Africa

The Arctic sea ice experiences seasonal variation and reaches its minimum in September each year.NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, CC BY 2.0

By Swati Mandloi
May 18 2018 (Eco-Business)

As climate change disrupts the Arctic, a myriad of changes are predicted that will affect everywhere on Earth, even countries that have historically been sheltered from the wrath of nature, such as Singapore, as the melting polar ice raises sea levels.

Yet the changing Arctic landscape presents many Asian nations with opportunities to benefit from its wealth of natural resources.

Mikaa Mered, professor at the Free Institute of International Relations Studies (ILERI) pointed out at a recent event in Singapore that mining and oil and gas exploration have been ongoing in the Arctic for more than a hundred years, but what’s new is “the magnitude of potential” that the region holds for development in the future.

A recurring view during the event, called Connecting the Arctic & Asia through Climate Actions and Sustainable Development and held at the French Embassy, was that as the Arctic ice sheets disappear, trade routes connecting northern nations become increasingly feasible.

The opening of sea routes north of Russia will reduce the distance between the east-west route that passes through the Suez Canal by 40 per cent. And shipping times from Europe, through Eurasia, to Asia will be reduced by nine to 13 days, and save 40 per cent of the shipping cost.

Some have suggested that the melting ice threatens shipping ports such as Singapore, since vessels heading from Europe to north-east Asia will be able skip the city-state and sail directly to China, Japan and South Korea. But experts have suggested that Singapore will not be significantly affected, and will benefit from new business opportunities in ship building, developing ports and other infrastructure technology as the region opens up.

“The Arctic is globalising”, Mered said. While countries in the Arctic circle—which include United States, Canada, Russia, Finland, and Sweden—jostle for geo-political influence over the region, Asian nations like Japan, Singapore and China seek to exploit the region for economic reasons, he noted.

Nations with access to the Arctic sea will be able to shorten their sea transport routes because of the melting ice. Image: Arctic Council via Wikimedia Commons

The cost of opportunity

But development in the Arctic brings with it costs. Dr Philip Andrews-Speed, senior principal fellow at the Energy Study Institute, National University of Singapore, warned that the degrading quality of Arctic ice and the melting of the permafrost is predicted to create a positive feedback loop that will increase the rate of rising sea levels as the global temperature increases. The irony is that, although reductions in sea ice will provide better access to northern sea routes, the melting permafrost will make transport on land more difficult.

“Our connection with the Arctic is not just material, it is biological,” said Philips, referring to the sharp decline in biodiversity predicted in the Arctic as a result of the landscape’s changing topography. Pollution is also a problem that threatens the region’s iconic species, such the Polar bear, Arctic fox, Prairie pigeon, and Narwhal.

“Despite many challenges, development in the Arctic will continue whether you want to save it or not. What really matters is whether we will see business as usual or new practices emerge. That’s the big question,” Mikaa Mered said. The development of renewable energy in the polar regions was one way to enable economic growth and offer an alternative to fossil fuel extraction, he said.

Mered added that territories like Iceland, Russia, and Alaska have great potential for geothermal, wood/biomass, and wind energy, respectively, and should be urged to develop sources of clean energy. A similar view was expressed by Dr Philip: “Energy is the big thing, which is why energy strategies are key to dealing with this [climate risk] problem in most countries.”

The biggest barrier to sustainable development in the Arctic is making alternative low-carbon practices economically competitive, and progressively cheaper, in a fossil fuel- dominated market, said Mered. He told Eco-Business that to compete with the conventional industries, economic and policy incentives were needed to boost renewables.

But fighting climate change isn’t the only challenge. Resilience needs to be built against climate risks, Mered said. Equally important, he added, are the partnerships between private and public institutions to remove barriers to achieving sustainable development in the Arctic.

This story was originally published by Eco-Business

The post How will development in the Arctic affect Asia? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Climate change is melting the Arctic, but its thawing presents economic opportunities for Asia. Can development come without the destruction of this unique ecosystem?

The post How will development in the Arctic affect Asia? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Vetiver grass, stored in floating bamboo holders, is being planted by IOM and partners to reduce soil erosion in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps. Credit: IOM/Fiona MacGregor

By International Organization for Migration
COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, May 18 2018 (IOM)

Over two million vetiver grass plants have been distributed by IOM, the UN Migration Agency, in the past two weeks to reduce soil erosion and the risk of landslides in southern Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps, where hundreds of thousands of people are at risk from impending monsoon rains.

A further two million plants will be given to local and international NGOs for distribution before the end of May, following the initial success of the project, which has local vetiver suppliers struggling to keep up with demand.

The grass costs just over USD 1.50 for a bundle of 200 plants. But the project, which in total could help stabilize land equivalent to almost 150 football fields, is expected to have a significant impact on improving living conditions in the hillside camps and will help to prevent life-threatening soil erosion.

Violence in Myanmar has sent almost 700,000 people fleeing over the border into Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, since last August. The new arrivals, desperate for space to build shelters for their families, cleared the vegetation from vast swathes of the region, leaving them living on bare, sandy slopes extremely vulnerable to landslides during the monsoon and cyclone seasons.

Around 200,000 people have been recognised as being at high risk from landslides and floods in the coming monsoon months, and the entire refugee population is extremely vulnerable to related dangers, including restricted access to vital services and waterborne diseases. While grass alone is not sufficient to stabilize the steepest slopes, the vetiver plants offer an opportunity to protect large areas of the camps from erosion.

As well as providing a grass delivery pipeline for partner agencies across the camps, IOM has directly planted 2,750 bundlesthrough cash for work programmes with Rohingya refugees and members of local host communities.

IOM has also produced a series of simple illustrations to help the refugees, many of whom are illiterate, to understand how best to plant and care for the plants.

“We drew on Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology studies to learn lessons from other projects involving vetiver grass and apply them here. The illustrations helped share that knowledge with people in a very practical way,” said IOM Site Development Coordinator Megan Genat.

The newly planted vetiver requires watering twice a day and community volunteers, participants in cash for work projects, and individual refugee families have all been enthusiastically caring for the freshly planted grass in different parts of the camps.

“It’s been really encouraging to see everyone getting involved. The project has also helped in raising public awareness of the risks of soil erosion. We will be following up with a fuller analysis of the impact next month, but initial reports from our partners indicate it has been going very well and is proving popular with the refugee community,” added Genat.

The Cox’s Bazar district, which is now sheltering almost a million Rohingya refugees, is prone to some of the heaviest monsoon conditions in the entire country, and is also vulnerable to cyclones from the Bay of Bengal. The monsoon proper is due to hit next month, but early rains and storms have already damaged scores of shelters and caused several small landslides in the camps.

The vetiver project is one of a wide range of practical initiatives that IOM site management teams are working on to help safeguard people and improve living conditions ahead of the monsoon.

“Across the camps we are constructing roads and access routes, improving drainage, building bridges, and preparing ground before the rains hit. We are also working with other agencies and the Bangladesh authorities to support resilience and disaster preparedness training for refugees and the host community, so we can all be ready to respond to emergencies when they occur,” said Manuel Pereira, IOM’s Emergency Coordinator in Cox’s Bazar.

But he warned that with early rains and storm already causing damage in the camps and the full monsoon due to start next month, urgent funding is required to allow more to be done to protect the Rohingya refugees. Less than a quarter of IOM’s USD 182 million appeal to support the refugees through year end has been secured.

“From medical staff to engineers, IOM teams are working round the clock to save lives in the camps and protect people as much as possible ahead of monsoon. If we have to delay projects, lives will be lost. We need funding now to be able to act before disaster strikes,” said Pereira.

The post Grass Planting Reduces Soil Erosion, Risk of Landslides in Rohingya Refugee Camps appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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