arrogance, believing we are exceptionally superior because we hold the Guinness record for creating the biggest Hommos plate, while we fight cigarette bans, and witness our heritage blowing up in fumes.

- Maya Chams Ibrahimchah

WORLD ENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

BOOKREVIEWS Water Loss Management

Sustainable Buildings and Infrastructure

Tools and Methods for Developing Countries UNESCO-IHE PhD Thesis

Paths to the Future

Water losses occur in all water distribution systems worldwide and high levels are indicative of poor governance and poor physical condition of the system. Water losses vary from 3% of system input volume in the developed countries to 70% in the developing countries. This high contrast suggests that probably the existing tools and methodologies are not appropriate or cannot be directly applied for water loss reduction in the developing countries.

Published 22nd February 2012 by Routledge – 482 pages.

Construction is one of the biggest industries in the world, providing necessary facilities for human prosperity ranging from the homes in which we live to the highways we drive, the power plants that provide energy for our daily activities, and the very infrastructure on which human society is built.

By Annie Pearce, Yong Han Ahn, HanmiGlobal Co, Ltd

Evolution and Innovation in Wildlife Conservation Parks and Game Ranches to Transfrontier Conservation Areas Edited by Helen Suich, Brian Child

The crucible of innovation in wildlife and habitat conservation is in southern Africa where it has coevolved with decolonization, political transformation and the rise of development, ownership, management and livelihood debates. Charting this innovation, early chapters deal with the traditional 'fines and fences' conservation that occurred in the colonial and early postindependence period, with subsequent sections focussing on the experimentation and innovation that occurred on private and communal land as a result of the break from these traditional methods.

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Understanding Social Entrepreneurship The Relentless Pursuit of Mission in an Ever Changing World

By Jill Kickul, Thomas Lyons

Only One Earth The Long Road via Rio to Sustainable Development

By Felix Dodds, Michael Strauss, Maurice F. Strong

Forty years after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, the goal of sustainable development continues via the Rio+20 conference in 2012. This book will enable a broad readership to understand what has been achieved in the past forty years and what hasn’t.

Published 19th January 2012 by Routledge – 268 pages.

Social entrepreneurship involves the application of business practices to the pursuit of social and/or environmental mission. It brings the mindset, principles, strategies, tools and techniques of entrepreneurship to the social sector, yielding innovative solutions to the vexing problems facing society – poverty, hunger, inadequate housing and homelessness, unemployment and under-employment, illiteracy, disease, environmental degradation, etc. It finds solutions where government and private sector efforts have not.

Children, Citizenship and Environment Nurturing a Democratic Imagination in a Changing World

By Bronwyn Hayward

This book sets out an inspiring new agenda for citizenship and environmental education which reflects the responsibility and opportunities facing educators, researchers, parents and community groups to support young citizens as they learn to 'make a difference' on the issues that concern them.

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WORLD ENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

BOOKREVIEWS / FOCUS WatercolorThe Lebanese coast Mazen Jannoun Text: Maureen Ali Edition: Tamyras

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Browsing the Lebanese coast one is acknowledging men and women, habits, traditions and lifestyles. It is also a journey through the emotions and tenderness of the local population who have built a real physical relationship with the Mediterranean, this mythical sea that borders our shores and which carries so many myths and cultures.

Mazen Jannoun pointed his camera towards those moments in life that bind, from north to south, the Lebanese in the same gestures, the same gazes, the same hopes and dreams. Ă?

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“This book is at once an homage and a campaign, a love poem and a battle cry. It speaks of passion and anger, hope and despair. Mazen Jannoun’s exploration of the Lebanese coast is a voyage of discovery in search of what is, what could be and what should be.

Alternatively it is a sentimental journey, which was interrupted during the 2006 Israeli assault on Lebanon, and an expedition into the unknown.

It scrutinizes the seductive and the repulsive, the inspirational and the banal. From North to South Mazen finds beauty and degradation, committed conservation and wanton neglect. His book is a call to arms against further destruction of a precious asset that so few Lebanese seem to care about, let alone care for. From the infamous garbage mountain in Sidon, to the effluentfilled waters around the ports,

Mazen asks how this is possible.

While perusing his startling images the reader will inevitably ask the same question: how and why has this come about? In his own gentle way, through this beguiling book, Mazen Jannoun seeks to mobilize against the forces of apathy and indifference to save and rehabilitate the Lebanese coast.

He writes: “I love the Lebanese coastline and see it as one of the nicest and at the same time one of the worst maintained in the world. I wanted to give credit to our beaches yet illustrate their damage and abuse. I decided to assume the personality of a stranger visiting Lebanon for the first time to explore it through pictures. This stranger falls in love with the beach but he is also saddened.” Í 15

“There were places where I truly felt like a stranger. It was like arriving in a new country. Everything was different – the air, the sand, the pebbles, the rock formations, and even the voices of the people on the beach or in the adjacent souks had a different pitch.

The taste of a shawarma sandwich in Tyre was far better than in Beirut, and the mammoth seafood-salad sandwich at Abou Fadi’s in Tripoli’s Al-Mina is a dream come true not 16

found anywhere else.” Mazen’s deep sense of empathy for both the people and the landscape softens the impact of his occasionally brutal images, but he says: “As a photographer I try not to distort truth. Even my choice of lens should not dramatize the image excessively.” With a keen eye for detail and contrast, the interplay of subject and substance, and a delightful sense of the absurd, Mazen’s pictures seduce even as they infuriate. As he explains, “What attracted me most was the contradiction between contiguous coastal stretches. Such differences – naturally, ecologically and culturally – are a study in incongruity, from the utterly conservative to the bikini-clad revelers all within plunging distance of one another. I love this juxtaposition; it has always been part of Lebanon’s character.

So much of the coastline has been despoiled but at our borders where the beaches are deserted, they are impeccable; natural treasures to be safeguarded. And it is still not too late for the rest. I hope this book helps.”

“The issue of climate change is one that we ignore at our own peril.

Not only is it real, it's here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster.”

- Barack Obama

CLIMATE CHANGE THE RIO+20 DIARIES THE OCEAN WE NEED

WORLDENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

Magazine

The Rio+20 Diaries How not to Negotiate a Major World Summit and Save the World ................................................ 18

By Dave Banisar

The Ocean We Need: A Blueprint for Urgent Action on Oceans from Rio+20 .......... 36

By Mona Samari

WORLD ENVIRONMENT.TV

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Climate Change Rio+20

By Dave Banisar

The Rio+20 Diaries How Not to Negotiate a Major World Summit and Save the World

Dave Banisar, ARTICLE 19 Senior Legal Counsel, attended the Rio+20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 as part of a freedom of expression coalition reiterating their call for greater access to environmental information, public participation in decision making and access to justice. During the summit, Dave kept a diary of his impressions of the 11 day meeting, in which he marks key developments relating to the Rio Outcome Document titled “The Future We Want”. Originally circulated amongst the nongovernmental community, these diary entries quickly grew in popularity. Published exclusively by World Environment Magazine, they provide an all access insight into the inner workings of this major summit. Included below are some of the edited highlights from Dave’s now legendary…The Rio+20 Diaries. Í 19

Climate Change Rio+20

Rio Day 1: Gearing up 14 Jun 2012 Greetings from ground zero of the UN Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio+20): I'm in sunny/rainy/cloudy Rio de Janeiro (not sure as I’m inside most of the time, someone please email me and let me know what is happening!) for the biggest meeting on development and environment.

First a bit of background; For those of you that have never heard of this summit, this is the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, where over 100 world leaders got together to save the Earth. They did such a fine job succeeding that they've decided to get back together again to see if they can do it again and actually save the earth this time.

On the table is upgrading the UN Environment Programme to something with clout and money and Sustainable Development Goals as well as lots of discussion of protection of oceans, water and other issues. Supposedly, 100 leaders are coming again but Nick Clegg is coming for the UK and Hilary Clinton for the US so not necessarily the top cheeses.

This Summit is important to us as advocates of right to information because the original Rio Declaration included Principle 10 calling for access to environmental information, public participation and access to justice.

This resulted in the Aarhus Convention adopted by over 40 countries in Europe and Central Asia and a lot of countries putting access to information laws both in environmental laws and generally.

The Summit is divided into three parts. At the moment, we are having the Prep-Com where the Outcome Document is intended to be finalised. But it’s likely the Prep-Com negotiations will go on until the Summit itself (more on that below). There are over 500 registered side events here at Rio Centro plus an unknown larger number across the city and an estimated 50,000 people are coming for the Summit.

Delegations But No Delegates Negotiations are very slow. They have broken the Rio outcome document into a number of pieces and are holding separate discussions in different rooms. You could say that the atmosphere is tedium broken by moments of excitement as our paragraphs come up.

There is a now a persistent rumour that if the negotiations don't resolve by Friday, Brasil will announce that they have a short summit declaration like the Johannesburg Declaration in 2002 at the last one of these high level meetings where the governments couldn't get their acts together. Ă?

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Rio Day 2: Before the Summit 15 Jun 2012 A little insight into the drafting of the Outcome document and the tussle between North-South countries, human rights and the fear of declining public participation at the discussions.

Less Than Progress Today was even less fruitful than yesterday on substance on our issues. Its endless picky discussion on words rather than getting the concepts agreed to. After much time with no progress in open session on institutional reform, they went into a two hour closed session today to go over the entire section of text on institutional governance. They did agree to two paragraphs on human rights and a general name check on transparency and good governance. Not bad but no actual commitments or effect whatsoever. Also there was some positive movement on right to water and sanitation. A couple of northern states that I’m not supposed to mention (!) have now backed down from their opposition to this (one due to an opposition from the minister for local affairs to provide toilets for travellers for fear it gives them habitation rights). Apparently this move is due to public pressure. So sometimes we can make a difference.

There is a real concern about finishing the text. There are 800 bracketed bits of text that have to be approved by Friday. Fat chance on that. Southern countries are now 22

playing games, demanding the stopping of negotiations relating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a section on Means of Implementation (MOI) until they get commitments on money. But as one government delegate said to us "they don't need a commitment on money to implement if they don't commit to do anything". The rumours about the Brasil alternative text are in full swing now. Brasil is reported to have started drafting a few days ago which since this is only the 2nd day, would have been before the prep-com even started. No one is confirming.

We don't know if it will be a statement or an entire alternative text like Copenhagen, which was a disaster.

An Unholy Alliance On an even less cheery note, a very, very, very, very small religious-oriented semi-state (can you figure it out yet?) has joined in an unholy alliance with some less progressive southern states of a fundamentally and often in conflict different religion to drag women and children's rights back to the 12th century or so, by demanding the elimination of references to human rights, international conventions on women's rights and other already established rights in the text. Lots of human rights, women's and other groups are up in arms on this and it was mentioned in the daily 2 minute CSO statement last night. I expect there will be more push back on this today.

This Summit is important to us as advocates of right to information because the original Rio Declaration included Principle 10 calling for access to environmental information, public participation and access to justice. This resulted in the Aarhus Convention adopted by over 40 countries in Europe and Central Asia and a lot of countries putting access to information laws both in environmental laws and generally.

Climate Change Rio+20

Rio Day 3: The Quickening 16 Jun 2012 Day three (apparently called Friday in the real world) was supposed to be the last day of negotiations, before they went into the informal NGO days with the People's Summit downtown and various discussions and side events up here in nowhere land. It’s also the last day that the UN is running the show and thank (insert deity or curse word as desired here) that’s almost over.

Frustration is building a bit and chairs have been starting to tell off delegations, that they cannot keep demanding reductions in the text below what was agreed to in 1992 and in Johannesburg in 2002. Right now the text is about as ambitious as a third rate Italian restaurant menu. Lots of carbs and no protein.

Substantively, things are not fantastic for us. Principle 10 is nowhere mentioned in the text. They have been some improvements on some other issues. The women's sections are now less regressive. Their right might have reached the 20th century (early rather than late). There is now recognition of the right to water and sanitation (10 years after the fact) and there is a lot of debate on the Sustainable Development Goals and how they relate to the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).

Not shockingly, they didn't finish anything today. Its only been two years - why should we expect any less? We heard late that the Brazilians are taking charge and introducing their own text, based on the agreed sections and what has been debated. Apparently in 1992, the chair locked the doors and banged his gavel so much that his hands were bleeding. We can only hope. There is such a low level of urgency coming from them. They seem to not want to act until every fish is gone, water supply dried up, mountain flattened, and we can only visit the Maldives by using SCUBA gear.

Tomorrow should be fun. Lots of new people coming in, and bringing new energy…but a bit late in the game to do real change. Í 23

Climate Change Rio+20

Rio Day 4: The Big Bang 17 Jun 2012 Welcome to the first day of the Brazilian leadership. Perhaps this is a taste of what will happen in the future with the BRICs taking over the world.

The Shoe Drops Well it happened. For most of the day, no negotiations took place. We huddled and strategized and went to side events. Finally at 3:30 we all crammed into the plenary room where there were so many people, the UN cops (mostly former NYPD and still carting their guns and nightsticks) kept trying to kick us out but we collectively ignored them and stayed. No way we were going to miss this.

We heard the not surprising news that Brazil was providing their own text that would be available shortly, which means they must have been doing it for days since you don't just come up with 80 pages in a night.

For the next few hours, we spent the time asking each other every five minutes if it was available yet.

Then the text came out around 6 - and wow! We went over the text like it was a lost chapter of the Old Testament found in a cave in Eritrea and we couldn't believe it. Its miles better than before! who would think it!

Most of the scraps of language we have been advocating actually made it in. It calls for regional and national frameworks on Right to Information (like Aarhus), puts pretty strong requirements for CSO (civil society) participation in the new UN bodies and UNEP. It also has a paragraph on corruption and includes a call for countries to adopt UNCAC. After we finished reading this, we ran around like giddy school girls with front row tickets to a Justin Bieber Concert. My friend Sol accused us of having Stockholm Syndrome (where hostages identified with their kidnappers), reading too far into it. It’s not like it makes a strong commitment to begin negotiations on a global convention. And frankly the document is not ambitious.

Its got almost no real commitments, UNEP is mostly unchanged, SDGs are vague and punts the difficult issue of CSD reform to the General Assembly. Also, the Ombudsman/High Commissioners/Representative for Future Generations was dropped. Aid and mining transparency both got weakened. Women's rights is better but still needs work, as does water. Ă?

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Rio Day 5: The Light at the End of the Tunnel?

18 Jun 2012 It’s day 5 here in Rio. According to my iPod app, it's really nice and warm and sunny outside but I cant say I've got much actual experience on that..

West Wing Rio-Style I've mentioned a lot all the meetings we have. We have a lot of informal discussions in the halls. It's kind of the West Wing Rio Version.

You can tell there are different groups of CSOs - those going to side events and panel discussions and those working the negotiation rooms. The latter are those running from pavilion T (NGOs) to 3 (negotiations) to 2 (food) with frantic looks in their eyes. Who has information? Has anything changed?

What is the G77 delegation doing now? We crash into each other in the halls and between pavilions, quickly exchange information like an old carnival bumper cars game and then continue our rushed course onward, more or less enlightened. And after a week, we are all starting to look a bit aged, even the youth delegates, who are some of our biggest supporters.

They began discussions on the Brasil draft this morning. A lot of anticipation on how this would be handled.

And the results are rather different. The chairs are now all Brasilian and they are defending their text quite vigorously, limiting amendments even if it was included in previous texts and well discussed. They mean business on getting it done and really want no discussion.

The BRIC version of negotiations and participation I suspect we'll be seeing in the new world order.

For the most part, that means that the sections that we care about on access to information and public participation as well as human rights and transparency have not been raised by anyone as being so controversial that they need to use their small amount of input to be debated again so we are still hopeful.

There is still time for things to change so we are not getting too excited (after yesterday's giddy schoolgirl moments).

Still some game playing going on - the really, really, really small religious semi state (have you guessed it yet?) is still urging killing references to Beijing and ICPD. I think the chair might be afraid of an albino assassin if they tell them to shut it. And again, they are bizarrely being supported by various delegations of a very different religion.

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Its not all friendly and happy for us. They have locked us out the late night negotiations room and apparently for those that were in the room, they asked for everyone’s ID and threw out the NGOs. Thankfully we have a few people in our group who are on delegations so we still know what they are doing but pretty ridiculous that its come to this. Í

What is the G77 delegation doing now?

We crash into each other in the halls and between pavilions, quickly exchange information like an old carnival bumper cars game and then continue our rushed course onward, more or less enlightened.

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Rio Day 6: The End is Nigh!

And so is the World!

19 Jun 2012 First, a disclaimer: any resemblances in this blog with any persons, delegations and/or major conferences being held by large international intergovernmental organizations in the southern hemisphere this week are purely intentional.

Unless you are in one of them. In which case, please don’t sic UN security on me, its all made up! Now back to the previously scheduled program. Waiting for the bus. It's 23ºc, sunny and we are looking at the beach. How cruel can life be? And we have plenty of time too - after waiting for 30 mins, a full bus arrives and won't let us on. So much for efficient conference transport. After another 20 mins waiting for the bus supposedly coming in 10 minutes (it's Rio time!), 4 of us grab a taxi to RioCentro. We spent the trip quizzing a South American country delegate on G77 positions. She's too well trained to spill in the 80 minutes ride. Another half hour and we might have cracked her.

A Privilege, Not a Right Today, we are supposed to find out the final resolutions of the working groups. They were working late last night and I wasn't allowed into the room by security for the discussion on institutional reform. We were reminded by our UN handler in the morning meeting that our presence in these meetings is a privilege, not a right. RioCentro is starting to look more like armed camp. There are now lots of armed troops around the place and helicopters flying overhead. I shudder to think what it will be like when the various presidents and ministers come in on Wednesday.

No good news yet on the ombudsman for future generations but civil society is still fighting. Rumor is that a certain large, cannot be named, south American country where they speak a different language than the rest of the continent (get it right?) might be opposing it and since it's their ball, they get to set the rules and apparently the final score too. But no confirmation on that.

Still haven't found out what happened in the other groups on some language on freedom of assembly that was being opposed by a block of less freedom loving countries and on anti-corruption, aid transparency and mining transparency. I believe that women are allowed into the 20th century but without their sexual and reproductive rights. Good thing it's 2012 in the real world. The discussions, at least publicly, are over. Apparently people were waiting in the room until 1:30 am for the final text, sleeping on the floor. One of our CSO partners described it looking like a refugee camp. The new text is supposedly out at 10:30 tomorrow so I guess we'll be eagerly awaiting it at our meeting. Í 28

Climate Change Rio+20

Rio Day 7: The Circus Comes to Town 21 Jun 2012 Raining this morning for first time since I got here…

Earth crying? Nah, too obvious. And if responding, she would be puking up a volcano or force 10 typhoons with the lack of commitment to do something.

The place is heaving now. Something like 50,000 people are supposed to be coming but I suspect that’s to Rio overall rather than here. Taking the taxi to our event yesterday, the Copa beach was full of Rio+20 related sandcastles and signs. The formerly calm NGO blogging room is now more like a refugee camp. Am squatting in the media area to write this pretending to be press (well we do believe that bloggers are media!).

Lots of people have been to the People´s Summit downtown. They say that it is chaotic but energetic.

We start with our usual major groups briefing hearing.

There are lots of concern on weaknesses of the document. We hear phrases about the vindication of process and the need to take the long view and focus on the positive things in the document. Not sure people are really convinced.

On the negative side, it doesn´t really commit nations to do much. As my friend Halina said ´´it does just enough to ensure that we have another summit on this in the future´´. Rio+40! Yahoo!!

Very positively, Chile announced yesterday at our event that they wanted to start work on a regional convention on Principle 10, one of the calls in the document and something that we support, although we would rather see a global convention.

Now that the discussions on the Outcome Document are over, the talk has shifted to whether there will be a high level declaration to make it sound like they actually did something tangible to save the world.

Toxic Glass Half Full

Went over in the afternoon to Athletes´ Park for a reception and chat with UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in the UK Pavilion. Very uninspiring: Clichés about glasses half full and half empty. No mention of toxicity or ph level of water in glass. He came from a speech where he got heckled by a Pros and Cons protester in a Clegg mask….

While I was over there, I went around the Park. Most of The text was fully approved yesterday. Our Thai partner the pavilions are really uninteresting, PR exercises. You Lalaneth has done a good summary of what we got in the cannot believe how boring they are and wonder why outcome document. Short list of progress for us: call for they would spend money on them. The Italian pavilion regional and national implementation, more transparency and has free espressos, which is very welcome. It´s participation in international process, and more power to UNEP probably the most flash one. Must have been paid to perhaps do an international convention in the future. already by the previous government. Haven´t noticed if Also recognition of (some human rights) and anti-corruption. there is a Greece one. Behind the food stands? We Also some transparency in SDGs (my next crusade I guess), in hear that Edward Norton is speaking at some side aid and in mining among other things. event. I'll try not to ask about Fight Club. Í

Now that the discussions on the Outcome Document are over, the talk has shifted to whether there will be a high level declaration to make it sound like they actually did something tangible to save the world.

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Rio Day 8: The Walking Dead 22 Jun 2012 Pretty much everything here is now falling apart.

Everyone is exhausted (well those who have been here for more than a day) walking around like zombies, voices rough, unable to articulate clearly when discussing anything.

The insides of the pavilions are temporary and are starting to come apart after all the use. The carpet is pulling up and the floors are starting to sink when you step on them. Metaphor for the whole event?

Again too easy. Apparently this place is used for concerts otherwise.

It’s grey again outside, occasionally misting rain. If Mother Nature were really annoyed at us, it would be a biblical-strength storm of thunder and lightning and hailstones the size of buses. This is more like she has a mild post-nasal drip.

The early birds who made it say that he welcomed civil society on their efforts and talked about how important we were in the process. Apparently he was a little nervous about showing up, fearing an angry confrontation but that didn’t happen. I made it in time to hear from our UN handler congratulating us on being polite to him.

More likely no one had the energy. But there were more people in the morning briefing than I’ve ever seen before.

Occupy Movement Comes to Town There is a fair amount of frustration still from civil society. There is a lot of annoyance that the final draft says that it was developed in “full cooperation” with civil society. We certainly don’t believe that. Occupy Rio set up a protest outside the main pavilion chanting and a number of NGOs did a “permanent” walkout around 4, demanding that the document be reopened and made ambitious and useful. Alas, not going to happen.

The title of the Outcome Document (not sure whether it will be a Declaration or what in the end) is “The Future We Want”.

There are endless jokes on this theme going on, mostly around the somewhat humorless “The Future We Don’t Want”. A few others (some invented solely for this blog): “The Future We Deserve”, “The Future We Don’t Expect to See”, “The Future We Lost” and “Future? What Future?”

I need a few drinks before I’ll be able to develop 32

some funnier ones. Perhaps, tomorrow for the final blog.

It now appears that there will not be a second short political document “chair’s declaration”. They did so well on this one that they don’t need to do more. I hope they don’t hurt themselves patting on their back.

Trudging Along the Last Mile We had our last mafia/Principle 10 meeting in the afternoon, to discuss our future work together. We see a lot of hope in what we got gives the UN mandate to go forward on global and national work, both conventions and implementation.

Already, 8 Latin countries (now 10) have signed a document requesting that the UN regional office start work on a regional convention on P10.

And after nearly 15 years, Ireland ratified the Aarhus Convention yesterday. Only a few years behind Belarus and Turkmenistan. Well done chaps!

Then a major groups meeting with EU Commissioner Potocnick. He was pretty straight with us about what the EU had hoped to get and what they didn’t get. Said he was not going to be ashamed by being here but not proud either. Without breaking the UN secrecy rules, it’s quite fair to say that on most issues, the EU was the best delegation.

A certain large block often led by not so democratic countries was the worst and a large rich country to the north of here should be pretty shamed about the role it played. A special award goes to a really, really, really small semi-religious medieval state for their efforts on sexual and reproductive rights. It’s really a joke that they get a seat at the table and NGOs do not.

Sorry no professional polling on which was the worst.

Off to meet the Kogi, a tribe from Colombia that live in the mountains and only come down to tell us how badly we are really messing things up every so often like at these events. Then home for the night. Only a day to go. Í

Climate Change Rio+20

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Rio Day 9: It’s the End of the World (and I Feel Fine) 23 Jun 2012 It's still grey after raining hard last night but looks like it might clear. Traffic is not too bad since its still an official holiday but convoys of mismatched cars with sirens and lights conveying the great and the good leaders (some even have Rio+20 license plates) delay our getting there regularly. I cheerfully wave at them with one finger for the stops. Every day we pass this giant empty building designed to be music hall. Apparently it was a spectacularly corrupt development and hundreds of millions disappeared in building it. Now its just there unfinished and abandoned, falling apart. It's a bit of stark reminder of the importance of our efforts to promote access to information.

Met the Kogi Indians priests last night. They live up on the top of a mountain in Colombia isolated from the rest of the world and have no written language. Their priests called Mamas grow up in dark caves and only see the world when they reach adulthood. We who live off the mountain are "little brothers". They came down from their mountain for the first time in 1992 for the first Earth Summit after noticing the ecological changes happening even in their remote hideaway. We little brothers obviously didn't listen hard enough so they came down again. World Environment Magazine Rio+20 correspondent, Mona Samari introduced us as they speak Spanish too.

Seemed like nice enough chaps but I didn't suggest they read the blog. Pretty sure the humor would not translate but their translator said they have a wicked sarcastic sense of humor so perhaps I should have.

The King’s Speech The world "leaders" continue to give their 5 minute speech. No one is paying much attention to them and apparently the plenary room that we all coveted the passes to so much is mostly empty. I'm glad now I didn't get one.

The overflow room in the NGO pavilion was almost full of people watching in the morning. Swedish PM mentioned importance of freedom of expression this morning.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a very typical American campaign style political speech about new thinking "thinking different" (I hope Apple gets a royalty check), corporate partnerships (I remember when those used to be called subsidies) but also importance of including women in economy and to ensure reproductive rights, which got cheers here in hall. Venezuela had some 34

comedy moments on the usual themes which got cheers also. Argentina speech seems to have been written two weeks ago as all it's criticism about institutional reform were resolved to G77 satisfaction. Azerbaijan uses their moment after the official statements as a platform to slag off Armenia for their nuclear power plant. Argentina speaks again and wants their bloody islands back. The South Sudan Minister of War and Environment! threatens to kill anyone who invades his country. This is international debate at its best. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to see all 200 statements. But just a few feels like all of them.

Overall, it's a somewhat bittersweet moment to be done.

We have been working for this for over two years now and have developed a community and new friendships. We got an agreement to better implement Principle 10 regionally, nationally, sub-nationally and locally. We didn't get a global convention on Principle 10 but we did get something that might lead to it and at least to more regional ones. We didn't get an UN FOI but we did get a chance to do it for the upgraded Sustainable Development Council or whatever it might be called and at UNEP which could lead to it. We got agreement that SDGs and other sectorial areas should be transparent and open. And we just got some additional good news the UN Secretary General just announced a Special Representative for Future Generations. So even though the Declaration only called for a report, we got another desired outcome!

So we have a lot of work ahead. I hope to see you there. I'll be the one making the snarky comments in the corner. And if not then, see you at Rio+40. Don't forget your scuba gear.

The diary entries have been edited

by WE – for the full unabrigiated version, please visit article 19.org

WORLD ENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

By Mona Samari

The Ocean We Need: A Blueprint for Urgent Action on Oceans from Rio+20 The Ocean was supposed to be a priority area for the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development held in late June 2012 – marine scientists and campaigning organizations, as well as the European Union and many nations echoed the call for a treaty to protect the high seas. Although the final declaration did contain some strong words on issues such as combating illegal fishing, better managing fisheries and phasing out harmful government subsidies - how much progress was actually made for what effectively constitutes 70 % of the planet? Mona Samari who attended the summit assesses.

As with so many international conferences, it was in the dead of night that a decisive point was reached at the United Nations’ biggest ever environmental summit in Brazil. It was not a positive moment.

At 3 am on the Tuesday June 19th, a day before the high-level delegations and heads of state joined the summit, an unlikely coalition of the US and Venezuela, together with Canada, Russia and Japan, vetoed a plan to launch talks for the establishment of a UN treaty to protect the international high seas - two thirds of the global ocean.

The reason why the high seas are seen as such a contentious area is simple: technological advances are making the exploration and exploitation of this zone beyond coastal states waters more possible than ever before. The high seas are seen as a new frontier for the everincreasing dash for natural resources, from fish to valuable minerals. It is described by many ocean experts as a wild west – the biggest, least protected area of the planet, where governance is sorely lacking compared to land-based areas.

In a closed session, the US and Í 36

Venezuelan negotiators spearheaded a move to scupper the scheme and forced through wording that would postpone for three years even a decision on whether to draw up a treaty. Both countries have longstanding objections to international oversight of the oceans, stemming in large part from concern that it will mean they lose the right to patent marine scientific discoveries that might be used in pharmaceuticals and other commercial applications.

Hours later, the Brazilian hosts announced there would be no more negotiation on the matter and called time on talks to agree a Rio+20 38

declaration, even though the agreed text had been widely criticised as lacking teeth. Ministers and government officials were set to arrive in Rio the next day for three days of talks that might have upped the ambition – in the end, the wording was left unchanged.

According to the High Seas Alliance (HAS), a coalition of oceanographers and campaigners from Greenpeace to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, action to save the oceans could have been the highlight of the summit.

“We came to Rio with high expectations for action to address

the ocean crisis. We looked forward to this being the Ocean Summit not the Earth Summit. It would be a mistake to call Rio a failure, but for a once-in-a-decade meeting with so much at stake, it was a far cry from a success,” said Sue Lieberman of HSA coalition member the Pew Environment Group.

Professor Alex Rogers of Oxford University, and scientific director of the International Programme on the State of the Ocean, who also attended the summit later said "What I have seen at this summit has utterly appalled me. I have recently been observing seamounts in the southern

Climate Change Rio+20 Indian Ocean devastated by trawlers.

These ecosystems take thousands of years to develop. I wish the negotiators here could witness what I have seen."

Positive Outcomes

We came to Rio with high expectations for action to address the ocean crisis.

We looked forward to this being the Ocean Summit not the Earth Summit.

It would be a mistake to call Rio a failure, but for a once-in-a-decade meeting with so much at stake, it was a far cry from a success.

Despite the set backs for the high seas, the ocean received an unprecedented level of attention during the Rio+20 Conference becoming one of the most high visibility issues and the last piece of text to be resolved.

In contrast to 1992, attention on the ocean was significant and led to protracted and heated debate within the negotiations. Some of the ocean outcomes were positive, while others fell a long way short of what marine scientists and campaigners had hoped and worked for. Almost all NGOs and scientific experts agreed that it was, nonetheless, a breakthrough year for the cause of conservation of 70% of the planet.

Matthew Gianni of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition said: “Rio+20 has shown less backbone than your average cnidarian (jelly fish) but if we use this to take the action clearly indicated then progress will have been made.”

Professor Alex Rogers’ overall verdict on the conference was mixed, but he affirmed the need to build on what was achieved.

Referring to the title of the final overall Rio+20 Declaration, “The Future We Want”, he drove home the vital role the ocean plays: “There will never be the future we want without the ocean we need. We have to use Rio+20 to draw a line under the talking and start the doing. These decisions are all urgent, important and game changing measures which should be immediately implemented by

governments as a direct response to the oceans text.”

In conclusion, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s statement on the oceans, made in a speech during the week at a side-event, should be cause to take heart: “Rio has made us recognise the immense role of oceans in fostering sustainable development. Rio has to put more wind in our sails, so we can navigate the waves to a better future. Let us advance for our oceans and our world”.

So What Next? Charting a Course Post Rio Examining what implementation of the final text could and should mean not just on the ground, but “on the water”, the major ocean campaigning groups which make up the High Seas Alliance identified clear areas for international and national action.

These include: • Fulfillment of the UN resolution to end deep sea bottom fishing; • An end to overfishing—including the suspension of fishing in some cases until stocks have recovered; • Requirement that regional fisheries management bodies be accountable to the UN; • National action to eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies; • Closure of ports to illegally obtained fish; • Establishment of national and high seas marine protected areas, including reserves.

Given the interconnectedness of the world’s oceans to the rest of the planetary life-support system, there cannot be the future we want without the ocean we need. Paragraphs 158 to 177 and paragraph 248 of “The Future We Want” address issues that are critical to the sustainability of the global ocean. Now, governments and stakeholders need to roll up their Í 39

sleeves, and act on what has been formally agreed by all governments on the highest political level at Rio+20.

The High Seas Alliance and Deep Sea Conservation Coalition have outlined the priority commitments agreed in Rio for high seas protection and provided actions to be taken to ensure the agreed commitments are met in a timely manner.

Top 7 Ocean Commitments and Actions Recommended by Leading Ocean NGOs - the High Seas Alliance and Deep Sea Conservation Coalition 1. Commit to address, on an urgent basis, the issue of the conservation 40

and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction including by taking a decision on the development of an international instrument under UNCLOS before the end of the 69thSession of the UN General Assembly.

Action: In order to ensure that progress is made on this critical paragraph, preparations should begin immediately. The UN Secretary General should make this a priority issue, and undertake urgent consultations with a range of developed and developing countries, including Small Island Developing

States (SIDS). A decision should be taken before the deadline of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly, at the end of 2014 at the very latest, to launch negotiations for a legally binding agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. Negotiations on a new agreement will take several years, and in order to meet 2020 Aichi Target 11 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 2010) there should be no further delay.

The intersessional workshops that are already planned at the United Nations as part of the ongoing Ad Hoc Openended Informal Working Group on

Climate Change Rio+20

Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (‘BBNJ’) should serve as a preparatory conference, to allow for prompt commencement of formal negotiations at the end of 2014.

Workshops should be used to augment, rather than delay progress.

The negotiated agreement should set criteria and mechanisms to establish and maintain marine protected areas (including marine reserves) and other area-based measures, require environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments, and secure the equitable sharing of benefits from exploitation of marine genetic resources. Further, negotiations of the

annual Oceans Omnibus resolution of the UNGA should be transparent and inclusive of civil society.

2. Urgently take the measures necessary to maintain or restore fish stocks to levels that can produce at least maximum sustainable yield (MSY), with the aim of achieving these goals in the shortest time feasible, as determined by their biological characteristics. To achieve this, States must put in place science-based management plans, reduce or suspend catch or fishing effort, manage bycatch, eliminate destructive fishing practices, and enhance actions to protect Ă?

Destructive fishing practices must be prevented and existing ones phased out, particularly practices that can cause significant adverse impacts to vulnerable marine ecosystems such as deep sea habitats, including cold water corals, hydrothermal vents and sponge beds.

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vulnerable marine ecosystems including through the use of impact assessments.

Action: This commitment updates the 2002 Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) commitment in a number of important respects. It makes it clear that governments must aim at levels that can produce ‘at least’ MSY, and in the shortest time feasible. It also specifies the way this should be done, through science based management plans, and including by reducing or suspending fishing catch and effort.

Governments should start implementing this commitment by reducing or suspending fishing where stocks are overfished, until fish stocks are rebuilt to levels above MSY. Governments and regional fisheries management organizations should adopt science based management plans and set target and limit reference points as well as agree on measures aimed at ensuring that these will not be exceeded (including restrictions in fishing effort, quotas, time and area closures) based on best available science and with a high probability to achieve this objective. Where stock assessments have not been carried out, they must be carried out with urgency. Fishing should only continue where management measures are in place that will restore or maintain fish stocks as required. Fisheries management measures as listed above must be taken with the aim of achieving these goals in the shortest time feasible, as determined by their biological characteristics Destructive fishing practices must be prevented and existing ones phased out, particularly practices that can cause significant adverse impacts to vulnerable marine ecosystems such as deep sea 42

habitats, including cold water corals, hydrothermal vents and sponge beds.

General Assembly resolutions 61/105, 64/72 and 66/68 must be fully implemented, and where they have not been, bottom fishing must stop, in accord with resolutions 64/72 and 66/68.

3. Eliminate illegal, unregulated, unreported (IUU) fishing including measures for coastal, flag, port and charter States, and States of beneficial owners and others, by identifying vessels engaged in IUU fishing and by depriving offenders of the benefits from IUU fishing, cooperating with developing countries to identify needs and build capacity, including support for monitoring, control, surveillance, compliance and enforcement systems (170) and speeding ratification of the Port State Measures Agreement.

Action: Governments should immediately make every effort to close their ports and markets to IUU fish and to close or otherwise penalize their nationals and companies within their jurisdiction engaged in illegal fishing or trade in IUU products.

Governments should collaborate to develop national, regional, and global monitoring, control, surveillance, compliance and enforcement systems as a matter of urgency.

4. Commit to transparency and accountability in regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) and make publicly available RFMO performance reviews, implement recommendations and strengthen comprehensiveness of reviews.

Action: Governments should establish a process through the UN General Assembly to hold RFMOs accountable to the commitments

Governments and regional fisheries management organizations should adopt science based management plans and set target and limit reference points as well as agree on measures aimed at ensuring that these will not be exceeded (including restrictions in fishing effort, quotas, time and area closures) based on best available science and with a high probability to achieve this objective.

Climate Change Rio+20

made by States on fisheries and oceans in Rio and under international law. Governments should ensure that RFMO decision-making is transparent, open to civil society participation and science-based.

Independent performance reviews should be repeated at least every five years and they should specifically assess the level of implementation of recommendations from previous reviews. Where reviews have not yet taken place, they should be undertaken with urgency. The

recommendations of the reviews should be implemented as a priority, and programmes of action should be initiated and implemented by RFMOs immediately, with full transparency and participation. The UN Fish Stocks Resumed Review Conference in 2015 should review all performance reviews and reports of implementation, and make recommendations accordingly.

5. Eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and

overcapacity (JPOI), including by prohibiting such fisheries subsidies, improving transparency and reporting of existing fisheries subsidies programmes through the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as by unilateral initiatives by eliminating subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and over-fishing, and refraining from introducing new, extending or enhancing such subsidies.

Action: Governments should eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies

Ă?

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unilaterally and/or collectively, by acting at the national or regional level.

Governments should make publicly available information on the direct and indirect subsidies granted to their fisheries sectors. The WTO process has been in deadlock since the 2001 WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha. Eleven years have passed.

Paragraph 173 calls on governments not to wait to start reforming their fisheries subsidies regimes and maximizing positive investments into the fisheries sector.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, and bilateral or regional fisheries partnership agreements are examples of where action can be taken right now.

6. Recognize the importance of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), as a tool for conservation of biological diversity and sustainable use of its components.

Action: Aichi Target 11 calls for 10% of the ocean to be protected by 2020. The scientific information produced by the CBD for identifying ecologically or biologically significant areas (EBSAs) can make a significant contribution by providing an objective basis for the selection of priority places for protection. States should now work to urgently establish more marine protected areas, including in particular no-take marine reserves, within their EEZs and on their continental shelves, aiming for at least 10% coverage. These should be complemented by action to establish MPAs and marine reserves in areas beyond national jurisdiction at the regional level, using regional mechanisms where they exist.

These MPAs should also be nested within wider integrated management, planning and zoning of oceanbased activities applying the ecosystem and the 44

precautionary approaches.

Governments at the UNGA in 2012 should ask the 6th UN Working Group on BBNJ to provide advice on what processes and procedures the UNGA should establish to ensure that areas meeting the CBD criteria for ecological or biological significance are adequately protected. In addition, States and competent intergovernmental organizations need to support and contribute to the ongoing scientific process under the CBD on the description of areas meeting the EBSA criteria to ensure this process is as comprehensive as possible.

Nevertheless, in practical and legal terms, Target 11 cannot be achieved without agreement and implementation of a global legal framework, preferably under the Law of the Sea Convention (Implementing Agreement) to enable the full establishment and maintenance of MPAs and marine reserves in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

7. Establish an inclusive and transparent intergovernmental process on Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) that is open to all stakeholders with a view to developing global sustainable development goals to be agreed by the United Nations General Assembly.

Action: Similar to and supportive of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), (SDGs) will focus the debate on a practical level, enabling States to address implementation by underpinning internationally agreed objectives with targets and indicators. They will play a major role in guiding national, regional and global policy focus on a structural level, and will become an important instrument to channel funding institutional development and capacity building.

“Although often depicted as a frozen region dominated by breathtakingly beautiful but sterile glaciers, Antarctica is bursting with life – but mostly marine life. Below the icy ocean surface, bright-colored sea stars, sponges and other bottom-dwelling creatures of all shapes and sizes blanket the seafloor. Strange fish, with clear white blood and antifreeze in their bodies, lurk throughout the water column.

On the surface, penguins, flying seabirds, seals and whales abound amidst the ice, foraging in krill-rich waters. The Antarctic truly remains one of the world's last wild frontiers.”

- Antarctic Ocean Alliance

FOCUS STORY THE ANTARCTIC OCEAN Photos by John Weller

WORLDENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

Magazine

The Ross Sea ..................................... 46 Why the Antarctic Ocean the Last Great Frontier Needs Your Help ............................. 52

by Steve Campbell

Frozen Promises For the Final Frontier .................. 60

by Cathy Chami Tyan

WORLD ENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

THE ROSS SEA The Ross Sea, roughly 4,000 km south of New Zealand, is the southernmost stretch of ocean on the planet. This remoteness has protected it from widespread pollution, invasive species and overfishing, making the Ross Sea the most pristine marine ecosystem left on the planet. While just comprising 3.2% of the Southern Ocean, the Ross Sea is its most productive stretch of water and has disproportionately large population of penguins, fish, mammals and invertebrates, with many species found nowhere else on Earth. As such, the Ross Sea is a living laboratory providing scientists with the last chance to understand how a healthy marine ecosystem functions.

While many other marine ecosystems have been altered significantly by human activity, the highly productive Ross Sea food web remains much the same as it has for centuries, with rich benthic biodiversity and sizable populations of top predators including tooth fish, flying seabirds, penguins, seals and whales.

Antarctic tooth fish are by far the dominant fish predator in the Ross Sea, filling a similar role to sharks in other ecosystems. Whereas most Antarctic fish species rarely get larger than 60 cm, Ross Sea tooth fish can grow in excess of two meters in length and more than 150 kg in mass. Ă?

Every year sea ice forms around Antarctica, effectively doubling the size of the continent. The annual advance and retreat drives ecosystem processes, including primary productivity and provides habitat for a variety of species throughout their life history. Around the Antarctic Peninsula and Bellingshausen Sea, sea ice has retreated and the season has decreased by three months. The Scotia Sea, north of the Peninsula, has likely suffered the deepest contraction of sea ice in the Southern Ocean18. These changes in sea ice have been potentially linked to the decline of krill in the Scotia Sea, perhaps by as much as 38 to 81%.

A Case for Protection As perhaps the most intact marine ecosystem that is home to vast proportions of Southern Ocean wildlife, the Ross Sea has been proposed as a key region to be protected. It would be the crown jewel of a Southern Ocean network of notake marine reserves and Marine Protected Areas. The Ross Sea provides a last chance to study how an essentially undisturbed ecosystem functions. In recognition of this, more than 500 scientists have signed a statement supporting the establishment of a marine reserve covering at least the entire Ross Sea shelf and slope.

The most immediate threat to the Ross Sea is the recently developed Antarctic tooth fish fishery. Industrial fishing vessels penetrated the Ross Sea in search of tooth fish in the winter of 1996. Ross Sea scientists believe they are already seeing impacts on the Ross Sea ecosystem, including changes in the population of Ross Sea ecotype-C killer whales.

Fishery scientists who have been studying Ross Sea tooth fish since the early 1970s have no longer been able to catch enough fish to continue their research in some areas of the Ross Sea. Plans for a marine reserve in the Ross Sea are in trouble after the New Zealand Cabinet rejected a draft agreement in September 2012 with the United States Government on a joint proposal to create the world’s biggest marine reserve in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. “The Antarctic Ocean Alliance strongly encourages New Zealand and the US to continue to strive towards a joint proposal at CCAMLR in late October, providing an opportunity for real conservation leadership by all participating countries now, while we have a window of opportunity to protect this incredible habitat.”

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Ice shelves are thick floating platforms of ice that extend from glaciers and ice sheets on land.

These massive features are hundreds of meters thick and yet they are rapidly collapsing in many places throughout the Antarctic. As the ice shelves collapse, the glaciers they extend from can then flow faster from the land to the sea and melt. The enormous Larsen B Ice Shelf disintegrated in 2002 followed by parts of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in 2008. Pine Island Glacier, which flows into the Amundsen Sea, has been rapidly melting with predictions that the main portion of the glacier could be afloat within the next 100 years. If this happens, it will potentially trigger the disintegration of the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The consequences, which would include sea level rise and changes in ocean.

Climate Change The Antartic Ocean

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Why the Antarctic Ocean the Last Great Frontier Needs Your Help

By Steve Campbell

The waters surrounding Antarctica and the marine ecosystems they harbor -considered to be some of the most intact ocean ecosystems left on the planet- are at risk as the international body that regulates the region struggles to balance protection and exploitation.

Activities in the Polar regions are characterized by successive bouts of exploration and exploitation of their natural resources. In the two centuries since the harvesting of marine resources began there, the marine ecosystems of Antarctica’s Southern Ocean have been attractive to commercial interests, despite the many challenges. Parts of these waters are now under increasing risk from fishing and climate change, and conservation measures are under development to attempt to protect this vulnerable region as a legacy for future generations.

This remote region comes under the management of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Created in 1980 with the precautionary principle and an ecosystem approach at its core, CCAMLR was hailed as the poster-child of marine management.

CCAMLR obliges its members to ensure a healthy balance between its fundamental conservation goals and “rational use”. The Antarctic Ocean Alliance (AOA) is concerned that the conservation of marine life and ecosystem integrity around Antarctica is increasingly taking second stage to “rational use”. What’s more, the phrase, “rational use”, is not defined in the legally-binding Convention which establishes the Commission, but is being restrictively interpreted as fishing. In broader interpretations, rational use may refer to an array of rational, non-fishing actions including monitoring for the impacts of fishing or monitoring for environmental variability.

This year there is an opportunity to put the founding cornerstone – conservation – back at the heart of 54

CCAMLR, as its 24 members meet in October to decide on proposals for marine protection in the Southern Ocean. Initial proposals coming forward from national governments, need strengthening if they are to halt the shift from long-term conservation to short-term exploitation. Immediate action is needed from the next meeting of CCAMLR in Hobart, Australia, if we are to protect this unique marine environment for future generations.

Marine Protected Areas and Marine Reserves in the Southern Ocean In 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development agreed to establish a global network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by 2012.

Following on from that initiative, in 2006 CCAMLR agreed to develop a system of MPAs in the oceans around Antarctica, setting 2012 as a deadline.

The first MPA entirely located on the high seas – to the south of the South Orkney Islands – was agreed in 2010.

In 2011, CCAMLR approved a Conservation Measure setting up a framework by which MPAs will be discussed and approved.

At this year’s CCAMLR, members will consider four proposals for Antarctic MPAs, these include a proposal to protect marine areas that are currently covered by ice shelves that may be at risk of collapse due to climate change, submitted by the EU; a joint French, Australian and EU proposal for East Antarctica; and two separate proposals for the Ross Sea by the US and New Zealand.

These proposals demonstrate that CCAMLR has the opportunity to be a leader on marine conservation Í

CCAMLR is a consensus body that meets with limited public participation and no media access and the AOA believes that, without public attention during the process, only minimal protection will be achieved.

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- Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is a term used to describe areas where certain activities are limited or prohibited to meet specific conservation, habitat protection, or fisheries management objectives.

- No-take marine reserve refers specifically to a highly protected area that is off limits to all extractive uses, including fishing. No-take marine reserves provide the highest level of protection to all elements of the ocean ecosystem.

- To be effective, MPAs and no-take marine reserves must be large enough to encompass and protect key ecological processes and the life history of the animals that live there. A network of large MPAs and marine reserves that connects these ocean processes across space and time is the most effective and powerful tool to ensure long-term resilience of the Southern Ocean and coastal seas of Antarctica.

- The AOA proposes a network of marine reserves and MPAs in Antarctica that will encompass key biodiversity and productivity hotspots, critical habitats and unique geographical features.

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among international oceans management bodies and may soon apply its mandate to put protection in place. However some fishing interests may well stand in the way of establishing effective marine protected areas and marine reserves.

As CCAMLR makes decisions by consensus, creating substantive MPAs that protect ecosystems is not an easy task. While CCAMLR nations have formally accepted that MPAs will be established, some nations appear still to be reluctant to commit to anything close to the levels of protection that are needed to give Antarctica’s incredible marine ecosystems the protection they need. The MPA scenarios that have been put forward reflect this and so many biodiversity hotspots have been excluded from some MPAs scenarios in order to protect fishing interests. Without strong political

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leadership, CCAMLR and the commitment to long-term conservation for the Antarctic region, the opportunity to protect the Southern Ocean’s most important habitat could be missed.

The Antarctic Ocean Alliance, an international coalition of 30 environmental organizations including Greenpeace, WWF and the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, has identified 40% of the Southern Ocean that warrants protection in a network of marine reserves and marine protected areas using CCAMLR’s own criteria and the best available science.

At the CCAMLR meeting this October, the AOA is calling on CCAMLR members to take the opportunity to put extensive marine protected areas and marine reserves in place to genuinely protect this unique and relatively untouched

environment. The AOA believes that with visionary political leadership, CCAMLR can embrace this opportunity, which would benefit the global environment.

Ross Sea Proposals The Ross Sea is one of the most intact marine ecosystems on the planet. According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predictions, the Ross Sea will be the last place on earth with year-round sea ice, making it a refuge for sea ice-dependent species. There are currently two proposals relating to this area on the table, proposed by New Zealand and USA, which cover different values and surface areas.

Both exclude, to different degrees, biodiversity hotspots that are left open for fishing including key Antarctic tooth fish habitats.

Climate Change The Antartic Ocean

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By Cathy Chami Tyan

Frozen Promises for the Final Frontier A look into the current threats facing the Antarctic and why we must act now to safeguard its unique ocean from overexploitation

The oceans around Antarctica -known as the Southern Oceanare the only waters on the planet which are still relatively untouched by human activity. Unique, remote and spectacular, the Southern Ocean has long captured the imagination of explorers, scientists and adventures. But today, with ever growing commercial interest in the riches and natural resources this extraordinary region harbours, who is tasked with protecting this last great frontier?

According to scientists, the Southern Ocean has experienced notable collapses of marine species following exploitation, including seals in the 19th century, the great whales in the middle of the 20th century, the marbled rockcod (Notothenia rossii) in the early 1970s and, most recently, some stocks of the Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides).

Poor management and the largescale removal of toothfish and species like krill (small shrimp-like creatures) are threatening the very balance of Antarctica’s unique and fragile ocean ecosystems. Although very small, krill play a major and vital part of the Antarctic food web and so disturbances to populations could have major and far-reaching effects on the whole ecosystem.

The Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) is found south of the Antarctic convergence while the Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) is found in sub-Antarctic waters north of the convergence where it is fished to depths of 3500m. The Patagonian toothfish is often referred to in trendy restaurants as the "Chilean Sea Bass". The result, according to the organization Coolantarctica is a sharp rise in popularity and a demand that far exceeds the set quotas. As it commands a high price in restaurants, there are plenty of more than willing unscrupulous fishermen who are prepared to illegally fish for it.

The illegal, unregulated and 62

unreported fishing of the toothfish is of concern because it has the potential to undermine attempts to manage the stock as a sustainable resource. Management is further exasperated by the fact that it is traded under different names in different places, Bacalao de profundidad in Chile, Butterfish in Mauritius, Chilean Sea Bass in the USA and Canada and Mero in Japan.

Whilst growing demand for seafood means great interest in the Antarctic Ocean from commercial fishing interests, climate change is affecting the abundance of important food sources for penguins, whales, seals and birds.

All these factors combined render the Southern Ocean’s future very uncertain, as climate change and the resulting alterations in temperature, currents and ice dynamics stand to unravel this intricate polar ecosystem.

Past overexploitation has lingering effects, with most whales, as well as many fish species, having yet to fully recover - so how are current protective measures addressing this issue to ensure the protection of the Southern Ocean ecosystems and biodiversity?

Despite the fact that seven countries have staked territorial claims, no national government has internationally-recognized jurisdiction over any part of Antarctica. The AOA is campaigning for the body that regulates this marine environment, Ă?

The oceans around Antarctica are the only oceans on this earth still relatively untouched by human activity. They are home to almost 10,000 unique and diverse species, many of which cannot be found anywhere else on the planet. But today the Antarctic waters are under threat. You can help us to ensure Antarctic Ocean habitats and wildlife are protected from human interference.

the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) which came into force in 1980, as part of the Antarctic Treaty System, to adopt its protection plan urgently while this unique marine environment is still largely intact. It endeavours to enable rational use of marine species while ensuring principles of conservation are maintained.

According to the Antarctic Ocean Alliance, no-take marine reserves and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) will help minimise, or even eliminate, some of the most pressing threats to the Southern Ocean ecosystem.

The coalition’s Antarctic Ocean Legacy: A Vision for Circumpolar Protection report notes that the Southern Ocean accounts for 10% of the world's seas, yet less than 1% of it is "strictly protected" despite being home to vast numbers of animals, many of them vulnerable to interference.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are becoming an increasingly valuable tool among policy makers, scientists and fishers for ensuring the long-term health and sustainable use of the oceans. Recognition of this value was officially noted in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Durban, South Africa, when the nations of the world committed to establishing representative networks of MPAs across the world’s oceans by 2012.

Since entering into force, CCAMLR has taken steps to implement sustainable fisheries management.

The Commission officially closed the majority of directed finfish fisheries due to the depletion of populations, including in the waters surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula and South Orkney Islands, as well as in regions of the Southern Indian Ocean. Í 64

Who is the AOA? The Antarctic Ocean Alliance is a coalition of nearly 30 leading environmental groups. These include Greenpeace, WWF, Humane Society International, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), the Blue Marine Foundation (UK), Mission Blue (US), Oceans 5 (US), Deep Wave (Germany), The Last Ocean, Forest & Bird (NZ), ECO (NZ), the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM), Greenovation Hub (China), Oceana, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Bloom (France), the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, CIES(Korea), The Ocean Project - USA, Eco-Sys (France), International Program on the State of the Oceans (IPSO – UK), International Polar Foundation, Corail Vivant and Ocean Planet (Australia).

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CCAMLR has also reduced illegal toothfish fishing through a number of measures, including member nations regularly patrolling many of the legal fishing grounds. In addition to banning gillnets. CCAMLR has also banned bottom trawling due to the impacts on the seafloor and has measures in place for protecting vulnerable seafloor habitats.

Despite these efforts, historic overfishing and the persistence of some illegal and unregulated fishing vessels has left many fishing grounds depleted and the overall ecosystem impacts remain unknown. Measures enacted by CCAMLR for identifying and banning fishing in vulnerable seafloor habitats are still insufficient according to conservation groups.

For the Antarctic Ocean Alliance, the designation of a representative system of MPAs and no-take marine reserves in the Southern Ocean will be a valuable tool to conserve ecosystem function and can help to maintain existing populations and contribute to the recovery of depleted populations.

In the research paper Managing Fisheries to Conserve the Antarctic Marine Ecosystem, published in 2000, the authors had predicted some of the issues CCAMLR would face today.

Noting that it “has been an innovative and prescient convention,” the paper also points out that “the failure of Antarctic fisheries cannot now be attributed to the inherited fisheries that had already failed historically.

While the precautionary approach is now entrenched in its work, essential work is still required to develop management procedures that are robust against the unknown and uncertain behaviours of the Antarctic ecosystem.” This warning unfortunately rings true today, as it did in 2000.

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WORLD ENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

By Todd Southgate

Brazil The Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam Project Environmentalists, indigenous groups, rocks stars and Hollywood heavy-hitters have had it in for the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam project since Brazil’s military dictatorship schemed up the idea some 30 years ago. Over the decades the name of the project has changed along with its design and principle source of financing, but the Brazilian government’s insistence of damming the Xingu River in the heart of the Amazon to produce energy has remained steadfast, as has grassroots resistance. Í 68

The Brazilian government argues that it’s about the progress of a nation, the development of a region long forgotten and the need to prevent rolling blackouts in the world’s 6th largest economy. Environmentalists and human rights advocates charge back that it’s a disastrous project for the Amazon, one that will not only scar the rainforest’s magnificent ecology, but it will displace tens of thousands of people, adversely affect indigenous communities and throw an already troubled city, Altamira, into chaos.

The government makes assurances that the environmental and social impacts of the 11,000 megawatt dam will be minimal. Opponents of the project point to the 40,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest that will be flooded, the massive deforestation that will occur, and the resulting loss of biodiversity, including rare endemic fish species, as the waters of the massive basin of the Xingu’s Volta Grande (Big Bend) are drained as a more sobering social and ecological scenario for what’s at stake. Having approved the project without a full environmental impact’s assessment, the Brazilian government is in turbid waters to be able to placate environmental concerns.

As construction of the dam began in March of 2011, protests ramped up, and headaches worsened for the government and for Norte Energia, the consortium heading the dam’s construction, Apart from the usual pickets and petitions, the dam site was invaded twice. On June 15th 2012, one week before Brazil played host to the United Nation’s Rio+20 Earth Summit, a coalition of indigenous groups, local residents, farmers and environmentalists armed with pick axes and shovels spent ten hours on site excavating a canal through one of Belo Monte’s newly land-filled coffer dams, allowing part of the Xingu River to flow freely once again; although just briefly.

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The second invasion was led by indigenous groups and was anything but brief. Incensed over having been ignored and deceived, and after exhausting longstanding attempts to have their concerns addressed, over 300 indigenous peoples from 16 different tribes including the Xikrin, Arara and Juruna occupied a section of the $16 billion megaproject for three weeks, bringing work on the strategic Pimental coffer dam to a standstill.

Their occupation forced the President of Norte Energia Carlos Nascimento to call for and facilitate an emergency 3-day summit with involved indigenous groups to negotiate an end to the occupation. Cars, computers, digital cameras and other trinkets were on the table and would be delivered in weeks in exchange for the indigenous protesters liberating the dam. The President of Norte Energia wouldn’t address long-term concerns or make promises regarding the future of these groups in the region. “That, when pushed would have to come later,” he said.“Trust me.”

A deal was struck, and the dam liberated, but not all were happy with the “divide and conquer” feel to the negotiations. Biviany Rojas, a lawyer with the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) in Brazil observed that “the negotiation process was unequal, totally asymmetric. You have a multibilliondollar company sitting up in front of various indigenous groups who it is dividing. The company makes up the rules of the negotiations as it likes, without any intervention by a government that is mostly absent from the entire process.”

Contrary to what Norte Energia and the government had hoped, this accord would not end its headaches on Belo Monte.

Weeks later, judges from one of Brazil’s 5 regional appellate courts (TRF-1) ordered construction of the Í

dam suspended on grounds that indigenous groups had not been properly consulted -as guaranteed by the Brazilian constitution - before Congress approved the project back in 2005. This move didn’t simply paralyze a part of the construction; it put the brakes on the entire works.

Norte Energia was forced to suspend all activities related to the construction of the dam or face a $ 250,000 a day fine. The dam’s opponents were elated, but cautiously so.

As one often suspects in Brazil, powerful judges cozy with powerful political forces are just a phone call away. In a matter of days following the appellate court’s order, while headlines were still breaking around the globe, Chief Justice Carlos Ayres Britto of the Brazilian Supreme Court unilaterally overturned the decision, liberating construction once again.

Brent Millikan, Amazon Program Director at International Rivers lamented: "This case is emblematic of a seriously flawed legal system, where bureaucracy and political interventions allow for systematic violations of human rights and environmental law".

Naturally, Justice Carlos Ayres Britto’s decision is also being appealed.

Headaches are far from over for Belo Monte. There are 15 further legal matters before the courts, and all indications are that indigenous groups and environmentalist will continue nipping at Norte Energia’s heels for every illegally fallen tree and every broken promise. Adding to this are brewing union and worker issues as recent strikes have demonstrated.

All this begs the question: is this the only way to produce energy in Brazil?

Brazil has built 4 large dams in the Amazon; all have come with hefty financial price tags and even heftier social costs. Still, this appears to be the path Brazil wishes to blaze. Belo Monte is just one of 60 hydroelectric projects that the government is keen to build in the region under their Í 72

Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) over the next 20 years.

Between 80 - 90% of all energy in Brazil is hydroelectric, and since hydroelectric energy is considered renewable and “green” – even embraced by some environmental groups, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the World Bank - Brazil boasts one of the best track records for the production of green energy in the global race to wean off of climate change provoking fossil fuels.

Some say not so fast. Philip Fearnside, a leading climate scientist from the National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA), is one researcher trying to debunk the superhero green status given hydroelectric dams of late.

“Hydroelectric dams are always, or almost always, presented as green energy. [Claims are] it doesn’t have any impact over global warming, and people have heard that so many times that they believe it. They’ve not heard any other information. Unfortunately dams also emit greenhouse gases”.

When an area of forest is flooded, the decaying vegetation and forest matter produces methane (CH4). Methane is a greenhouse gas 25– 34 times more potent, per ton, as a heat trapping agent than carbon dioxide (CO2).

Researchers at Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) estimate that the world’s 52,000 large dams produce 104 million metric tons of methane each year, about 4% of the total global warming impact produced by man.

Fearnside suggests that it’s not just the initial flooding that will generate methane with Belo Monte. Because the Xingu’s waters rise and drop dramatically because of the seasons, new biomass will grow on areas and river beds exposed during annual dry seasons, only to be flooded later spewing more methane. He calculates that given all the methane Í 76

Biodiversity

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released it would take 41 years before Belo Monte would have any real green attributes. “It’s very important to take measures against global warming now. You can’t sell hydroelectric dams as green energy and good for global warming when it isn’t going to be doing anything for the next 41 years.”

Instead of dams, environmentalists and scientists point to other abundant renewable sources like solar energy.

Brazil is a world leader in solar incidence, meaning the amount of 78

solar energy striking its surface, according to Greenpeace’s report Energy Revolution Scenario in Brazil.

A sustainable world energy outlook, Brazil’s average annual global radiation is nearly 23,000 kilowatts per square meter. Harnessing just 5% of this energy could meet all of Brazil’s energy demands.

Brazil also has an abundance of silicon, the principle material needed in the production of photo voltaic cells (PVs) for capturing solar energy.

Of late, moves made by the Brazilian government are creating a bit of excitement for solar energy advocates and enthusiasts. They recently gave the nod to residential and commercial entities to install solar equipment and sell electricity back to the grid for projects up to 1 MW capacity. And Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES), currently financing up to 80% of Belo Monte's $16 billion price tag, has indicated it is prepared to make concessions on its overwhelming support for Amazon dams and help fund large solar projects in the country.

ANEEL (Brazil’s electricity regulatory Agency) called for the submission of solar energy projects in 2011 for evaluation, and has since given the thumbs-up to 18 different ventures over the next 3 years. The projects have a combined investment of approx. US$200 million and will have a production capacity of 25MW. So there’s some movement, but not nearly as much as advocates feel is warrant given Brazil’s potential, and more importantly, the social and ecological consequences of continuing to dam the Amazon.

"While recent moves to diversify its energy matrix are encouraging, Brazil's deck remains heavily stacked in favor of big and unacceptably destructive hydroelectric projects in the Amazon," says Christian Poirier of Amazon Watch. "Solar and wind energy comprise a meager 2% of the Í

matrix in a country that has both the potential and responsibility to be a true alternative energy leader for the 21st century."

They point to Germany’s recent record-breaking achievement with solar energy to argue that Brazil is simply dragging their feet on the issue and ignoring the future.

During a Friday and Saturday afternoon in May of this year, Germany produced 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour thanks to the sun and their nation’s solar foresight; Germany has more solar installations than the entire world combined. The country generated 22 gigawatts of energy, the energy equivalence of 20 nuclear power plants as press releases stated, producing close to 50% of the nation’s energy needs on those afternoons.

When pushed by opponents of big dams in the Amazon, the president of Brazil, Dilma Rouseff infamously quipped that those who think Brazil could produce the energy needed on alternative energy alone were living in a “fantasy” realm.

Someone should mention that to Chancellor Merkel of Germany.

The construction of Belo Monte appears to be a foregone conclusion, yet social movements, indigenous peoples, and environmental groups continue to resist the project as the harbinger of further disaster in the Amazon.

This begs the question: does the government really want to repeat this catastrophe another 60 times? With all its legal shenanigans and deferred justice, its heavy-handed disregard of intensifying international condemnations? How many more dark episodes of indigenous rights violations, environmental degradation, and political corruption does a nation have endure, and how many more disastrous dams must be built, before we see the light, and better yet, let it finally shine in and power the nation?

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The construction of Belo Monte appears to be a foregone conclusion, yet social movements, indigenous peoples, and environmental groups continue to resist the project as the harbinger of further disaster in the Amazon.

Biodiversity

By Elsa Sattout

Photo by George Zahm

International Day for Biological Diversity 2012 Merging Arts with Sciences to Raise Awareness on Marine Biodiversity In an initiative to raise awareness on the importance of Marine Biodiversity while merging arts with sciences on the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB), the Faculty of Natural & Applied Sciences, in collaboration with the University Research Board, organized a series of interfaculty events from May 21st till 29th, 2012. The capstone was a ceremony for awards distribution and exhibition opening of all the competitions products organized under the patronage of Mr. Nazem El Khoury, Minister of Environment and Fr. Walid Moussa, Notre Dame University President. Ă?

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Photo by Eric Haddad

Awareness on biodiversity empowers communities to be part of public participation processes and to better protect biodiversity. Its importance is globally highlighted each year on the IDB on May 22nd as proclaimed by the UN. Biological diversity is defined as the variability among all living organisms. It is believed that it affects our lives as it constitutes an integral part of our social, cultural and economic growth. At present, threats to the natural world are putting not only biodiversity at stake, but also our existence and well-being. “Did you know that natural diversity enriches our lives because as Naess said it enriches our extended self and thus brings us greater self-realization?

It is essential for our personal growth�.

In the late 80s, the United Nations Environment Programme sent a wake-up call to the world community to mobilize countries to ratify an international treaty to protect biodiversity. In 1992, the Rio Summit was a landmark witnessing the birth of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). CBD main objectives Ă?

Photo by Christine Najarian

have set motion towards a more sustainable world. These are the protection of biodiversity, sustainable use of resources and equitable sharing of benefits arising from these resources.

Notre Dame University, believing in the role of the university in strengthening social responsibilities, raising awareness and protecting Lebanese natural heritage; as well as acknowledging its students, their capacities and their driven state of mind to build a better world, called for students’ participation in various interfaculty activities on Marine Biodiversity which entailed poster, photography and crafts competitions, seminars and documentaries. The competitions 86

were organized in close partnership with the Faculty of Architecture, Art and Design, Faculty of Engineering; Faculty of Business Administration and Economics and Faculty of Nursing & Health Sciences. An interfaculty committee joined efforts to promote the participation of students.

The competition launched addressed students as junior scientists, engineers, designers, photographers, planners, economists and architects exploring the living and non-living world and discovering the mysteries of human existence and relationships with the surrounding environment‌ getting inspired from nature for their art and designing their ventures in sciences

based on the wisdom gained when they observe the natural world.

The seminars presented by key speakers raised awareness on the Importance of Lebanese Marine Biodiversity (Prof. M. Abboud Abi Saab), Ongoing Coastal and Marine Monitoring Project (Dr. Gaby Khalaf), Marine fossil in Lebanon (Mr. Pierre Abi Saad) and Discovering Marine Life (Mr. Mohamed Sarji).

The participation of students and NDU community in different ways and in the various activities has unfolded the needs for organizing more events mingling all disciplines and building up skills to strengthen social responsibility towards the conservation of biological, cultural, economic and social diversity.

“As people alive today, we must consider future generations: a clean environment is a human right like any other. It is therefore part of our responsibility toward others to ensure that the world we pass on is as healthy, if not healthier, than we found it.”

- Dalai Lama

ENVIRONMENT & BUSINESS THE GREEN ECONOMY

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Magazine

Quality Living Spaces: Mitsulift ...................................................... 88

By Sherine Bouez

Wealth of Human Investments: Bank Audi ................................................. 94

By Sherine Bouez

Green Grocers ..................................... 96

By Duncan Lowe

Environment & Business

By Sherine Bouez

Quality Living Spaces: Mitsulift Raëd Abillama leads an architectural firm, Raëd Abillama Architects, providing comprehensive services in building, interior and industrial design. He believes that architects have the responsibility to communicate ecological concepts as they hold the key to shaping our living space. He tells us more about his new green building, Mitsulift.

Indeed, Mr. Abillama explains that a building that works efficiently and in a sustainable manner is one that has a carefully thought-out space from the inside, not one that just looks good from the outside. Indeed the façade of Mitsulift is an external translation of

the internal efficiency or analysis, and not just an aesthetic frame. In this spirit, he has completed many projects in a wide spectrum of programs and scale, including several missions on rehabilitation, restoration and additions to historical structures. Í 89

Sherine Bouez: What is the idea behind the architectural program of the Mitsulift Building?

Raëd Abillama: The plan is for the space to be functional, and to serve different purposes. We devised polyvalent layouts to accommodate different market needs. The top floors will be dedicated to the headquarters of Mitsulift, the ground floor will be used for retail, and a few office floors in between will offer an open plan space that can be subdivided into different configurations. The Architecture needed to be cost efficient. For this, we endeavored to find smart ideas for using feasible and maintenance free materials, such as the GRC (Glass Reinforced Concrete) panels for the façade.

S.B: What is the particularity of your obviously unusual vertical windows?

R.A: Our main concerns are the living quality of the users and the efficiency of the construction, which we achieve by minimizing direct sunlight and heat intake. To optimize this effect we raised the ceiling height, and created high, deprecessed slit windows, so that the openings would be in the shade on the East and West. These calculated proportions allow more natural light to reach the deep end of the office, and to be distributed in a homogenous way across the space. The fact that you cannot open the window enhances the insulation properties of the facade in terms of thermal, sound and dust pollution. All the air exchange takes place through filtered heat recovery machines, hence minimizing thermal consumption.

S.B: How is the client reacting to these new suggestions in your program?

R.A: It is not easy to pass on the message as awareness is still lacking. However, we are doing our best to highlight the fact that the 90

negative aspects of a program are best solved by intelligent green solutions. What needs to be clarified in the process is the strong logic of the cost efficient proposal: luxury or tastes are not the building blocks of the recommendation here. There still is room to provide useful knowledge to the client, with the aim of proving these smart solutions. In most cases, common sense is the best tool in this effort. We spend time explaining these concepts by presenting a holistic approach to the building, its surroundings, and its significant impact on a wider scale.

S.B: How did you develop the program with Mitsulift?

R.A: In the case of Mitsulift, it was easier to convince the client to adopt these measures, since the building is located on a highway and the benefits were obvious. Also, Mitsulift’s business approach embraces corporate social responsibility, whereby the company is committed to elevating environmental standards. It is part of the firm’s values to give back to the environment and prove the efficiency of green solutions through their own buildings. The result is a better quality of spaces in urban environments. It is worth noting that the ecological solutions are not always technologically driven.

S.B: What are a few of your feasible suggestions?

R.A: Indeed, architecture can be green with a low-tech approach: many things can be passively dealt with such as very good thermal insulation, using thermal mass to absorb heat during the day and release it at night. Moreover, we must think of efficient technological systems for example: Solar heating for hot water, VRV air-conditioning machine, LED and fluorescent lighting, energy recovery and variable

Our main concerns are the living quality of the users and the efficiency of the construction, which we achieve by minimizing direct sunlight and heat intake.

Í

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speed elevators. Environmental and cultural considerations are essential to avoid inadequate concepts. The architect cannot extrapolate or export a new technological advance; it must cater to our climate, lifestyle, and culture. For instance, building a fully glazed structure in Lebanon obviously does not make sense in our climate.

On the other hand, a traditional Lebanese house is very ecological.

S.B: How can they be implemented?

R.A: Ecological technologies are being pushed worldwide by governmental regulation or incentives, it is a long-term vision and its aim is mainly to gain fossil fuel independence. Our government could, for instance, enforce the placement of solar heaters to 92

minimize fuel pollution and consumption of boilers. The sun is an abundant resource in Lebanon and it would be a shame not to take advantage of this free energy.

Abillama believes that at the moment ecological certifications don’t add commercial value to a project in the country. Efforts in this direction don’t mean anything if there is no real governmental control that homogenizes what they really stand for. Meanwhile, there is no such thing as a ‘copy, paste’ formula, in the sense that every single project needs to be thought through with its own problematic quality and green solution. If approached in the proper way ecological challenges can be transformed into opportunities for quality living spaces.

Environmental and cultural considerations are essential to avoid inadequate concepts.

The architect cannot extrapolate or export a new technological advance; it must cater to our climate, lifestyle, and culture. For instance, building a fully glazed structure in Lebanon obviously does not make sense in our climate.

On the other hand, a traditional Lebanese house is very ecological.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

By Sherine Bouez

Wealth of Human Investments: Bank Audi With a long-standing legacy of extensive involvement in the community, Bank Audi mobilizes increasingly significant resources today to further its green activities. The bank believes that an authentic contribution starts with each and every member of a community or firm, and necessitates human capital above and beyond any other resources to grow. It has been involved in countless initiatives over many years, including the arts, culture, education, or the environment to name but a few, and is still going strong.

Sherine Bouez: What dedicated resources do you have within Bank Audi for Corporate Social Responsibility?

Bank Audi: The totality of our Lebanon-based workforce, 2800 colleagues contribute to the environmental initiatives and other community related activities that the bank has committed for. Specifically, our specialized CSR unit and a CSR Committee composed of 10 members are dedicated in addition to management’s support and 5 Employee Clubs (Community, Green, Sports, Music & Travel).

S.B: When did you start incorporating CSR into your business model and why?

B. A: CSR has always been part of our DNA at Bank Audi. However, it started off as a paternalistic flair whereas since 2010 it has evolved into an institutionalized effort. Development 94

being at the core of our interaction as corporate citizens, it goes beyond education, training and assistance to reach society as a whole. The objective is to be involved in development projects, thus becoming a solid model to follow in our aspirations to achieve positive change.

S.B: What are your two main accomplished projects in relation to the Environment?

B. A: At Bank Audi, we believe that “Green” initiatives not only save our environment, but also help create alertness and brand recognition among our colleagues and clients.

This is why we have adopted a sustainable program to which we can all commit by “re-using”, “recycling” and “reducing”. The “Grow Green” initiative was thus launched by setting up two collection hubs in the bank’s head office buildings (with more to come in the near future) destined to

store plastic caps, paper, batteries and cans prior to sending them to separate recycling plants. The bank’s Green Club is an active participant in our environment-oriented efforts, which include, among other initiatives, supporting the “Help the Environment” organization. About a year ago we initiated our “Grow Green” program which now consist of 3 recycling hubs (Plaza, Palladium and Dora headquarters) with 3 more planned in the near future in Saida, Tripoli and Bekaa region where colleagues are invited to collect paper, plastic caps, batteries and cans and where each is then recycled in specific organizations.

The paper and tin are sold to generate revenues which are recycled into the creation of new hubs. The caps and batteries are donated to relevant NGO’s each for a cause. In addition, we collect paper from 50 branches in the greater Beirut area and recycle it. This project is continuous

Environment & Business

and being amplified gradually.

On another front, Bank Audi launched “Conscientious Driver”, a special campaign intended to increase awareness to road safety. In partnership with the “Kunhadi” association who spread the campaign to various educational and business institutions, and through Bank Audi’s wide branch network, clients were invited to take the pledge of becoming conscientious drivers. To date, we are proud to have gathered over 8000 signed copies of this pledge, and this coincides with the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety, initiated in 2011.

S.B: How do you increase awareness in this process?

B. A: Special awareness sessions are held at our auditorium on yearly basis around the theme of the environment in addition to our internal communication channels such as our e-newsletter “One Group” as well as individual branch visits to guide our colleagues on the recycling projects.

Bank Audi also plays a crucial role in developing the youth through its

voluntary student internship program, which allows it to reinforce long-term relationships with its stakeholders.

Interns are thus introduced to our business culture and values, increasing their employment opportunities. Each year, the bank hosts over 400 interns from over 20 universities in Lebanon and abroad, covering over 30 majors and specializations. Participants attend orientation sessions on the bank’s values, history, structure, products and services, in addition to an overview of banking operations. Some interns are even offered employment opportunities at the bank.

Recently, and with the development of Corporate Social Responsibility within university curriculums, a rising number of students have also been supported by the bank for their thesis studies in this field.

Moreover, special attention was given, as always, to encourage and support young talents and tomorrow’s future leaders. In this context, students from different schools and universities across the country benefited from full or partial scholarship funding through

Bank Audi’s partnership with educational institutions. This is the case, for example, for the “Mérite Blé Vert” partnership, which binds Bank Audi to La Sagesse schools. Besides, a special award program entitled “Profamily” is organized by the bank annually to reward employees’ children for their outstanding academic performance in the Lebanese baccalaureate by sponsoring their future academic pursuits.

S.B: What are you upcoming plans for furthering the development of CSR? B. A: Implementing ISO 26000 guidelines to be recognized as socially responsible organization, development of environmentally friendly loans and other thematic projects. Also, the Audi Plaza is currently undergoing major changes in order to be LEED certified at platinum level. This project will be complete by 2015. In this spirit, the bank believes green has much potential in the country and a wide untapped space to grow into since other business people can also nurture their CSR initiatives through their business know-how and human capital: “Always aiming at growing beyond our potential as a method of life, entrenched in the way we work and live, and in reflection of our management’s attitude towards integrity and high ethical values, Bank Audi plays a major role, beyond banking, in developing communities through a large deal of active participation, partnerships and community support programs”.

In other words, at its most basic level, adopting green habits can start with sharing knowledge and implementing simple behavioral changes daily, to commit and be accountable to the community and environment in which we do business.

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Environment & Business

By Duncan Lowe

Green Grocers Tesco is a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom.

It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues after Wal-Mart and Carrefour, and the second-largest measured by profits after Wal-Mart.

Founded by Jack Cohen in 1919 when he began selling surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London, Tesco’s first own-brand product was Tea in 1924. The name Tesco was introduced later on in time, from the initials of TE Stockwell, a partner in the firm of tea suppliers. The first shop opened in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Edgware, North London, and in 1932 Tesco officially became a private limited company. In 1934, after having purchased a plot of land, Cohen built the new Tesco headquarters and warehouse in Edmonton, North London: this was the first modern food warehouse in the UK. After opening the first self-service store in 1956, Tesco faced its first expansion in 1960, when the company took over a chain of stores in North England, entering the Guinness Book of Records in 1961 for the largest store in Europe. Since that date Tesco has expanded in over 14 countries across Asia, Europe and North America, becoming the market leader in their sector in the UK, Malaysia, the Republic of Ireland and Thailand.

Environmentally Friendly Since its foundation, Tesco has made becoming environmentally friendly it’s trade mark, promoting different environmental campaigns through the years. Its most recent effort to reduce carbon footprints has made Tesco the world’s first supermarket to have a range of zero-carbon stores.

Reducing carbon footprints is essential for a big multinational company like Tesco, who currently produces over four million tons of carbon a year.

The construction of the first of this kind of stores started in 2007 in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, as the result of a long-term campaign aimed to reduce Tesco’s carbon emissions by 50% within 2020. The Ramsey store opened in 2009, followed by two other shops in UK, Welshpool and Bourne,

and arriving overseas in 2010, with the opening of the first zero-carbon store in Central Europe in Jaromer, Czech Republic. Every new store build between 2007 and 2020, will produce at least 50% less carbon than an equivalent store built in 2006, turning the supermarket chain in the first zerocarbon company by 2050.

This new range of stores is capable of generating its own renewable energy on-site using renewable fuel, producing more than it needs and selling the excess back to the national grid. Made from timber rather than steel, this type of supermarket incorporates a series of environmentally friendly features and technologies, including energy-efficient heating and air conditioning systems, solar powered streetlights system and the first LED-lit car park in the United Kingdom.

The choice to replace steel with timber was made in order to significantly cut the carbon emissions associated with building the store.

For every cubic meter of steel replaced with timber, almost a ton of carbon is saved because timber is less energy intensive to produce, with all the wood used to build those stores coming from sustainable sources. As well as using a wooden frame, all the walls are made with wood cladding on the outside; this alternative to metal creates less carbon and weathers well. At the end of the store’s life, all the wood will be recycled to build another store with or used as fuel source.

Innovative Lighting Another peculiarity of those stores is the innovative light system, a sophisticated structure that automatically turns down individual lights when the natural light increases.

The use of timers also ensures that lights are not left on when they are not needed, with motion sensors in staff areas ensuring that the lights only Í 97

come on when there are people in the room. Special windows and lightweight panels filled with a gel that allows light through the roof allow natural daylight to filter down to the sales floor without over-heating the store. Additional windows on the sides of the store also contribute to naturally lighting the store.

Sustainable light technology is also used in the offices at the back of the stores, where mirrored tubes called sun pipes reflect daylight into areas that wouldn’t normally receive any. In the car park and petrol station of the Ramsey store LED lights, which use less energy and last longer than normal bulbs, were introduced making the store the first in the UK to use LED lighting to light a car park.

Environmental Resources Management In 2007 Tesco appointed the Environmental Resources Management to objectively assess and provide public commentary on its approach to measuring its global direct carbon footprint for the 2006/07 financial year.

“ERM is an independent and global provider of environmental, social and corporate responsibility consulting and assurance services. Over the past 4 years they have worked for over half of the world’s 500 largest companies, in addition to numerous governments, international organizations and NGOs. They have 120 offices in 40 countries and employ over 3,000 people”.

The results of these findings were announced in May 2007, when the ERM stated “Tesco is continuing to take positive steps towards establishing and managing its global direct carbon footprint. The 2006/07 footprint in tons of CO2 has not significantly changed since last year, but the carbon intensity per square foot of net sales area has reduced by 98

11%. This is considered to be due to a combination of increased sales intensity per square foot, improved energy efficiency of new stores and support operations, as well as an enhanced data collection process that provided measured data rather than estimates”.

The first significant achievement was reached in 2009, when the Cheetham Hill store successfully achieved a 70% carbon footprint reduction, followed by the Ramsey store that became in the same year the first zero-carbon supermarket. But reducing carbon emissions in its stores is not the only target Tesco has set to increase the sustainability of our day to day life.

In 2009, the company set the ambitious target of reducing carbon emissions in their supply chain by 30% by 2020. The carbon emitted in growing, manufacturing, processing and transporting the products adds up to around ten times the direct carbon footprint emitted by the company.

In 2010 Tesco’s chief executive Philip Clark stated that “Reducing emissions by conserving resources in our supply chain can pay big dividends on other priorities, such as ending deforestation, reducing waste and using water more effectively.

With hundreds of suppliers in many countries, many with expertise in different aspects of sustainability, the best way to make progress is to share knowledge through our supply chains, across the industry, and across national boundaries. This year, we asked the suppliers to our UK market to complete questionnaires on their carbon reduction, watersaving, and waste and packaging reduction projects”.

on the internet to share best practices with suppliers on a daily basis and help them gain the necessary knowledge and confidence to invest in carbon reduction measures.

Mapping the biggest opportunities to cut carbon in the supply chain, Tesco will use the information collected to drive collaborative projects with the suppliers to reduce carbon emissions. Philip Clarke also stated that developing an improved carbon data management solution will help Tesco to accelerating on their carbon foot printing.

Knowledge Sharing

Setting an Example

To share knowledge and expertise more widely across the supply chain, Tesco have set up a Knowledge Hub

During the same speech Sir Terry Leahy also spoke about the motivations that drive Tesco into

Carbon Labels Other initiatives by Tesco include the adoption, as of 2007, of carbon labels on their own brand products. During a speech with the stakeholders at a joint Forum for the Future and Tesco event in central London on January 18th 2007, Tesco’s ex-chief executive Sir Terry Leahy stated “Tesco’s achievement has been to break down the twin barriers of price and lack of information. We have taken products and services that were out-of-the reach of ordinary people and made them affordable and accessible to millions”.

Carbon labels contain a series of data concerning the emission of CO2 released by the product and its use and disposal. Some labels also contain details on how to reduce the amount of carbon footprints released by the product during its use such as washing clothes at lower temperatures or recycling packaging, particularly important because use and waste of a product represents the largest part of the product carbon footprint.

Environment & Business

becoming a leader in helping to create a low-carbon environment.

The ex-chief executive indicated that as a growing international business Tesco must set an example by measuring and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, setting targets that stretch its business and by committing to do this in a public way, in order to be transparent and fully accountable for what it achieves.

Over the past few years Tesco has demonstrated to have made significant achievements in increasing sustainability and reducing the size of its of carbon footprint. By 2050 they will become the first zero-carbon company, setting as an example for everyone in the challenge of saving our environment and increasing sustainability in our day to day lives.

Fridge Gases When calculating the amount of carbon footprint released, Tesco discovered that over a fifth of it came from gases used to keep refrigerators and freezers cold; since then the company has studied several alternatives to these gases. Many of the stores build from now on will have refrigeration systems that use special gases that do not harm the environment, unlike traditional fridge gases.

These special refrigerants were introduced in 2007 in the Ramsey shop throughout its fridges and freezers in the store and petrol kiosk along with the use of hydrocarbon chillers as part of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

Small heaters, traditionally used to stop freezer doors from steaming up, were replaced with a special film that requires no energy to keep the glass clear. Doors were also added on the fridges in store, reducing drastically the usage of electricity and saving even more energy, allowing Tesco to reduce the carbon footprint produced by its refrigerators and freezers in 2010 by 165,000 tons in the UK alone (Tesco Corporate Responsibility Report 2011).

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Energy

By Márcia Régis

Rio Capital of Energy A city of incomparable beauty, Rio de Janeiro wants to be much more than the poster city of Brazil. This desire was born two decades ago when the historic United Nations World Conference on the Environment, Eco-92 placed the city on the circuit of large international events; Rio+20 in 2010, the FIFA World Cup in 2014, and host of the Olympic Games in 2016. As if so many important events weren’t enough as a source of attracting investment, the discovery of pre-salt oil deposits off the coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro transformed the city as well into the center of a new Eldorado.

Considering that the state currently concentrates 80% of national petroleum production, 42% of natural gas, has the only nuclear plants of the country, the largest concentration of gas thermal plants, and a series of new energy generation and technical innovation projects, the city of Rio de Janeiro may already be considered to be Brazil's energy capital. But it doesn’t stop there. We are going through a transition toward a green economy. Í 101

It was in this spirit to develop, with sustainability that in September 2011 the state government created by decree the Rio Energy Capital Program, officially launched in June during the official events of Rio+20.

That occasion witnessed the presentation of details of the timetable of the first 35 projects that are to be developed in order to foster energy efficiency, technological innovation and green energy in the state by 2015. The list of projects underway or in their beginning phases totals assured investments of at least BRL 500 million.

The projects were chosen among a list of proposals presented over a nine-

month period, beginning with the signing of the decree by State Governor Sergio Cabral. Among the candidates are companies, universities, and associations and entities linked to the energy sector that are considered to be the veritable socioeconomic and environmental DNA of the state. In a second phase, the state government created a strategy committee made up of the heads of all of the national and international companies linked to the energy sector with headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. The executives requested

the support of universities, which are the bedrock of the new technologies.

The first meeting of the working group took place in August, 2011, prior to the launching of the governmental decree.

Later, the program created an executive committee made up of technicians of the participating companies of the strategy committee, and by other professionals from associations and universities.

The task of the executive committee was to analyze the major project proposals and to create an action plan.

The projects were divided into four

areas: energy efficiency, technological innovation, low-carbon economy, and mass application of the concepts. The objective is for each of these areas to be replicated in four strategic sectors for Rio de Janeiro: transportation, industry, construction, and commerce.

The State Secretary of Economic Development, Julio Cesar Carmo Bueno stated: “We want to use the energy of the XX century in order to leverage the energy of the XXI century. We have a portfolio of dynamic projects, and new projects will be added during the coming months, as the timetables and the sources of their resources are delineated for each.”

Secretary Bueno emphasized that other entrepreneurs and even foreign investors are being attracted in order to become part of the Rio Energy Capital Program.

A good example of this is vehicular natural gas (VNG) technology, which provides a 20% reduction of CO2 emissions and an 80% reduction of particulate matter. The innovation comes from three departments of the state government, but it has attracted the interest of the German companies Bosch and MAN, which developed a bus using the new technology.

It is estimated that 80% of diesel use will be replaced by VNG. The principal advantages are: guaranteed resale of buses after a predetermined fleet usage; VNG fueling at company garages, without investment by the businesses for the installation of VNG; a 50% reduction of the vehicle registration tax, and reduction of CO2 emissions.

Another example is the Solar Maracanã Project, with the installation of photovoltaic cells in the legendary soccer stadium, currently being renovated for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The local electric energy utility, Í

Light, together with EDF (Electricité de France), entered into a partnership agreement to install solar panels in a 2,500 m² area of the compression ring of the stadium, which will support its new roof made of stretched canvas.

Thus, Maracanã will become an energy producer, with capacity for generating 528 MWh per year – nearly 20% of what the stadium consumes, or the equivalent of the annual consumption of 240 homes.

Moreover, the project will prevent the dispersal of 2.5 thousand tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. This clean energy will start to be produced in the beginning of 2013, and may be sold on the market in order to amortize the investment. After the amortization period, ownership of the plant will be transferred to the State of Rio de Janeiro, which can consume the energy in Maracanã itself or in another state installation.

Along the same lines, the seaside resort of Búzios, located to the northern part of the state of Rio de Janeiro, and brought to international fame thanks to having been frequented by Brigitte Bardot during the 1960’s, will become the first “intelligent city” of Brazil, along with four other such cities in the world. The Buzios Smart City Project, in its initial phases of development by Ampla, the electricity distribution utility belonging to the Spanish group Endesa, foresees the installation of solarpowered traffic signals, the placing of LED lighting throughout the city, as well as the use of rubberized asphalt, a product obtained from the recycling of used tires. Among other benefits to be offered to the city and its residents is the possibility of charging different energy rates, according to the hour of usage.

“Rio de Janeiro has always been in the vanguard in the areas of energy and sustainability. We need to look toward the future and develop new technologies that change the energy matrix in a positive direction”, says Bruno. The statue of Christ the Redeemer opens its arms to innovation.

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We want to use the energy of the XX century in order to leverage the energy of the XXI century. We have a portfolio of dynamic projects, and new projects will be added during the coming months, as the timetables and the sources of their resources are delineated for each.

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Energy

By Nathalie Rosa Bucher and Joumana RizkYarak

Changing Lives One Wind Turbine at a Time For thousands of years, mariners trusted the winds to get across rivers, seas and oceans to explore the world, expand their empires and make history in the process.

Soon, the winds of North Lebanon could be changing the lives of the people in the remote region of Akkar.

Driven by the desire to add value to peoples’ lives in Lebanon’s poorest region and a firm belief in a mixed energy supply base; Hawa Akkar s.a.l. have conducted extensive research and a feasibility study in the area.

Based on this research, the outcomes of the feasibility study, as well as deliberations with the local communities, it was established that the area was ideal for a wind farm project.

Since then, the company has earmarked a site along a north-south ridge line that tops out at 800 meters, where twenty turbines with a capacity of 60 MW could be set up, enough to supply 60,000 households in this sparsely populated area of Lebanon.

Hawa Akkar’s plans are as much in line with those of the Lebanese government as they are with global energy trends, which are rapidly shifting away from oil and coal to renewable energies such as wind, solar, biomass and hydraulic energy, amongst others. Í 107

The Fastest Growing Source of Electricity Production Wind power is currently the fastest growing source of electricity production in the world. World wind generation capacity has more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2006, doubling about every three years.

According to The World Wind Energy Association (WWEA), worldwide wind capacity reached 197 GW in 2011.

Figures for last year revealed that a record number of 98 countries in the world harnessed wind energy on a commercial basis.

All wind turbines installed by the end of 2011 worldwide can provide 500 TW hours per annum, which translates to around 3% of the global electricity consumption. The potential for wind energy, however, is immense.

Latest findings by researchers at the University of Delaware and Stanford University released in September 2012 prove that wind energy could provide up to half the world's power supply with little environmental impact.

According to news reports, the study debunks previous assessments that suggested wind wouldn't be a feasible way to power much of the world's grid “due to environmental and power output concerns.” According to the University of Delaware's Cristina Archer, “about 4 million turbines could provide the world with 7.5 TW of energy annually, about half of the estimated power necessary to run Earth's power grids in 2030.”

Meeting Ever-Growing Energy Demands While the Middle East is rich in oil and gas, these reserves are unevenly distributed, some countries being major oil exporters and others depending on imports. This is a particular challenge for countries such as Lebanon where power demand has been growing rapidly.

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Lebanon had to foot a bill of $US3.74 billion for petrol imports in 2010, which skyrocketed to $US5.26 billion in 2011.

In March 2012, Business Monitor International (BMI) pointed out that Lebanon was poorly placed in fiscal terms to weather the impact of higher oil prices given that it ran substantial fiscal deficits in 2011, amounting to 7% of its GDP. Financial services company Standard & Poor’s, at the beginning of the year, noted that higher oil prices could also raise subsidies to the state-owned Electricité du Liban (EDL). “The subsidies already account for more than 4% of GDP in 2011, further weakening Lebanon’s fiscal profile and putting its primary surplus under greater pressure.” Given that the Hawa Akkar project is privately owned it would not incur any additional debt to the government. Electricity generated through Hawa Akkar would be sold to the government, which would distribute it to the houses in Akkar and other regions.

Experts estimate that demand for electricity in Lebanon will reach 4,000 MW in less than three years. At present, the country produces around 1,500 MW of electricity, while at peak times it would require 2,500 MW to satisfy demands. The current formula just hasn’t been adding up. The mandate to guarantee security of supply and shift away from nonrenewable material remains unfulfilled.

Copenhagen 2009 During the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, Lebanon, in an unprecedented move, committed itself to generating 12% of the country’s energy needs from renewable sources, including wind farms, by 2020.

In light of the fact that the expected demand in 2020 will rise to around 6,000 MW, 12% would represent a contribution of 720 MW. To attain the

“A green, renewable energy economy isn't some pie in the sky, far off future is now. It is creating jobs now. It is providing cheap alternatives to $140 per barrel of oil now. And it can create millions of additional jobs, an entire new industry, if we act now.”

- Barak Obama, US President

Energy

target of 20%, set by many other countries, Lebanon would have to produce 1,200 MW of renewable energy per year.

To mention, the renewable energy sector welcomed the Lebanese commitment and (prematurely) hailed as the beginning of a new era in energy politics and private-public partnerships. According to Steve Sawyer, secretary general of Global Wind Energy Council, a lobbying group, up to 15% wind power capacity can be added to a national grid without substantial modifications and relatively minor operational ones.

Although the government has signed up for an energy mix that is to include renewable energy sources, one of the most recent plans consisted in the rental of off-shore energy barges from Turkey that would provide an additional 280 MW and also new power stations to make up for another

700 MW. According to a study the Lebanese government commissioned and conducted by a world-renowned consultancy company, the potential for wind and hydraulic power in Lebanon is sizeable and amounts to 1,500 MW and 600 MW respectively.

A Green Alternative Wind is a clean source of renewable energy that produces no air or water pollution. Unlike nearly every other form of energy, wind power also uses virtually no water. The latter is an important fact, given that Lebanon is a water-scarce country. The wind energy sector had a turnover of $US65 billion in 2011.

While the U.S. wind industry generates tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity, just one wind farm in Akkar could create around 300 jobs. Ă?

Experts estimate that demand for electricity in Lebanon will reach 4,000 MW in less than three years. At present, the country produces around 1,500 MW of electricity, while at peak times it would require 2,500 MW to satisfy demands. The current formula just hasn’t been adding up. The mandate to guarantee security of supply and shift away from non-renewable material remains unfulfilled.

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Lebanese engineers, supported by international engineers, as well as wind turbine manufacturers, will contribute to increasing skills transfer, know-how and capacity in the local renewable energy sector. The pioneering project is entirely Lebanese-owned.

And while skeptics may suggest that instead of enduring serial power cuts, the people of Akkar might end up depending on wind, research has highlighted that a big advantage of the selected site, one of the best locations in Lebanon for wind farms, is constant wind patterns even during the summer season.

Farmers on whose land the turbines will stand will be able to continue growing crops or graze cattle up to the foot of the turbines. Furthermore, large buildings cannot be built near a turbine, thus wind farms preserve open space.

Since the wind is free, operational costs are nearly zero once a turbine is erected. Modern wind turbines produce 15 times more electricity than the typical turbine did in 1990. Mass production and technology advances are making turbines cheaper, and many governments around the world offer tax incentives to spur windenergy development.

Of the 20 turbines for Hawa Akkar, each turbine is capable of producing 3 MW – in the energy-hungry United States a single megawatt is enough electricity to power about 250 homes, in the case of Akkar the turbines will reach 60,000 homes. Wind farms can have anything from a few, to up to hundreds of turbines lined up together in particularly windy spots, often, as in the case of Hawa Akkar’s suggested site, along a ridge.

Sustainable Rural Development Constant, clean and affordable energy supplies for citizens in Akkar, would offer a range of advantages, ranging 110

from jobs to tourism as well as growth opportunities for the region.

The project would furthermore provide the municipalities with additional income.

Daily power cuts significantly stunt and burden Lebanon’s economy and challenge its citizens on a daily basis.

The impact that lengthy electricity cuts have on children and schools, the elderly and sick, the health care system, the agricultural sector and local businesses in Akkar, where cuts frequently last more than 12 hours, is significant.

Hence stable power supplies could spur rural development and lead to an increase in tourism, with new hotels, restaurants and upgraded infrastructure significantly boosting the local economy and most importantly, improving peoples’ quality of life.

Widespread electrification is expected to have a range of implications on industry, health, education and agriculture. Schools in the area could finally be provided with electricity even in winter; toxic fumes generated by costly private generators harm humans as much as they do the environment. These could be replaced with clean, affordable energy. The dependency on generators also makes poorer households that are forced to spend money on energy supplies more vulnerable. Private electricity costs up to $US100 for each 5 amperes in Akkar. Just like private households, the local economy would benefit from reduced bills or operating and manufacturing costs making their businesses more competitive and ultimately, more profitable.

Energy Politics – From Bad to Worse The medium- and short-term implications of delaying the project indefinitely and failing to provide the area with a secure and competitive energy base are far-reaching and Í

Stable power supplies could spur rural development and lead to an increase in tourism, with new hotels, restaurants and upgraded infrastructure significantly boosting the local economy and most importantly, improving peoples’ quality of life.

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range from increased poverty, reduced economic productivity levels and even meltdown of the local economy, which will further increase rural exodus and trigger migration to cities suffering less from power outages. This will inevitably lead to the breaking up of social ties. Migration might also occur to other countries, accelerating brain drain. Increased reliance on generators is likely to cause pollution from toxic fumes as well as improper disposal of fuel an environmental hazard and health risk.

In order to produce, transfer and distribute electric power to the remote North of Lebanon, Hawa Akkar needs government approval to start with actual production. Once that decision is taken by the government and put in place, Hawa Akkar is in a position to commission the wind farm within 18 months.

Given the severity of the energy crisis in Lebanon and the merits of the Hawa Akkar project, once the decree is issued, several other wind energy projects around the country that are in various stages of construction could potentially provide people with an energy mix that includes wind power.

Albert Khoury, General Manager of Hawa Akkar, stresses on the importance and crucial need for this project to see the light: “We need to build the required capacity to generate 24-hour electricity. We deserve this.

But this added capacity should not come at the detriment of our health and environment and should not incur any additional debt to the government.

Hawa Akkar's project is environmentally sustainable, socially responsible, while providing the government with cheaper electricity.”

Speaking at the third Beirut Energy Forum (BEF) in Beirut in September 2012, Energy Minister Gebran Bassil announced that international firms were invited to bid for the construction of a 60 MW wind farm, which would allow the production of electricity at a 112

lower cost than is currently the case in Lebanon. This announcement gives a ray of hope to a sector that has failed to improve over the past year, plagued by an increase of power rationing, endemic administrative problems that grew bigger with striking daily workers and ultimately, a private sector hampered by a lacking political will, bold vision and leadership.

Wind – the New Oil? A number of governments in the Middle East have developed national plans for renewable energy, but current uptake of wind power is in its infancy, with only 92 MW installed in Iran, 8 MW in Israel and 2 MW in Jordan. While less evenly distributed than solar power, the region’s wind resource is deemed as excellent.

Jordan, which aims to obtain 10% of its energy from renewable energy sources by 2020, introduced a Renewable Energy Law in 2010, which requires the National Electric Power Company to purchase all electricity produced by independent and small-scale renewable plants at full retail price.

Galal Osman, president of the Egyptian Wind Energy Association, believes that a mind shift is necessary: “It’s important to start seeing these hot windy locations in terms of their energy value in the modern world, in the same way one would if they discovered oil.”

Hawa Akkar has the support of the local municipalities and is seeking the support of all those residing in Lebanon and its vast diaspora in order to motivate the council of ministers to give Hawa Akkar the go-ahead. Only then will it be able to alleviate Lebanon’s energy woes, contribute to the country’s energy mix, encourage all other pending renewable energy projects to go forward and ring in a new, sustainable era in energy politics, radically improving lives in the land of the Cedars.

“We begin to see, therefore, the importance of selecting our environment with the greatest of care, because environment is the mental feeding ground out of which the food that goes into our minds is extracted.”

- Napoleon Hill

AROUND THE WORLD IN PHOTOS KENYA FIELD TRIP THE PEOPLE OF YUNNAN

WORLDENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

Magazine

Kenya Field Trip ........................... 114 The Dadaab and Kakuma Refugee Camps Photos for WFP by Diego Fernandez

The People of Yunnan ............. 130 Photos & text by Mimo Khair

Photos for WFP by Diego Fernandez

KENYA FIELD TRIP The Dadaab and Kakuma Refugee Camps Kenya hosts about 575,000 refugees, mainly from Somalia and Sudan, in Dadaab and Kakuma camps. Ă?

Dadaab refugee camps are located in northeastern Kenya, about 470 km from Nairobi and 100 km from the Somalia border. The three camps Dagahaley, Ifo and Hagadera were established in 1991, subsequent to an influx of Somali refugees fleeing civil war. The Kenya-Somalia border has remained officially closed since early 2007. However, the camps continue to experience an influx of asylum seekers. At the peak of the 2011 crisis, more than 1,200 Somalis (mostly women and children) arrived daily in Dadaab, fleeing famine in southern Somalia.

Currently the camps host about 473,000 registered refugees.

Kakuma refugee camp is situated in Turkana District, in northwestern 116

Kenya. It is about 850 km from Nairobi, and 150 km south of the Sudanese border. The camp was established in July 1992 initially to cater for Sudanese refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan, but gradually opened up to other nationals as the need arose. Since 2005, UNHCR has a voluntary repatriation exercise which has led to assisted return of more than 5,000 south Sudanese.

Many more have reportedly returned spontaneously. Current population is 102,000 registered refugees.

Somalis are now the majority refugees in Kakuma (53 percent) after UNHCR relocated some of them in 2010 in order to decongest Dadaab. Since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement Ă?

in 2005, many South Sudanese have either being voluntary repatriated by UNHCR or returned spontaneously home. However, given the recent conflict and humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, the number of new arrivals has increased from an average of 100/week to about 500/week in February 2012.

WFP provides food assistance to the refugees as well as host communities living around Dadaab and Kakuma camps. In addition to the general food rations, WFP provides extra support for vulnerable and malnourished children as well as for pregnant and breast-feeding women through supplementary feeding programs. Ă?

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“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.

A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.�

- Sophia Loren

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THE PEOPLE OF YUNNAN Until Kubla Khan conquered the kingdom of Nanchao, and many of its people fled to the south, this was the homeland of the Tai people. Today large numbers of ethnic Tais - known as Dai, Bai and other names - still inhabit many of the mountainous regions and plains, though two-thirds of Yunnan's 41 million population are now Han Chinese.

by Mimo Khair

Ă?

Yunnan is one of the most ethnically diverse provinces in Asia. The Bai and Dai are among the few registered ethnic minority groups to have populations over the one million mark. Yi, Naxi and Hani ethnic groups have also surpassed this mark. The Miao, Lisu, Hui, Lahu, Wa, Yao, Jingpo and Tibetan minorities all have populations exceeding 100,000, while the Bulang, Buyi, Pumi, A'chang, Nu, Jino, De'ang and Mongolian groups each exceed 10,000. The Shui, Manchu and Dulong have more than 4,000 members each.

Over the past 20 years, the government has recognized the importance of having a multi-ethnic nation, known as duominzu guojia.

Writing systems are being developed for all minority languages in China, and elementary school students in some minority areas have been offered a choice of either Chinese or their minority language as the medium of instruction. Ă?

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Language Although the country's official language is Mandarin, the Han speak a dialect of it, and almost all of the minority nationalities have their own languages.

ReligionEthnic diversity in Yunnan has led to a varied and complex order of religious beliefs, which co-exist happily.

The four distinct religions are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Christianity, however one group may believe in several religions simultaneously, whilst other groups may share one common belief.

Taoism, introduced in the 7th century, is principally a Han belief, while Islam came to Yunnan around 1253 with the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty and the arrival of outside officials to replace local authorities.

An English missionary introduced Christianity in 1877. Visitors to religious buildings are expected to dress neatly and conservatively, while treating religious figures or edifices with due respect - climbing on them is not considered respectful. Ă?

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Social Men and women, irrespective of age or seniority, greet each other with a handshake. However, the Chinese are not physically demonstrative and, though a good friend may clasp both hands of the other as a gesture of affection, hugging, backslapping, open displays of affection or flirting are usually frowned upon.

The Chinese have high regard for older people, and will show courtesy and visible acknowledgment of the presence of an older person. Chinese surnames precede given names, and it is not considered polite to address people by their given name.

Two Chinese customs which may disconcert the foreign visitor are the slurping of food and prolonged staring. The former is a recognized sign of enjoyment, while the latter is not intended as rude or intrusive, merely curious. Ă?

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This child, one of the Hani minority children from the rice terraces of beautiful Yunnan, lives in a charming little house called “mushroom house� because his people were inspired by mushrooms to design these homes after many years of living in caves. In his home he has pigs, a water buffalo, chicken, ducks, cats, dogs, generations of family members and many colorful dried seeds and pumpkins.

To go to school everyday, the children must walk down a valley and up a mountain, the journey takes more than an hour each way. Their smiles are guaranteed to melt your heart!

The Yiche people, a branch of the Hani ethnic minority that settled in Yunnan about 1000 years ago, wear conical hats in black and in white and are known to have some of the stranger customs among the Hani people. The ‘lihhahha’ or marriages in their language of the Yiche people are arranged by their parents when they are very young, when the bride-price is paid. After the marriage the husband and wife don’t live together, but with their own parents. The wife, however, must visit her husband every twelve days until giving birth.

During this period of lihhahha the wife has the freedom to have sexual intercourse with any man she likes.

In Yunnan province in China, there are at least 26 ethnic minorities living in small villages up and down the lush green mountains. Amazing people who were said to have come from the mountains of Tibet before settling in Yunnan.

The Hani believe that all things on earth have souls. They offer sacrifices to mountains, rivers, dragons and heaven, and, as often as every week, to their ancestors. Animals have spirits that are honored in hunting rites.

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Attune to the Cycle of Nature in Mount Lebanon Less than an hour drive from chaotic Beirut a hidden ecological sanctuary offers peace of mind, body and soul.

By Nicole Hamouche

Ă?

The valley that has seen men and women flee the atrocities of war from the Ottoman Empire, to the conflict of 1860, and then the massacres of 1983, has now become a haven of peace; a transitory refuge, not to hide in anymore but to expand. It is in this preserved lush historical mountain of the Chouf, at 400 meters altitude from the coast, that a young Lebanese dreamer entrepreneur hosts guests seeking an escape from the frenzy of civilization and cement in an ecological village where contact is only with nature: whispering birds and leaves, chanting river, crackling fire ‌ Upon his return from Germany, where he studied sustainability and environment, Karim Khatib, an environmentalist at heart, developed the idea of creating an eco-village after the organic and vegetarian restaurant run by his family in a trendy Beirut neighborhood struggled to profit given supplies’ prices. Karim decided then that they needed to grow for themselves the vegetables and fruits needed for the restaurant. He started looking for a piece of

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land all across the Lebanon; until he had a coup de coeur for this 16 hectares unspoiled domain in Dmit, where he gradually turned the property into a global ecological initiative. With his passion and the assistance of similarly passionate and committed locals and friends, Karim pursued the development of the Ecovillage where he laid down roots with his German wife Sophie and his child chubby Leon. The three of them live in one of the twelve tree houses of the Ecovillage and Leon attends kindergarten in the neighboring village each day. His parents love to live here amidst the trees, the dogs and the sky. Sophie says she does not really miss the city, though she comes from Berlin - she goes to Beirut once a week and to Berlin a few times a year.

Khatib has developed a village that is totally respectful of the environment. Accommodations, be they in mud houses, tree cabins, or tents are built from recycled materials, wood, bamboo, and clay. The energy is renewable, thanks to solar

Ă?

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energy and biogas as well as micro hydro turbines that produce electricity. Hence, there is constant electricity and water in this remote wood and mud village, which is better than in the rest of the country where, since the war, power is rationed daily and water provision also scarce. You even have access to wireless internet; but do you really want to?

Notwithstanding the general cynical post-war atmosphere in the country, Khatib has chosen to set a trend in terms of sustainable development and alternative energies and to go by what he believes in. If no public initiatives have been taken whatsoever in the country in this sense, this has not impeded Khatib and those like him from wanting to put Lebanon on the international scene as sustainable and responsible tourism is hype. A number of ecological villages have burgeoned in the country, such as The Reserve in the arid Afqa plateau appreciated by Bedouins , Lazaab (Arabic for “juniper”) in the shadow of Qornet al-Sawda, Lebanon’s highest peak, Al Jord in the wild and remote Hermel region, the Taanayel eco-lodge in the Bekaa Valley, etc. Those are usually privately funded initiatives; hence they don’t even undertake any marketing promotion; but word of mouth is incredibly efficient amongst nature lovers and the web and social media contribute to it.

Karim Khatib had studied international relations and wanted to be a diplomat, but he was quickly disenchanted with the Í

“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”

- Aldo Leopold

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official representations of the country. He has now become an ambassador of Lebanon in a different fashion. His Ecovillage attracts numerous tourists: many Europeans visiting in addition to Americans and Lebanese expats, as well as Lebanese residents - school groups, corporate teams. He also hosts volunteers from all over who are interested in natural ecosystems and organic agriculture...

It doesn’t feel like Lebanon as the faces you might come across are black, white, blond, Asians, etc. And the scenery, so pristine, gives a feel of Out of Africa or of Rohmer movies nearby the crystal riverside, embraced by surrounding pine tree mountain flanks.

The best way to get to know and to love the place is a walk through its wilderness and history with Hassan the guide, whom you cannot miss with his moustache and sarouel (traditionalal baggy trousers). Hassan, who grew up in this mountain but immigrated to Saudi Arabia during the war and came back to his native village, will entertain you all along the path, inviting you to smell every tiny aromatic plant on the way and telling you about its medicinal virtues for you or your baby. He will also drag you into hidden cool caves, where you shall discover old Christian hermitages you did not even suspect. Should you show some good physical condition and adventuresome spirit, he might also be inclined to take you further in the heights of the mountain, off the trail. Getting out of the comfort zone can reveal untouched treasures… Aside from Hassan, you will also befriend Doobie and Ricky, the big dogs that watch over the Ecovillage community. Even if you don’t like dogs, you will very quickly get to like these teddy bear looking animals. They are also your guarantee of a good night sleep, as no wild pig, snake, or undesired intruder will dare approach your tent under Doobie’s protection. And should you ask Hassan to prolong the walk as you are immersed in this heritage ambiance he will refuse so, as to ensure you do not miss the organic vegetarian lunch buffet, prepared with produce of the village. After your meal, you can take a nap by the scenic riverside or dare a refreshing wake up in its cool waters.

You could also choose to take a yoga class - Karim is keen on having yoga instruction offered in the village. It is self-abandonment and inner peace that this experience invites to. Abandoning oneself to Morpheus while suspended in in a tree cabin and to the blandness of nature brings a new perspective to things. Even some honeymooners venture in this experience in the interlace of branches.

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WORLD ENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

By Sherine Bouez

Clean Lebanon Preserving a Country’s Identity Three ladies, along with a small web of supporters, have joined forces for wondrous results as they dreamt of a clean Lebanon. Today, some of the country’s historical sites have undergone drastic cleaning activities. This includes projects such as the renovation of the Nahr el Kalb tunnel. “Yes we can and yes we will” say Celina Rahal, Faenza Tarabay and Gioconda Daaboul -all married to Lebanese men- speaking of Lebanon as of their own home. “We are not interested in making anything out of it, our initiatives are auto-financed” they explain.

Their aim is to preserve the country’s beauty and ensure hygienic sites for users, visitors, and passers by. Even some of the commonly used roads present health hazards and chaotic littering. The communications strategy targets both the influencers (such as parents, teachers, or organizations) and the general public.

To accomplish its mission, the Clean Lebanon team has been devising cultural and social projects to raise public awareness, with the collaboration of municipalities. In addition, the approach is also geared towards the role of education and the incorporation of essential environmental knowledge into children’s upbringing. With the co-operation of the Ministry of Education this has resulted in several awareness initiatives, in both public and private schools, across the country.

Lebanon has already taken the necessary measures several decades ago, and with much attention to detail regarding their mode of implementation. Clean Lebanon has been working with the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities on the application of Decree No.8735, that was issued as early as 23 August 1974, avowing to “Stop the indiscriminate trash throwing and littering by imposing deterrent penalties on polluters, and forcing owners of un-built properties to fence their properties and prevent the overspill of dirt and rubble”.

The way the team defines litter is as follows: “any product or material that is lying around on our highways, parks, beaches or streets that doesn't belong there”. An excerpt of a recent Canadian litter audit specifies what this includes: miscellaneous paper or cardboard; printed paper material (like newspapers, flyers, bus transfers, etc.); towels/napkins/serviettes; pieces of plastic packaging; foil materials; candy bar wrappers; cups, lids, pieces of both; tobacco/cigarette butts; soft drink containers; gum wrappers; stationary; bottle caps; straws; and many, many more items.

The group has undertaken several initiatives including: Clean Lebanon in Tourza (to clean the roads, raise awareness, and 152

plant trees), Clean Lebanon in Chlifa, Bekaa (to show documentaries), or Clean Lebanon Club at the Lebanese International University (to encourage students and youth from all over Lebanon to get together and participate in a global cause, in order to protect their country from the increasing danger of pollution). In an effort to preserve Lebanon’s heritage, Clean Lebanon’s members have endeavored to clean the Nahr El Kalb tunnel, as they believe it is symbolic of Lebanon’s milestones, “It is a historic place where the independence was signed and sixteen civilizations have passed” they state.

Indeed, UNESCO describes the Commemorative Stella of Nahr El Kalb as follows: “The stela of Nahr el-Kalb, the Lycus or Dog River, sum up the entire history of Lebanon, from High Antiquity to the present, evoking clearly the successive advances of the Pharaonic, Assyro-Babylonian, Greek, Roman, Arab, French and British armies which braved all the obstacles surrounding this difficult and very steep crossing point to carve commemorative stela on the rocks’.

The touristic area of Nahr El Kalb dedicated to visitors was covered with litter before the works, but not anymore.

Moreover, the area is now cleaned on a regular basis, and the new litterbins have proven to be a successful addition.

Once the project was underway, the community reacted generously and fervently- a point in case that green initiatives have many followers here. Numerous helping hands flocked to the site offering all they could. Hawa Chicken provided sandwiches for all the volunteers, Libby’s Interbrand S.A.L dispensed beverages, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) made the job easier by providing all the necessary safety precautions. Also, a pub donated bins so people could dispose of their litter, and Debbas provided the new ceiling lighting system. “We brought gloves, nylon bags, food, drinks for more than twenty people working hard in their Clean Lebanon t-shirts” they explain. In the evening, they used their car lights to continue their work as the night fell.

It took them three years of perseverance to obtain the permit

for these cleaning works, and the efforts were sustained to accomplish their dream. From 12pm to 6am they closed the two tunnels alternately. Their activities included adding reflectors on the walls, painting the outside of the tunnels and the yellow lines on the road. Furthermore, they organized for the Fire brigade to wash the walls, and cooperated with a landscape designer to create green areas. Much collaboration is necessary to accomplish their green ideas, and the ladies adopt an a-political and areligious approach in all their projects. Founding members include: Mr. & Mrs. Maurice Torbay, Honorary Consul of Ecuador in Venezuela, H.E. Zoed Karam, Ambassador of Venezuela, H.E. Rida Mariette Al Jure Ambassador of Colombia, Marla Sanchez Pietton †, Wife of French Ambassador. One of the hurdles this program faces is the abundance of similarly urgent socio-political challenges. So far, adepts count all Latin American Ambassadors and many supporters; still much needs to be done with few resources at hand. The team is very grateful for the cooperation of many dedicated ministers that have responded favorably and helpfully to their voluntary work. Clearly, focusing on hygiene and beauty also has a wider impact on tourism, which contributes to the growth of Lebanon’s economy and the enhancement of the quality of life.

Most importantly, Clean Lebanon has witnessed and measured a significantly positive behavioral response to sharing even little knowledge, “if you keep on working, people respond favorably and quickly start adopting green habits”. This is what keeps the founders going in their objective to encourage people to join their campaign for the resolution and implementation of this program that requires urgent action. They deem tangible outcomes can also be reached by establishing prizes and sanction schemes, which, they hope, will be adopted by governmental authorities: “There are people who believe in our dream and they will hopefully react so that we can keep up the good work’!

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Horseback Riding A Holistic Experience

By Melany Wang Photography by Mariejoe J. Raidy

Eco-Living

Imagine being able to ride a horse surrounded by majestic green mountains overlooking a sweeping valley. This is possible at the Equestrian Circle, which is Lebanon's new premier venue for horseback riding. The Club is located in Beit Mery, which is renowned for its traditional houses, ecological surrounding and greenery and is easily accessible from all regions.

With a natural forestation surrounding, the Equestrian Circle revolves around being part of nature and not wasting its resources. All the club's structure was built around nature.

Nothing was removed or destroyed, that explains a tree in the middle of the ceiling. The roof was specifically build to avoid having the tree altered or removed. The Club has invested in equipment that pumps water, cleans it and reuses it, so water is recycled not wasted.

Special care is given to treat the horses and their habitat in an environmentally friendly way. The water treatment was made in such a way where natural draining is done with the arenas waters.

All rainwater is naturally drained through ground waters.

The land was left at its natural state and not altered, which explains the many levels of the club. The soil was not changed to fit the club although it would have made it more flat and much easier to use, however that proces would have harmed nature.

The stables are equipped to offer students, amateurs, as well as qualified riders an opportunity to ride away in a most professional setting with the best trainers in the country. No previous experience is needed to enjoy a ride around the club. Ponies are available for young children who would like to tryout horseback riding.

In addition to training and private lessons all year round, the Club organizes private and group excursions on horses as well as ponies.

At the Club, horseback riding is more than a physical activity or emotional attachment to horses, it’s a holistic experience merged with nature to develop a balance of Self.

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By Hala Habib

Keeping the Streets Alive Graffiti, Between Revolution & Evolution: A Lebanese Story Graffiti has evolved tremendously since they first appeared in the suburbs, trains and streets of New York. This phenomenon, which started as a means of expression against social injustice and political protest, generally associated to vandalism, is claiming its own place on the contemporary art scene, in galleries around the world and in prestigious auction houses alike. In recent years, cities in Europe and the Americas have encouraged street art and consider it since, as part of their cultural heritage. And let’s not forget that graffiti was and still is a powerful tool of free and open expression, a means of mass communication in the era of wide public information and social networking. �

Environment & Art

What do graffiti and street art mean?

This is exactly what “White Wall” is all about.

“The environment becomes inspiration.

My response to it becomes idea.

And idea becomes purpose and action through interpretation and painting.�

- Gerald Brommer

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Environment & Art

At a time when Graffiti has evolved to become a recognized form of art around the world, Graffiti in Lebanon has tremendously evolved throughout the years from a revolutionary way to express sociopolitical and war-related messages to elaborate and “fashionable” wall paintings.

The White Wall initiative bridges the gap between the artists and the public in bringing together the best talents to showcase their works in a most inventive way. With a team of three curators and in association with Fondation Saradar organized at Beirut Art Center in a first attempt of its kind to organize a public event about Graffiti and its various expressions.

It is important to outline that this is the first time ever that a gallery agrees to lend its own walls, white walls, to street artists’ brushes and spray cans.

As part of its strong commitment to social responsibility and human development Fondation Saradar tries to highlight the role of graffiti and street art in our urban environment; to try to change the common perception, skeptical or even negative, about wall writings and drawings; and to pay tribute to the street artists in general and to Lebanese graffitists in particular.

The White Wall main objectives is to give new impetus to the Lebanese graffiti scene. Fourteen international artists, from Europe, North America, South America, together with artists from Egypt and Tunisia, with diverse visions and street art practices, have been invited to share their passion and expertise. Beirut Art Center is hosting the exhibition, while the show is also spread over the streets of Beirut, creating a dynamic interaction between the exhibition’s venue and the city. Nineteen Lebanonbased artists - the figureheads of the Lebanese street art and graffiti scene - participate in the various White Wall activities and outdoor interventions throughout Beirut.

Since the Civil War, public space in Lebanon had been occupied by inscriptions and stencils related to war and sectarian politics. Western-style graffiti appeared infrequently as of the mid-1990s. It was not until 2005 that a new scene emerged, taking on the task to create a uniquely Lebanese style of this art form. This scene is now burgeoning and the streets of Beirut have witnessed the birth of new artists mixing caustic stencils, western influences and Arabic graffiti. These interventions contrasted with public expectations, since they promoted unity over division and maintained a humorous and often critical look at Lebanese society.

One of the key issues raised by this event is to understand how it is possible to bring an inherently outdoor and accessible art to an indoor space like Í 161

Beirut Art Center, without betraying the idiosyncrasy of this art. While the first graffiti exhibition was already held in 1976 in New York City, this remains a challenge until today.

The title, White Wall, confronts the white walls of the galleries with the streets of the city, a challenging prospect for a street artist.

To mark the artwork’s significance, items related to street art are on display at Beirut Art Center.

Visitors can find a selection of books as well as graffiti-styled bags by « Sarah’s Bag », designed in collaboration with the artists.

The exhibit aims to create a vibrant interaction between graffiti, the city of Beirut and the Beirut Art Center. Therefore the project is divided over different venues. Beirut Art Center is hosting the exhibition for a period of two months. The rest of the exhibition is spread over the walls of the city.

The locations of the outdoor interventions is indicated on a map that visitors can pick up at the main venues and find updates online.

This initiative seeks to emphasize the medium of graffiti as a universal artistic expression and a timeless communication tool used worldwide, as well as to create a platform in Beirut for local and international graffitists as well as selected Arab artists. This platform is used for the artists to meet, exchange experiences, and share techniques, and it encourages creative ventures and innovative collaborations and provide welland lesser known - artists with wide international exposure. The artists is able to explore and understand the history and evolution of graffiti in Lebanon, to encourage new perceptions of graffiti in Lebanon by placing it in the context of a contemporary art space, and to promote public space as important and legitimate as a site for social and artistic engagement.

The amazing work of the artists will not only surprise visitors they will also be amazed and will never look at white walls the same way again! Í 162

White Wall, confronts the white walls of the galleries with the streets of the city, a challenging prospect for a street artist.

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Biography of international artists Ammar Abo Bakr (Egypt) is one of the most active street artists in Egypt today. Many of his iconic pieces have become famous far beyond Egypt.

His political art comments on the daily struggles of the revolution. Abo Bakr teaches at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Luxor.

AyaTarek (Egypt) is seen by many as the first serious street artist in Egypt.

Long before the revolution her work could be seen in her hometown Alexandria. Exceptionally talented, she is also one of the youngest artists in today's Egyptian scene.

Btoy (Spain) lives in Barcelona and is interested in the irregular surfaces of a "mur trouvé", to which she adds ads and the remains of pollution.

Walls, which are sought and found not quite at random, become the ideal medium to disseminate her work, which is characterized by intertextuality: nostalgic portraits are swayed by forceful brushstrokes of color, contrasting with their sources in black and white photographs. She has exhibited at galleries in Barcelona, London, Paris and Los

Angeles; and she has participated in many live shows such as "The Cans Festival", London.

Graffitimuseum (Germany) was created in 2001 by Nick Ivique, Jo Irrläufer and Aljoscha Igrich.

Graffitimuseum works on the paradox of an institutional Graffiti Museum without perverting the essence of this movement. The Graffitimuseum collaborates in its projects with art historians, linguists and scriptwriters.

Inti (Chile) is a Chilean urban artist whose influences stem from Latin American socialist murals and graffiti art. In his work he cites and exploits iconographic elements, color and designs from pre-Columbian traditions, which he combines with the graphic aesthetics of graffiti.

L'Atlas (France) is a French artist born in 1978. He started to write graffiti in the 1990s. Fascinated with the line and the craft of writing, he went to study traditional Arabic calligraphy in Morocco, Egypt and Syria. He takes special interest in the Kufic script, the geometric shapes of which he transposes and encodes into the Latin alphabet, creating a

unique typography. Without ceasing his interventions in the street, he is developing a pictorial universe in which each letter is considered as a shape, and each shape as a letter.

Mark Jenkins (USA) is an internationally acclaimed American artist known for the mixed-media sculptures and street installations he places throughout urban and environmental settings, sometimes with, but often without, permission.

Jenkins’ process involves dry-casting everything from fire hydrants and toy ducks to baby dolls and people.

Jenkins’ works have been observed lounging atop billboards, slumped over on cafeteria tables, panhandling in the streets, emanating from street poles, drowning in bodies of water, clinging to statues, overturning street signs and more in locations such as Belgrade, Vienna, Washington D.C., London, Barcelona, New York, Moscow and Seoul.

Obetre (Belgium) discovered graffiti in the mid-1990s. Always aiming to maintain an innovative approach, Obetre promotes the appropriation of public space through his work. A keen traveller, he has left significant marks on the cities where he has

lived such as Brussels, Toulouse, Montreal, Tokyo and Montevideo.

Parole (Belgium) is an artist from Brussels who works on the distortion of signs, phonetics and words. He also elevates his graffiti tags to the level of imaginative and poetic writing, somewhere between calligraphy and logograms. His work can also be deciphered as a kind of visual music that possesses its own rhythm, symmetries and silences.

Parole emerges spontaneously from the blank sheet of paper to produce unpredictable emotions and the clashing of letters to generate novelty.

Reso (France) a true purist of matter, has practiced graffiti in Toulouse for nearly twenty years. With a high level of precision, he draws "Wild Style", but also characters or realistic scenes. His participation in numerous festivals in Europe and his recurrent appearances in numerous publications make Reso a recognized artist not only in the graffiti world but also in contemporary art.

Tanc (France) came to his art as a result of daily practice of graffiti. His strength comes from discovering how to make his name vanish so as

to uncover an original pictorial, abstract language. The isolation of the calligraphic stroke applied to the canvas gives birth to a multicolored abstract painting lying somewhere between action painting, graffiti and pop art. Tanc composes his paintings like electronic music: by layering. These paintings, which at first sight appear direct and minimalistic, are in fact the result of prolonged inquiry into color and optical illusion.

Zepha (France) is a real cosmopolitan artist. His work is the result of the crossbreeding of several cultures. He appropriates public space and disrupts visual habits: a graphic utopian fight undertaken against a system guided by savage man-eating liberalism and advertising. Arabic calligraphy strongly influences his work through his training by the Moroccan calligrapher, Abdelatif Mustad and the discovery of the work of the Sudanese calligrapher, Ahmed Abdel Aal. With the Kufic and the lively Diwani styles, he has rediscovered the workings of composition, balance of letters and movement appropriated by graffiti.

Biography of people involved in The White Wall This project is carried by four different energies: Charles Vallaud aka Prime, Siska, Don R. Karl aka Stone and Tania Helou (Fondation Saradar).

Charles Vallaud aka Prime (France) has been in love with graffiti since his early childhood.

Prime left Toulouse for Beirut in February 2005 on a journey that was supposed to last a few months; it lasted until July 2007.

This is when he met Siska and became part of the reawakening of the Lebanese graffiti scene and its present boom. A graphic designer and graffiti artist, he seeks other ways to express the essence of graffiti.

Siska (Lebanon) was a member of the hip-hop crew ‘Kitaa Beyroute’. He is a filmmaker and visual artist who pays special attention to the street art movement. Together with his friend Prime they wrote bayr t m bitm t (Beirut never dies) a graffiti in Arabic in Beirut during the war of summer 2006. Siska will show a new work in the exhibition.

Don Karl aka Stone (Germany) is a cultural activist, graffiti writer and art book publisher. He started to write graffiti in 1983 and published his first book on train writing in 1986.

Many books and articles have followed since. He has participated in and curated various international urban art exhibitions and projects, such as Cubabrasil (cubabrasil.net) or Arabic Graffiti. Don Karl runs the publishing house ‘From Here To Fame’ and the ‘Common Ground Gallery’ in Berlin.

Tania Helou (Lebanon) is Fondation Saradar General Manager since 2001. She has dedicated her Master’s degree thesis (Saint-Joseph University, Beirut) to a socio-political analysis of the graffiti of the Lebanese war (1975-1982) and has constituted a large collection of Lebanese graffiti since 1975.

FUTURE ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS November

December

January

12/19 November 2012 The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna www.iccat.int Agadir, Morocco

26 November / 7 December 2012 UNFCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change www.unfccc.int Doha, Qatar

17/20 January 2013 World Snow Forum www.worldsnowforum.org Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia

26-27 November 2012 B4E Climate Summit 2012 www.b4esummit.com London, UK

3/4 December 2012 Global Future Energy Event www.gfe-event.com Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

27/29 January 2013 EIF- Environmental Infrastructure Forum www.enviro-infrastructure.com Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

26 November / 7 December 2012 UNFCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change www.unfccc.int Doha, Qatar

April

June

May

13/19 April 2013 Conference on GroundwaterSoil-Systems and Water Resource Management www.aquaconsoil.org Barcelona, Spain

9/14 June 2013 World Environmental Education Congress www.iucn.org Marrakesh, Morocco

21/23 May 2013 International Conference on Environmental and Hazardous Substance Management towards a Green Economy www.ehsm2013.org Bangkok, Thailand

14/16 April 2013 Gulf Environment Forum www.gulfenvironmentforum.com.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 16/18 April 2013 Africa 2013 - Water Storage and Hydropower Development for Africa www.hydropower-dams.com Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 23/26 April 2013 Wasser Berlin International 2013 www.wasser-berlin.de Berlin, Germany 24/25 April 2013 European Algae Biomass 2013 www.wplgroup.com Vienna, Austria 166

15/17 January 2013 WFES - World Future Energy Summit 2013 www.worldfutureenergysummit.com Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia

29/31 May 2013 Save the Planet: 4th Conference and Exhibition on Waste Management, Recycling, Environment for South-East Europe www.eco.viaexpo.com/en/conference Sofia, Bulgaria

WORLD ENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

URL ACCESS INITIATIVE www.accessinitiative.org

FONDATION SARADAR www.fondationsaradar.org

ANTARTIC OCEAN ALLIANCE www.antarticocean.org

GREEN MIND AWARD www.greenmind.me

ARTICLE 19 www.article19.org

HAWA AKKAR facebook.com/HawaAkkar

BANK MED www.happyplanetlebanon.com

JOHN WELLER PHOTOGRAPHY www.johnbweller.com

BANQUE AUDI www.banqueaudi.com

MARIEJOE RAIDY www.mariejoeraidy.com

CCAMLR www.ccamlr.org

MIMO KHAIR www.mimokhairphotography.com

CREATIVE LOUNGES www.creativelounges.com

NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY OF LOUAIZE www.ndu.edu.lb

BEIRUT ART CENTER www.beirutartcenter.org

RAËD ABILLAMA www.raarchitects.com

DIEGO FERNANDEZ GABALDON www.diegofgphoto.net diego.fernandez@wfp.org

RAIDY PRINTING GROUP www.raidy.com

EARTHSCAN, LONDON www.earthscan.co.uk

ECOLIVING www.ecoliving.com

ECOVILLAGE www.ecovillage.com

EQUESTRIAN CIRCLE ww.equestrian-circle.com 168

UNEP www.unep.org

UNFCC www.unfcc.int

WORLD ENVIRONMENT TV www.worldenvironment.tv

WHITE WALL BEIRUT facebook.com/whitewallbeirut