Category: Archive

Aloysius Narjic always thought the huge crocodile he calls Boss that has lurked in a swamp near his house for more than 30 years would eventually bring luck. But now he sees it as the saviour of his clan that for decades has lived in Wadeye, an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory that has been racked by gang violence where more than 2500 people live in Third World conditions, according to a feature in The Sydney Morning Herald (3/8/2006, p.5).

Business is a croc: "That old croc is a cunning thing… I’ve been watching him for years and knew that one day I could do something with him," said Mr Narjic, a 53-year-old elder of the Velr Dirrangara clan. Mr Narjic wanted to develop a crocodile breeding business that he said would provide jobs for his family at their Wudapuli outstation, 40 minutes drive from Wadeye. Crocodile eggs sell for $15 and mature crocodiles are worth hundreds of dollars.

Resettlers v Howard: "It’s no good for my boys in Port Keats," said Mr Narjic, referring to Wadeye by its former Catholic mission name. But Mr Narjic and the elders of other clans, who wanted to resettle on their traditional land away from Wadeye’s problem, would first have to convince the Howard Government, which has ordered an audit of about 1000 Aboriginal settlements where there are fewer than 100 people.

Untenable tenements under audit: The Government has made it clear it wants to move people away from unviable settlements. Mr Narjic recently pleaded with a Canberra bureaucrat who came to Wudapuli for help in setting up the crocodile venture, arguing that he could develop profitable businesses where his family would be happier than in Wadeye.

Outstations the answer says council: The Thamarrurr Regional Council, which administers Wadeye, has told the Federal and Northern Territory governments in a just-released report that moving people to out-stations would reduce violence and social pressures in the town. "People appear to have much improved physical and psychological health when they live on their traditional estates," the report says.

Infrastructure boost needed: The report argues that several of Wadeye’s out-station settlements were already operating successfully but they needed infrastructure upgrades, including roads and access to health and education. They had tense meetings with the Indigenous Affairs Minister, Mal Brough, who ordered them to clean up Wadeye’s rubbish-strewn houses and threatened to cut off welfare payments to gang members.

20 into one: Since the Catholic mission was established in Wadeye in the 1930s up to 20 different clans have been living on land traditionally owned by one clan. The other clan groups now want to move to their traditional land "in order to provide a better future for their children", the report said.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 3/8/2006, p. 5

Source: Erisk Net  

Unlike the $220 million Bald Hills wind farm blocked by Senator Campbell, the Bo Peep wind project had been cleared by the federal Department of Environment and Heritage. But local residents had intensified their opposition to the wind farm, holding a well-attended public meeting on Tuesday. Residents said there were too many houses located near the turbines. About 11 houses were within a lkm radius of the site and 65 dwellings within 2km, reported The Australian, (4/8/2006), p.7.

Location decisons variable: Wind Power managing director Stephen Buckle said research by the company showed the site was better suited to three or four turbines rather than 14. Coastal Guardians spokesman Tim Le Boy questioned the company’s reasons for dropping the Bo Peep project. "At Wonthaggi, they have happily put turbines within 500 or 600m of the nearest resident," he said. "I don’t accept their logic that it is going to become a residential area because as the wind industry keeps telling us, these things are quieter than your average library, people love living next to them and they don’t devalue properties."

Eagle death: Meanwhile, bird experts said three critically endangered Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagles had been killed by wind turbines in the state’s northwest. Birds Tasmania on 3 August said the latest casualty was put down by a Smithton vet on Wednesday after striking turbines at the Woolnorth wind farm. The wind farm’s owner, Roaring 40s Renewable Energy Pty Ltd, confirmed an eagle found at the property on Tasmania’s northwest tip had been destroyed.

The Australian, 4/8/2006, p. 7

Source: Erisk Net  

China will order industry to pay for the right to discharge noxious sulphur dioxide in a market-driven attempt to tackle its chronic air pollution problem, reported The Australian (4/8/2006, p.12).

10pc emissions reduction target: Under a plan to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions by 10 per cent, China, which leads the world in air pollution as well as driving economic growth, will also introduce emission trading deals.

400,000 deaths per year: The World Bank said 16 of the world’s most polluted cities were in China, and that 400,000 people a year died from related illnesses.

Sulphur dioxide up 27pc: Department of Pollution Control director-general Li Xinmin said on 3 August that sulphur dioxide emissions rose 27 per cent in the five years to the end of last year, during which the country’s coal consumption – the main culprit – grew by more than 800 million tonnes.

Restrictions already in place: He said restricting the sulphur dioxide rise to 27 per cent was an achievement, given soaring coalfired power generation. "That means it’s still under effective control," he said. "Without restrictive measures it would have been much worse.

22pc more cities brought up to standard: "Coal accounts for 70 per cent of China’s energy consumption. This fact is hard to change in the short term," Xinmin said. Half of the coal is used to generate power. But overall, he said, during 2000-05, 22 per cent more cities brought their air quality up to a required national standard, while the number with unacceptable air quality fell by 24 per cent.

Boilers to run on LPG: Last year, 357 out of 696 cities being monitored were found to have acid rain. He said that by 2008 all heavy industry, led by Capital Steel Company would be moved out of Beijing, and that the boilers in the heart of the city would be converted from coal to liquefied petroleum gas. Beijing Chemical Works has been closed down.

185 businesses shut down: In surrounding provinces, 185 businesses that failed to comply with environmental standards were shut down last year, he said. Partly as a result, Beijing had met its target of 63 per cent of the days in 2005 meeting national air quality standards.

The Australian, 4/8/2006, p. 12

Source: Erisk Net  

Strategy of the World Water Week

The aim of the World Water Week in Stockholm is to serve, on an annual basis, as the main arena for an exchange of views and experiences between members of the scientific, business, policy and civil society communities in order to advance efforts related to water, the environment, livelihoods and poverty reduction.

The World Water Week in Stockholm:

• Builds capacity for different professions to act and to affect positive change by facilitating for them an increased knowledge and a deeper understanding of the links between water-society-environment-economy

• Promotes partnerships and alliances between individuals and organisations from different fields of expertise in an inspiring atmosphere which offers ample opportunity for making new contacts and strengthening existing relationships

• Reviews the implementation of actions, commitments and decisions in international processes and by different stakeholders in response to the challenges.

By serving as a link between practice, science, policy and decision making, the World Water Week moves beyond simply talking about what is and what should be by combining different types of knowledge and experiences to achieve development objectives in a worthwhile manner.
As a backdrop, the World Water Week’s basic perspective is global, but it also acknowledges that there are similarities and differences between regions of the world, phases of development, political systems and climatic conditions. The World Water Week in Stockholm also serves as a venue for the awarding of distinguished prizes and honours. In doing so, the Week focuses attention on outstanding
efforts and raises awareness of different water and development issues.

A World Water Week in Stockholm niche is selected and followed for a range of years. The present niche (2003–2007) is ”Drainage Basin Security: Prospects for Trade offs and Benefit Sharing in a Globalised World.” The sub-theme for 2006 is “Beyond the River – Sharing Benefits and Responsibilities”
and offers participants the opportunity to learn more about – and to contribute to – solutions to one of
the most significant development and environmental challenges that the world has to come to grips with. Workshops and special Poster Sessions will be organised where selected abstracts will be presented. Seminars and side events will feature invited speakers and participants will present their
views and experiences. Special attention will be devoted to highlight concrete work that matters for the poor, for the environment and for our common future.

The Australian National University’s Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems have been awarded the Sir Alan Walsh medal for their work developing solar sliver cells. The technology brings the cost of generating solar electricity down well below the cost of proposed clean coal solutions and promises significant opportunities for commercial solar power generation. Origin Energy has invested $30million in the technology and has built a pilot plant in Adelaide. It currently seeks an investment partner for large scale commercialisation of the technology.