The UNEP Magazine for Youth
for young people · by young people · about young people
Health and the environment
A model for life
Leading the charge
Nature in their hands The green ark Waste not, want not The water challenge
Health and the environment 1
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 1 27/4/11 11:23:51 TUNZA the UNEP magazine CONTENTS for youth. To view current and past issues of this publication online, Editorial 3 please visit www.unep.org ‘Climate change will steal your future...’ 4
United Nations Environment Medical students lead the way 5 Programme (UNEP) PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya Leading the charge 6 Tel (254 20) 7621 234 Fax (254 20) 7623 927 Pursuing a passion 7 Telex 22068 UNEP KE E-mail [email protected] Waste not, want not: BYEE 2010 8 www.unep.org Bright ideas 8 ISSN 1727-8902 The green ark 10 Director of Publication Satinder Bindra Editor Geoffrey Lean The water challenge 10 Special Contributor Wondwosen Asnake Youth Editors Meghna Das, Karen Eng, From despair to hope 12 Renzo Guinto Nairobi Coordinator Naomi Poulton A model for life 13 Head, UNEP’s Children and Youth Unit Theodore Oben Nature in their hands 14 Circulation Manager Manyahleshal Kebede
Design Edward Cooper, Ecuador Exposure 16 Production Banson Cover photo Edward Cooper Urban health 18 Youth contributors Amanda Baldochi Souza, Brazil; Healing the Earth through myths and dance 20 Jahmali Bridgewater, Bermuda; George Byrne, Australia; Aswin Chandrasekharan, India; Annie Seven wonder remedies 22 Collins, Canada; Aytakin Dargahli, Azerbaijan; Rufat Dargahli, Azerbaijan; Linh Do, Australia; Francesco Ecofriendz: a fantastic game on climate change 24 Govender, South Africa; Daniel Isfer Zardo, Brazil; Jes Ismael Izaidin, Malaysia; Emily Keal, UK; Dawn Lee, USA; Liu Zhihao, Singapore; Kennedy Liti Keep up with TUNZA on your mobile Mbeva, Kenya; Christopher Millora, Philippines; Nadhirah Mohar, Malaysia; Nguyen Thi Thanh http://tunza.mobi Thao, Viet Nam; Phuong Nguyen Hoang, Viet Nam; Claudia Ramírez, Venezuela; Adeline Suwana, or on Facebook Indonesia; Logein Taybah, Saudi Arabia; Vaibhav Tidke, India. www.facebook.com/TUNZAmagazine Other contributors Jane Bowbrick; Gisele Bündchen; Bryan Coll, UNEP; Penelope Jagessar Chaffer; Cora Neumann, African First Ladies Initiative (RAND); Grace Odal-Devora; Patricia Okoed-Bukumunhe; Rosey Simonds and David Woollcombe, Peace Child International.
Printed in Malta
The contents of this magazine do not necessarily refl ect the UNEP and Bayer, the German-based International Children’s Painting views or policies of UNEP or the editors, nor are they an offi - cial record. The designations employed and the presentation multinational involved in health care, Competition on the Environment, the do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on crop protection and high-tech materials, UNEP Tunza International Youth and the part of UNEP concerning the legal status of any country, are working together to strengthen Children’s Conferences, youth territory or city or its authority, or concerning the delimita- young people’s environmental environmental networks in Africa, Asia tion of its frontiers or boundaries. awareness and engage children and Pacifi c, Europe, Latin America and the youth in environmental issues Caribbean, North America and West Asia, UNEP promotes worldwide. the Bayer Young Environmental Envoy environmentally sound practices Program and a photo competition, globally and in its own activities. This A partnership agreement, originally ‘Ecology in Focus’, in Eastern Europe. magazine is printed on FSC paper, using signed in 2004 and renewed in 2007 and vegetable-based inks and other eco-friendly 2010, runs through 2013. It lays down the The long-standing partnership between practices. Our distribution policy aims basis for UNEP and Bayer to implement UNEP and Bayer has become a public- to reduce UNEP’s carbon footprint. the projects under the partnership. private partnership that serves as a These include: TUNZA Magazine, the model for both organizations.
2 TUNZA Vol 8 No 4
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 2 27/4/11 11:23:54 numbers EDITORIAL 2.1 trillion hectares – the area of the world once covered by rainforest. Today, just 6 per cent remains.
11 billion – the number of trees planted worldwide under UNEP’s Plant for the Planet Campaign. Of these, nearly 4 million have been planted by the Children’s Initiative. UNEP has set an overall goal of 13 billion trees.
2 billion tonnes – the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year by deforestation. That’s more than is emitted by all the world’s cars and trucks.
13 million hectares – the area of forest lost worldwide each year. That’s about the size of Greece.
800,000 hectares – an area of forests, wilderness and rivers – known as Europe’s Amazon – that Austria, Croatia, n this International Year of Forests, nature at your service Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia have agreed to protect as a I is the theme of World Environment Day 2011 – being transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. commemorated all over the world with the main celebrations taking place in India. 300,000-400,000 – the number of plant species described by scientists. More than two thirds come from Forests are the green lungs of the world and play a key role in forests, particularly rainforests. Yet only 5 per cent of these the health of the planet. They battle against climate change, have had their chemical composition explored. releasing oxygen into the atmosphere while storing carbon. They regulate rainfall, feed our rivers and are essential to 100,000 – the (approximate) number of tree species in supplying the water for nearly half of our largest cities. They the world. create and maintain soil fertility and protect us from storms and fl oods. 42,000 kilometres – the distance an average car travels to produce the carbon absorbed by one tree in one year. Awe inspiring, forests are the most biologically diverse ecosystems on land, and are home to more than half 9,550 years – the age of Old Tjikko, a 4.87 metre high of the terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects. They Norway spruce growing in Sweden. That means Old Tjikko also provide shelter, jobs, security and cultural relevance for took root just after the last ice age and for thousands of years forest-dependent populations – around 1.6 billion people. was kept in shrub form by the tough climate of the tundra, only becoming a full tree as the climate warmed during the Forests embody much of what is good and healthy in our 20th century. lives, yet we are destroying them. Global deforestation continues at a rate of 13 million hectares each year; that’s an 465 – the number of trees needed to supply the paper used area roughly the size of Greece. by the average American in one year. But it’s not too late to transform life as we know it into a 120 kilos – approximately the amount of oxygen a single greener future – one in which forests are at the heart of our tree produces in a year. That means two mature trees can sustainable development and green economies. supply enough oxygen to support a family of four. Conserving forests and expanding them must be recognized 20 per cent – the contribution to global warming from forest not just as essential to our well-being but also as a business destruction and degradation. opportunity. UNEP has calculated that an investment of US$30 billion to fi ght deforestation and degradation could provide a 5 per cent – the area of commercial forests owned by the return of US$2.5 trillion in new products and services – that’s world’s faiths. a return of nearly US$100 for every US$1 invested.
These investments could generate up to 10 million new jobs. Leaders around the world are beginning to understand the potential of renewable energy and nature-based assets, but for a real change to happen, forests need to become a universal political priority. The services forests provide are essential to every aspect of our life. The answer is sustainable forest management, moving towards a green economy, and it lies in our hands.
Health and the environment 3
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 3 27/4/11 13:11:46 T u n z a _ 8 . 4 _ E 4 in foodprices seeing ithit925million. on therise,with therecentincreases of 800million;sincethenit hasbeen South Asia –reached its lowest point mostly insub-Saharan Africa and chronic hungerandmalnutrition – In 1995thenumberofpeople suffering Food, water and sanitation freak storms. events likelandslides,fl will bemoredeathsfromunexpected become morefrequent. And there 70,000 lives inEurope in2003,will Heat waves, liketheonethatclaimed waters encourage bacterialgrowth. take holdasfl be moreopportunitiesforcholera to more thandoubleby 2080. There will sub-Saharan Africa: thisisexpectedto each year, mostlyamongchildren in some 250millioncasesofmalaria At present,forexample,thereare increased rainfall andsea-level rise. expand withhighertemperatures, diseases likecholera andmalariawill infectious andwater- orinsect-borne The intensityandgeographic range of Disease andmortality T health care. where mostpeoplehave littleorno in much ofthedeveloping world, compared towhat willbeexperienced increasing stress.Butthisisnothing supply anddrainage willbeunder and infrastructural serviceslikewater some areas;insurance costswillsoar; diseases willbecomemoreprevalent in and heartdiseasewillrise;infectious fl weather events such asheatwaves and will becomemoreexpensive; extreme relatively lightly:foodandothergoods industrialized world willgetoff mate change. Those living inthe Everybody willbeaffectedby cli- oods willtaketheirtoll;respiratory n g . i n TUNZA d d
the world’s youth. ORGANIZATION’S messageto HEALTHHAT’SWORLD THE
4 Vol 8No 4 “ oods spreadandwarmer Climate change Shrink oods and and oods improve reduce agricultural productivity. of plantandlivestock diseaseswillalso systems disappear. Changingpatterns drought asthesenatural water storage lead fi crop yields. The meltingofglacierswill living withwater stress,againreducing will increasethenumberofpeople Mediterranean, and thesouthernUSA, and Central Africa, Europeandthe and risingpopu damaging cropland.Reducedrainfall averaging 4.2millimetresperyear. and thusatriskfromsea-level rise,now urban conglomerations areonthecoast, hardest. And many oftheseexpanding disease allhitthepooresturbanpeople contaminated water, foodshortageand increases. Floodsandlandslides, their vulnerability toclimatechange have fl – many madeupofpeoplewho housing andsprawling communities And ascitiesswell withinadequate 2.3 billionin2005to4by 2030. countries isexpectedtoincreasefrom The urbanpopulationofdeveloping Towns andcities inadequate sani illness, andfl leading tocropfailure,malnutritionand will makethingsworse, withdrought stressed regions. The changing climate billion peoplealready live inwater- don’t have propersanitation.Some1.5 clean water todrink:aroundahalf developing world cannotregularly get More thanafi Munich Re,says thenumberofmajor change. The reinsurance company, in range andintensitywithclimate of which areexpectedto increase wind stormsorexcessive rainfall –all weather asheatwaves, coldwaves, disasters, many linkedtosuch unusual population –wereaffectedby natural people –aroundathirdoftheglobal Between 1998and2007,2billion Extreme events
your rst tofl ed failingrural livelihoods – oods overstraining already ooding downstream, then carbonfootprint: fth ofpeopleinthe tation systems and tation systemsand lations in Southern lations inSouthern your
will stealyour future. change.pdf global-health/ucl-lancet-climate- UCL/The Lancetatwww.ucl.ac.uk/ For furtherdetailseethefullreportby climate change oneverybody else. be working toreducetheimpactsof whatever thefuture may hold;you will you beincreasingyour resilienceto improve your own health,notonlywill you shrinkyour carbonfootprintand any reasonablelevel ofhealth.If parts oftheworld, strugglestoachieve makers andapublicthat,inmany the challenge toscientists,policy Climate change massively increases confl expected tobeonthemove by 2050, with hundredsofmillionspeople threats tohealthandwell-being, The stressofmigration bringsitsown example, willhave tofl of thelow-lying Bangladesh delta,for many ofthe120millioninhabitants and drive peoplefromtheirhomes: reduce theamountofarable land fl ever largernumbers. Desertifi further thehealthandwell-beingof interact withclimate change toreduce in thedeveloping world. This will increase to9.2billionby 2050,mostly The globalpopulationisexpectedto Population andmigration nutrition anddisease. shortage, water contamination,mal- infrastructure and soleadtofood life andlimb,such events demolish Apart fromtheimmediatethreatto vulnerable totidalstormsurges. will triplethenumberofpeople above 40°C.Morepowerful storms in westernandsouthernEuropetogo are expectedtoriseabove 50°C, and tures innortheastIndiaand Australia decade. By2100,summertempera- the 1950stosixperyear inthelast an average oflessthantwo ayear in weather-related disastersgrewfrom health ooding andsaltwater intrusionwill ictcanonlyincrease. R Dahlquist/UNEP/Topham ee sea-level rise. ee sea-level rise. ! ” cation, cation, 2 7 / 4
/ 1 1
1
1 T Alipalo/UNEP/Topham WA Borges/UNEP/Topham Ong Van Sinh/UNEP/Topham JL Perret/UNEP/Topham NASA : 2 3 : 5 5 Medical students lead the way
RENZO GUINTO, medical student, environmental advocate and Bayer Young Environmental Envoy 2007, thinks the global health and environmental movements should join forces, and explains how young doctors from around the world are leading the way.
Dozens of papers from all over the world clearly lay out the impact of climate change on human health. In 2009, a commission formed by The Lancet and University College London (UCL) called climate change ‘the biggest global health threat of the 21st century’. Infectious diseases like dengue fever and cholera are on the rise. People are affected by increases in the severity and frequency of natural disasters like typhoons in countries including the Philippines, while drought in Africa impacts food supplies. Yet at international negotiation tables and in community-based education, little emphasis has been placed on the health impact of climate change. Rather, it is presented as an economic and political issue, or merely an environmental problem. Yet even among environmentalists, people disagree about both the science and the solutions.
Health unifi es all
But what if climate change were reframed as a health issue? Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says ‘everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family’. Every member state of the United Nations is accountable to its citizens, and the failure to act on climate change is a violation of the human right to health. The global environmental movement should focus on the health impacts of climate change. Communities may not comprehend terms such as ‘carbon emission’ or ‘cap-and-trade’, but they will understand how water and food scarcity threatens nutrition, how warming encourages malaria-bearing mosquitoes, and how fl ooding can lead to disease and death. With this understanding, they’re more likely to take positive action.
Creating a movement
In October 2010, the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), a federation composed of 1.2 million medical students worldwide, launched an online petition pushing governments to put ‘health back into the climate change negotiations’. IFMSA calls for ‘full participation and consultation of the international health community in the international negotiations within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’ in the hope that the negotiations will ‘achieve a fair, ambitious and legally binding global treaty’. With this bold act, medical students hope to encourage the World Health Organization, the World Medical Association and all other international non- governmental organizations and foundations working for health to take leadership in this new movement. Both global health and environmental movements should make use of this momentum, pooling resources, efforts and voices to create high-impact development projects that encompass health, environment and even poverty. A global forum on environment and health, for example, would allow activists to discuss and analyse issues through the combined lens of environment and health, and arrive at a global strategy for collaborative action. If we tackle climate change as a health issue, I am certain that the world will come to agreement for action sooner.
For more information, visit: www.environmentalgovernance.org/ featured/2010/11/youth-voices-climate-change-is-a-health-issue/
Health and the environment 5
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 5 27/4/11 11:23:59 T u n z a _ 8 . 4 _ E ‘W LEADING THE prospects of African women of prospects isinspirational.’African toMozambique. toimprovingNigeria and thehealth, Their dedication education –fromBurkinaFaso toZambiaand Ladiesfrom17nations withFirst engaged aschampionsofimprovedpotential healthanddevelopment. Since2008, we have ‘The initiative,’ concludesCora, ‘is aboutempowering Ladiestomobilize First their children, toimprove andeconomicempowerment. health, education specifi basedatthePublic partner HealthInstitute. our implementing Together they build PlannedParenthood andthe International aswell Federation International aswith their offi between them,Ladies’ partnerships commitment by andcoordinating fostering aboutsignifi to bring Ladiesarewell to improve‘First placedtoleadthecharge ofwomen thestatus and of theminsub-Saharan Africa. where 60percentofthechildrenunabletoattendschool are girls, some40million onacontinent tasks, farmingandadulteducation. That’s important particularly girl childrengettoschool, inincome-generating spendmoretime andwomen can Lightening women’s workload andsaving increasesthelikelihood that theirtime foraging forfuel.’ trees asthey aremoreeffi alloverdistributed thecountry. Notonlydothey reduceairpollution, they save less fuel. and They clays are now outerstand beingmadefromlocal withatin NjalaUniversity,’the local says Cora. ‘These stoves aresmokeless andusemuch Koroma, isworking tointroduceanew theinitiative wonder stove designedat for cooking. ‘In SierraLeone, Lady, andhelpofFirst withthesupport SiaNyama theresultofburningwood, –largely air pollution charcoalandotherbiomass morethan 1.6millionprematuredeathsayear Organization, areduetoindoor Then there’s airpollution. Around theworld, accordingtothe World Health withwhomwe work.’ probleminthecommunities diseases areaserious is alsowomen’s isanissue. work, andpollution Preventable andsoilcontamination orwater rivers bodies.and muchmoreallendupinthelocal Cleaningcompounds of thelimitedwater sourcesisagrowing problem: humanwastes, waste medical washing of clothingandpotspansoftenusethesamewater source. Pollution a streamorriver, orawell ifthereisone, as well asdisposingofwaste. Bathing, and environmental health. For example, theirwork includesfetchingwater fromeither 6 n g . i n TUNZA d d
to womenc programmesthatmake arealdifference, andgirl particularly
6 suchasCARE developmentces andleadinginternational organizations Vol 8No 4 Ladies Initiative, ‘but they areoftenunaware ofsomethebasics the environment,’ says CoraNeumann, ofRAND’s director First African playomen andfemalechildrenin apivotal roleinthehealthof Africa change,’cant Cora. continues ‘We work tobuildontheFirst women andchildrenspend cient andreducethetime CHARGE
Photos : Stephen Osman HE Thandiwe Banda of Zambia of Banda Thandiwe HE HE Ida Odinga of Kenya of Odinga Ida HE HRH Queen LaMbikiza of Swaziland of LaMbikiza Queen HRH HE Ana Paula Dos Santos of Angola of Santos Dos Paula Ana HE HE Adelicia Barreto Pires of Cape Verde Cape of Pires Barreto Adelicia HE 2 7 / 4 / 1 1
1 1 : 2 4 : 0 2 4 0 : 4 2 : 1 1
1 1
PNUE / 4 7 / 7 2 Health and the environment , became the first first the , became What would you advise our readers who might want to who might want to readers advise our you What would You need passion and interest in environmental issues issues in environmental and interest need passion You I have had the pleasure of meeting some Tunza members of meeting some Tunza had the pleasure I have
Achim Steiner and USEPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. PATRICIA OKOED-BUKUMUNHE PATRICIA Patricia receives her trophy from UNEP Executive Director become environmental journalists to do? journalists environmental become Q: A: before you dedicate yourself to communicating them. communicating to yourself dedicate you before and relevant the issues keep is to of advice Another piece as possible. about them as simply talk and to digestible, an impact. make the way to That’s in environmental by their interest and I was impressed that architects, learn inspiring to It was particularly issues. for all looking in the making are and teachers IT specialists environmental communicate to use their professions ways to issues. in winning the I should end by saying that my pleasure about the is not about the winning, but more UNEP award the communicate to that it is being used as a tool knowledge change. impacts of climate planet. Forest cover is falling, lakes and rivers are drying are and rivers lakes is falling, cover planet. Forest earthquakes changing. Floods, are patterns up and weather should take warning signs that the world and tsunamis are of our planet that the well-being forget to tend We seriously. is the basis of our existence. Take care ’ ts of this coexistence. career and motivation. career TUNZA caught up with Patricia shortly afterwards, and talked to her about her her about her to and talked afterwards, shortly up with Patricia TUNZA caught winner of UNEP’s Young Environmental Journalist Award in February 2011. 2011. in February Award Journalist Environmental Young winner of UNEP’s Ugandan radio journalist, journalist, radio Ugandan rst year at college I decided at college year rst Pursuing a passion Pursuing 7
d What do you see as the most important issues of our important issues see as the most What do you What inspired you to become a journalist, and did your and did your a journalist, to become you What inspired For as far back as I can remember I’ve had a passion had a passion I’ve remember back as I can as far For And which stories do you most enjoy? most do you And which stories What sort of stories do you focus on? focus do you What sort of stories What was it that led you to radio journalism? to radio you What was it that led I love pieces that involve the community because those because the community that involve pieces I love d I was particularly attracted to radio journalism because journalism because radio to attracted I was particularly I cover whatever affects the environment or society as a the environment affects whatever I cover Issues to do with global warming and climate change are change are warming and climate do with global to Issues
n i . g n rst… I am tempted to say my interests were intertwined, intertwined, were my interests say to I am tempted rst… of Mother Nature and she’ll take care of you. time? Are these the same in Uganda as in the wider world? time? Are stories show the wider impact of an issue and then bring the the wider impact of an issue show stories to. relate to person the everyday back to listener it allows people to speak for themselves. Developing feat- Developing themselves. speak for to people it allows in and listeners draws of characters with a rainbow ures speak for Hearing people in the piece. puts them right there, thing brings the whole and adding sound effects themselves in too… magazines and newspapers, for But I write life. to ones. as local as well France… Austria, whole – and what’s topical and crucial. I’m currently working and crucial. I’m currently topical – and what’s whole parks and in wildlife oil discoveries recent on on a feature as being asked in Uganda. The question areas protected amounts of large discovery Uganda basks in the recent One of my coexist?’ and wildlife of oil is: ‘Can oil exploration the impact and benefi explores pieces Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: A: Q: A: Q:
interest in journalism come before your interest in the interest your before journalism come in interest environment? not receiving the attention they deserve. As the developed As the developed deserve. they attention the not receiving countries and developing technology advance to races world seems to up, the world catch to such as Uganda struggle impact on our this is having a disastrous that be forgetting simply because I have always wanted to use journalism to wanted always I have because simply In my opinion, issues. environmental communicate to handling for is a prerequisite managing the environment a saying: ‘ such as health. I have issues other vital to get into radio journalism even though there was though there even journalism radio get into to knew in Uganda at the time. I just one broadcaster only say what came to hard But it’s me. was for broadcasting fi for communication. In my fi communication. for E _ 4 . 8 _
a
z n
u T T u n z a _ 8 . 4 _ E how Germany’s Government, industry in Leverkusen. Here, delegates learn day fi environmental pro tection withafi who make substantial contributions to annually since 1998,rewarding youth Bayer hashosted theBYEEconference materials for otherproducts.’ paper into bales thatwillprovide raw machines separate plastics, metals and said. ‘Soit’s fascinating to seehow and sellingrecyclable materials,’ she ‘I runaproject atuniversity collecting Leverkusen, Germany. recycled waste inasortingplantnear enraptured amongmountains of Envoys (BYEE) 2010conference stood to theBayer Youth Environmental student from Venezuela. Thedelegate next step istraining thefarmers. Ihave alsostarted asocial value is100rupees. dehydrating akilo ofonionscosts 50 rupees,butthemarket production, theprofi season income. Andeven taking into account thecost of be more easily stored and transported, andprovide anoff- Microorganisms cannot survive indehydrated food. Itcan for dehydration basedonpolyurethane andmetal. option: we developed asimple, easy-to-operate technology at thetechnologies available, andsolarproved agood site withoutelectricity? Myprofessor asked meto look value. Thesefactors helptrap people inpoverty. produce isseasonal,too, soglutspushdown themarket storage facilities, leading to a30per cent loss offood. Most supply inrural areas means thatthere are noprocessing or and marineproducts –ishighly perishable. The lackofpower of Indianfarmers. develop atechnology thatwillimprove theeconomic condition Since 2007,I’ve worked onsolardrying,aninitiative to Vaibhav Tidke, India BRIGHT ‘I Waste 8 from Bayer. country nominated anEnvoy to present aproject to apanelofjudges,whoawarded four projects withspecialsupport encourage environmental projects thatdemonstrate originality,potential impactandsustainability. Eachparticipating An exciting highlight ofthe2010BYEEconference wasthe launchoftheBayer Young Environmental LeaderAward to n g . i n We’ve already produced demonstration units,andthe But whatiffarmers hadawayto process fresh food on Much oftheproduce farmers harvest –fruit,vegetables TUNZA d d eld tripto Bayer headquarters Ramírez, achemical engineering my dream plant!’saidClaudia don’t care ifitsmells.Thisis
8 Vol 8No 4 t margin ofdehydrated food ishigh: IDEAS not, ve- want power. ‘Iwrite energy auditsfor business incineration process to generate steam way theplantrecovered heatfrom the kharan, from India,was impressed bythe Software engineerAswinChandrase- recover precious metals. toxic industrial wastes are processed to Bürrig waste incineration plant,where municipal recycling facility; andthe wastewater treatment plant;AVEA, a visits to theEmscherGenossenschaft use itasaresource. Fieldtripsincluded waste: how to manageit,reduce itand The key themeemerging in2010was Germany’s environment. the-art technologies thathelpprotect legal ex perts, andstudy the state-of- ideas, meetscientifi industrialized state. They exchange phalia, itsmost densely populated and en vironment inNorthRhine-West- and citizenscooperate to protect the not: c, industrial and food, andfarmer training. There’s still along wayto go. produce more units,atesting facility to analyse dehydrated and won anaward from UNESCO,butwe needmaterials to products for dehydrated foodstuffs, suchaspowdered soup. become entrepreneurs, andwe’re working ondeveloping new enterprise, Science for Society,helpingvillagefarmers Solar dryinghasthesupportofIndianGovernment
BYEE 2010 fi countries can come upwithsolutionsto building, sothatpeople indeveloping Kenya. ‘Butwhat’s important iscapacity ack nowledged KennedyLitiMbeva, from much creativity andinnovation here,’ in environmental protection. ‘There’s to encourage themto pursue careers new ideasintheirown countries, and young people to share andimplement The goaloftheprogramme isfor devices andconvert itinto electricity. ways to harvest heatfrom electrical Pondet Ananchai,from Thailand,seeks a fertilizer andbuildingmaterial; and the publicto accept sewage sludgeas from Malaysiarunscampaigns to get compost blocks for plants;JerryLee production inEast Java (Indonesia)into Afrili yana transforms waste from coffee envoys’ pro jects featured waste. Asmak effi plans, andthissystem isbreathtakingly t theirown contexts.’ cient,’ hesaid.Likewise, manyofthe 2 7 / 4 / 1
1 Michael Rennertz/Bayer
1 1 : 2 4 : 0 4 T u n z a _ 8 . 4 _ E three local dialects. It’s aboutalittle boy, Pot Pot, whose I wrote andpublishedinbook form inEnglish,Germanand made ofwood andPETbottles, andarainwater collection as aneducation centre for theneighbouringcommunity. demonstration houseto showcase ourinnovations andserve where thepubliccan bringmaterials to berecycled, anda stration structures oncampus, includingawaste shelter saving onwooden supports. originates from theUSA,accommodates supportingrods, well, sodoesn’tneedmuchmortar, andthedesign,which specifi bricks. We took thisto abrickmaker, whouseditto our marble mining,similarto theclayusedto make conventional architecture anddesign. from civilengineeringto environmental engineering,biology, building. Ourgroup includesstudents indisciplinesranging forming municipalandindustrial wastes into sustainable Pontifícia Universidade Católica Paraná, focuses ontrans- My project, ECOHABITARE, astudent-led research centre at Daniel Isfer Zardo, Brazil the agesof6and14inHoChiMinhCity. Vietnamesechildren I study Englishliterature, andwork withchildren between Nguyen ThiThanhThao,VietNam barangay in environmental clean-ups. educating children andoffering concrete waysto participate puppet show andenvironmental workshop, entertaining and children aboutrecycling. Itravel to local schoolsto present a Ilonggo Environmental Heroes Story Caravan, educates young the smallest memberofourfamily. Myproject, theLittle In thePhilippines,we don’tunderestimate thepower ofeven Christopher Millora, Philippines the community becomes beautifulagain. Planter plantstrees. Together, they defeat Basuramon and Conservation turnsofflightsandtaps; andPot Pot thePuno Recycle recycles; TinayKatubigancleans waterways; Cora Wanda Walisse’s superpower isto pickuprubbish;Ramboy to helpfi the evil garbagemonster Basuramon. Hecalls hisfriends Green Rangers Adventures: The Defeat of Basuramon of Defeat The Adventures: Rangers Green n g . i n We’ve alsodesigned arecycled-materials green roof We’ve patented thesebricksand are buildingdemon- One common local waste ismarble dust, aby-product of The puppetshow tells thestory of d d
cations to create the‘ecological brick’.Itstacks
9 ght it,andamagictree gives themsuperpowers: –asmallcommunity –isbeingthreatened by The Little Ilonggo Ilonggo Little The , which , which
Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao themselves, incorporating creative writinginto theprocess. positive. Inthenext phase,children willproduce thebooks garbage isleft inthecityeach day? has thecapacity to collect 5,000tonnes aday. How much garbage isdiscarded inHoChiMinh City. Butthecityonly conservation organization WWF. such astheVietNamMinistry ofNatural Resources andthe on environmental issues publishedbyoffi children. Theexercises are basedonnumbers anddata combining environmental education withmathsfor young teach themaboutenvironmental issues. for extracurricular study, butIthoughtitwasimportant to spend alot oftimestudying mathssothere isn’tmuchtime dialects. from thePhilippinesto help translate thebookinto their into theinnercityandprovinces. I’llaskmyfellow Envoys their schoolgrounds assuperheroes! tribute superhero masks,and they zoomaround cleaning And ofcourse every childwantsto beasuperhero. Idis- to apply theseideasanywhere. understand self-construction guide, enablingcommunities demonstration buildings,andbyproducing aneasy-to- plastic bottles fi system of200-litre alcohol barrels, fi The feedback from children andteachers hasbeen Here’s asample problem: every day,6,000tonnes of That’s whyIwrote I’ve reached more than800children, andhopeto expand I askthechildren: ‘Whowantsto belike Wanda Walisse?’ Ultimately, we’ll share knowledge bybuildingmore lled withsand,rocks andmesh. Green Maths Exercises Maths Green ltered through 10-litre Health and the environment ca institutions cial , atextbook 2 7 / 9 4 / 1
1 Ecohabitare Bayer
1 1 : 2 4 : 0 5 The green ark RBGKew othing could survive without plants. They are the world. Working with partners in 50 countries, MSB helps the foundation for most of Earth’s ecosystems, identify which seeds are in most urgent need of saving, offers help regulate the climate, and provide building conservation training and equipment, and helps develop materials, medicines, fuel, clean water and food, long-term conservation programmes. The seeds are analysed Nall essential for human health. But we’re losing plants fast: for their DNA, tested for viability and, where possible, made according to the recently published IUCN Sampled Red List available for non-commercial scientifi c research. Index for Plants – a study conducted by the Natural History Museum (London), the International Union for Conservation SEARCH AND RESCUE of Nature (IUCN), and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Loss of biodiversity is particularly worrying when it comes (London) – one in fi ve of the world’s 380,000 known plant to food security. The MSB recently joined the UN Food species is threatened with extinction due to climate change and Agriculture Organization’s Global Crop Diversity Trust and habitat loss. (GCDT) on a rescue mission to save the genetic resources stored in the wild relatives of the crops we rely on. More In response, Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank project (MSB) is than 30,000 plant species are edible, but we cultivate racing to save as much plant biodiversity as possible, giving fewer than 150 for food, and just 12 species provide 80 per priority to the world’s most useful and most threatened plant cent of world food. This dependence on only a few plants species. Part of the botanical research institute’s mission to could spell disaster as temperatures rise, growing seasons learn about and conserve plant biodiversity, the MSB was change, the world population grows and productive arable launched in 2000 to collect and catalogue seeds from around land shrinks.
ore than 1.5 billion people live in countries suffering from water scarcity, which is when supplies drop Rainwater harvest Mbelow an average of 2,750 litres per person per day. This hampers food production and economic development, ‘I designed a rooftop rainwater harvesting system for drinking making communities particularly vulnerable, and has serious water using four layers of physical fi ltration: sand, gravel, sand consequences for human health – with poor sanitation the with aluminium, and sulphate and activated carbon. A chemical world’s leading cause of premature death. fi ltration layer uses a chlorine gas pump. Finally, UV radia- tion kills bacteria. My goal is to save more than a fi fth of rain- As human populations continue to expand, the world’s fi xed water runoff that would otherwise be wasted. Next I hope to supply of freshwater will have to stretch ever further. And raise the water quality to government standards, and scale on top of that, climate change is altering evaporation and things up.’ precipitation patterns, so while an excess of water may occur Liu Zhihao, Singapore at times or in places with no infrastructure to deal with it, some existing water sources are expected to dry up. The world’s two most water-short regions – Africa and the Near Dry rice East – have the fastest-growing populations, and may also suffer extreme drought conditions associated with climate Farmers around the world are beginning to adopt rice change. Putting climate change and population growth production methods that require less water than the together, the number of people living with water scarcity is traditional paddy fi eld. Seedlings are planted very young set to more than double during the coming decades. and the ground is kept moist rather than fl ooded. This not only reduces the amount of water needed to get a crop, People are working to squeeze every drop from the available but also the fertilizer and pesticide requirement. And it resources, introducing techniques that range from the also reduces emissions of methane (a greenhouse gas very high-tech – including desalination – to simple storage associated with waterlogged ground) so it’s good for the systems, like water butts, that can be installed at home. Here climate as well as for human health. are a few examples.
10 TUNZA Vol 8 No 4
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 10 27/4/11 11:24:07 RBGKew RBGKew RBGKew
Cary Fowler, Executive Director of the GCDT, explains that fava bean, chickpea, cowpea, fi nger millet, grass pea, lentil, we need the genetic diversity of wild relatives because they oat, pea, pearl millet, pigeon pea, potato, rye, rice, sorghum, hold the solutions to such problems as drought tolerance, sunfl ower, sweet potato, vetch and wheat. Over 10 years, pests and temperature sensitivity. ‘All our crops were the collected seeds will be put through a process called originally developed from wild species,’ explains Fowler, ‘pre-breeding’ to identify what could be incorporated into ‘and they were adapted from the plants best suited to the domesticated plants. Once this is identifi ed, the material is climates of the past. We now need to go back to the wild made available to crop breeders. It takes up to 10 years to to fi nd any of their relatives that can thrive in the climates breed a new crop variety, so it’s a race against time. of the future. A change of only 1ºC during rice fl owering, for example, can reduce yields by a tenth, causing major SPROUTING SUCCESS shortages,’ says Fowler. ‘If genes from a night-fl owering wild So far, the MSB has banked seeds from more than a tenth rice variety could be bred into farmed rice, it could sustain of the world’s fl owering plants, with banked seeds already or improve yields.’ being used to restore damaged habitats and help poor communities adapt to harsh conditions. Kenyan com- The GCDT has already collected and stored millions of seed munities in the Makeuni district, for example, replanted samples in its Arctic vault in Svalbard, Norway. Its partnership forest degraded by overgrazing, deforestation and erosion with the MSB is a focused effort to gather, save and research with seedlings of indigenous trees grown from seeds the useful genetic traits of wild relatives of 23 staple food collected by the MSB. The next step: to bank 25 per cent of crops: alfalfa, bambara groundnut, banana, barley, bean, the world’s seeds by 2020. THE WATER CHALLENGE
Solar purifi cation Seawater greenhouse
A Swedish company has come up with a solar-powered water The seawater greenhouse uses seawater and sunlight purifi cation system that promises to deliver 100,000 litres to grow food and fl owers in arid coastal regions such as of clean water a day by using solar power to fi lter dirty or Australia, Oman and the Canary Islands. Wind blows through salt water. The cost of installing the system is high, but over porous cardboard walls over which seawater is trickled, the 20 years that the system should continue to function, it creating cool humid growing conditions. Moving across averages out at less than $0.03 per litre of clean water. sun-heated pipes, the evaporated sea water condenses as freshwater for irrigating crops in the greenhouse and vegetation outside it, helping to green the landscape. Water quality
‘I’m trying to improve water quality for 40,000 São Carlos Ion towers inhabitants. At Universidade Federal de São Carlos, I study organisms in the ecosystem to determine water quality. A company in Abu Dhabi is attempting rainmaking using arrays I focus particularly on macroinvertebrates in sediments, of 10-metre towers that emit ions – negatively charged particles because they are great indicators of the real condition of – which attach to cloud condensation nuclei, particles around the water. Based on our fi ndings, the city’s environmental which water vapour condenses. This new technology has yet to ministry is restoring streams, which is more cost-effi cent be proven, but is similar to the old practice of cloud seeding: than treating the water, and prevents disease.’ the theory is that ionizing condensation nuclei allows them to Amanda Baldochi Souza, Brazil survive longer, giving water droplets more time to form.
Health and the environment 11
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 11 27/4/11 11:24:09 T u n z a _ 8 . 4 _ I E 12
would slowly move theworld intherightdirection. I was couldn’t believe Iwaswitnessing agreement ofatext that and most nationslooked asifthey’d reach consensus, I In thefi discourse thatleft mewithafeeling oftrepidation. what waspossible and surrounded bynegative media bother?’ Determined, Iheadedoff,keeping quieter about then would come astronger question: ‘Whyshouldn’tI question –‘Whyeven bother?’–ran through myhead,but So Iwasslightly hesitant goingto Cancun.Theobvious problem ofclimate change. many political leaders were still notready to face theglobal public misguidedinitsideals.No,itseemedto show that not afailure oftheUnited Nationssystem, norwasthe left individualnationsto settheirown targets. Thiswas to avoid theworst consequences ofglobal warming,and 2ºC above preindustrial times–fell shortofwhatisneeded Accord, whichsetagoaloflimitingglobal warmingto below without aclimate deal.Theoutcome –theCopenhagen I felt hopefuluntilthefi possessed thepolitical willneededto actonclimate change. I believed headsofstates would demonstrate thatthey was hopeful,like manyothers, thatitwasareal possibility. of reaching afair, ambitiousandbindingtreaty there, butI buying into optimism.Ihadnoillusionsaboutthediffi being billed as‘Hopehagen’andeveryone, includingme,was In 2009,Iwent to Copenhagenfi Movement. Doingsohaschangedmycapacity for hope. By LinhDo,Tunza Youth Advisory Councilmemberfor AsiaandthePacifi FROM DESPAIR TO HOPE n g lobbyist and activist intheInternational Youth Climate Conferences –inCopenhagenandCancunasanobserver, attended thelast two bigUnited NationsClimate Change . i n TUNZA d d
1 nal hours, astheagreement became more concrete 2 Vol 8No 4 nal night,only to wake to aworld lled withanticipation.Itwas culty culty outcomes for thefuture. hopeful thatthe smallsteps taken inCancunwilllead to big conferences, they simply won’t occur. Iam now unashamedly If we don’t expect thebest possible outcomes from these conferences. Climate Movement onabridgingcampaign between thetwo climate treaty. I’mworking withtheInternational Youth development asapolitical issue andsignedthefi the RioEarthSummit1992,whichcemented sustainable Rio+20 EarthSummitin2012,the20-year follow upto I’m excited aboutDurban,butI’mmore excited aboutthe current provisions expiring attheendofyear. discussions willbethe future oftheKyoto Protocol, withits climate changeactionto thenext level. Onefocal pointof end ofthisyear withthepolitical backingneededto take be able to arrive atthenext bigconference inDurbanatthe ments needto implement domestic policies,too. Thenthey’ll Much must bedoneto buildonthis progress. Allgovern- closed doors. it wasnotnegotiated byafew powerful countries behind the agreement wasachieved. Unlike theCopenhagenAccord, success wasthecollaborative andtransparent wayinwhich from afair, ambitiousandbindingtreaty, butthesecret of developing onesfor green technology. Itremained afar cry developed countries to provide more fi the CopenhagenAccord bycalling, amongotherthings,on The Cancunagreements builtonprecedents established in read thatCancunwasasuccess. like Copenhagen’s. ButwhenIwoke thefollowing morning,I consequences ofanearly departure. Ididnotwant anending unwilling to leave even at3am:illogically, Iwasfearful ofthe c nancial supportto rst rst 2 7 / 4 / 1 1
Ashley Cooper/Specialist Stock
1 1 : 2 4 : 1 1 A model for LIFE he environment has always been my passion. Mother Earth is our fundamental life-support system, and by ‘Tbecoming aware and responsible now, we can help preserve the planet.’
You’d know Gisele Bündchen’s face anywhere. The Brazilian- born beauty is the world’s highest-paid supermodel, is often seen gracing the covers of the top international fashion magazines, and is the face of advertising campaigns for such com panies as Apple, Christian Dior and Versace.
But when she’s not in front of the camera or on the catwalks, Gisele is a devoted environmental campaigner, using her fame to raise awareness and encourage us to protect the planet.
Gisele grew up surrounded by nature in southern Brazil, UN Photo and was aware of the destruction of its forests and how that HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF GISELE’S affects the people who depend on them. Her involvement ENVIRO TIPS: in environmental causes began in 2006, after a visit to an Indian tribe on the Xingu River in the Amazonian rainforest. Reduce your computer’s emissions Seeing how the tribe suffered from water pollution and other Reduce CO2 emissions by setting your PC to sleep when problems caused by deforestation for cattle ranching, soy idle, letting the system hibernate until you come back. production and logging, Gisele worked with her footwear company, Grendene, to create a line of sandals to raise Water tank health awareness of environmental causes and raise money for Keep your water tank covered to keep out insects and forest- and water-related projects in Brazil’s Atlantic and small animals that can contaminate water and cause Amazon rainforests. serious diseases. In 2008, Gisele returned to her home town of Horizontina to Help stop wild animal traffi cking launch Projeto Água Limpa (Clean Water Project) with the help There are many different species in a habitat, and they are of her family. The project promotes sustainable environmental part of a balanced ecosystem that took millions of years management in the region, and aims to aid the recovery of to stabilize. Removing one disrupts the balance. Don‘t buy river-based vegetation and local water sources in the state objects and jewellery ornamented with feathers, and don‘t of Rio Grande do Sul. During the fi rst phase of the project, buy wild animals. 40,000 native tree saplings were planted.
Dispose of cooking oil properly Then Gisele personally joined in planting the Gisele When poured down the drain, oil forms gluey lumps Bündchen Seeds Forest: 25,500 trees of 100 species covering that block pipes. Besides, just 1 litre of used cooking oil more than 15 hectares in Campinas and Bahia, Brazil. The can contaminate 25,000 litres of water. Dispose of oil at project is part of conservation efforts to save what remains appropriate places, where it will be recycled or reused. of Brazil’s Atlantic forest, which once covered 15 per cent of Oil can be made into soap: 25 litres of oil are enough to the country. produce 120 bars of soap. In 2009, Gisele was named a UNEP Goodwill Ambassador to Together, we will be stronger raise awareness and inspire action to protect the environment. With everyone doing their bit, we can do a lot. For World Environment Day 2011, Gisele and actor Don Environmental preservation is not only up to governments, Cheadle issued a challenge: for every activity registered at policy makers and non-governmental organizations. The http://www.wedchallenge.org they will plant three trees. As power of people is limitless. Gisele says, she has a lot of goodwill to share.
Health and the environment 13
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 13 27/4/11 11:24:12 Afterwards, the children refl ected on how biodiversity in the satoyama differed from their expectations. ‘I expected to see snakes and lizards,’ said Jahmali Bridgewater, 12, from Bermuda, ‘not water skaters and crabs’. Others were surprised to see so many spiders, dragonfl ies and other small creatures in the rice fi eld. ‘Wherever you stepped, there was a spider scurrying around, and there were webs everywhere,’ said Dawn Lee, 14, from the USA. ‘Frogs, too!’
Hip-deep in mud The next day, delegates literally waded into action at nearby Photos: Karen Eng Kanshiro pond. Here, the children learned, the endangered Japanese bitterling fi sh are threatened by invasive species, including the large-mouth bass and the American bullfrog, both from North America. Nature ‘When I saw the pond, I thought, “I don’t want to get dirty!”,’ said Nadhirah Mohar, 13, from Malaysia. ‘But it was choked with mud and needed to be drained and cleaned, so we were given in their nets and buckets in order to save fi sh and other animals.’ As farmers drained the pond, the delegates, joined by 150 Japanese schoolchildren, waded into the water to catch bass, carp, bitterling, giant bullfrogs, turtles, mussels and more, hands sorting the creatures in buckets for identifi cation. The useful and native species would be put back after the pond was houts of excitement rang out across a rice fi eld as cleaned and refi lled, and the alien species removed. children walked along the rows, nets in hand, scanning Sthe ground for frogs, spiders, crickets, dragonfl ies and ‘I feel bad that the large-mouth bass were left in a tank without many other creatures living there. Nearby, more children any water to die,’ said Nadhirah. But Phuong Nguyen Hoang, waded into a river to gather freshwater crabs, Japanese 13, from Viet Nam, was impressed. ‘Pond dredging was very brown frogs and water scorpions. Others explored a fragrant, hard work. But I learned that our actions have a direct effect dense forest identifying and measuring such trees as cypress, on biodiversity.’ Japanese chinquapin, Japanese chestnut oak and camellia. Mapping solutions These 112 children had gathered from 34 countries to After two days of intensive splashing, delegates travelled to participate in the International Children’s Conference on the seaside town of Mihama to create a Biodiversity World Biodiversity (ICCB) in Nagoya, Japan, hosted by UNEP in Map. The children worked in groups, brainstorming about cooperation with the Aichi Prefectural Government and the threats to biodiversity in their regions. City of Nagoya, in October 2010. The ICCB coincided with COP10, a United Nations conference also taking place in Nagoya, where governments met to discuss a new global strategy for biodiversity conservation. ICCB: mini interview The ICCB gave the children an opportunity to discuss problems Adeline Suwana, Indonesia and solutions around biodiversity loss, while making new Q: What does your environmental group do? friends, learning about Japanese culture and experiencing A: My organization is called Sahabat Alam, or ‘friends of Japanese biodiversity fi rst-hand. They discovered how humans nature’, and we plant trees and coral reefs. cial rock,We cut scuba up small dive can work with nature – not against it – to develop and care for pieces of coral and put them in artifi biodiversity and ecosystems. into the ocean and put them on the seabed. This year we held a special programme called Save the Planet. Lots of Catching creatures kids who live in rural districts don’t know about global Hands-on experience meant going outdoors, so the adventure warming or climate change, even though they can feel the began in the Hirabari satoyama. A satoyama is a centuries- effects. We hold seminars about change, and help them old Japanese method of managing land, where generations draft a declaration of things they can do. We have gone to of farming families have maintained a sustainable system of eight schools so far. Q: What have you got from cultivation while preserving the natural landscape and habitat. this conference? Within its 12 hectares, the Hirabari satoyama encompasses a A: I became much more natural forest, which provides fi rewood and wood for charcoal; aware of the biodiversity of a cultivated forest for timber; rice fi elds; ponds that water the other countries during the fi elds; the river; and a spring whose water is bottled and sold biodiversity map project. to cities. But the most fun thing was getting to know people from 14 TUNZA Vol 8 No 4 other countries.
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 14 27/4/11 11:24:13 ICCB: mini interview Nadhirah Mohar and Jes Ismael Izaidin, Malaysia Q: What did you learn at the conference? A: We discovered that campaigns can be an effective way to focus efforts on sending messages and taking action for a cause. This year we discussed the many eco-problems in our community. We needed a new campaign to stop illegal logging, wildlife poaching and deforestation, and to show the beauty of nature and wildlife and the value of forests. Our campaign is called Ghost Tiger, a dance performance that calls attention to the plight of the tiger. A such as global warming, poaching and deforestation – to be ‘ghost tiger’ is a dead tiger, killed for its skins, for medicine addressed in the fi nal statement, which detailed how both and to protect livestock, and a victim of habitat loss, children and adults should act to help preserve biodiversity. disease and hunger. Tigers are apex predators: they keep the wildlife population balanced for healthy biodiversity. The children pledged actions such as tree planting, educating So please support Ghost Tiger. themselves about nature, recycling and not wasting food. They asked adults to commit to using local resources and avoiding development in the habitat of rare species. The children’s declaration was approved at a fi nal ceremony attended by the mayor of Nagoya, and presented by UNEP Junior Board members Annie Collins and Francesco Govender to world leaders at COP10.
Final fun The week wound down with a fi nal day of fi eld trips to a Toyota automobile plant, the forests of Mount Fuji and a Japanese elementary school. But when asked what was most unforgettable about their experience, most agreed on the pond
dredging, proving that the only real way to appreciate nature is ‘We’re creating a world map indicating biodiversity issues like to immerse yourself in it. Francesco Govender, 14, from South poaching, deforestation, pollution and so on, narrowing these Africa, summed it up nicely, saying, ‘When I waded into the down to the most crucial issues, and fi nally fi nding those water, the mud came up to my hip. It was disgusting – but it common around the world, as well as identifying possible was also exciting!’ solutions,’ said Annie Collins, 14, from Canada.
‘Coal plants are a big problem in the Asia-Pacifi c region,’ said George Byrne, 11, from Australia. ‘Solutions are renewable energy sources, like solar, hydro and wind.’ Logein Taybah, 14, ICCB: mini interview from Saudi Arabia, said that the Middle East group identifi ed such threats to biodiversity as marine pollution, industrial air Emily Keal, UK Q: pollution and desertifi cation, while Rufat and Aytakin Dargahli In what way was this children’s conference different from others you’ve attended? from Azerbaijan said, ‘In Europe, the two biggest problems A: We’ve never done anything as active as pond dredging are global warming and improper disposal of rubbish,’ adding before! We normally observe power plants and such like. that marine garbage dumping was a major problem in their It’s much more about wildlife this year rather than about country. global warming, which is what we usually focus on. Q: How has coming to children’s conferences helped you ‘The challenge has been trying to agree on what problems are make a difference? more pressing,’ said Annie. ‘We’re having a hard time deciding A: We have done a lot more tree planting since we started between deforestation and invasive species, for example.’ attending conferences. My environmental group makes She noted that it was interesting to debate what’s important, fi lms to spread awareness about wildlife in our local area defend positions and come to agreement – the fi rst step of north Yorkshire. We focus on the river and wetlands, towards fi nding solutions. take children out and observe wildlife with them. Statement to the world The biodiversity map was just a start towards the main outcome of the ICCB, a formal children’s statement to be delivered to participating nations at COP10. Joined for a special day-long session by 200 Japanese schoolchildren, the delegates worked to generate lists of problems and solutions for conservation and sustainable use. The groups chose the most prevalent and urgent issues threatening biodiversity –
Health and the environment 15
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 15 27/4/11 11:24:13 EXPOSURE
Toxic Baby
MANMADE CHEMICALS are everywhere, from food to furniture, cosmetics to computers, toys to toothpaste. They have brought great benefi ts, swelling our harvests, beating previously unvanquishable diseases, making possible a host of consumer goods that add greatly to the quality of life. But there is growing concern that, as an unintended consequence, some cause harm to human health and the environment.
Documentary fi lm-maker Penelope Jagessar Chaffer – the fi rst black female director to be nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award – has spent years researching the effects of exposure to chemicals, especially for children. Discussions with doctors, researchers and scientists around the world all contributed to her documentary, Toxic Baby. TUNZA spoke to her.
Why is there cause for concern? their parents, refl ecting an increase Aren’t there laws regulating chemical in their use. safety? In the industrialized world, adults can have up to 50,000 more No one has a defi nitive fi gure of how There are efforts at regulation under way chemicals in their bodies than their many chemicals are in circulation, both in the USA and the EU. But at the grandparents had, according to but in the European Union (EU), more moment, chemicals are not regulated Dutch paediatrician Dr Gavin ten than 100,000 are available, in the anywhere in the world in the same Tusscher, Chairman of the European USA 80,000, while about 2,000 new way as pharmaceutical drugs, which go arm of Health Care Without Harm, chemicals are launched each year. through strict testing for up to 12 years an international coalition working to Meanwhile, the volume of chemical before they can be licensed for use. make health care safe for people and production doubles every 25 years. At Chemical manufacturers are responsible the environment. And almost any- the same time, science is learning more for their own safety thresholds, and where in the world, children have about how chemicals affect human don’t have to demonstrate the long-term more chemicals in their bodies than health and the wider environment. health effects of individual substances,
16 TUNZA Vol 8 No 4
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 16 27/4/11 11:24:15 much less how these might interact live nearer the ground which brings electronics, disrupt thyroid hormones with one another in the environment them into closer contact with some and brain development. and in humans. chemicals. We know that children have more synthetic chemicals in their Why has it taken so long to work out Of course, not all chemicals have bodies than their parents, some of that some chemicals harm humans? a negative effect on human health, which were absorbed in the womb. but the problem is what we don’t Things aren’t tested for long-term safety, know. Meanwhile, once we release You focus attention on xenoestrogens, for various reasons. We can’t test on a chemical, it can’t be taken back. manmade compounds that mimic humans: we can’t get into the uterus Some take a long time to degrade; oestrogen. What are they, and how do and do controlled studies on foetuses. some accumulate in the body. For we know they affect us? The Nuremburg Code, established after example, in 1976 the USA banned the World War II to prevent atrocities, lays manufacture, processing, distribution Xenoestrogens are part of a range down that tests can only be carried out and use, except in a ‘totally enclosed of substances known as endocrine on humans for medical research with manner’, of polychlorinated biphenyls disruptors: these interfere with hor- therapeutic intent. It’s also expensive (PCBs), which disrupt hormone, ner- mone systems, which in people and time-consuming to research and vous and immune systems. Similar regulate functions like body growth, reformulate. Finally, it’s diffi cult to restric tions exist in Japan, Canada and reproduction, production and use of monitor the effects of exposure over Western Europe, while the Stockholm insulin, and the metabolism. a lifetime even when substances are Convention, signed in 2001, targeted administered purposefully, never mind PCBs and 11 other persistent organic For 30 years, until the 1970s, doctors those of random, inadvertent dosing. pollutants for elimination. But despite administered a synthetic oestrogen lowered production, they are still to prevent miscarriage in pregnant Is this a new fi eld of study? turning up in the environment and in women. The mothers were fi ne, but people’s bodies. the children, particularly daughters – Environmental toxicity research has been and even in a few cases grandchildren around for the past 30 to 40 years, but Until now, we’ve gone along with – were susceptible to developing interest is growing, refl ected in increas- the idea that if you haven’t proved previously rare forms of cancer. ing research in scientifi c institutions. something is dangerous – if it doesn’t Research and methodology is also now harm someone immediately – it’s In that case, exposure was deliberate advanced enough to show toxico logical assumed to be safe. But we could and carefully recorded. But we effects at much lower doses, and that avoid much potential harm by instead regularly come into casual contact lower levels of different chemicals applying the precautionary principle. with xenoestrogens. Water bottles, food com bine to have an additive effect. This was fi rst articulated at the Rio tins and baby’s bottles and drinking This is changing the way toxicologists Earth Summit in 1992: ‘Where there cups can contain bisphenol A (BPA), and environmental scientists think. are threats of serious or irreversible for example. It’s estimated that 93 per damage, lack of full scientifi c certainty cent of the people of the USA have We’re also seeing an awakening of shall not be used as a reason for BPA in their systems, and concerns public awareness. This seems to go postponing cost-effective measures to about the chemical’s possible effects, in cycles. People were stunned when prevent environmental degradation.’ including hormone-related cancers, author Rachel Carson drew attention As enshrined in Canadian and EU impaired brain development and birth to the effects of synthetic pesticides on legislation today, the principle justifi es defects, have prompted an EU ban on wildlife in her 1962 book Silent Spring, action whenever there are reasonable the manufacture, import and sale of or when Dr Theo Colborn discovered grounds for concern. baby bottles containing it. the effects of endocrine disruptors in the late 1980s. It seems to take a crisis Why did you focus on children? Another group of xenoestrogens of to focus people’s attention. concern are parabens, preservatives A foetus grows from one cell to found in many household products What do you want young people to billions very quickly, a process used by children, like toothpaste, come away with from your fi lm? determined by fi nite amounts of shampoo, moisturizers and sunscreen. hormones. If this delicate balance These are absorbed into the body Our bodies are the single most im- is disrupted, the results can be through the skin. portant environment we have. Inform disastrous. Once born, children go yourselves, be aware of the products through rapid development until What other chemicals do you cover? you consume and support organi za- they are 16 years old. Kilo for kilo tions advocating safer practices. We’re of body weight, they drink more, eat We tried to focus on chemicals to not separate from the environment, but more and breathe in more air than which children are regularly exposed. part and parcel of it. Environmental adults. It’s known that their systems There are many. Phthalates, used in toxins are a problem youth will inherit, are immature, their detoxifi cation toys and baby-care products, may have along with climate change. And young processes differ from those of adults, adverse effects on the reproductive people are future mothers and fathers. absorption of substances into the system. Brominated fl ame-retardants, We have a responsibility to face the skin is thought to be higher, and they found in furniture, clothing and problem together.
Health and the environment 17
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 17 27/4/11 11:24:16 6 1 : 4 2 : 1 1
1 1 / 4 / 7 2 cers to accompany child cyclists safely safely child cyclists accompany to cers c-related carbon emissions. Even car-choked Los car-choked Even emissions. carbon c-related rst such scheme, the White Bicycle Plan, started in Plan, started Bicycle such scheme, the White rst
ung as Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Tehran, Seoul, Brisbane, Tehran, Aires, ung as Shanghai, Buenos
their own hands, reclaiming city streets for themselves. In themselves. for city streets hands, reclaiming their own through riding en masse citizens started 1992, San Francisco ride, The monthly safety. cycle for advocate to the city on bikes than in more groups and now grown, has Mass, Critical called Cape Town, – including Maputo, the world 300 cities around city’s traffi city’s infrastructure, cycling for $230 million has earmarked Angeles paths and of cycle 2,000 kilometres than including more as citizens volunteer senior Italy, In Venice, areas. storage offi pensioner bicycle school hours. during bicycles the school, and then guard to to anyone easier by allowing also making cycling Cities are or a smart card. using coins station, a bike from a bike rent The fi cycle- most the world’s – possibly the 1960s in Amsterdam is Vélib’ in today famous city – and one of the most friendly rental 200 bike around on quickly: The idea is catching Paris. being launched in cities as far been or are schemes have fl and Thane, India. Prague such as too, important are resources Cycling-related a meeting point which offers centre, Work to Bike Jakarta’s and a shop a library, workshop, a maintenance cyclists, for selling biking gear. charity transport Kingdom, the sustainable In the United than 20,000 more maps of the nation’s provides Sustrans routes. of walking and cycling kilometres it the safer are, there bikes that the more shows Evidence and use decreases, them, car get used to as drivers becomes and infrastructure cycle the activity gets public support for into matters taken have Some cyclists programmes. safety Ben Challis/www.agreenerfestival.com Ben
Genevalunch.com e more bicycles: bicycles: e more t health advocacy t health advocacy altogether to accommodat cant dent in a city’s carbon emissions, not to emissions, carbon dent in a city’s cant c congestion. Meanwhile, Samsuda and Arunee, Samsuda Meanwhile, c congestion. onsider. One is the need to allocate road space road allocate is the need to One onsider. 8 No 4 Vol 8
1
d d TUNZA
n i . g n Denmark has demonstrated that segregated cycle lanes cycle that segregated Denmark has demonstrated Another than a third. deaths by more road accidental reduce charges by introducing out of their cars people is encouraging busy parts of cities. through coming motor-vehicles for in a 20 not only has resulted charge congestion London’s in the decrease but a 20 per cent in cycling increase per cent 18 or close roads roads or close Cycling to work or school improves cardiovascular health cardiovascular or school improves work to Cycling out of their cars and getting people well-being, and overall a signifi makes accidents on noise pollution and road mention cutting down and cities are towns Increasingly, air quality. and raising as as well of transport as a form cycling encouraging and law-makers but the onus is on city planners recreation, many are There it safe. make to the infrastructure create to things to c Cycle madness Cycle and work, teaching pedestrian road safety while working to to working while safety road pedestrian teaching and work, traffi reduce unsafe how show in Thailand, made a video to students called a project started and have are routes pedestrian walking make to gather ideas on how to Please Footpath in their city. safer In Switzerland, children are picked up by a ‘walking bus’ – up by a ‘walking bus’ picked are In Switzerland, children school, stopping to walks with children an adult ‘chauffeur’ in the world, Elsewhere pick up others. the way to along walkways make up to popping are initiatives community In Dhaka, a non-profi safer. themselves A stroll to school to A stroll that an initiative Safewalk, has started Safe called group school to walk safely to members community encourages Just because most of us live in cities doesn’t mean we can’t get out and play. It’s good for us: according to the World us: according to the World for good It’s out and play. get can’t mean we doesn’t in cities most of us live because Just the risk of cardio- activity almost daily reduces intense physical at least 30 minutes of moderately Health Organization, the for from our computers is good out of our cars and away and some cancers. And getting vascular disease, diabetes and replug into nature. unplug from the grid as we environment, too, Urban health Urban E _ 4 . 8 _
a
z n
u T 7 1 : 4 2 : 1 1
1 1 / 4 / 19 7 2 Health and the environment
still boasts the largest number of regular skaters, with up to with up to skaters, of regular number the largest boasts still 35,000 per tour. summer, laying a beach every also turns the Seine into Paris umbrellas of chairs, of sand and hundreds out 1,350 tonnes allowing on loan, books and boats, climbing walls and even the beach without leaving and enjoy down cool citizens to the city. Golden Gate San Francisco’s thing, head to your If dancing’s swing get a free can you where any Sunday afternoon, Park at Lindy in the of outdoor jitterbugging and hours lesson event. community-run a 15-year-old Park, Car-free Sundays Car-free of its off a small portion closed Colombia, In 1976, Bogota, cycle, to the space reclaim to people allowing city streets, opens 120 now walk and socialize. The Ciclovía dance, skate, and was the 1.3 million people, up to to of road kilometres car- called movement a worldwide what is now pioneer for can and everyone cars to closed are Sundays. Streets free and emotional health, their physical improve out to come without of getting about town ease and pleasure the promote on streets. plant greenery cities to and encourage cars, schemes and trials happening in many car-free are There Winnepeg or Melbourne. to Quito from cities worldwide, which opens 65 kilometres Sunday Streets, San Francisco’s offers 20,000 people, up to to times a year several of road with pets and people for programmes guided walks, yoga, rentals. bike free even Ciclovías Recreativas de las Américas (CRA Network) (CRA Américas las de Recreativas Ciclovías Pari Roller/www.pari-roller.com Pari
www.simplyairlines.com ts mental health, alleviating mild mild health, alleviating ts mental ts, cities are now creating more more creating now ts, cities are 9 1
ltering harmful particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, dioxide, nitrogen matter, harmful particulate ltering d d n i . g n ve dropped by 25 per cent for every 343 trees per square per square 343 trees every for by 25 per cent dropped ve Dancing, skating and swimming in the streets the streets to take in Paris night, roller-skaters Friday Every was Roller The Pari the city. ride through a three-hour for know get to and to fun, exercise for in 1994 just established weekly a famous and has become the city and meet people, similar events has inspired Roller Pari event. community Malaysia, but Paris and Putrajaya, in Berlin, Buenos Aires Some cities are cleverly greening reclaimed spaces. In Seoul, spaces. reclaimed greening cleverly Some cities are that had stream a natural restored planners Republic of Korea, The Public Park. Cheonggyecheon creating over, been paved an old incineration is built over in São Paulo Park Civita Vitor was a railway for plant, and in Lima, abandoned land slated using children, local for Park Train the Ghost into transformed tyres. such as discarded materials recycled green space. Kuala Lumpur’s green space grew from 586 from grew space green Lumpur’s Kuala space. green Singapore in 2000, while 1,580 hectares 1984 to in hectares of waterfront, 94 hectares parks along three is constructing plant garden an edible landscapes, garden tropical featuring sports. water and a quay for Some of the world’s most famous urban parks include Central urban parks include famous most Some of the world’s in São Park in Berlin, Ibirapuera Tiergarten York, in New Park health in Lisbon. Recognizing Park Forest and Monsanto Paulo benefi and environmental A walk in the park row cycle, run, skate, to places offer spaces Urban green small green Even friends and family. wander with or just to and contribute biodiversity for habitat provide spaces and cleaner atmosphere absorption, a cooler rainwater air, fi at Columbia ozone. Researchers and sulphur dioxide to aged four in children rates that asthma found University fi fresh to that access shown have Other studies kilometre. benefi air and open space depression and anxiety. and anxiety. depression Johannesburg, Jakarta, Buenos Aires, Anchorage, Bangalore, Bangalore, Anchorage, Aires, Buenos Jakarta, Johannesburg, themselves – organize Beirut and Moscow Mumbai, Jerusalem, independent movement an month, creating a ride once to cycle-friendly. cities more make aiming to E _ 4 . 8 _
a
z n
u T Healing the Earth through myths and dance
Mark Edwards/Still Pictures ‘MOTHER EARTH, true, does not need any help to heal herself. If left to herself, she will in her own time renew the Earth. But do we stand back and leave her to her own resources? If we do, if we wait for her to reach the saturation point of absorbing the abuses done to her, she might have no recourse but to take drastic and radical action to balance the extreme negative and destructive energies heaped upon her. Do we have to wait for this to happen, and all be wiped out? Or do we join efforts to ensure that she is not forced to reach saturation point … to get the process of healing under way right now? Do we innovate or stagnate?’
o says Grace Odal-Devora of the University of the As a cultural conservationist and scholar, how do you Philippines Manila, who studies Philippine myths and Q regard the environment? Slegends, particularly how ancient Filipinos perceived humans’ relationship with the environment. She also In Philippine culture, we have the term kapwa, practises Sayaw-Bathala (‘Dance of God’), inspired by the A which means ‘the other as one’. The environmental traditions of babaylans, tribal leaders of ancient, precolonial challenges we face today tell us we have lost that sense Filipino society. TUNZA talked to Professor Devora about of oneness and become alienated from nature. Instead of green lessons from Philippine mythology and how dancing looking at nature as part of ourselves, we look upon it as can heal the Earth. ‘other’ – something to be exploited for our benefi t. We look at it as separate and non-living. We abuse it because we have You have a close relationship with and a deep respect lost our kinship with it. If we considered nature as part of our Q for nature. How did you develop this? selves, we would take care of it.
I was born near the foothills of Mount Apo, the Can you give us an example of some ‘green’ lessons A Philippines’ tallest mountain. I was a child of two Q from the ancient Philippine myths and legends? How teachers who were sent to work with the Bagobo people can we apply such lessons to protecting our world? in the city of Davao, near the site where you can see the monkey-eating eagle, the Philippines’ national and biggest In Philippine folklore, Mariang Makiling was the bird. I spent my fi rst fi ve years there roaming fi elds, chasing A goddess of Mount Makiling, in Laguna province. This butterfl ies, dragonfl ies and chickens. I learned to climb trees beautiful guardian of the forests and their fl ora and fauna and fetch water from the river. I saw the magic of moonlit was very friendly to human beings. She showed herself to nights and danced in a garden full of fl owers under the good-hearted people, giving them gold and other precious light of the full moon. I learned to commune with nature by items, as well as blessing them with prosperity and safety. walking in the rain and being amongst the trees. However, there came a time when humans abused her
20 TUNZATUNZA Vol 8 No 4
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 20 27/4/11 11:24:19 kindness. They took her blessings for granted, and neglected to care for her mountain domain. So she vanished from the sight of humans, and humans lost a gift-giving goddess, a wealth-endower and the sense of beautiful magic pervading the forest air. In this story, you can see the principle that nature has an ‘inner being’ that takes care of the environment and bestows abundance on humans. However, if taken for granted or neglected, it disappears, resulting in the suffering of people through the loss of nature’s benevolent gifts and guidance. To maintain harmony with nature, people must develop an attitude of treating nature as a living being, responsive to our Grace Odal-Devora Grace actions. One way of respecting nature is by immersing oneself in it and learning about its subtle laws. In some regional cultures of the Philippines, if while walking in a forest you see an unusual thing, you are advised not to point at it. Doing so might displease the beings behind it, and they might play pranks.
You have danced the Sayaw-Bathala for rain, and Q for the healing of a severely polluted river. You also danced for the trees that were cut at a historical site, as well as for seedlings about to be sown. What can the art of dance offer the Earth?
Dance is energy. Dance is vibration. When one dances, A one releases energy and vibrations from the body, shaped by the intentions of the person doing the dance. If your intentions are positive, creative and healing, then the energies released by your body will communicate to the subtle world N. Siriburanakit/UNEP/Topham of nature beyond words. Dance becomes a form of dynamic meditation, connecting the dancer with nature through breath, heartbeats, movements, intentions and consciousness. Groups of people who would like to save and heal the Earth can meditate together, or hold ritual dances that can generate tremendous positive energies. They can also convene conferences among college students or among young professionals to generate an awakened consciousness among youth, and work with the aim of global healing and planetary oneness.
Do you think our young people today need to be more Q spiritual in their approach to the environment?
Young people, with their openness, love of experi- A mentation and innovation, can help a lot in transforming society and the consciousness of people. In the fi rst place, they have nothing to lose in the status quo. They are just Thomas Kelly/Still Pictures Thomas Kelly/Still beginning and building their lives for the future. They need and want to protect their future and that of their children. So they have a lot to hope for. What should guide their work and service? I would recommend an alternative lifestyle not centred on material values and capital. We need to see that the essence of life is not just in the material and the economic. Oneness with all is the working principle: oneness with the self, oneness with others, oneness with nature, oneness with the unseen world, oneness with the Supreme Spirit. If people could work around the principle of the spirit as the central core of life, the world of human beings and nature will harmonize according to the principle of unity
Wildlife/H Jungius/Still Pictures Wildlife/H in diversity.
HealthHealth and tthehe environmenenvironmentt 21
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 21 27/4/11 11:24:22 wonder 7 remedies Treatment tree
In East Africa they call it muarabaini, ‘the tree of the 40’ because it is used to treat that number of different diseases. The healing properties of its fruits, seeds, oil, leaves, roots and bark are described in the earliest Sanskrit writings. And now modern science is confi rming its powers: more than 150 compounds have been identifi ed so far. The neem tree, as it is more commonly known – a fast-growing relative of mahogany from southern Asia – boosts the immune system. It has also been used against malaria for 4,000 years: an extract, gedunin, is as effective as quinine, and has been shown to have anti-cancer properties. And in rural India and Africa, its twigs are used to clean teeth and gums, while its seeds are used as an organic fertilizer and pesticide.
JM Garg/GNU FDL
Benefi cial bloodsuckers
Leeches were once so widely used in medicine that they became synonymous with doctors. Used by the ancient Egyptians and the Aztecs – and so popular in the 1800s in Europe that the local species was driven into decline – they fell out of favour when modern medicine discredited bloodletting. But since 1985, when Harvard plastic surgeon Joseph Upton used them to heal the wound after reattaching a boy’s ear, they have made a comeback. Leech saliva contains compounds that reduce pain, prevent clotting and dilate blood vessels. In 2004, the US Food and Drug Administration cleared the use of medicinal leeches for wound healing, limb reattachment and reconstructive surgery, and they’re now also employed to treat arthritis, blood clotting disorders and varicose veins. US Fed Gov
Fly doctors
Maggots, or fl y larvae, are usually evidence of putrefaction, but there is a long history – from early Mayan civilization – of using them to heal wounds. They are now used to treat wounds infected with bacteria resistant to antibiotics, particularly MRSA which can be fatal. When injuries do not respond to conventional treatment, up to 10 maggots are placed over the wound and covered with a protective dressing. Over the next 48 to 72 hours, they secrete enzymes that dissolve the dead tissue and kill the bacteria. The process also stimulates the production of new blood vessels and tissue, speeding up the healing process. Researchers have also found that maggots can heal foot ulcers in diabetics in just three weeks, a tenth of the time that can be taken by conventional treatment. Marc Steinmetz/VISUM/Still Pictures
22 TUNZA Vol 8 No 4
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 22 27/4/11 11:24:25 Savoury saviour
Salt is so valuable that it was once spent like money: it was used to pay Roman soldiers and was exchanged for slaves in ancient Greece. Its main use then was to preserve food, but it also has medical uses. It helps maintain fl uid balance in the body and to regulate nerve and muscle function. It is now the mainstay of the chlor-alkali chemical industry, which helps produce clean water, soaps, medicines and even protective suits for scuba divers. And it remains a useful all-round healer. It scrubs, exfoliates and disinfects skin; gargling with salt water soothes sore throats; spraying salt into the nose is a traditional yogic practice to clear blocked sinuses; and it is a natural disinfectant for scouring work surfaces.
Narbeburu/UNEP/Topham
Sweet salve
Prehistoric cave paintings in East Africa and Spain depict people gathering honey, and it features in both the Bible and the Koran. It’s not just good to eat. Its anti-infl ammatory qualities make it a good skin salve, while hot honeyed drinks boost energy and soothe anxiety, sore throats and insomnia. Rich in antioxidants, honey helps prevent narrowing of the arteries, while its high acidity, high sugar content, and hydrogen peroxide content all work to suppress bacterial growth. So it’s great for treating wounds and pressure sores. Honey made by bees gathering nectar from New Zealand’s manuka bush has proved particularly powerful in fi ghting bacteria, fungi and protozoa, but the extra component that makes it special has yet to be identifi ed.
Horst Sollinger/Imagebroker/Still Pictures
Hot healing
If you dare eat it, the chili pepper can be good for you. Cultivated for over 5,000 years in Central America – and known in Europe for over 500 – it ranges from mild to so dangerously ‘hot’ that it can only be handled with gloves. Its uses go far beyond the culinary. The stuff that makes chilies spicy is capsaicin, which stimulates the release of endorphins in the body, relieving pain. The pepper also increases blood circulation and makes us feel fuller, faster. A mild tincture of cayenne chilies can be used to treat eye infections, and cayenne powder applied to a wound stops bleeding. And just one chili contains an entire day’s requirement of beta carotene and twice the recommended daily dose of Vitamin C.
UNEP/Topham
Cup that cures
By legend, an Arabian shepherd found his goats prancing with energy near shrubs with bright red cherries. He tried them himself, with the same effect. In fact coffee seems to have originated on the plateaus of central Ethiopia, though it has been cultivated in the Middle East since the sixth century and has even been credited with helping to jump-start the Age of Enlightenment in Europe. It is, of course, best known for stimulating and focusing mental energy, but has also been found to be rich in antioxidants. Regular consumption is linked to reduced risk of liver and colon cancer, type II diabetes, gallstones and Parkinson’s disease. It has been used to relieve whooping cough, heart palpitations and chronic diarrhoea, and is active against salmonella and streptococcus. L Shyamal/CC-SA-2.5
Health and the environment 23
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 23 27/4/11 11:24:27 A FANTASTIC GAME No signing up! on CLIMATE CHANGE No signing in! Just install Ecofriendz DOWNLOAD IT NOW www.playecofriendz.com
PLAY IT GREEN with Waddy the Irrawaddy dolphin and Harty the Harp seal
YOUR MISSION Save the world from global warming
EcoFriendz contains 22 stages in the Campaign Mode, where you’ll learn the basic operations and complete various missions, planting trees, building houses, gaining coins, up-grading to an eco-friendly environment and chasing away loggers. Through these, you’ll explore the concepts behind climate change and discover environmental rules to live by. When you’ve completed the Campaign Mode, progress to Freestyle Mode to create your own eco-friendly city, improving the environment while growing the economy.
24 TUNZA Vol 8 No 4
Tunza_8.4_Eng.indd 24 27/4/11 11:24:29