18 December 2015, Climate News Network, Climate swells tide of migrants. A new report coinciding with the UN’s International Migrants Day says that climate change is one of the many factors increasing the flow of refugees worldwide. Thousands of people – old, young and babies –struggle to reach the coasts of Europe, many dying en route. In south-east Asia, dozens of Rohingya refugees from Burma suffocate on packed boats, locked by people traffickers below deck while trying to escape their homeland. Children from Central America die of thirst in the desert, trying to cross into the US. Some of these refugees are escaping persecution or warfare back home. Others are fleeing from gang violence, or simply searching for a better life. And some have seen their lands degraded by climate change and their livelihoods threatened by floods or drought. A new report produced by the UK-based Ethical Journalism Network (EJN), and partly authored by journalists from the Climate News Network, concludes that much needs to be improved in the way the world’s media reports on migration issues. Read more here
Category Archives: Equity & Social justice
18 December 2015, News Hour, More than 16 million babies born into conflict in 2015, says, UNICEF. More than 16 million babies were born in conflict zones in 2015 – 1 in 8 of all births worldwide this year – UNICEF said on 17th December 2015, a figure that underscores the vulnerability faced by increasing numbers of children. “Every two seconds, a newborn takes its first breath in the midst of conflict, often in terrifying circumstances and without access to medical care,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “Too many children are now starting their lives in extreme circumstances – from conflict to natural disasters, poverty, disease or malnutrition. Can there be a worse start in life?” Read More here
17 December 2015, The Hindu, Climate change warming world’s lakes at alarming rate. The study spanned six continents. A total of 236 lakes, representing more than half of the world’s freshwater supply, were monitored for at least 25 years. Climate change is warming lakes around the world at an alarming rate, threatening freshwater supplies and ecosystems, says the largest study of its kind led by an Indian-origin researcher. For the study spanning six continents, a total of 236 lakes, representing more than half of the world’s freshwater supply, were monitored for at least 25 years. “We found that lakes are warming at an average of 0.34 degrees Celsius each decade all around the world, threatening freshwater supplies and ecosystems,” said study lead author Sapna Sharma from York University in Toronto, Canada. “This can have profound effects on drinking water and the habitat of fish and other animals,” Sharma said. At the current rate, algal blooms, which can ultimately rob water of oxygen, will increase 20 per cent in lakes over the next century, the study said. Algal blooms that are toxic to fish and animals would increase by five per cent. These rates also imply that emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, will increase four per cent over the next decade. “We found that ice-covered lakes, including Canadian lakes, are warming twice as fast as air temperatures and the North American Great Lakes are among the fastest warming lakes in the world,” Sharma noted. Read More here
17 December 2015, Stockholm Reslilience Centre, Social-ecological traps – Damned if they do, damned if they don’t – Adaptation to environmental change is not straightforward, struggling fishing communities in Vietnam show why. Responding to climate change is good but not all responses are great. The term “adaptation”, understood as adjustments in behaviour to either mitigate harm or exploit opportunities emerging from climate change, features prominently in scientific analyses and policy papers. But it comes with a variety of challenges. One important one is the assumption that adaptation by default leads to something better. The reality can be much different. Keep doing what they have always done In a study published in Environment, Development and Sustainability, centre researcher Wijnand Boonstra together with Tong Thi Hai Hanh from Uppsala University have looked at how fishing communities in the Tam Giang Lagoon in central Vietnam have dealt with a variety of challenges. Climate change, floods, population growth and urbanization are some of them. Boonstra and Hanh focused on two villages in the Quang Phuoc commune, Phuoc Lap and Mai Duong. The first village depends significantly on fishing and low-input aquaculture and the second on rice production and aquaculture. Common for both villages is the exposure to ever more frequent storms and floods. Through a mixed-method approach consisting of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and focus groups, Boonstra and Hanh found that despite attempts at diversifying their fishing methods, the end result is that they keep doing what they have always done. This in turn leads to declining fish stocks and frequent harvest failures in aquaculture. Read More here