The UNEP Magazine for Youth

for young people · by young people · about young people

Hazards and catastrophes

Keeping the peace

Pests and pestilence

Looking forward?

On the safe side

Food fi rst

Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 1 21/7/10 11:11:22 TUNZA the UNEP magazine CONTENTS for youth. To view current and past issues of this publication online, Editorial 3 please visit www.unep.org Hazards and catastrophes 4

United Nations Environment A disaster documented 5 Programme (UNEP) PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya A grey world 5 Tel (254 20) 7621 234 Fax (254 20) 7623 927 Wrecking reefs 6 Telex 22068 UNEP KE E-mail [email protected] Keeping the peace 7 www.unep.org

ISSN 1727-8902 On the map 8

Director of Publication Satinder Bindra Don’t blame nature 10 Editor Geoffrey Lean Special Contributor Wondwosen Asnake House of bricks 11 Youth Editor Karen Eng Nairobi Coordinator Naomi Poulton Natural hazards 12 Head, UNEP’s Children and Youth Unit Theodore Oben Circulation Manager Manyahleshal Kebede Swimming at the top of the world 14

Design Edward Cooper, Remember the day you wanted to help? 15 Production Banson Pests and pestilence 16 Contributors Marcial Blondet; Denise Brown; James Duncan Davidson; David Gee; Ayana Elizabeth On the safe side 18 Johnson; Lalitesh Katragadda; Fríða Brá Pálsdóttir; Fred Pearce; Lewis Gordon Pugh; Sophie Ravier; Looking forward? 20 Ramón Lorenzo Luis Rosa Guinto; Rosey Simonds and David Woollcombe, Peace Child International; Tin Chi Ting Coco; Deborah Woolfson. Heroes of hazard 22 Food fi rst 24 Front cover image By 14-year-old Tin Chi Ting Coco from Hong Kong, winner of the 19th Bayer/UNEP Keep up with TUNZA on your mobile (www.tunza.mobi) International Children’s Painting Competition. In total, 594,032 or on Facebook (www.tinyurl.com/tunzamagfb) entries were submitted by children from 95 countries. For more information see www.unep.org/tunza/children/19th_Gallery.asp.

Printed in the United Kingdom

The contents of this magazine do not necessarily refl ect the views or policies of UNEP or the editors, nor are they an offi - cial record. The designations employed and the presentation UNEP and Bayer, the German-based around the world and develop new do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on international enterprise involved youth programmes. Projects include: the part of UNEP concerning the legal status of any country, in health care, crop science and TUNZA Magazine, the International territory or city or its authority, or concerning the delimita- tion of its frontiers or boundaries. materials science, are working Children’s Painting Competition on to gether to strengthen young people’s the Environment, the Bayer Young environ mental awareness and engage Environmental Envoy in Partner ship UNEP promotes children and youth in environmental with UNEP, the UNEP Tunza environmentally sound practices issues worldwide. International Youth/Children’s globally and in its own activities. This Conference, youth environmental magazine is printed on 100% recycled paper, The partnership agreement, renewed networks in Africa, Asia Pacifi c, Europe, using vegetable-based inks and other eco- to run through 2010, lays down a Latin America, North America and West friendly practices. Our distribution policy aims basis for UNEP and Bayer to enlarge Asia, the Asia-Pacifi c Eco-Minds forum, to reduce UNEP’s carbon footprint. their long standing collaboration to and a photo competition, ‘Ecology in bring successful initiatives to countries Focus’, in Eastern Europe.

2 TUNZA Vol 8 No 2

Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 2 21/7/10 11:11:28 Numbers EDITORIAL

8 cm The shift of the Earth’s axis caused by the 2010 earth- quake in the Pacifi c, 11 kilometres off the coast of Chile. The huge quake caused damage estimated at $4-7 billion, but because of disaster preparedness including strict build- ing regulations, the death toll was limited to 512 people.

10 The strength of seismic activity is measured on a logarithmic scale (the Richter scale) based on a factor of 10. So a force 2 earthquake is ten times stronger than a force 1 earthquake (not just twice as strong) and a force 4 is 10,000 times stronger.

13 times more people die in each reported disaster in wo of this year’s disasters have underlined how developing countries than in developed countries. dependent even the richest economies are on Tnature and the environment. The eruption of 1450 BC (approx) The year the Minoan civilization – along Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano created an ash cloud with the mythical ‘lost continent of Atlantis’ – was destroyed that closed down most air travel in northern and western by a volcanic eruption in the . The remains of the Europe for six days in April. And on the very day that fl ights volcano now form the Greek islands of Thera (Santorini) and began to get back to normal, the blow-out in the BP oil Therasia. The lagoon between the two islands is actually well deep in the Gulf of caused America’s worst the caldera of a volcano some 400 metres deep. ever environmental disaster. Primarily an environmental crisis with oil gushing into the sea, endangering its life 3,000 The offi cial death toll of the world’s worst chemical and washing up on Louisiana’s vital wetlands, it soon disaster, when 40 tonnes of poisonous gas were accidently mutated into an economic crisis devastating the area’s released from Union-Carbide’s pesticide factory in Bhopal, fi shing and oil industries, a corporate crisis jeopardizing India, on 3 December 1984; a further 600,000 people were one of the world’s richest companies, and a political affected. The company paid compensation of $470 million crisis engaging much of the time of the President of the in 1989, and in June 2010, eight people were convicted of . causing ‘death by negligence’. Virtually no one, it became clear, was properly prepared 18,156 The number of confi rmed deaths worldwide for either event. Neither the airlines nor the authorities from the 2009 swine ‘fl u pandemic. The effectiveness of had adequate measures in place to cope with the ash. worldwide action, led by the World Health Organization, is And BP was unable either rapidly to stem the fl ow of apparent when you compare this with the 750,000 people oil, or to prevent the slick from damaging fi sheries or who died in the 1968 ‘fl u outbreak and the 50-100 million reaching the shore, as the crisis intensifi ed week after casualties of the 1918-1920 pandemic. week. In both cases it appeared that nature had been taken for granted, and in both cases the world learned 230,000 The number of deaths across 14 countries the hard way that, in the end, it calls the shots. caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26 December 2004. Up to 30-metre-high waves, created by an ocean-fl oor But the crises also present an opportunity, and one earthquake 160 kilometres northwest of the Indonesian that goes well beyond the need for better preparation island of Sumatra and measuring 9.3 on the Richter scale, and regulation in future. The power of the volcano – reached as far as Africa’s east coast. and the threat of more, and bigger Icelandic eruptions over coming years – may cause people to question the 830,000 The number of deaths in the world’s deadliest assumption of easy air travel, one of the more damaging earthquake in Shaanxi province, northern China in January of human activities to the climate. And the devastation 1556, which reduced the local population by 60 per cent. in the – far more visible and obvious than Hills and valleys changed height and shape, destroying the early effects of climate change – could provide an entire towns and villages. impetus to the world to turn away from its addiction to climate-wrecking oil and fossil fuels and towards using 100,000,000 or more. The number of deaths caused energy less wastefully and expanding the huge potential by the Black Death – bubonic plague – that spread from of clean, renewable sources. We must work to make China, across Asia, Africa and Europe, killing more than a both crises hasten the advent of the green economy and third of the population, and possibly two thirds, between low-carbon prosperity, working with the grain of nature 1346 and 1352. and the environment rather than against it.

Natural Hazards and Disasters 3

Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 3 21/7/10 11:11:30 T u n z a _ 8 . 2 _ e protected from such waves –andfrom Indian Ocean’s shoreshad longbeen the devastating 2004tsunami. The The sameprincipleheldtruein the city. sea morethan30kilometres closerto their disappearance hasbroughtthe centimetres, butover thepast40years wetlands reducesstormsurgesby 30 from thesea.Every 6kilometresof of thewetlandsthatprotectedit worse by theincreasing destruction Katrina onNewOrleanswas made forests. And theimpactofHurricane which hasretained30percentofits neighbouring DominicanRepublic, forest cover remains,thaninthe where only2percentoftheoriginal caused farworse fl storms intheCaribbean2008 Similarly, aseriesofhurricanesand some 10,000people. of trees,causingmudslidesthatkilled rential fell on hillsidesstripped hemisphere todatebecauseitstor- worst catastrophe tohitthewestern to atropicalstorm.Butitcausedthe force thatithad beendowngraded in 1998,ithadlostsomuch ofits hitCentral America such disastersworse. Bythetime Environmental destruction alsomakes by humanactivities –progresses. as globalwarming –caused,afterall, even morefrequent andmoresevere, Climate Changeforecaststheywillget And theIntergovernmental Panel on it soaredto620over thelastdecade. the 1990sthishadrisento480,and corded, onaverage, each year. By reports, 300such events werere- the 1980s, Worldwatch Institute scientists have longpredicted.In – arehappeningmoreoften,justas 4 A n g H catastrophes or bymakingthemvery muchworse. hazards into catastrophes, eitherbycausing thedisasters inthefi We call them‘natural disasters’, butitisusually humanactionsthatturn . i n d TUNZA d

4 hurricanes, fl related disasters–likestorms, s theclimatechanges, weather- Vol 8No 2 azards oods and droughts ooding inHaiti, & Myanmar’s Irrawady Delta,where 83 Cyclone Nargis broughtdevastation to a decadein2000.Bycontrast, in2008 behind themfromtheworst typhoon in Viet Nam’s coastprotectedthe land mangroves along100kilometresof elsewhere. And theplanting ofnew inland, killingsome10,000people 6-metre wave crashing 20kilometres in 1999when acyclone broughta mangrove forests,was largelyspared one oftheworld’s largestremaining in theIndianstateofOrissa,which has example. The areaaroundBhitarkania And thetsunamiisnotanisolated village nearby. 6,000 who diedinanunprotected mangroves wereintact,comparedto one SriLankanvillagewhere their example: onlytwo peoplediedin those thathadnot. To give onevivid groves escapedmorelightlythan areas thathadpreserved theirman- behind them’. All roundtheocean, to save coastalcommunitiesliving Swaminathan putit–‘likeawall – asthegreatIndianscientistM.S. be even more important, standing Mangroves proved, ifanything, to breaking onthereefandran. system: peoplesaw thegiantwave tsunami andactedasanearlywarning coral thatbothbroke theforce ofthe that itwas surroundedby aringof The reason,said Thai authorities,was resorts thatsufferedheavy casualties. the Thai coast,even thoughitliesnear people diedonSurinIsland,justoff those thatdidnot.Onlyahandfulof barriers generally faredfarbetterthan Places thatstillhadthesenatural been destroyed. warm oceans,bothhave, increasingly, Yet, aselsewhere aroundtheworld’s of coral reefsandmangrove swamps. and typhoons–by adoublebarrier the angryseasstirredupby cyclones

rst place,

Skarphéðinn Þráinsson/www.fl ickr.com persist incalling natural disasters. much tolessen the impactofwhat we forests andcoral reefs–willalsodo the destructionofvitalecosystems like our age–poverty, climate change and tackling thethreegreatchallenges of vironmental problemstoo. Indeed, could have gonefurther:theyareen- solved development problems.’ He disasters inthe Third World areun- Relief Commission,oncesaid:‘Most International RedCrossDisaster who served as President ofthe Member oftheEuropeanParliament Anders Wijkman, theSwedish per centofthecasualties. but thewealthieronessufferedonly8 dev more orlessevenly splitbetween num poor. Between 1980and2007the also dispro housing. ,storms,anddroughts poor, who couldonlyaffordbad the accuracy withwhich ithitthe even calledthe ‘class quake’after killed 23,000peoplein1976was earthquake inGuatemalaCity, which toll thanthequalityofbuildings. An more importantindeterminingthe Of courserelative wealthiseven than 70. in SanFrancisco in1989killedfewer an earthquakeofthesamemagnitude died inHaitiearlierthisyear, while save lives. Morethan200,000people fi collapsing buildingsyet –even inthe of earthquakedeathsarecausedby it isthesameonland.Eightypercent mining thescaleofdisaster. And but werevitallyimportantindeter- earthquake thatcausedthetsunami, no responsibilityfortheunderwater Human activities, ofcourse,bore cut down since1924. per centofthemangroves hadbeen ercest ones–well-builtstructures e ber ofnatural disasters was l oped anddeve portio nately targetthe lopingcountries, 2 1 / 7 / 1 0

1 1 : 1 1 : 3 0 Julia Staples 5 21/7/10 12:26:13 rst Natural Hazards and Disasters Hazards Natural Fríða Brá Pálsdóttir, 21 Fríða Fríða’s great-uncle leading his horses to slaughter. to his horses leading great-uncle Fríða’s dry, and the air had a metallic taste to it. I got a headache it. I got a headache to taste dry, and the air had a metallic of ash and emotion. nauseous – a combination and felt is the profound What has surprised me the most The ash is likely had on my family. emotional impact it’s the from collapsing are People a year. at least for stay to and play outside or open the windows, kids can’t burden, call What a wake-up world. a grey to wake day, they every by that of as a species, is dwarfed our power, about how nature. In mid-June 2010, photographer and author James Duncan Davidson joined a Duncan Davidson and author James 2010, photographer In mid-June Horizon the Deepwater to document a videographer and of photographers group fi the from photos and thoughts He sent TUNZA the Gulf of Mexico. oil spill in days of the expedition. like It’s of oil and gas is intense. of the oil spill, the smell source the over ‘Flying Flying tank. propane a leaky to of gasoline sitting next a bucket to next standing and as far the coast to see oil all the way we Gulf Shores, to the source north from the spill from than 160 kilometres more It’s see in both directions. can as the eye clean- to talk of Alabama. We the coast to as ‘the source’) simply locally (known site air. by photos beaches and taking examining residents, and local up workers magnitude – nearly of the largest ‘This is a disaster being are and livelihoods communities Whole inexpressible. that will landscapes and the oil is eroding destroyed, populations if at all. Various recover, time to a long take dead. But the and alive being stranded, are of wildlife since The effects has not stopped. is that the leak worst consequences merely on 20 April 2010 are the explosion is devastation the long-term while oil leak, of a continuous imagine.’ even to impossible visit and photos, reports the full expedition view To http://tedxoilspill.com/expedition. and Discoverer Enterprise The

The oil forms patterns and mosaics patterns The oil forms

When I went home, we were already chewing ash in ash in chewing already were home, we When I went open. with no windows even approached, as we the car shovelling in the garden, working were A dozen people on their heads. Sticky ash the land, ash falling ash from a After branch. tree every and blade of grass every coated It was breathe. it hurt to outside the car of minutes couple I felt like crying every day that fi rst week, though I was though I was week, rst day that fi crying every like I felt I saw a the event. from disconnected geographically slaughter, to his horses leading of my great-uncle picture ruined – one of the saddest are the pastures because seen. ever things I’ve Vík í Mýrdal lies beneath Katla, another, much larger lies beneath Katla, another, much larger Vík í Mýrdal Having may soon erupt too. fear that scientists volcano But when I thought I was prepared. up in its shadow, grown the media, I was in through owing fl started the pictures covered mud completely down; crashed Floods shocked. of the land as if someone had dumped millions of tonnes coating. the grey through poked Lone straws cement. I come from Vík í Mýrdal, a village on Iceland’s south south a village on Iceland’s Vík í Mýrdal, from I come My Eyjafjallajökull volcano. from 37 kilometres coast, there. live still farmers, some of whom are family, biochemistry, I study where in Reykjavík I live Currently, erupted. I was when Eyjafjallajökull and where Below: Below: beautiful. terrifyingly that are other ships at the site of the spill. other ships at the site Above: Above: A disaster documented A disaster Davidson Duncan James Photos: A grey world A grey Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 5 T u n z a _ 8 . 2 _

e Mohsen Kayal www.greenlifesociety.org 6 of waves asthey approach theshore, slowing down andreducing theforce and tsunamisoncoastal areas. By help buffer theimpactsofhurricanes Though they getdamaged,reefs can unscathed. the reefs, someareas emerge relatively geography andtheprevious state of isn’t uniformly spread. Dependingon Fortunately, suchdramatic damage as seismicactivitypushesthemup. reefs can even riseoutofthewater Where tsunamisare concerned, some to mere rubble inamatter ofminutes. healthy, biodiverse andproductive reef These powerful forces can reduce a bring from land. sediment, pollutionanddebristhey reefs withfreshwater along withthe deeper damage,andfl created waves oftsunamiscan cause shallower reefs, while the earthquake- waves ofhurricanes tend to damage and dislodged corals. Thewind-created tumble ofscouring sand,landdebris with great force, butalsofrom the partly from theimpactofwater moving fi ecosystems? Infact, they can allcause about thehavoc they wreak inocean W Wrecking reefs n sh to scatter andcorals to shatter – g . i n d TUNZA d

6 Vol 8No 2 they harmhumans–butwhat and fl e call hurricanes, tsunamis oods disasters because oods can assault removes important components ofthe smothers corals; andoverfi agriculture andcoastal development reef organisms; sedimentrunofffrom micals, sewage andoilspillspoisons systems. Pollution from fertilizers, che- stress reefs, weakening theirimmune tion, overfi pressures like pollution,sedimenta- for that,we are to blame. Man-made becoming less andless healthy,and The problem isthatcoral reefs are disaster. itself after beingpummelled bynatural ecosystem can more rapidly restore and weaker one,ahealthy,intact reef more quickly from the’fl Just asayoung, fi recover from periodicnatural disasters. have evolved thecapacity to resist and environmental conditions, sothey been exposed to abroad range of coral reefs have existed, they have During the500millionyears that reefs atmitigatingcoastal damage. overlooked; they are muchbetter than and coastal vegetation shouldnotbe However, thecritical role ofmangroves is, thebetter protection itprovides. more structurally complex –areef damage. Thehealthier–andtherefore that waves travel inland,preventing reefs can diminishthedistance shing andclimate change t person recovers u than an older u thananolder shing shing and after Cyclone Oliin2010. Left: Indonesian tsunami. after, andsix monthsafter the2004 Above: Ayana is a 29-year-old marine biology biology marine 29-year-old a is Ayana are inevitable. back from thenatural disasters that activities, sothatreefs can bounce to reduce thenegative effects ofour important to doeverything we can for theirnutritionandlivelihoods. It’s depend onthesehavens ofbiodiversity of millionspeople around theworld natural beauty,butbecause hundreds because itwould besadto lose their reduced healthisworrying notonly can only take somuchabuse.Andtheir Coral reefs are atatippingpoint.They next damagingnatural event. covering before they are faced withthe made threats prevents reefs from re- a year –soaconstant barrage ofman- slowly –manyspeciesonly 1centimetre than natural disasters. Corals grow All theseare agreater threat to reefs skeletons ofcorals andothercreatures. CO and severity ofstorms, while increased death), andmayincrease thefrequency (often leading to coral bleaching and food web. Climate changewarmswater PhD student from Brooklyn, New York, York, New Brooklyn, from student PhD who studies the management of fi of management the studies who on coral reefs at the Center for Marine Marine for Center the at reefs coral on Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Scripps at Conservation and Biodiversity Institution of Oceanography, University University Oceanography, of Institution 2 of California at San Diego. San at California of acidifi

A reef inFrench Polynesia before

A coral before, fi es theocean, weakening the Elizabeth Johnson Ayana v days ve shing shing 2 1 / 7 / 1 0

1 1 : 1 1 : 3 4 Keeping the peace

SOPHIE RAVIER, 33, works as an environmental offi cer of the UN Department of Field Support, which is in charge of logistical support for UN peacekeeping missions. TUNZA asked her about the relationship between peacekeeping, confl ict and the environment.

To what extent is confl ict driven by natural resources? What steps are you taking to make peacekeeping more Environmental factors are rarely, if ever, the sole cause of sustainable? violent confl ict. But UNEP was involved in recent research We’ve identifi ed the need to improve peacekeepers’ environ- suggesting that in the last 60 years, at least 40 per cent of mental footprint, so in 2009 we developed an internal all intrastate confl icts have a link to natural resources. Since environmental policy. Key areas include waste, energy, water, 1990, at least 18 violent confl icts have been fuelled by hazardous substances, wild animals and plants, and cultural the exploitation of natural resources, whether ‘high-value’ and historical resources management. An environmental resources like timber, diamonds, gold, minerals and oil, offi cer is to be appointed to each mission. or scarce ones like fertile land and water. Climate change is also seen as a ‘threat multiplier’, exacerbating threats The mission in Sudan (UNMIS) now uses wastewater caused by persistent poverty or weak resource management treatment plants, reducing the consumption of water. And institutions. the Timor-Leste mission (UNMIT), among others, organized events around World Environment Day. In 2009, 13 missions What is UN peacekeeping? participated in the UNEP Billion Tree Campaign, pledging It’s a way to help countries torn by confl ict create conditions and planting 117,848 trees. for lasting peace. In 1948, for the fi rst time, the Security Council deployed UN military observers to the Middle East Can the greening of peacekeeping missions affect the to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and mission’s host country after the mission is over? its Arab neighbours. Since then, there have been 63 UN It’s really too early to tell, but certainly by practicing good peacekeeping operations globally. environmental management and setting a good example in its own operations, the UN should have a positive Field operations have evolved from ‘traditional’ missions infl uence on local communities, which should help support involving strictly military tasks to complex ‘multidimensional’ their transition from post-confl ict recovery to sustainable enterprises designed to ensure the imple ment ation of development after peacekeepers leave. comprehensive peace agreements and help lay foundations for sustainable peace. Peacekeepers, comprising civilian, To fi nd out more about UN peacekeeping visit www.un.org/ police and military personnel, do everything from helping en/peacekeeping; for more on Sophie’s department visit to build sustainable institutions of governance, to human www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/dfs.shtml; and for more on rights monitoring, to security sector reform, to disarmament, what the UN is doing about their CO2 emissions visit www. demobilization and reintegration of former combatants. greeningtheblue.org/what-the-un-is-doing/department- peacekeeping-operations-dpko. How does peacekeeping impact the environment? Often, the countries to which thousands of peacekeeping personnel are deployed have very little infrastructure. All these extra people produce waste, which can impact the local environment if not managed properly. Moreover, tem- porary peacekeeping missions deployed in remote areas often generate their own power using a lot of fuel – emitting greenhouse gases and sometimes causing soil pollution.

In water-scarce areas like Darfur or Chad, the local com- munity may see the UN mission as competing for resources. So we must carefully manage all resources properly to avoid possible tension. UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran

Natural Hazards and Disasters 7

Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 7 21/7/10 11:11:35 map maker

My Map Maker Show features near a point Map your world! Edit road segments Need help or more information? Visit our help center Add a point of interest

Discuss with other map makers Add a road

www.google.com/mapmaker Add a region

8 TUNZA Vol 8 No 2

Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 8 21/7/10 16:29:13 Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 9 GeoEye 2010

2010 Google Nargis hitMyanmar inMay2008,leaving some80,000dead, Map Maker wasfi rst usedfor disaster relief after Cyclone fed into oursister service Google Maps.’ mechanisms ensure accuracy oftheinformation, whichgets and soonwe seeanexplosion ofmapping.Internal checking once someonestarts, others jumpin,addinginformation, Or ifaroad ortrack isnotshown, you can addit.Typically, ‘You look attheexisting road network andaddlandmarks. for thesatellite imageryofyour area,’ explains Lalitesh. can contribute. ‘It’s easy:you goto MapMaker andsearch mean thatanyone withaccess to acomputer andtheinternet resolution satellite imageryandmap-makingtechnology Map Maker aimsto close thatgap:recent strides inhigh- and soon.’ can itidentifyschools,hospitals, electrical orwater facilities only show uswhere roads are, nothow goodthey are. Nor ‘True,’ acknowledges Lalitesh, ‘butsatellite imagerycan But don’tsatellites record every millimetre oftheplanet? centuries.’ world, we are still usingmapsmadeinthe19thor20th account. Inmanycountries, particularly inthedeveloping development andpeople’s needs–were notreally taken into and partly to ensure security. Modernconsiderations –like originally donepartly to enable access to natural resources people allover theworld contribute to cartography. ‘Itwas and lead developer ofMapMaker, anonlinetool thatlets explains Lalitesh Katragadda, co-founder ofGoogle India specially trained people –originally from themilitary,’ ‘Mapmaking wasaslow andexpensive process, doneby world hadbeencharted indetail. G but users rapidly stepped upthemappingofhospitals,relief camp grounds andschoolswhenthedisaster occurred. Port-au-Prince bysatellite(left), andthemappingdonebyusers (right).Thisarea hadbeenwell mappedbefore theearthquake as recently asfi ve years agoonly 15percent ofthe hours after adisaster dependsongoodmaps.But etting helpto where it’s neededinthecritical fi On themap rst rst things thatreally matter whendisaster strikes.’ hospitals andeducational institutions. Thoseare thefi connections aren’t sogood,particularly road names, people whohave beento countries in Africa where internet any country thatyou know. We especially needhelpfrom slow going,’saysLalitesh, butadds:‘You can help.Pick through MapMaker –whichmeans70percent isleft. ‘It’s the world hasbeenmappedto neighbourhoodstandard Despite allthisprogress, only another15percent of maps,’ saysLalitesh. the UNhaduseditto create 40different disaster-response days ofMapMaker openingupdifferent partsoftheworld, response maps.‘Itwasheartening to seethat,within60 Google isalsoworking withtheUNto helpcreate disaster- the island’s infrastructure.’ And allthetimevolunteers were updatingusonchangesin Google phonesloaded withthelatest mapsto aidworkers. pretty good.We madethemavailable for download andgot working on,sowhentheearthquake hit,themapswere already come inhandy. ‘Haitiwasacountry we’d been focus ondeveloping ones.Andcommunity mappinghas has gradually spread to more than150countries, witha Map Maker waslaunchedfor publicuseinJune2008,and on theground, whosuppliedsomeoftheinformation.’ Most ofthiswasdoneoutsidethecountry, butitwaslocals, 3,000 logistics points,hospitals, majorroads andwaterways. the necessary clearances andwithinfour dayshadmapped Maps, sayingthere were nomapsofthecountry. We got hours ofthecyclone, theUnited Nationscontacted Google 60,000 missing andupto 2.5millionneedingaid.‘Within12 future-geographic-information-emergency-response. mapping, see www.unitar.org/unosat-and-google-shape- see mapping, For a nice before-and-after example of emergency response response emergency of example before-and-after nice a For Natural Hazards andDisasters hit, rst rst 21/7/10 16:29:21 9 T u n z a _ 8 . 2

_ University of the Philippines Manila e Don’t blamenature organize ourselves –playakey role in changes. Human systems –thewaywe risks, mitigate effects andadapt to impact oncommunities; we can reduce typhoon. Butwe can manipulate their No environmentalist can shooawaya uncontrollably, andattheirown pace. systems changeinevitably andoften damage to infrastructure. Ecological be blamedfor theloss oflives and plausible, butnature alone cannot climate change.Thisis,ofcourse, typhoons inthePhilippinesto global pattern, frequency andseverity of Meteorologists attribute thechanging recent history. loaded asthisonehasoccurred in vast rainfall. Notyphoonasheavily not through windspeedbutthrough most past typhoons,itexerted itspower like VietNamandCambodia.Unlike Philippines butneighbouringcountries The typhoondevastated notjust the 10 T seemed to increase every halfhour. Intheend,some400people perished. and busesturnedupside-down bygiganticwaves. Thenumberofreported deaths submerged inwaist-deep murkywaters; families standing ontheirroofs; cars was shocked bywhatIsawontelevision –photos ofboulevards andbuildings n g . i n d TUNZA d

in thePacifi concerned: we Filipinosare usedto frequent storms. After all,we live yphoon KetsanahitManilaonthenightof25September 2009.Iwasn’t 1 0 Vol 8No 2 c, thebirthplace oftropical cyclones. Butthefollowing dayI to pro vide comfort to victims.Aschairof take themto needycommunities, and zations to helppackrelief goodsand schools andnon-governmental organi- then mobilized,volunteering through too late for that.Butyoung Filipinos ering local communities. Sadly, itwas the law,andeducating andem pow- vented through strictly implement ing The catastrophe could have beenpre- Noah’s Ark-like deluge. into ourclogged waterways, creating a rains arrived, thefl composting. So,whenthetorrential ment waste separation, recycling and especially inurban areas, donotimple- Waste ManagementAct,most people, waste. Despite ourEcological Solid is improper disposalofdomestic The mainproblem inthePhilippines disasters. determining ourvulnerability to natural oods could notfl www.shelterbox.org ow ow the homeenvironment. life isto respect nature andlook after best wayto ensure healthandprotect tems andcommunity education. The agement, effective early warningsys- planning, comprehensive waste man- the life-saving power ofproper urban eases anddisasters. Nothingcan beat than cure, andthisistruefor both dis- As thesayinggoes,prevention isbetter and depression. with rodents’ urine,aswell asininjuries contracted from fl particularly leptospirosis, whichcan be led to anincrease ininfectious diseases, and inseparable. Theecological disaster and theenvironment are interconnected help –atestament thathumanhealth Ketsana, manyFilipinosneededmedical missions to affected communities. After Many medical students like mejoined council, Ico ordinated suchefforts there. the University ofthePhilippines’ student Ramón Lorenzo Luis Rosa Guinto, a a Guinto, Rosa Luis Lorenzo Ramón 2007 Bayer Young Environmental Envoy, Envoy, Environmental Young Bayer 2007 is founder of One Earth, a student student a Earth, One of founder is environ environ Philippines that works to educate local local educate to works that Philippines communities about environment and and environment about communities health. mental organization in the the in organization mental Lorenzo Luis Rosa Guinto od contaminated oods Ramón 2 1 / 7 / 1 0

1 1 : 1 1 : 4 2 T u n z a

_ Marcial Blondet 8 . 2 _ e were lefthomeless. Suchearth-based and hundreds of thousandspeople but around75,000housescollapsed, was evening, mostwere outdoors) quake onlykilled600people(asit to collapse. The 2007Pisco earth- roofs out ontothestreetandcausing separate, crushingpeopleasthey fall ofwalls,the intersections whichthen andrunup atthecorners cracks start earthquakes.suddenly during Huge weak sohousesbreak andbrittle, zones.earthquake Adobe isheavy, and aboutafi pop ‘About 30 percentoftheworld’s the shakingstarts. how tokeephousesstandingwhen spent several decadesworking out TUNZA how heandhiscolleagues particularly for the poor. Hetells seismically safe earthen build – todevote hiscareer todesigning –thena20-year-old student Pontifi Professor Marcial BlondetofLima’s 1970 Ancash earthquakeprompted earth andstraw –collapsed. The adobe –sundriedbricks madeof I n g . i n because thebuildingsmadeof killing over 74,000people,partly t was Peru’s worst ever earthquake, d ulation livesulation inadobehouses, d

cia Universidad Católicadel

1 1 fth ofthesearein ings, stabilizing roadembankments and stabilizing engineer trial geomesh, cheap indus- arelatively tem usingpolymerwebbing called ‘Finally, in2000, we hituponasys- expensive anddiffi were andthematerials too conditions it proved underseismic toobrittle covered withcementmortar, but In the1990s, we steelwiremesh tried wouldn’t available. beenough cane sands ofhouses, theresimply we’d have torebuildtensofthou- houses, when and, came ifatime inexisting it couldn’tbeinstalled internally withbamboocane. But it worked toreinforceadobewalls such houses. Inthe1980s, we found searching forawa 1970s, my colleagues andIhave been areas ortheiroutskirts. Sosincethe building forfamiliesincrowded urban Such dimensionsaren’tpossiblewhen a metrethick, whichprovide stability. of years, butthesehave walls atleast mon ‘Of adobe course, ancientIncan who suffermost. countries, soit’s theimpoverished in thepoorerareasofdeveloping concentrated aretypically structures u House ofbricks mentshave stoodforhundreds ing material used for ing material cult totransport. y toreinforce building, trainthemandfi people sothey acceptthenew way of technique widely: we musteducate ‘The next stepistoimplementthe by thePiscoquake. already rebuilt3,000housesdamaged works onashakingtable, andhave the environment. We’ve proven this with thewall itfrom andprotect layers ofplasterintegratethemesh crack, thusavoiding collapse. Several ing themtogethereven whenwalls theadobewalls,mesh encases hold- ties, the roof beamsandplastic the structure’s foundation, wooden mining operations. Heldinplaceby millions oflives.’ used anywhere, save and potentially specifi geographically great thingisthatthemethod isn’t under collapsedadobebuildings. The killed around30,000people, many intheworldadobe structure –and monument Bam–thelargest Arg-é destroyedalmost totally theancient where the2003Bamearthquake regions: soonbetravelling I’ll toIran, introducing thesystemtoother it’s aslow process. Meanwhile, we’re orChina.United States Unfortunately, geomesh, fromthe whichisimported tohelpthem affordthe support Natural Hazards andDisasters c. Itcouldbe nd fi nan cial 2 1 11 / 7 / 1 0

1 1 : 1 1 : 4 3 NATURAL HAZARDS Plates, quakes and volcanoes

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ce M O S an E In di dian In Ocean Ridge SW Plate boundaries Divergent (spreading) Scotia Plate Convergent (colliding) Antarctic Plate Volcanoes Rifts Source: USGS; NASA

herever the Earth’s tectonic plates – sections of the Layers of lava and ash Continental crust (±30 km deep) from previous eruptions WEarth’s crust drifting on the hotter layer below – come Ocean ridge Oceanic crust together or pull apart, energy bursts out in the form of Ocean trench (±10 km deep) volcanoes, geysers and hot springs, or triggers earthquakes

Spreading plates that send shock waves over many kilometres. Volcanic hot- Colliding Magma plates Earthquake Colliding plates spots can form in the middle of plates, creating island chains builds up under Solid upper mantle such as Hawaii, and rifts in the crust that remain active may pressure form a new plate, as is now happening in East Africa.

Subducting (downward) plate Asthenosphere: hot and disintegrates and partly melts viscous deformable rock Earthquakes are notoriously hard to predict, with today’s Source: Encyclopedia Britannica; USGS early warning systems giving only seconds of warning The vast majority of active volcanoes are submarine and we don’t before the tremors are felt. The only way to safeguard against even notice them, but around 500 are above sea level, with half disasters is to invest in earthquake-proof construction. of these in a belt around the Pacifi c Ocean called the ‘Ring of Tsunamis, which are caused by a submarine earthquake Fire’. About 50 erupt each year, with some erupting continuously. or volcanic eruption, move more slowly than tremors, so Beyond the dangers of being in close proximity to a volcanic a few hours’ warning should be possible. However, there outburst, far-reaching effects include acid and a cooling of is no way of telling whether an earthquake will result in a the climate. The Mt Tambora eruption of 1815 had such a cooling tsunami, so a complex system of both tremor detection and effect on the northern hemisphere that crop failure and livestock wave measurement is necessary. Volcanic eruptions can be deaths led to one of the worst famines of the 19th century. pre dicted only by catching early signs of instability, requiring continuous monitoring, even of ‘dormant’ volcanoes.

Why tsunamis are so dangerous Bangladesh India Myanmar Normal wind-formed waves are short and circular. Yemen

Sri Lanka Thailand Somalia Malaysia Kenya Earthquake Indonesia Tsunami waves are much longer, arriving as much as two hours Tanzania Seychelles epicentre apart and continuing their trajectory over great distances.

The Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 Earthquake epicentre claimed 230,000 lives across 14 countries. More Source: Solarnavigator.net/ South Africa www.ess.washington.edu than 1.5 million people were left homeless.

12 TUNZA Vol 8 No 2

Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 12 21/7/10 11:11:47 Drought Periodic drought occurs naturally in most parts of the world, and has been linked to the migration of early humans from Africa more than 100,000 years ago. The impact of drought can be reduced through careful land management, and drought alone rarely causes famine: poverty, poor distribution systems and other socio- political factors are also to blame. Many Countries at risk countries coloured grey on the map are of mortalities due vulner able to drought, but unlikely to ■ Little or no risk ■ Considerable risk to drought ■ Some risk ■ High risk experience famine as a result. Source: NASA

Tropical cyclones Tropical cyclones bring deadly winds and surging waves. Forming over warm ocean June-Nov water, they can be 900 kilometres across, Aug-Oct June-Dec and move at 15-30 kilometres per hour with winds spiralling at up to 300 kilo- June-Oct metres per hour, only losing their power as they head inland. Although often devas- The seasons and Jan-Mar tat ing for human popu lations, they can pathways of tropical Jan-Mar relieve drought conditions and carry heat cyclones (also known as away from the tropics to wards temperate tropical storms, typhoons ■ Areas where they usually develop latitudes. They are an import ant part of The paths they usually follow and hurri canes) Source: NASA global atmospheric circulation. Marius Arnesen Mikhail Tsyganov BEWARE! 1 2

This 70-metre-wide crater in the 1des ert of Turk menistan appeared in 1971 when a drilling rig pierced an under ground cave of natural gas. The gas was set alight to avoid disaster, and has been burning ever since. deep, appeared in City, feel this illustrates the potential dan- It is four years since a mud volcano probably triggered by the fl oodwaters gers of carbon storage as a means to 2began to erupt on the island of Java, of . A three- combat climate change. Indonesia. Sulphuric mud continues to storey building disappeared. gush from the ground, and has covered The residents of Centralia in Penn- 25 square kilometres, dis placing tens of In 1986, Lake Nyos in Cameroon 5sylvania (USA) have been forced out thousands of people. 4emit ted a large quantity of natu rally of their homes by a huge underground sequestered CO2. Some 1,700 people coal fi re. The fi re has burnt since 1962, In May 2010, an enormous , – and many heads of livestock – were undermining foundations and causing 320 metres wide and 100 metres asphyxiated by the gas. Some people huge holes to appear in the ground. Gobierno de Guatemala Jack Lockwood/USGS JohnDS/wikipedia 3 4 5

Natural Hazards and Disasters 13

Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 13 21/7/10 11:11:48 Swimming at the top of the world

n 22 May 2010, Lewis In the long term, the consequen- adventures he details in his recently Gordon Pugh undertook ces are far reaching. ‘These glaciers published autobiography, Achieving Oa 1-kilometre swim in the provide water to around 2 billion the Impossible. freezing waters of Pumori Lake – a people, nearly a third of the world’s glacial lake at an altitude of 5,300 population,’ says Pugh. ‘India, China, The icy temperatures would quickly metres under the summit of Mount Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, kill most people, but Pugh can Everest on the Khumbu Glacier – to Afghanistan, Nepal, Laos, Thailand, elevate his core temperature before call attention to the hazard of glacial Cambodia and Bhutan depend on he enters the water, which he des- outburst fl ooding in the . the meltwater from the Himalayan cribes as a visualization process. Such fl ooding is caused by runoff from and Hindu Kush glaciers. Without ‘I spend a lot of time imaging the rapid glacial melt, which scientists it, there is a real risk of instability in swim from the beginning to the end believe is caused by global warming. the region. – every stroke. When I can see the swim in my mind, then I can do it.’ The immediate danger of glacial lake ‘Indirectly, the whole world relies on outburst fl ooding is to the people and this water,’ he adds. ‘Many goods we But Pugh says that the Pumori Lake environments directly in the path of consume are produced in India and swim – the fi rst ever long-distance torrents that have broken the banks China.’ swim undertaken under the summit of glacial lakes, wiping out property, of Everest – has been the hardest of roads and electric plants as well as This isn’t the fi rst time that Pugh his career: ‘Because of the altitude people, livestock and wild habitats. – appropriately nicknamed the you need to swim very slowly and ‘Temperatures in the Himalayas have Human Polar Bear – has swum deliberately, not with aggression risen by 1ºC since the 1970s, and under extreme conditions: in 2007 and speed as I did at the Poles. I was are rising by 0.06ºC each year,’ notes he completed the world’s fi rst gasping for air, and if I had swum any Pugh. ‘Scientists working with UNEP 1-kilometre swim at the North faster I would have gone under.’ have pinpointed 44 glacial lakes that Pole, raising awareness about the are fi lling up so quickly they could effect of global warming on Arctic Pugh is often asked how he went overfl ow within fi ve years.’ ice, and he has swum in Antarctica, from being a maritime lawyer edu-

14 TUNZA Vol 8 No 2

Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 14 21/7/10 11:11:49 ‘Remember the day you wanted to HELP?’

ON 13 JULY 1985, 72,000 people gathered at Wembley Stadium, London, and 90,000 at the JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, for Live Aid, a massive, transcontinental rock concert broadcast live to an estimated 1.5 billion viewers in 100 countries to raise money for victims of the 1984-1985 Ethiopian famine. Live Aid was a defi ning and unprecedented moment in the history of rock ’n’ roll, broadcast media and disaster relief, and spawned the mega-charity concert as we know it today, including Geldof’s own Live 8, the 2005 benefi t concert pressuring governments to banish extreme poverty. Photos: Michael Walker/Lewis Pugh cated at the Universities of Cape The story began with a song in 1984, when Bob Geldof, of Town and Cambridge to a full-time the Irish band Boomtown Rats, saw a news report about environmental campaigner, serving the Ethiopian famine, the culmination of a long-brewing as ambassador for WWF. He says that disaster that had started with severe droughts in 1981. long-distance swimming sparked his Geldof felt moved to raise money and awareness by interest in the environment. producing a single whose profi ts would go to charity. With Midge Ure of the British rock group Ultravox, Geldof wrote ‘I grew up in England, but when the song ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ and enlisted the I was 10 we emigrated to South United Kingdom’s top pop acts of the time to record it. The Africa, where I had my fi rst proper single went directly to Number 1 in the UK charts and sold swimming lesson. Since then, I have more than 3 million copies, soon becoming the biggest- swum in every ocean of the world. I selling single in the UK in history. made regular visits to the Arctic for seven years, and witnessed the ice Geldof felt this effort was not enough, so he and Ure rapidly retreating. In 2005 and 2006 a planned Live Aid, a multi-venue rock concert that would be quarter of the summer sea ice cover a show of global unity and support for Africa. The concert disappeared. drew nearly all the biggest names of rock: Madonna, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, The Who, Queen, Led Zeppelin and ‘These experiences helped me many more. Throughout the show, which lasted 16 hours, realize that what happens in one viewers phoned in with donations, which at one point part of the world impacts every reached $433 per second. Recent estimates state that the other part. We must stop arguing concerts directly resulted in $216 million raised for relief. about which country should act fi rst. Given the urgency of the state of the Besides focusing the world’s attention on the problem of Earth, every country needs to put in famine, the extraordinary show of public support forced place every solution at its disposal. governments to address the problem. ‘It prompted change There’s no time for delay.’ in 30-odd laws governing multilateral and bilateral aid,’ said Geldof, ‘and it brought a sense of empowerment: that you weren’t impotent in the face of monstrous human tragedy; that governments had to take notice of you; that there was a connectedness between you and other people; and that there were duties and obligations.

‘It created something very powerful. For the fi rst time, we had thrown an electronic loop around the planet and ordinary people were talking to each other.’

Natural Hazards and Disasters 15

Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 15 21/7/10 11:11:52 Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 16

Oregon State University 16 States of America by afi earliest times,cutharvests intheUnited a fungus,hasdestroyed cropssince enemy. Stemrust,adiseasecausedby comes fromanewversion ofanold countermeasures. The latestbigthreat and diseasesadapttoman-made – every 15years orsobecausepests material –oftenfromwildrelatives need toberefreshedwithnewgenetic Whether by oldmethodsornew, crops perennial crop. seven majordiseases andturnitintoa two wildancestors thathelpfi and maizebredwithgenesfrom that causedtheIrishfamine(seebox) include pota toes thatresisttheblight ined possibilities.Recentdevelopments have openeduppreviouslyunimag- but breakthroughsinbio to improve theircropsandlivestock, agriculture, asfarmershave sought Selective breedingisalmostasold Breeding resistance responsible too: thoughsomevictories are won, thebattle against themcontinues. sometimes byconflict, often byacombination offactors. Andpests anddiseasescan be Famine hasmanyfathers. Sometimesitiscaused bydrought, sometimesbypoorpolicies, Pests Vol 8No2 TUNZA fth onseveral technology ght off off ght

and pestilence can avert disaster. often holdthegeneticraw materialthat ing bio diversity: oldandwildvarieties under discovered. The constant strug come existinggeneticresistancewere four newmutationsabletoover- evolving tobeatthem.Just thissummer, this takestimeandthefungusisever with high-yieldinglocalones.But working hardtocrossresistantvarieties are vulnerable to Ug99–have been cent ofalltheworld’s wheat varieties Scientists –who reckon that90per production. account for37percentofglobalwheat Africa, theNearEastand Asia –which to affectorthreaten29countriesin 11 years ago,ithasalready spread graminis). Sinceitsdiscovery inUganda virulent newstrain, Ug99(Puccinia it hasreturnedwiththeevolution ofa genetically resistantwheat. Butrecently on itsway asscientistshaddeveloped and by the1970svictoryseemedtobe The lastbigUSoutbreakwas in1962, Cold War. as abiologicalweaponduringthe and issopowerful itwas developed occasions betweentheworld wars, Exodus describes how desert locusts locusts areall too modernascourge. They sound biblical,butplaguesof Feeding frenzy linestheimportanceofconserv- gle behaviour istriggered.In 2004, the gather insuch numbersthatswarming causes themtohatch, breedrapidly and until rain, attherightseasonalmoment, dry sand,where theycanstay foryears are usuallysolitary–lay theireggsin appearances. Desertlocusts–which The weathersignalstheirsudden kilometres. Red Seastretched over 13,000square century orsoagoasingleflight over the greater swarms have beenrecorded:a nowhere’ todevastate crops. And even square kilometres–stillappear‘outof of theinsectsineach of hundreds of left’. And swarms –with80million the landsothatnothinggreenwas darkened andatealltheplantsin face oftheEarthsothatlandwas ( Schistocerca gregaria)‘covered the darkens to blackandyellow. is green; incrowded conditions it In itssolitary form thedesertlocust Photoshot/VISUM/Still Pictures

21/7/10 11:49:26 NASA Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 17 locusts ( the desert,allowing Australian plague recently ledtohighplantgrowth in usually heavy rains incentral Australia On theothersideofworld, un- devouring asitwent. of Mauritania,Mali,NigerandSenegal, across some40,000squarekilometres worst plaguein15years swarmed to avoid it. The mostrecentoutbreak forced toabandongood,fertileland in moistrural areas,sofamiliesareoften and increasesfoodinsecurity. Itthrives Tsetse fl fatal disease. parasites, causingnagana,asimilarly bite. Animals arealsoinfectedwiththe trypanosomes, trans mitted by thefl is causedby single-celledparasites, trypanosomiasis). The fataldisease people withsleepingsickness (African continent andthreateningmillionsof countries, covering nearlyathirdofthe tsetse fl Small butdeadly, theblood-sucking Fear ofthefl Wikimedia Commons ing pesticidesfromaircraft. aids countermeasures,typicallyspray- of informationonlocustoutbreaksand Watch, which serves asaclearing house contain theplaguesthroughLocust Nations (FAO) coordinateseffortsto Agriculture OrganizationoftheUnited vegetation inasingle day. The Food and and eattensofthousandstonnes swarm cancontainbillionsofinsects animals gohungry. Nowonder, when a they appearinvast numberspeople and many eatthemforprotein.Butwhen people andcaneven provide food: Individual locustsposenothreatto coming months. itself foramuch largeroutbreaklaterin and canola, Australia isbracing pasture andsuch cropsascarrot,oat consumed thousandsofhectares thrive. Swarming locustshave already y ( y y cutsagricultural productivity Chortoicetes terminifera Chortoicetes Glossina) infests37 African y ) to ) to y’s of infection. each year, while 60millionareatrisk affects some50,000to70,000people to eradicate it,sleepingsickness still into thewild.Butdespiteacampaign Zanzibar by releasingsterilizedmales successfully eradicated thefl In 1997theGovernment of Tanzania 500,000 Africans hadbeeninfected. began in1970:by 2004,around developed by scientist Walter Plowright, The breakthroughbeganwithavaccine Philippines as , Australia, Pakistan andthe was stillaffectingcountriesasfarfl Ethiopia’s people. And, untilrecently, it of the Tanzanian Maasaiandathirdof catastrophic faminekilledtwo thirds like wildebeestandgiraffe; theresulting other domesticatedandwildanimals sub-Saharan Africa, alongwithmany It killedaround90percentofcattlein India introducedthediseaseto Africa. In 1889,infectedcattleshippedfrom extinction. after smallpox,tohave beendriven to called, isonlytheseconddisease, eradicated. Cattleplague,asitisalso disease relatedtomeasles,hasbeen rinderpest, ahighlycontagiousviral the FAO willoffi Now here’s somegoodnews. This year Success! Djibouti andSudan. destroying new crops. Hundreds ofthousands ofrefugees fl worse bycivilwar,slow delivery ofaidfrom Western countries, and storms Ethiopia, leading to a1-million-tonne shortfall ingrain. Thefamine wasmade A millionpeople diedin1984whendrought anddisease destroyed crops in Ethiopia 1984-1985 in two years, and10to 40millionpeople starved. Annual grain production declinedfrom 200milliontonnes to 160milliontonnes farmers to leave theirfi offi The worst famine inmodernhistory arose notfrom butfrom Great ChineseFamine 1959-1961 of thenation’s food. ( and 2millionwere forced to emigrate after animported fungus,potato blight In 1846Ireland had8millionpeople. Over thenext few years about1milliondied Ireland 1846-1852 GREAT FAMINES Phytophthora infestans Phytophthora cial policy. ChineseChairmanMaoZedong’s ‘Great LeapForward’ forced cially declarethat elds whenthey were brought undercollective ownership. ), destroyed itspotato crop, whichprovided 60percent ies on on ies ung ung disease. disease. has itbeenpos sible toeliminatethe campaign initiatedby theFAO in1994 with thesustainedglobaleradication has beenavailable since 1960,butonly who diedearlierthisyear. The vaccine

Source: FAO The declineandfall ofrinderpest Natural Hazards andDisasters ed into Somalia, Early 1990s Early 1980s 2007 2001 21/7/10 11:49:33 17 On the safe side

It is not easy to evaluate risks. We are all exposed, directly and indirectly, to an array of chemicals, medicines and other prod- ucts, many of which have only recently been developed or synthesized. Absolute safety can rarely be assured. Short-term effects can be assessed and observed, but long-term reactions are diffi cult to foresee, though they can be disastrous both to people and the wider environment. TUNZA asked David Gee of the European Environment Agency – who has put together two major studies of man-made hazards entitled Late Lessons from Early Warnings – to guide us through the maze.

Q Are the effects and risks of man-made hazards – like you get most of the same benefi ts by texting and using an chemicals, asbestos or lead in petrol – similar to those of ear piece? There is already suggestive evidence that the natural hazards? handsets cause brain cancer, especially in young people. But the authorities and phone companies would like to wait for A There are some similarities, such as the need for much stronger evidence – from more cancers – before acting preparedness, fair and prompt rehabilitation and com- to reduce the hazard. pensation; and the necessity for reliable early warnings and the right balance between false alarms and prudent Q What is the ‘precautionary principle’ pioneered in the precaution. There are also differences: man-made hazards ? often cause long-term harm that creeps up silently to destroy the ozone layer, for example, or to cause devastating A The principle was designed to help decision makers cancers. We can, of course, do much more to control and choose the appropriate strength of evidence for acting when diminish the hazard we ourselves create, for example by the science is uncertain, or where there is much ignorance using biomass-based chemicals rather than oil-based about large-scale exposures to potential harm, as is the case ones, and avoiding molecules that are very long-lived and for genetically modifi ed organisms (GMOs), weak radiations, persistent in the environment or that accumulate in bodies. some chemicals and nano products. It justifi es action if there are reasonable grounds for concern and if the consequences Q Are only humans affected or does harm also spread into of not reducing exposures could be very serious. the wider environment? Q But how does this equate with innovation? A Many of the hazards described in the Late Lessons from Early Warnings books mainly damaged the environment. A There is a trade-off between risk taking and precaution, These included chlorofl uorocarbons (CFCs) used in products but we have got it wrong in so many devastating cases, such from fridges to aerosols; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as asbestos (where the fi rst early warning came in 1897), the found, for example, in components of fl uorescent light ozone hole and climate change, that we need to take more fi ttings and PVC; emissions of ammonium, carbon, nitrogen care. The precautionary principle helps us to strike a better and sulphur which led to acid rain; endocrine disrupting balance by asking such questions as: ‘Is this product really chemicals in weed-killers amongst other things; and needed?’ or ‘are there smarter ways of meeting needs?’ In tributyltin (TBT) which was used in anti-fouling paint for Late Lessons we showed that so-called ‘cheap’ universally boats and as a wood preservative. Most of these, however, used substances like asbestos, PCBs and CFCs actually also harm people. held up innovation for decades, partly because they kept out competition since their real costs to society and the Q How much evidence do we need to take action to avoid environment were not included in their market prices. harm? Q With so much manufacturing now in developing A The table shows the range of different strengths of countries, can the precautionary principle in Europe make evidence that can be chosen to justify taking action, from a difference? the high ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’ of the criminal courts and scientifi c ‘causation’ to the relatively slight evidence that A Yes, because it can limit trade in harmful substances could be used to ban a pill tentatively associated with birth such as imported toys containing lead that endanger defects in an experiment on rats. Choosing which strength European children, or European PCBs and other chemicals of evidence to rely on is an ethical issue, a case of deciding that now contaminate the Arctic. To take another example, which consequences you are happy to live with if you prove to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety uses the precautionary be wrong. principle to try to stop the export of GMOs to countries that don’t want them. Q Some risks are inevitable, so is this a matter of deciding what risks are acceptable, given the likely benefi ts? Late Lessons from Early Warnings can be accessed from A Yes, and this too is a societal not a scientifi c question. the European Environment Agency at www.eea.europa.eu/ For example, how much evidence do you need to persuade publications/environmental_issue_report_2001_22 you not to stick a mobile phone next to the head, given that A second volume is to be published in 2011.

18 TUNZA Vol 8 No 2

Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 18 21/7/10 11:12:03 Different strengths of evidence for different purposes

Strength of evidence Illustrative terms Examples of use

Very strong (90–99%) Statistical signifi cance Part of strong scientifi c evidence of ‘causation’.

Beyond all reasonable doubt Most criminal law, and the Swedish Chemical Law 1973, for evidence of ‘safety’ of substances under suspicion. The burden of proof is on manufacturers.

Strong (65–90%) Reasonably certain Food Quality Protection Act, 1996 (USA).

Suffi cient scientifi c evidence To justify a trade restriction designed to protect human, animal or plant health under the World Trade Organization’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement.

Moderate (33–65%) Balance of evidence Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1995 and 2001.

Balance of probabilities Much civil and some administrative law.

Reasonable grounds of concern European Commission on the Precautionary Principle 2000.

Strong possibility British Nuclear Fuels’ compensation scheme for occupational radiation, 1984 (20–50 per cent probabilities triggering different awards and 50%+ triggering full compensation).

Weak (10–33%) Scientifi c suspicion of risk Swedish Chemical Law 1973, for suffi cient evidence to take precautionary action on potential harm from chemical substances. The burden of proof is on the regulators.

Available pertinent information To justify a provisional trade restriction under the World Trade Organization’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement, where ‘scientifi c information is insuffi cient’.

Very weak (1–10%) Low risk Household fi re insurance.

Negligible and insignifi cant Food Quality Protection Act, 1996 (USA).

Natural Hazards and Disasters 19

Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 19 21/7/10 11:12:03 Pia Cosmeli/UNEP 3 0 : 2 1 : 1 1

0 1 / 7 / 1 2 Fred Pearce Fred nal few centuries of the last ice age, ice of the last centuries nal few ood most coastal areas of the world. areas coastal ood most rm predictions. But according to many to But according rm predictions. ood whole cities while storm surges from the oceans the oceans from surges storm cities while ood whole res going. res that scientists are seeing more and more evidence that the evidence and more seeing more are that scientists suddenly. It may come gradually. come warming won’t fast will be big and be warming: there just And it won’t appear- may start So hurricanes patterns. changes in weather Brazil like not been seen before, have they where ing in places the African from spread could Desert conditions or Australia. irrigate that The annual monsoon rains Europe. into Sahara may rise Rivers in Asia might fail. 3 billion people for crops up and fl areas. coastal low-lying inundate scientists, our weather is about to get much more dangerous dangerous get much more is about to our weather scientists, evidence persuasive the most Perhaps and unpredictable. Go back more happened before. right is that it’s are that they of record has a track nature like and it looks than 10,000 years but in sudden leaps. change not gradually doing climate during the fi events Take temperatures then, average ago. Around 10,000 years over just 10ºC by around rose in much of the northern hemisphere to permanent winter going from like That’s within a decade. mea- can Researchers permanent summer within 10 years. cores behind in ice of air left that change in the bubbles sure in Greenland. into collapse sheets on land to huge ice The warming caused in by 20 metres the world round rose and sea levels the oceans, than of 20 times faster That is an average than 400 years. less fl and enough to now, in the other had lurched that, temperatures before Not long that around shows year last published just Research direction. plunge into to one year just took ago, the world 13,000 years temperatures with average deep freeze, a thousand-year and kept their caves into by 16ºC. Humans retreated crashing the fi happen again. What is could times. They violent Those were in those changes, the element is that the key unnerving today Evidence from the past from Evidence fi not yet These are rst rst began farming. rst ooded by rising rst place. Crops wouldn’t Crops place. rst rst city dwellers, the fi city dwellers, rst nd safety and food security if and food nd safety ow. ow. oods and hurricanes. But for now, they are rare rare are they now, But for oods and hurricanes. rst farmers, the fi farmers, rst 8 No 2 Vol 0

2

ince then, the world’s climate has been remarkably remarkably has been climate then, the world’s ince ages, ice and little had warm periods have We stable. small. Our been relatively but the changes have

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n i . g n 20 We know from basic physics that the gases we put into the air put into basic physics that the gases we from know We and oil heat up the atmosphere. coal burn fuels like when we is worrying, more and even What is new, old news. That’s All change? of this era like It looks bit, however. the scary comes Now what the seasons and the rains – of knowing stability climate become may disasters an end. Climate to will do – is coming of course, The reason, intense. and more frequent much more change.is man-made climate North America and humans fi North America S – since the end of the last ice age, when ice caps retreated from Europe, Asia and Europe, from retreated caps age, when ice ice end of the last the – since have done to create our modern world has happened over about 400 generations about 400 generations over has happened our modern world create done to have back thousands of generations since we evolved from apes. But most of what we of what we apes. But most from evolved we since of generations back thousands grandparents, and maybe some great grandparents too. Of course, we humans go we Of course, too. grandparents maybe some great and grandparents, Most of us know three or four generations of our families: us, our parents, our our parents, us, of our families: generations four or three of us know Most Looking forward? Looking enough for us to be able to pick up the pieces and carry on. and carry pick up the pieces to be able us to enough for Our massively complex society sometimes makes it seem society sometimes makes complex Our massively still we at all. But actually, don’t need nature as though we the because will grow know that we on planting crops rely And we will come. will be right and the rains temperature be fl that our cities won’t on the fact rely like disasters do happen, including climate disasters Of course and fl droughts industrialists and now the 7 billion inhabitants of a digitized, the 7 billion inhabitants and now industrialists world. globalized didn’t have If we rains. tides or washed away by torrential the fruits of our labours, lose just wouldn’t we this certainty, labour in the fi might not even we with more, be built. What’s and cities wouldn’t be planted, and so so many of us living in big urban agglomerations, aren’t there under cultivation, surface much of the planet’s fi go to could we many places of an under the strain down break to were our systems climate. unpredictable ancestors have always known pretty much when it will rain, pretty known always have ancestors and will be each summer and winter, what the temperature will fl high the rivers how That stable climate may be the main reason we went from from went we may be the main reason climate That stable to living in caves of spear-carriers tribes being scattered the fi become e _ 2 . 8 _

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trigger for the sudden shifts back then, appears to have been carbon dioxide. The very gas we are busy pumping into the air when we burn coal and oil. Carbon dioxide is the planet’s thermostat. Nature has fl icked the carbon switch before. Now we humans are fl icking it ourselves. That’s scary.

Here are some troubling thoughts. Some scientists are warn- ing that the Amazon rainforest could die by the middle of this century as a result of global warming. The region will be too hot and too dry for the trees to survive. Trees are also made of carbon. If that happens, the trees would release their carbon into the air. Giving an extra boost to warming.

Another gas that can warm the planet is methane. Nature has lots of methane stored out of harm’s way, in odd hiding places round the planet. Methane is frozen inside the ice of the Arctic, and buried under the seabed. If it escapes to the atmosphere it will add to warming.

There are signs that methane releases from the oceans warmed the world in the distant past. And it looks as if current global warming is starting to release methane from thawing

soils in Siberia and Alaska. Scientists have measured it SpecialistStock bubbling up into the air. Right now the bubbles are small. But as the world warms they could become bigger.

The worry is that we are starting a runaway reaction, in which we add carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere, causing warming that releases more carbon dioxide and methane, causing more warming.

Taking control That’s the bad news. But here is the good news. None of this is yet inevitable. We humans are still in charge of our own destiny. We have the technology to end our dangerous dependence on carbon fuels like coal and oil. We can take our pick of alternative energy sources: wind and solar; tides and waves; even nuclear power maybe.

It is a big challenge for our species. We have had it easy for 400 generations. We have taken nature and the climate for

granted. But we can’t do that any longer. Boethling/Still Pictures Joerg

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e Justinc/Wikimedia Commons Partleton.co.uk Crutzen/euasc2s physician ofalltime. doctors in2003voted himthegreatest achievement thatapollofBritish but solasting was his eventual some timefor hisproof to be accepted, immediately started to fall. Ittook removed, andcases ofthedisease a particularpump,haditshandle down thesource ofthediseaseto Soho, London,in1854.Henarrowed an outbreak killed some600people in water. Hewasable to prove it,after was transmitted through contaminated to theconclusion thatthedisease was badair,or‘miasma’;Snow came since theMiddle Agesthatthecause its prevention. People had believed its cause andsolaidthegrounds for and itwasJohnSnow whodiscovered in thefi Cholera swept through Britishcities 1813-1858 John Snow for chemistry. estimate –hasprevented 2millioncancers inWestern countries alone. In1995they were jointly awarded theNobelPrize to thephasingoutofozone-damagingsubstances through theMontreal Protocol, brokered byUNEP,which–one were soshockingthatthey thoughtthey must have madeamistake. Butallthree ofthemwere right,andtheirwork led at theUniversity ofCalifornia, fi but atthestart ‘didnotdare’ to gopublic,fi In thelate 1960s,Crutzen,acanal engineerturnedmeteorologist, fi Saving theozonelayer –whichprotects alllife from thedeadly ultraviolet lightofthesun–started withscientifi Paul Crutzen n g . i n d d

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. Shehzad Noorani/Still Pictures i n d To learn more aboutWFP’s work, seewww.wfp.org Denise Brown isSenior DonorRelationsOffi of adversity. joined theorganization, or asprogramme offi being able to get food to thatlittle girlintherubble. Whetherworking asa fi Working for WFPmeansgettingyour handsdirty. Itsstrength lies initsdeepfi and pregnant andbreastfeeding women. programmes to helpgetchildren backinto theclassroom, andspecialnutritionprogrammes for young children resumed, theoperation hasshifted to food-for-work to supportfamilies asthey rebuild theirlives, schoolfeeding order to save lives andmove quickly, food wasprovided to allofthoseinneedassistance. Aslife hasgradually Timely contributions allowed WFPto begindistributing food to Haitians immediately following the earthquake; in help sustain local economies. quarters ofitcomes from developing countries. Bybuyinglocally theagencycan save money ontransport costs and million tonnes offood annually. WFP’s policyisto buyfood asclose aspossible to where itisneeded,andatleast three food. Inanaverage year, more than60governments voluntarily provide funds,withwhichWFP purchases more than2 tonnes ofit.Governments are WFP’s principalsource offunds,andcontributions usually come intheform ofcash or one ofourbiggest challenges, andthisyear WFPexpects to reach 90millionpeople in73countries with3.7million Depending onthelocation, WFPusesdonkeys, yaks andelephants to carry food to remote villages.Moving food is collect theirtwo-week ration ofrice. and thenmoved inconvoy to 16 pre-identifi challenge initshistory. Food wasbrought inbyboat,plane,androad from neighbouring Dominican Republic, the world, andourown warehouses were badly damagedanddangerous to access. ItwasWFP’s most complicated port waslargely destroyed, the airport washeavily congested assearch andrescue teams arrived from allcorners of populated capital, thenarrow streets were clogged byremnants ofthequake andendless traffi Immediately following theearthquake, upto 3millionpeople neededemergency food assistance. Inthehighly is to plantheresponse: how to getfood to thatlittle girlandherfamily inHaiti. In my10years withWFPIhave beenbasedinAfghanistan, Kenya, Iraq, Somaliaandnow New York, where mywork people work for theorganization, mainly inremote partsofcountries thatmost people wouldn’t dream ofvisiting. The (WFP)isthelargest humanitarian agencyfi d

2 she haslived inisgone:thecityruins;shops,businesses andbanksare closed. 4 A hungrychildsitsintherubble ofherhomeinPort-au-Prince, Haiti.Thehouse FOOD Where willhernext mealcome from? ed distribution sites where upto 1,000families would come eachdayto cer atWFP cer inKabul, Ihave witnessed fi FIRST ghting hungerworldwide. Upto 10,000 rst handwhatcan bedoneintheface eld monitor inBaghdad,where Ifi eld presence: we prideourselves on cjams.Themain rst rst 2 1 / 7 / 1 0

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