Ahim Steiner says Natural Disaster Underlines Serious Environmental
Change Challenge
Emerging Across Planet.

NAIROBI, 30 August 2010 – Achim Steiner, the head of the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP), has donated a $70,000 international leadership prize to
relief efforts in Pakistan following the devastating and ongoing floods, it
was announced today.

Mr. Steiner, who called on others to also assist the victims and support
the humanitarian efforts in Pakistan, was awarded the 2010 Tällberg
Foundation prize at a ceremony in Stockholm on Sunday evening for
“principled pragmatism” and “leadership that walks the talk”.

The value of the award, whose previous winners include former Norwegian
Prime Minister Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, is 500,000 Swedish Krona or close
to $70,000.

Mr. Steiner, who is also a UN Under-Secretary-General, began his
professional career working in the villages of Pakistan’s
Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa Province.

He said he had “been deeply touched not only by the scale of the disaster
but also the extraordinary efforts of local communities and organizations
in mobilizing relief efforts while support from the international community
was being deployed”.

Mr. Steiner announced to the audience that he would immediately transfer
the funds to the Sarhad Rural Support Programme — a national NGO which has
mobilized a vital flood relief and rehabilitation effort for the affected
communities in the Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa Province during the past weeks.

The funds will be deployed with a focus on rehabilitation and
reconstruction projects for communities returning to rebuild their lives
and livelihoods.

In his acceptance speech at the award ceremony Mr. Steiner called for a
spirit of solidarity and generosity to assist the people of Pakistan at
this time of crisis.

He also emphasized that while the immediate response and needs of people
should be the focus of our attention the nature and scale of this disaster
also provided a stark reminder of the need to address the causes and
consequences of environmental change on our planet.

“The vulnerability of societies – particularly the poor – to the impacts of
these change phenomena such as climate change and degradation of our
ecological life support systems continues to grow”, Mr. Steiner emphasized.

“The world deserves better answers at a time when we have the knowledge and
ability to make better choices for the future. No one can be left untouched
by the looks of despair, confusion and fear in the eyes of trusting
children being carried by their parents through flooded landscapes in the
desperate search for a safe place. Our responsibility to reflect and act
has never been greater.” The Foundation described Mr. Steiner as a
“systems thinker and doer, integrating cultures, disciplines and sectors in
the pursuit of a sustainable environment for all”. They cited his
leadership in launching UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative as leaving
indelible marks in international and national policy.

In a statement, the Tällberg Foundation said: “Achim Steiner has shown an
unusual capacity for listening to the needs and views of disparate
communities, Governments, business, academia, civil society and integrating
these into policies which have frequently been implemented. His masterful
leadership at the IUCN and the World Commission on Dams paved way for his
nomination to lead UNEP.”

Tällberg Foundation Leadership Award — www.Tällbergfoundation.org

The Award is given to an individual who has consistently applied
humanistic, social and ecological values in his/her pursuit of results. The
prize thus encourages and supports the leadership that combines the
articulation of consistent values and positive results – the essence of
principled pragmatism.  The prize consists of a diploma and a contribution
of 500,000 Swedish Kroner (SEK) to the recipient’s charity of choice.  The
contribution of 500,000 SEK is made possible by the generous support of
Svenska PostkodLotteriet.

Previous recipients:
* Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister, Norway (2009)
* Kofi Annan, President, Global Humanitarian Forum, Geneva and former
Secretary-General, United Nations, New York (2008)
* Lord John Browne of Madingley, former Group Chief Executive, BP, United
Kingdom (2006)
* Russell Ackoff, Chairman, Interact, USA (2005)

For more information, please contact: Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson and
Head of Media, on Tel: +254-733-632755 or E-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org

I saw the show tonight and it made me think of Eric Falt who worked at UNEP then became #2 at UN DPI in New York where he replaced an Egyptian and is taking over the #2 job at UNESCO.

Why that? It is because DRIVING THE SAUDIS was conceived in cooperation with The International Theatre Institute of Paris that is connected to UNESCO. This means that there is still some honesty left at UNESCO – something impossible to find at the  Department of Information and Communication of the UN in New York. Under Egyptian Ahmad Fawzi the Department was all about safeguarding the interests of the oil kings. Under French Eric Falt there was no change – only a make believe of bringing in the UN Correspondents Association in decision making and the results are even worse then the starting line. What will he do when he gets to Paris? Will activities like showing DRIVING THE SAUDIS in conjunction with ITI be considered not Halal anymore?

My first posting about this one woman show was based on their publicity and I thought that the waste of oil money by the oil kings is the main issue. Having seen it now my feeling is that it is much more about the place of a woman in the Saudi Royal family.

Actually – there is no Saudi State only a privately owned huge piece of real estate that belonged to King Ibn Saud and was passed on to his descendants that multiply like rabbits – with 30 wives if not one hundred. We understood that there are only 4 at one time and they are released simply by saying three times, in the presence of a witness,  that the owner sends them off. The whole thing turned my stomach and what is the UN for? What is a the new “UN Women” creation for? What did UNIFEM do all these years? Who at the UN has said anything about this sort of slavery at the age that overpopulation does us all in. A woman must produce sons in order to have a chance to survive some longer before being replace by a younger one.

I clearly will not do justice in this second posting to the content of this reality play – and reality it is in every minute of it – in the real sense of the word. I will write more about it and hope it will get to the public’s attention and people will not shy away anymore from what it presents. The UN Headquarters are not worth the money the world spends on it if no effort is made to follow up on 21st century slavery – even if the women involved think that they benefit from the lavish life-style as long as it lasts.

————–

The New York Fringe Festival is the largest multi-arts festival in North America, with more than 200 companies from all over the world performing for 16 days in more than 20 venues.

DRIVING THE SAUDIS, with and by Jayne Amelia Larson, was [performed at the historic SoHo Playhouse and was about 2/3 full. Those that came early – about 50 people – looked to me as Middle Easterners. Those that arrived closer to the start were younger and looked like theater students.

The SoHo Playhouse was home to playwrights like Edward Albee, Terrance McNally, A.R. Gurney … Previously it was under the Village South & Spectrum Theatre name, and even housed at the start of the last century the Tammany Hall (New York City Democrats Hall) “Huron Club.”

I met the producer of the play – Patrick Terry – who hails from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts (Drama and Production) and is connected to Peter Goldfarb, Vice President of UN’s International Theatre Institute. From Terry I learned that the content of the play will be gathered also in a book form.

Again, getting back to the history of the play, both, Larson and Terry said that it is all true. Larson who is a theater person, director, actress, in her own right, for money reasons took on this job of being part of a group of 15 drivers that were serving a family of 7 Saudi Royals and their entourage of 50 that includes cooks, nannies, security, secretaries …, that came to Los Angeles for aesthetic surgery and shopping that lasted 50 days. They were spread out in 4 hotels. When she got the job to be chauffeuring the princess and her daughter, it turned out that she had to chauffeur also the hairdresser to Las Vegas. The family came with $20 million and that money was spent. The help had to leave their passports with the hired ex-American military and one of the help, from Sudan, at the airport, when she got the passport in her hands, simply ran away and refused to board the private 747 for the return trip to Saudi Arabia.

Larson digs into the social implications of what she saw and learned. She has sympathy for the three women she talks about – the princess, her daughter that would have loved to go to UCLA but was already promised in marriage, and a Lebanese nanny that with her earnings put through college her siblings back in Lebanon. She speaks of the men as always in need to have someone to insult bellow them in the pecking order. The men never looked into he eyes and this seemingly in an attempt to show respect. And yes – when she applied for the job, she was interviewed and there was no question about her driving only if she was not Jewish. (“You are not Jewish? Not Jewish!”)

Oh yes, I will have more on this in further postings.

Frank Lavin is now Chairman, Public Affairs, Asia Pacific, at Edelman – the largest PR company in the Asia-Pacific region. He previously was Under Secretary for International Trade at the US Department of Commerce and Ambassador to Singapore. In those capacities he was responsible for Trade agreements with China, India, Singapore – among his other imprint on US Asian commerce policy. Now he lives in Hong Kong.

When the US was in a position that there might not have been a US pavilion at this year’s -  six months long – May 1 to Oct 31, 2010 – World Fair in Shanghai, he volunteered to organize one with the help of business companies, and the friendly assistance of Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. Now he can look and say – we did it! It took him a mere one year to put up a respectable “Great Hall of the American People” pavilion.

This fair will have three times as many visitors as the New York World Fair and will be the largest ever in every respect – in size – number of countries exhibiting – 189, number of heads of State visiting 100. There are 240 pavilions that include 57 that are not by governments – such as IOs, NGOs, and businesses. 40 million visitors have already seen it by August 14th. It is expected that 60 million Chinese and 10 million foreigners, will have seen the Fair by the time it closes.

I found it extremely interesting that the Fair includes pavilions for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao – very nice and non-controversial -  and the Chinese go and see them. Also interesting that in their statistics these lands are counted as foreign. I wonder how are displayed the Chinese provinces and how the competition between them is handled? Is a decentralized vuew of China allowed in the Chinese huge and very beautiful red and white Chinese pavilion?

The main item in the US pavilion is a film that shows a girl that sees through her window the need to plant a tree in order to beautify the neighborhood. This is a subtle way to tell the visitors – mainly Chinese – that with initiative and cooperation, one can change the world for the better. It is not a government, but the individual human spirit that does it. You learn that you are responsible for the environment and your actions count. The overall theme of this year’s Fair is “Better City , Better Life, so there is nothing revolutionary in the US story here except this interpretation that it calls for an individual response to environmental needs.

It is hoped that this will be appreciated by the average person in the region – the fact that the US did not come to toot its horn by showing off achievements of the past – the US makes rather attempts at cooperation with the Chinese in many areas of common interest. That reminded me of the G2 approach that President Obama initiated ahead of going to Copenhagen – now we see that it could also be a people’s action if people are ready to do what is right for their communities. Maybe we should recommend that Americans also go to see this US pavilion in Shanghai.

Asked what else he could have done for the pavilion, Frank Lavin said that besides the content for the 30 minutes he planed for there are several minutes of waiting time in line that could have been used. For the people in lines outside – there is entertainment that changes – visiting bands – so on. Several people in the Asia Society audience have already been to see the pavilion, quite a few more said that they are scheduled to go. Michael Roberts, Executive Director, New York Public Programs at Asia Society chaired the event.

im Rahmen der Reihe Talking for Peace. A Karl Kahane Lecture Series laden wir Sie sehr herzlich zu der

folgenden Veranstaltung ein:

Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 7.00 p.m.

WOMEN CARRY THE BURDEN CONFLICT PREVENTION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Opening event in the framework of the 2010 International Meeting of National Committees for UNIFEM (Part of UN Women) presented by DER STANDARD

Welcome: Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek, Federal Minister for Women and Civil Service

Introduction to UN Resolution 1325: Maj. Gen. Johann Pucher, National Security Policy Director, Federal Ministry of Defence and Sports

Keynote: Inés Alberdi, Executive Director of UNIFEM (Part of UN Women)

Contributions:

Sonja Biserko, Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, Serbia

Taghreed El-Khodary, New York Times, Gaza

Liberata Mulamula, Executive Secretary, International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, Burundi

Anat Saragusti, Executive Director of Agenda, Israel

Moderator: Gudrun Harrer, Senior Editor, DER STANDARD

In cooperation with

the Austrian National Committee for UNIFEM (Part of UN Women)

and the support of the Federal Chancellery, the Federal Ministry for Women and Civil Service,
the Federal Ministry of Defence and Sports (Directorate for Security Policy,
and the Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation.

Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue | Armbrustergasse 15 | 1190 Wien

Please register: Tel.: 3188260/20 | Fax: 318 82 60/10 | e-mail: einladung.kreiskyforum@kreisky.org

Melitta Campostrini
Bruno Kreisky Forum
for International Dialogue
Armbrustergasse 15
A-1190 Vienna

The last item of the August 24, 2010 UN DAILY NEWS:

UN EXPERT URGES RUSSIA TO PICK UP PACE OF PROTECTING RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE – this requires further investigation that can be performed only via direct access to the UN which is being denied. The real issue is now not only the human rights of those peoples under Russian rule, but also if the UN Secretary-General will act on this if in his judgment talking to the Russians on this may harm his chances for re-election.

Although the Russian Government has made “important steps” to protect the rights of its indigenous people, a United Nations independent human rights expert today urged the country to accelerate progress.

James Anaya, the Special Rapporteur on the situation on the freedom of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, called for “continuous and focused attention” in areas such as economic development, health, education and language.

Many indigenous people in Russia continuing to face “multiple impediments” to fully enjoying their human rights, he said, with human development indicators showing that they are “still often faring less well than other sectors of society.”

The expert praised Russia for showing its commitment to improving the living conditions of indigenous people, advancing their cultures and participation in decision-making, as well as developing a comprehensive policy for them.

However, he found that implementing existing laws guaranteeing their rights – at both national and regional levels – “remains a challenge that needs to be resolved.”

Mr. Anaya, who reports in an independent and unpaid capacity to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, launched a new report today based on his visit to Russia last October.

One of the areas of focus on his missions was to examine the situation of groups recognized by the Government as “small-numbered indigenous people,” number fewer than 50,000 people.

“Following the fall of communism, and transition to a market economy, indigenous peoples were in a particularly vulnerable position… unable to shape or define their new role in a drastically shifting political and economic atmosphere,” he writes in the publication.

“Many indigenous communities,” the Rapporteur continues, “suffered extreme hardship with some reaching the brink of extinction during this time, while unemployment, poverty and alcoholism soared.”

He calls on the Government to fully support the provisions of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The landmark document, adopted by the General Assembly in 2007, outlines the rights of the world’s estimated 370 million indigenous people and outlaws discrimination against them.

Reihe: GENIAL DAGEGEN/ kuratiert von Robert Misik

Montag, 6. September, 19.00 Uhr

Bruno Kreisky Forum für internationalen Dialog | Armbrustergasse 15 | 1190 Wien

Anmeldungen unter: Tel.: 3188260/20 | Fax: 318 82 60/10 | e-mail: einladung.kreiskyforum@kreisky.org

FRANZ WALTER

Institut für Demokratieforschung Göttingen

VORWÄRTS ODER ABWÄRTS?

Hat die Sozialdemokratie noch eine Zukunft?

Moderation:   Robert Misik, Journalist und Autor

Vorwärts oder Abwärts?: Zur Transformation der Sozialdemokratie (edition suhrkamp)

Jospin, Blair, Schröder: 1998 sah es so aus, als stünde die europäische Sozialdemokratie vor einem goldenen Zeitalter. Elf Jahre später hat die SPD 10.192.426 Millionen Stimmen verloren und sechs Parteivorsitzende verschlissen, die niederländische Partij van de Arbeid fuhr 2002 das schlechteste Ergebnis ihrer Geschichte ein, die schwedischen Sozialdemokraten 2006, die österreichischen 2008. Der »Dritte Weg« erwies sich als Weg ins Abseits, längst ist vom Ende einer Volkspartei die Rede.

Es sieht so aus, als hätten die Sozialdemokraten keine überzeugende Antwort auf den radikalen Wandel der Arbeitswelt, auf Individualisierung und Globalisierung.

Franz Walter, einer der profiliertesten deutschen Parteienforscher, untersucht die Ursachen für den Niedergang der SPD. Er wirft einen Blick über die Grenzen Deutschlands und fragt, was Freiheit, Gleichheit und Solidarität in unserer Zeit bedeuten.

Melitta Campostrini
Bruno Kreisky Forum
for International Dialogue
Armbrustergasse 15
A-1190 Vienna
tel.: ++43 1 3188260/11
fax: ++43 1 3188260/10
e-mail: kreiskyforum@kreisky.org

www.kreisky-forum.org

Noting that Brazil’s Amazon forest is well known, but not its drylands,  a Brazilian delegation to the Bonn headquarters of the UNCCD convention Just as prior to Rio Summit of 1992 stressed the need to draw attention to the importance of the well being of the drylands people in Brazil and elsewhere, and to advocate an agenda for policy development. The delegation comprised of Francisco José Pinheiro, Vice Governor of the State of Ceará, the region threatened by desertification and the State hosting the Conference, Professor Antonio Rocha Magalhães, Director of the ICID 2010 Conference, and José Roberto de Lima, Brazil’s designated Technical Focal Point for the Convention in the Ministry of Environment.

UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja welcomes the delegation from Brazil to Bonn: (l to r) Jacob Acevedo (UNCCD), José Roberto de Lima (Brazil), Francisco José Pinheiro (Brazil), Luc Gnacadja (UNCCD), Prof. Antonio Rocha Magalhães(Brazil) and Heitor Matallo (UNCCD)

IISD – EARTH NEGOTIATIONS BULLETIN – LINKAGES – Volume 177 Number 5 – Monday, 23 August 2010
 https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inb…

and  http://www.viafanzine.jor.br/site_vf/pag…

The Fortaleza Declaration: On the challenges and opportunities of sustainable development and climate change, the Declaration calls for:

• better governance of the drylands, representation of their populations and enhanced livelihoods;

• the enhancement of climate-sensitive sustainable development interventions in drylands;

• recognition of potential synergies to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience for the poor;

• the creation of favorable conditions for sustainable development in drylands through integrated actions to fight land degradation, mitigate drought effects, conserve biodiversity and adapt to climate change; and

• investment opportunities to exploit the comparative advantage of drylands in renewable energy production.

On political representation on multiple scales, the Declaration urges:

• enhanced representation of dryland populations in local, national and international policymaking and in the implementation of development activities;

• strengthening the capacity of dryland nations to influence the global environment and development agenda;

• the UN to consider the plight of dryland nations;

• preparatory meetings of Rio+20 be organized on a global ecosystem basis, to highlight issues pertaining to communities living in, inter alia, the drylands and tropical forests; and

• development and implementation of community-level information strategies to educate people on the implications of climate change.

On synergies among global environmental and development initiatives, the Declaration emphasizes:

• prioritizing sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity; and

• creation of synergies between local, national and global interventions to mitigate and adapt to climate change, conserve biodiversity and curb desertification.

On financing climate-sensitive sustainable development, it calls for:

• absorption of costs related to sustainable development by national economies;

• honoring previous financial obligations to support sustainable development by industrialized countries, the expansion of existing financial instruments, and acceleration of the disbursement of the Climate Investment and Adaptation Funds to local and national capacities; and

• including dryland regions in financial innovations to advance sustainable development under climate change conditions.

On education for sustainable development, the Declaration calls for the prioritization of education for communities in dryland areas.

On knowledge and information exchange, it recommends:

• the design and implementation of an integrated climate research, observation, modeling and applications programme to inform the policy process;

• greater inputs from the social sciences on the causes and effects of climate change and variability;

• bridging the gap between scientific information and political action; and

• expansion and strengthening of knowledge networks.

On integrated planning and implementation of development strategies and programmes, the Declaration calls for increased convergence in development strategies and programmes, especially relating to land and water resource management, forestry and the fight against desertification.

Finally, on responding to urgency, the Declaration calls for decisive action from the international community on climate, development and sustainability challenges.

———————————————————————-

further: A Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification was declared at the meeting by the UN, with the blessing of UNSG Ban Ki-moon.
The United Nations Decade for Deserts and Desertification was launched in Fortaleza, Brazil, yesterday, during the Second International Conference: Climate, Variability, Sustainability and Development, ICID 2010, and at the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, Kenya.

——————————–

CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEECH

On Wednesday, Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute, Columbia University, US, gave a keynote speech in which he warned that “we may be losing the battle” on anthropogenic climate change, underscoring the many climate-linked disasters in the past year, accompanied by “miserable outcomes” on the political front.

He recommended the ICID 2010 final declaration: declare the climate crisis in semi-arid lands a growing global security threat and a direct threat to the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); call for a UN Security Council special session on violence, security and semi-arid lands; and advocate the formation of a new political Alliance of Semi-Arid Countries (ASAC) to speak in a unified voice at the sixteenth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 16) to be held in Cancún, Mexico, in December 2010. He suggested that the ASAC call for: timely disbursement of adaptation funding, with the priority being hard-hit ASAC countries; the implementation of a global carbon tax to finance adaptation and mitigation efforts; large-scale solar power programmes in ASAC countries where appropriate, focusing on regions trapped in energy poverty.

SYNERGIES AMONG THE UN CONVENTIONS: On Tuesday morning, a plenary session convened, chaired by Luis Alberto Figueiredo Machado, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brazil.

Via video message, Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, suggested better water management practices at the local level to bring the relevant UN Conventions closer together. Director Magalhães called for including indigenous peoples and local communities in the talks on creating synergies. Sergio Zelaya, UNCCD, on behalf of Jaime Webbe, CBD, described future initiatives including a proposed joint liaison group, joint expert group and scientific body, as well as a joint extraordinary session of the Rio Convention COPs at the upcoming Rio+20 Earth Summit. Margarita Astrálaga, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), highlighted that the Rio Conventions can draw from other processes where the synergistic approach is already being implemented.

Nora Berrahmouni, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), called for integrated action plans to secure resource bases, conserve and preserve livelihoods, and to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Walter Vergara, World Bank, emphasized the importance of understanding the costs and benefits of various adaptation approaches.

Luc Gnacadja, UNCCD Executive Secretary, called for greater investment in sustainable land and water management to ensure food security, decrease the rate of climate change, alleviate drought and avert further biodiversity loss.

In the ensuing discussion, participants discussed, inter alia: increased civil society involvement; greater information sharing on the Rio Conventions; and the inclusion of human rights in the synergies discussion.

THEMATIC PROCESS

From Monday to Thursday, over 70 thematic panel sessions and roundtables convened to address issues related to climate change adaptation, vulnerability and sustainable development. Panels were organized around the four sub-themes of the conference: climate information; climate and sustainable development; climate governance, representation, rights, equity and justice; and climate policy processes. A selection of panel sessions is presented below.

Global Network of Dryland Research Institutes (GNDRI): In this session on Wednesday, participants were briefed about the GNDRI. National institutes from Argentina, Brazil, India, Israel, Syria and the US discussed their institutions’ work and research priorities, including sustainable use of cultural resources, food security, water management, alternative agricultural systems, biodiversity and the creation of “climate ready” crops.

Lessons learned about lessons learned: In this session on Thursday, participants examined how lessons and recommendations developed from past crisis assessments and negotiating processes have not been heeded or implemented, including post-event assessments of natural disasters, problems faced in getting responses from hazard early warning systems, the lessons from the process leading to the Montreal Protocol, and lessons from the disappearance of the Aral Sea.

It was generally agreed that policy recommendations in “lessons learned” reports should always discuss increased risks from not heeding lessons.

Early warning systems for droughts: During this session on Thursday, participants heard presentations on essential components of early warning systems, the South American drought monitoring systems, indices and indicators for monitoring and assessing drought conditions worldwide, and the development of an international drought clearinghouse.

Among the recommendations discussed were the need for fuller understanding of drought impacts; use of a standardized precipitation index in addition to current tools; the development of a user manual on indicators and indices; and the implementation of indices and early warning systems with the end user in mind.

THEME 2: CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: Participants attended sessions relating to this theme from Monday to Thursday. The theme broadly dealt with climate and sustainable development, with a specific focus on arid and semi-arid lands.

Desertification – the challenge of desertification and sustainable development in semi-arid regions: Participants attended this session on Monday and heard presentations on, inter alia, land degradation and desertification in the Arab region, and the management of scarce water resources in the drylands of Pakistan. They also discussed a case study on the development of a hydro-environmental project in Canindé municipality, Ceará, Brazil, and noted ongoing adaptation work, including planting drought-resistant crop varieties.

———————————

As announced by Xinhua:

International conference on semi-arid regions begins in Brazil.

August 17, 2010

Aid only trickles to Pakistan’s monsoon disaster.

August 18, 2010

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) — Pakistan is reeling from a natural disaster affecting 20 million people but relief groups say donors have been painfully slow in helping.

When a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti in January, donors responded with $13 billion in aid. Within 24 hours Hollywood mega-stars like George Clooney, Madonna, Tom Cruise and Beyonce had signed up for a telethon to raise money for Haiti’s quake victims.

By contrast nearly three weeks after flood waters inundated one-fifth of Pakistan, the United Nations has collected roughly half of the $460 million it has called for to meet the immediate needs of 20 million flood victims.

This week Oscar winner and U.N. goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie made a high-profile plea to ask the international community to give more aid to Pakistan.

Pakistan’s flood-affected areas

Pakistan flood: Before and after

“Hopefully there are a lot of people ready to give money,” Jolie told British television network ITN.

Aid workers and analysts say there are several possibilities why governments, individual donors and celebrities are not giving to Pakistan the way they’ve done with other disasters. None, they add, is a good excuse.

The relatively low death toll — roughly 1,500 killed — may have created the impression that Pakistan’s floods are not as severe as the Haiti quake and the Indian Ocean Tsunami where tens of thousands were instantly killed.

U.N. officials say the death toll in Pakistan’s floods belies the desperate and often life-threatening conditions of the 20 million victims. Many of them have lost their homes, their belongings and their sources of income.

Analysts say governments may also be suffering from “donor fatigue” with Pakistan. For years now Pakistan has been on a seemingly constant round of donor needs — money to revive its feeble economy, fight the Taliban, recover from the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, the 2009 refugee crisis and now these floods.

“A donor never gets fatigued,” Islamabad-based political analyst Mosharraf Zaidi told CNN.

“A donor, just as an idea, is not about ‘I’m fresh so I’ll give.’ You don’t give because you’re fresh. You give because of humanity.”

There’s also the perception that Pakistan is run by corrupt politicians and the aid won’t get to those who need it.

This week Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani insisted all aid would be transparent. Aid professionals say if you don’t trust the Pakistani government, then give to an international aid group you do trust.

“There are so many ways people can give that doesn’t have to be rooted in the government if that was a concern,” said OXFAM’s country director in Pakistan, Neva Khan.

Aid groups and analysts say the worst excuse not to give is the perception among many in the west that Pakistan is just not a good place, a country full of militants. It’s an image reinforced by the media’s obsession with extremism in Pakistan, says Mosharraf Zaidi.

“I think that coverage is fundamentally one of great reasons why it’s been hard for people to reach into their wallet.”

The cooling global economy may also have governments and individuals reluctant to give but analysts say the consequences of not giving to Pakistan could be costly.

In the short run people will go hungry, suffer from disease, and lose their fight to survive. In the long run a nation that’s critical in the fight against extremism may face a political crisis that could further destabilize the region.

————————

Except for Kuwait  and the UAE – the Islamic States are not on the donor list – Why? Is this not Ramadan time – if nothing else?

Seemingly, it is all coming from the US, UK, EU, Japan, Australia, Denmark, Switzerland. We  find China at less the $2 million – and we learned that Pakistan refused $5 million from India. At the pledging we learned that Georgia is contributing $1oo,ooo and there are small amounts from around the world.

All of the above seems strange but clear to us. It is the US that fights to keep Pakistan in one piece as it did in Iraq. Can Pakistan hold when the real enemy is climate change?

August 19, 2010, before the UN started its meetings, the Asia Society in New York opened the discussion on the Pakistan Flood response by diving right to the bottom truth – the latest mega-disasters have one common cause – human induced climate change. It was Financier George Soros who injected the topic and the media was allowed by Ambassador Holbrooke to follow up. See what you can do when you go outside the UN!

Ambassador Dr. Richard C. Holbrooke, former Chairman of the Board of the Asia Society, and now US Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan,  chaired the 8:30 am event at his New York home – the Asia Society – on the day when for 3:00 pm the UN General Assembly scheduled a pledging event for funding Pakistan relief. At the UN, for the US, spoke Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton, and I saw on TV  the complete  Asia Society American team sitting in the hall. The team included also Judith A. McHale, US Department of State Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Dr. George Erik Rupp, a theologian, President of the International Rescue Committee and former President of Rice University and Columbia University, and Raymond Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America.

The opening speaker after Ambassador Holbrooke was Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and the panel included also USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah. Then there was a list of guests that made their comments, followed by questions from the floor and answers from Administrator Dr. Shah and Ambassador Qureshi.

enlarge image
L to R: USAID’s Dr. Rajiv Shah, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke. (Else Ruiz/Asia Society)

–

Judith A. McHale, a former media head herself ( President and Chief Executive Officer of Discovery Communications – 1987 to 2006), and now with the US Government, said that information is critical. “We work with the government of Pakistan to provide the critical information on the ground. It is posted on www.State.gov

Among the guests were Financier George Soros, whose Open Society Institute and Soros Foundations work on the ground in Pakistan – he announced that he adds another $5 million to the funds that his foundation will work with in helping directly civil society in Pakistan,  Christopher MacCormac of the Asian Development Bank, which is leading the effort to assess the flood damage, said much of the economic infrastructure of the area has been destroyed. 2 million ha. of crops were lost and livestock have been devastated, which has taken a large toll on Pakistan farmers. ADB has said that after the immediate contribution of $3 million from the ASia-Pacific Disaster Fund, it would loan Pakistan $2 billion to help the country rebuild, and Pakistan’s rock star turned political activist Salman Ahmad, known as Pakistan’s Bono, or as Holbrooke pointed out, “Bono is the Irish Salman Ahmad,” pointed out a very important topic:

“This is a defining moment in Pakistan,” Ahmad said. “This flood has set back Pakistan in a huge way. Out of 175 million people, 100 million are under 25. Those young people are skeptical, and they feel abandoned by the world. The international community has to win hearts and minds of those 100 million youth in Pakistan.” “If there is a sluggish response the terrorists/extremists win.” He also said that last year he had a concert at the UN to show to the young people in Pakistan that there was hope – he said that he is sure the international community will react positively.

Ambassador Holbrooke said that in the catastrophe there is also an opportunity, that we should not miss -  the people in Pakistan should see that the world is ready to help. He found that these elements of hope in opportunity were missing in the day’s article in The New York Times.

For the US the strategic implications are clear. The US pulled out helicopters from the military effort in order to help in the rescue effort. Will the Taliban take advantage of this? A US transport ship with materials arrived to Karachi, and Japan will now also send helicopters to help in the rescue effort.

The meeting was summarized by The Asia Society and there is also the full tape at -

 http://asiasociety.org/policy-politics/e…

Further, Ms. Nafis Sadik from the UN, now a Trustee Emeritus of the Asia Society and Chair of the Pakistan Foundation at the Asia Society called for Ramadan giving to the Foundation. Other Pakistan-Americans spoke and told of their own efforts to raise funds for the Pakistan relief program as the State’s capacity to meet the challenge has been overstretched. Today Pakistan , one fifth of its territory submerged, 68 million of its people affected, and 1,600 people dead, crops, animal stock, and infrastructure devastated – Pakistan is calling – humanity is calling they said. We saw a video proving every point. The Pakistan-American Foundation was inspired by Hilary Clinton’s “Pakistani Peacebuilders.”

Oxfam America was joined by “Save the Chidren” NGO  representative Gorel Bogarde said the obvious – what children most need is food, clean drinking water and shelter. She is most concerned for the moment about the outbreak of water-bourne diseases, such as cholera.

We will not repeat here further figures of loss and the size of the calamity. We assume that these are known by our readers by now – we want rather to point out the blunt comments that resulted from the statement by Mr. Soros who linked what happens to our lack of readiness to do something about the human-made climate change. Pakistan is the biggest of the recent disasters he said and we must deal with the root causes he continued. CLIMATE CHANGE IS THE ROOT CAUSE FOR ALL THESE RECENT DISASTERS. Mr. Soros spoke of the coincidence of the Himalaya glaciers melting and the monsoons getting stronger at the same time.

He also said “there is a certain amount of fatigue in responding to these disasters… [but] we have to come to terms with the fact that they are in fact connected, that there is climate change.”

At the Q & A part of the program, I asked the last question that was intended to bring the attention back to what Mr. Soros said.
My question was something like – I am with Sustainable Development Media and I wonder what Pakistan thinks about Mr. Soros’ statement about climate change – the reason being that the present calamity will repeat itself, so how does one do reconstruction work that makes sense?

Ambassador Holbrooke said Thank You and addressed the question first to Mr. Rajiv Shah.

When asked if there was a connection between the floods and climate change, USAID’s Shah said “while it’s very hard to attribute any single event to what we’re doing to our global environment it is very clear that that trend is leading to a greater number of large hurricanes, a greater number of floods, hotter and dryer conditions in places that are dependent on weather and rainfall for agriculture, and it’s making it very difficult for the least resilient, the most lower income communities of the world to survive.”

We heard from Mr. Christopher MacCormac that after the Earth Quake of 2005 the rebuilding of houses was done according to higher standards – so what we need here in the response to the present calamity is also to build better – but he did not specify, neither did Mr. Holbrooke. This, with the understanding that the increased monsoon floods,  joined with the melting of the Himalaya Glaciers, is indeed not a one time shot – but the beginning of a trend – leaves us with very bad premonitions about the future of Pakistan and other low lying lands of the region. This  has  clearly left me thinking about what means building better? Are we going to take into account these new phenomena resulting from global use of fossil fuels when going from the immediate reaction to the suffering from the floods to the longer range rebuilding stage? This is clearly an area that will be written up much more in the foreseeable future.

Ambassador Qurashi was asked by Mr. Holbrooke to react to the climate change implications. Are there additional run-off from the Himalayas?

The answer included: The Glaciers melt and what we have in Pakistan are Monsoon water plus glacier melts combined. We have above normal moisture.

He also said that “There are local NGOs in Pakistan that help push back the extremists and you have shown the world that you are a helping Nation.”

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We are engaged in a project which seeks to address the problem of climate change displacement.
The focus of our project is a proposal for a convention for persons displaced by climate change.

Please find attached a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about our climate change displacement convention.
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Our proposed convention would largely operate prospectively; assistance to climate change displaced persons would be based on an assessment of whether their environment was likely to become uninhabitable due to events consistent with anthropogenic climate change such that resettlement measures and assistance were necessary.  In other words, displacement is viewed as a form of adaptation that creates particular vulnerabilities requiring protection as well as assistance through international cooperation.

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The 170 million people of Pakistan are in serious trouble, Besides the war in Afghanistan and the internal wars of secession, they got stricken also by tremendous floods that covered 20% of the land and made at least 20 million people homeless. Estimates are even higher. The UN says $460 million are needed for an initial reaction and supposedly only $80 million were subscribed according to Luis Morago of Avaaz.org – a good intended western NGO. In this context please read the following:

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) approves $11 million humanitarian package of emergency relief and rehabilitation for Pakistan.

Expressing profound sympathy with the Pakistani government and nation on the unprecedented deadly and devastating flooding in the country which shows no signs of abating, the 269th meeting of the Board of Executive Directors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, approved a humanitarian package of $11 million to provide immediate financial assistance to the victims of the tragic environmental disaster. In addition to that, an IDB mission will leave for Pakistan immediately to assess the situation on the ground and discuss the relevant details of the package.

The $11 million humanitarian package, a combination of relief and rehabilitation operations, envisages immediate emergency relief and contribution to the rehabilitation efforts aimed at restoring normal functioning of community services in different sectors in Pakistan, including education, health, agriculture, water and sanitation facilities.

It consists of a $1.00 million grant to the government of Pakistan to finance some of the urgent relief activities in the disaster-stricken areas as well as the equivalent of $10.00 million in concessionary loan / soft-istisnaa’ for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of social services and food security facilities devastated by the floods in disaster areas.

Long-term reconstruction requirements, meanwhile, are expected to be included under the normal programming cycle in consultation with the government of Pakistan and in coordination with the donor community.

Originally posted August 1, 2010 and updated August 17, 2010.

As we intend to be next week in New Hampshire to visit with some Green efforts there, we are now more attentive to that State and I just found the following:

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From the Desk of Dr. James E. Hansen

to:		pj@sustainabilitank.com
date:		Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 2:52 PM

What Global Warming Looks Like…So Far

What Global Warming Looks Like discusses current global temperature anomalies in July 2010; see also summary and full paper accepted for publication in Reviews of Geophysics.

AHEAD OF THE REFERENDUM IN SOUTH SUDAN – WATCHING THE BIRTH OF A NEW NATION.

Juba: Facing a serious challenge in the future.

 http://ethiopianreporter.com/english/ind…

By Zekarias Sintayehu,

The pilot instructs passengers to fasten our seatbelt as we approach to Juba International Airport. I try to get a glimpse of the city through the cabin window but all I can see is a marshy green area.
Some shanty houses are seen scattered here and there. The plane makes the final turn and safely touches down.

There was a drizzle when I got off the plane but I could still feel gust of the humid air gushing over my face. I quickly headed to the so-called terminal. I believe that most of the time the passenger terminal tells you a lot about the country. And I tried to visualize how the city would be like.

The terminal is very small and operates its activities in an old house. While I queue up to pass through the terminal, an immigration officer asked me to give him my yellow fever vaccination card. I told him that I didn’t have it. Then he told me to pay 20 Sudanese pounds which is above 8 USD. “Why should I pay the money?” I requested. He replied confidently, “It is a fine for not bringing the card.” He then pointed to a bunch of his colleagues’ and told me to talk to them.

A slim young guy approached me and uttered “What is the problem?” I told him that I did not bring my vaccination card. “Did he tell you to pay 20 USD” was his quick response, referring to his friend. I was a little bit surprised with the drama at the airport. Finally, he lets me go because I told him that I didn’t have an exchange.

After all the hustle at the airport, I was lucky enough to pass through the terminal. Another friend told me a true story about the immigration officers which took place a couple of years ago. They used to ask for a yellow fever vaccination card when passengers departed from Juba. I finally met a friend who was waiting for me outside the terminal. While driving to my hotel with him, I thought I was still in Ethiopia because the city resembles the Gambella region.
We arrived at Habesha Continental Hotel, which is owned by an Ethiopian businessman. The checking-in process took a few minutes and then I headed to my room. After I take a nap, I went to the hotel’s restaurant.

The big screen was blazing Ethiopian music at the open air bar. High ranking Ethiopian officials and businessmen came here every day to chill out and update each other. There were also Sudanese, Ugandans and Eritrean at the open air bar. As one friend told me, most of the officials stay at hotels since they don’t have homes. Meanwhile, the government has decreed that officials should build their own homes, as it cannot afford the exorbitant hotel expenses.

Habesha Continental Hotel is located on a riverside and the graceful White Nile draining from Lake Victoria streams down to Khartoum. I was very pleased to see ships carrying folks and goods on the river. As I heard, the ships take three weeks to get from Juba to Khartoum. I also saw small boats passing by the river. In addition, the locals fish on the river. Though I didn’t get a chance to see the Blue Nile, it was a marvelous experience to watch the graceful White Nile.

Unlike Ethiopia, the Injera (Ethiopian bread) is made from rice. I was very eager to test the white rice Injera. To be honest, there is a remarkable difference from with teff Injera but I can still stomach the rice Injera.

The next morning I went out to explore the city. The famous means of transportation at the town are the motorbikes which are called “Boda Boda.” Most of the motorbikes are owned by Ugandans. After I negotiated the price with driver to drop me off at my friend’s house in Juba, I jumped on and started to enjoy a ride on the “Boda Boda”.  While riding the bike, the wind was constantly blowing the sand into my eyes, so I had to hide my face behind the back of the driver.

I also visited the biggest market place in the city called “Konyo Konyo.” Unfortunately, at that day was a public holiday most of the shops were closed. Everything is sold in “Konyo Konyo” staring from consumers goods to electronics and cars. The shops which were open were selling fruits, onions, potatoes, meat, and other consumers goods.

That day the city was somehow calm since it was commenting the fifth year of John Garang’s death memorial. Officials and many folks memorized their hero by going to his funeral place.

I also had the chance to travel by minibuses which are mostly owned by Ethiopians and Eritreans. The locals refer to Ethiopians and Eritrean as “Habesh.” Though the Habeshs’ own the minibuses, they can’t drive in the city due to the new legislation imposed by the government. All the taxi drivers are Sudanese.

Most of the big hotels in Juba are owned by Eritreans and the hotel I stayed is the only big hotel owned by an Ethiopian. But there are many small bars and hotels owned by Ethiopians. I visited a Ugandan bar which is located next to my hotel. There are many tents in the compound which are ready for rent. Their price, 100 USD per day, amazes was what amazes me most during my stay at Juba.

The temperature, which was around 31 degree centigrade, was relatively cold during my visit of Juba. But I still needed to be in my air conditioned room after midday. The city badly needs network infrastructures if it is to cop up with the emerging economy. The city gets electricity from generators and areas in the outskirt of the city are still in darkness. Frankly, a tough homework awaits Juba city, which will be the capital city of the Southern Sudan after the 2011 referendum.

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August 10, 2010 (KHARTOUM) as per www.SudanTribune.com – Southern Sudan Referendum Commission denied its intention to ask the Sudanese presidency to postpone the referendum scheduled for January 2011.

The official denial comes after statements published last Saturday by a member of the commission saying that some arrangements required in the conduct of referendum will have to be skipped if the vote was to be held as planned in January.

Pagan Amum, Secretary General of Southern Sudan’s ruling party SPLM, rejected the request stressing “any attempt to delay the referendum would be considered as reneging on the CPA”.

The Chairman of the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission, Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil, in remarks aired by the Sudanese radio on Monday dismissed reports about the intention of the Commission to submit a request for the president to delay the referenda on southern Sudan’s independence.

Demanding to delay the referendum is a “political valuation and the Commission has a legal and constitutional mission according to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the Interim Constitution and the referendum law,” Khalil pointed out.

Tarek Osman Al-Tahir, a member of the commission who requested the delay said that it would be impossible for the commission to achieve the completion of voters’ registration three months before the vote as required by the law.

“We have only two choices left: skip some of the procedures, which would be unacceptable because it could affect the endorsement of the referendum result or resort to the other choice of a limited delay to the referendum timetable to complete these procedures,” Tahir said.

However Khalil said they filed a letter to the presidency in which they demanded more support to enable the referendum commission to perform its functions. He said the commission will start work next week.

He said that in the south 80% of structures of the Commission had been completed, adding that they are currently preparing a budget for the referendum process.

He said the referendum body signed a number of agreements with the United Nations and U.S. Aid to provide technical and logistical support for the referendum.

President Obama was supposed to go to Jakarta, but first postponed, then canceled the trip. Whatever the official explanation – Jakarta responded and was a no-show at the Washington meeting of the large economies (in effect we did raise the question with the US Department of State and on the record – we did not get a satisfactory answer and reported accordingly).

We saw a series of missteps that eventually will have to be corrected. We wrote about that earlier and moved Indonesia into the front page of our website with the understanding that the largest Muslim country that is a democracy with a growing middle class, will eventually live up to its potential of being a world leader. The following article strengthens us in above belief.

We also expect Indonesia to move on issues of Sustainable Development and Climate Change as it stands only to gain by becoming home to clean technologies. Indonesian leaders understand that much of their recent environmental disasters are global warming related – they also can be counted upon in efforts to restrain the forces of aggressive extreme Islam.

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After Years of Inefficiency, Indonesia Emerges as an Economic Model.

Enny Nuraheni/Reuters

After years of being known for inefficiency, corruption and instability, Indonesia is becoming an economic powerhouse in Asia.

By AUBREY BELFORD, an Independent journalist based in Indonesia. //

JAKARTA — After years of being known for inefficiency, corruption and instability, Indonesia is emerging from the global financial crisis with a surprising new reputation — economic golden child.

Adi Weda/European Pressphoto Agency
In Jakarta, worsening traffic and a proliferation of megamalls are seen as signs of the growing strength of the middle class.

The country’s economy, the largest in Southeast Asia, grew at an annual rate of 6.2 percent in the second quarter of this year, data released Thursday showed. That is an acceleration from 2009, when gross domestic product expanded 4.5 percent.

The stock market hit a record high last week and has been among the best-performing equities markets in Asia this year, rising more than 20 percent since Jan. 1. The country’s currency, the rupiah, has appreciated nearly 5 percent this year against the dollar, among the strongest showings in Asia besides that of the yen.

Foreign direct investment, which was held in check for years after the 1997 economic crisis in Asia, is also returning. The country had 33.3 trillion rupiah, or $3.7 billion, in foreign direct investment in the second quarter of this year, a 51 percent rise from a year earlier, the Investment Coordinating Board in Indonesia said last week. The country is on track to attract more foreign investment this year than it did in 2008, when it lured in $14.87 billion.

Such statistics have some here cautiously saying that the country, a Muslim-majority democracy and one of the world’s most populous countries, could soon merit the kind of attention that investors now lavish on China and India.

“Indonesia is one of the most interesting, most attractive destinations in the world,” said Lanang Trihardian, an analyst at Syailendra Capital, a fund management firm based in Jakarta. “Foreign investors have been flowing to Indonesia from maybe around mid-2009. We are seeing a lot of liquidity coming into Indonesia, and it is mostly going to capital markets, to bonds, to stocks.”

Undoubtedly, significant obstacles to sustained growth remain. Despite progress on corruption, investors complain of confusing regulations and labor laws that make it difficult to dismiss employees. Little infrastructure has been built since the Asian economic crisis in 1997, and rolling blackouts have plagued the country for years. While the education system has been successful in fulfilling basic requirements like literacy, the universities and colleges in the country are widely considered archaic.

But more than a decade after the chaotic overthrow of the Suharto dictatorship in 1998 — and subsequent fears of disintegration at the hands of separatist groups, as well as the threat of Islamic militancy — the country seems to have stabilized. It is rich in natural resources like palm oil, copper and timber, commodities that are in great demand in China.

The administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has won plaudits for reducing debt and has achieved some success fighting graft. Mr. Yudhoyono was resoundingly re-elected to a second five-year term in 2009, and changes aimed at introducing more democracy have seen power devolved to local governments, where elections have been largely peaceful, orderly affairs.

In one sense, Indonesia appears more attractive these days because much of the rest of the global marketplace looks so gloomy. Its low debt, high growth and a sense of optimism compare favorably with a mood of despondency in developed markets like the United States, Japan and Europe.

The huge consumer market in the country, accounting for more than two-thirds of G.D.P., has largely been credited for maintaining growth. Although the global economic crisis crimped confidence, Indonesia’s relatively young population of 240 million and government stimulus policies, as well as a popular program of direct cash transfers to the poor, have kept consumption humming.

In Jakarta, worsening traffic and a proliferation of megamalls are seen as signs of the growing strength of the middle class. At the center of the capital, the huge Grand Indonesia mall opened in 2007 and expanded during the global downturn, adding theme areas with mockups of New York, Japan, the Arabian Peninsula and Paris, complete with a miniature, spinning Moulin Rouge windmill.

“We’re selling international brands here so Indonesians don’t have to shop abroad for them,” said Teges Prita Soraya, a spokeswoman for the mall, adding that trade, largely in imported luxury brands, had surged ahead despite the global crisis.

The mall is home to the country’s first branch of Harvey Nichols, the upscale British department store, and has boutiques for luxury brands like Chanel, Armani and Dolce & Gabbana — which already have branches in other malls across the city.

Yet there is criticism that economic growth has had less effect than it should have for the majority. About 15 percent of the population lives below the country’s official poverty line of around $1 a day, but advocates for the poor say the percentage would be larger if Indonesia set the bar a little higher, say, at $1.25. Relatively sluggish growth in labor-intensive industries has meant slow progress in curbing unemployment, which is over 7 percent.

The New York Times

The government believes that one solution to moving to a higher level of sustained growth is foreign investment, particularly in industries like manufacturing. The government’s investment coordinating board, known as BKPM, is hoping to attract $30 billion to $40 billion in annual foreign investment by 2015 — three to four times as much as it achieved last year, said Gita Wirjawan, head of the agency.

In an economy currently worth $650 billion a year and expected to grow to $1 trillion in five years, that is not terribly much. But it is “optically” very important for establishing Indonesia as a serious investment destination, he said.

“It’s not a slam-dunk, but it’s achievable,” he said.

Indonesia gets the largest share of its foreign investment from within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with non-Asean states like Japan and South Korea, as well as European countries, making up much of the rest.

Indonesia is working to change rules to make it easier to acquire land for infrastructure and is seeing interest in infrastructure investment, Mr. Wirjawan said.

The government recently eased investment rules in areas including health care, construction and electricity generation. At the same time, it is working to put the flow of “hot,” or speculative, money to better use, passing rules on government bonds requiring foreign investors to keep their money in the country for longer.

Such efforts seem to be paying off. The government announced this week that China’s sovereign fund, China Investment Corp., was hoping to invest $25 billion in infrastructure projects in Indonesia. Posco, the South Korean steel giant, signed a $6 billion deal on Wednesday to build a plant in Indonesia with the local producer Krakatau Steel.

While investment in manufacturing still lags behind other sectors, Mr. Wirjawan said that Indonesia, with its relatively low labor costs, was reaping the benefits of rising costs in regional competitors.

“We’re seeing an increasing relocation of factories by the Taiwanese, the Koreans and Japanese from Vietnam and China, given their rising labor costs and given the increased stability that people are seeing in Indonesia from an economic and political standpoint,” he said.

The Indonesian Footwear Association has said that major brands including Asics, Mizuno and New Balance have shifted part of their production to Indonesia this year because of rising costs elsewhere. Indonesia’s footwear industry employs 640,000 people and exported $1.8 billion worth of goods in 2009, said the association’s chairman, Eddy Widjanarko. Producers are hoping to increase that figure to $2 billion this year.

Katja Schreiber, a spokeswoman for Adidas — which has also been aggressively expanding production in Indonesia — said the country, its third-biggest supplier, offered “abundant labor availability, good quality, competitive prices and political stability.” Although production here is growing rapidly, she said, it is not happening at the expense of its top suppliers, China and Vietnam.

The local stock market has reflected the perceived strengths of the economy. Shares related to commodities, Indonesia’s main export sector, have been strong earners. Banking stocks have risen along with the generally upbeat mood on consumption and the relatively good health of the sector, which, for the most part, weathered the credit crisis reasonably well. Major consumer shares like Unilever Indonesia and the car distributor Astra International have been consistent leaders on the local index.

All this exuberance has raised some fears that inflation could become a big problem. The country’s central bank, Bank Indonesia, decided to hold its benchmark interest rate at 6.5 percent this week, despite a jump in annual inflation to 6.22 percent in July.

Regardless, many feel that Indonesia’s time has come again.

“In Asia there is a feeling that after you invest in China and after you invest in India, where are you going to invest? said Fauzi Ichsan, senior economist for Standard Chartered in Indonesia.

“It’ll have to be Indonesia. It’s a natural destination.”
 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/busine…

 http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/PressRelea…

Not Enough Hours in the Day for Endangered Apes.

A study on the effects of global warming on African ape survival suggests that a warming climate may cause apes to run ‘out of time’.

The research, published today in Journal of Biogeography, reveals that rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns have strong effects on ape behaviour, distribution and survival, pushing them even further to the brink of extinction.

The researchers, from Roehampton University, Bournemouth University and the University of Oxford used data from 20 natural populations to model the effects of climate change on ape behaviour and distribution. The results suggest that rising temperatures and shifts in rainfall patterns alone may cause chimpanzees to lose up to 50% and gorillas up to 75% of their remaining habitats.

This loss of habitat, according to the researchers, is caused by the fact that apes run out of time, as with increasing environmental temperatures apes will have to spend more time resting to avoid over-heating, making some habitats uninhabitable.

The study further suggests that chimpanzees will also experience a shift in diet from containing predominantly fruits to leaves.

Lead author Julia Lehmann, from Life Sciences at Roehampton University, said: ‘In reality, the effects of climate change on African apes may be much worse, as our model does not take into account possible anthropogenic effects, such as habitat destruction by humans and the hunting of apes for bushmeat.’

‘Our results highlight that solving the direct local threats, such as hunting and habitat loss due to human activities, may not be sufficient to prevent the extinction of African apes.

Ensuring safe havens in optimal habitat must be a critical component of any conservation strategy, lest all current conservation efforts prove to be in vain.’

This research carried out by staff and students from the Centre of Research and Evolutionary Anthropology (CREA) at Roehampton features regularly in the popular and scientific media. CREA was founded in 2002 in recognition of the strengths in evolutionary aspects of biological anthropology at Roehampton.

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