Links & Resources - August 2008

Vedanta Ruling

In an update to Gouri Sharma's article. The mining company Vedanta's efforts to mine for the mineral Bauxite on and around the Niyamgiri Mountain in Orissa, India has finally been given the go-ahead by the Indian Supreme Court.

Survival International - One of the more prominent NGO's raising awareness of Vedanta's plans at open cast mining on the Mountain gives the news here and its reaction to it.

Meanwhile Actionaid which have been persistently vocal in their opposition to the mining of that part of Orissa give their verdict here.


17th International Aids Conference Ends

The massed ranks of NGO workers, Academics, Civil Servants and concerned citizens left Mexico City under a cloud it seems of disappointment as Oxfam complains of an "air of complacency".

Kate Jongbloed over at Unpacking Development attended and her excellent reports back from the conference help form more of a complete picture of what occurred than many of the official or other Non Governmental accounts achieve.

Kate's first conference it seems and her impressions are written here, with some pictures here. There is also an interesting entry on the site about using Mircofinance in combating HIV/Aids.

Orissa's Ancient Tribes look likely to Pay a High Price for India's Rapid Development

While the tribes living in the shadow of the Niyamgiri Mountain await the verdict of the Indian Supreme Court, Gouri Sharma assesses the likely impact should the multi-national Vedanta be successful in it's bid for Orissa's natural resources.


FOR CENTURIES members of the Dongria Kondh have lived peacefully in the lush forests of Niyamgiri, Orissa, miles away from the rest of India’s civilisation.

Situated deep in the forests of eastern India, the Dongria – living closely with the Kutia and the Jharania tribes - are an isolated community who engage in witchcraft and animal hunting. Their ancestral culture and way of life makes them intensely vulnerable to a rapidly developing Indian society.

The majestic Niyamgiri Mountain is the main feature of the area and for the 8,000 plus tribespoeple who live there, it is more than just an arresting sight - it is their source of life.

The community survives on the water which flows from the mountain into the Bansadhara River. Their food, medicine and livelihoods are provided for by the mountain and the forestry that surrounds it. There is also the spiritual element the mountain brings - the tribespeople believe the mountain is home to their god, Niyam Raja and they regularly ascend the mountain to pray.

But life for the community is about to change. The mountain is rich in the mineral bauxite, which is the raw form of alumina. And it is this bauxite that has attracted the FTSE 100 British mining company Vedanta Resources to the area. Four years on, and the company’s interest now looks set to destroy the tribes and their very existence.

The company, owned by Indian born billionaire Anil Agarwal, wants to build a mine to extract bauxite from the top of the mountain which it would then transport down to a refinery at the base of the mountain – a refinery they have already started to build.

The plans were met with resistance from the tribal group and the case is now in the hands of India’s Supreme Court. The court is due to announce any day that the mining can go ahead.
Anti – poverty charity ActionAid has been supporting the Kondh's struggle to save their mountain.

Tribal rights officer Bratindi Jena said: "Niyamgiri bauxite would come at the cost of clean water and forest in an otherwise drought-hit district. It also represents an outright assault on the culture and religion of the indigenous people who live there.

"Permitting mining would pave the way for persecution of a minority community and deny legal protection for their religious beliefs," she said.

Allegations of the damage being done by Vedanta is now being supported with evidence, most recently, a report by Orissa’s Pollution Control Board this year showed how the plant is allegedly polluting the Bansadhara River.

Local tribesman Mukta Chatrapur, who lives in the Kalahandi district close to where the refinery is located, described the impact of Vedanta’s operation so far:

“Drinking water is bad. When we bathe the skin itches. When we drink water we get sores in our mouth. It is difficult to breathe. Hair begins to fall. We get sores in our throat. The body itches at night.”

Furthermore, since the beginning of the dispute Vedanta has been accused of bribery, promises of work in exchange for land and even deaths.

Jena added: "Claims by Vedanta of ‘wonderful development' work in the area are hugely contested by local people. Promises of jobs and compensation have failed to materialise."

Last November, the Supreme Court ruled that the mining could go ahead but only if a set of rules were applied to the work, which they labelled a ‘special purpose vehicle’. The Supreme Court heard the case on July 31, but no verdict was announced. In principle and in a national court of law, the mining has already been approved.

While the struggle is being highlighted by the media and receiving the backing of Hollywood and Bollywood actors, there is a sense that the fight may already be lost.


The community, however, remains defiant. Tribesman Malari, 36 years old, summed up their feeling: “We will not leave Niyamgiri. Without our mountain, our god, there is no life for us. For us this is a matter of life or death,”

The ruling will devastate the community, an indigenous community that is meant to be protected by an age old Indian Law. What is worrying now is the ramifications of this ruling for the rest of India’s thousands of indigenous people – how far will India go to keep up with China and the rest of the world as it tries to cement its place among the most powerful and developed nations?


Written for Hii Dunia by Gouri Sharma

Picture Credits: Stuart Freedman & Sanjit Das, Actionaid


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Links & Resources:

Actionaid - Current campaign aimed at raising awareness of Vedanta's operation in Orissa

Climate Ark - Article assessing Vedanta's chances at the Indian Supreme Court

Hii Dunia - India: Democratic Development?

Vedanta Resources - Official company website

Comment: Recession? Don't forget our Duty to the Environment

We can't allow a possible global fiscal squeeze to jeopardise progress already made on environmental legislation argues Daniel Furr.

It has been a year since the credit crunch started. The US economy is effectively in recession, UK is heading in the same economic direction and the stock markets have entered into ‘bear’ territory. Finance ministers the world over have evaluated and concluded tax cuts are necessary for the economy – green taxes in many countries have been terminated.

Green economics is now insensate and politicians, in an urbane manner, are telling voters to forget any environmental incentives in the current economic climate. Tragically, any targets for achieving alternative energy will be significantly missed – or ignored – and many politicians have seemingly shelved their green credentials. An individual with great fortitude will be required to become the tutelage of the achievements completed to date and to protect the radical agenda for the future.

Like many, I understand the importance of the economy and protecting jobs, wealth and prosperity. Defending aspirations are required, but it is dissolute for politicians to label, depict and demonise green taxes as expensive means of generating and increasing government income because it is unholy inaccurate. Characterising environmental measures in puerile terms misleads the general public and generates negative attitudes towards green taxes. During a recession, these taxes become an easy target for alternating fiscal policy.

Another problem is how governments have implemented green taxes. The United Kingdom, for example, would secretly and poorly explain certain measures; no one was surprised when the public thought of them as “stealth taxes”. Voters had nothing but antipathy and were disgusted by high taxation bills – especially on petrol and car tax. Inadequate presentation skills from the Treasury means the British are forever it seems sceptical of any environmental taxation.

The pandemonium in the oil markets have seen inflation spike throughout the world – increased consumption in the emerging markets and threat of war have increased speculation. Crippling oil prices should be a portent, but locating and extracting more oil is the apparent solution; we should be abandoning our dependence on oil – governments disagree however. Vetoing alternative, cleaner and sustainable sources is unwise for the future and for the economy itself. The hypocrisy of demanding Saudi Arabia for example to produce more oil and fund environmental projects – at the same time - is hilarious. Yes, the Middle East wish to add diversity to their economies, but no one will jeopardise the main contributor to their national budgets. So what is the world to do?

Firstly, it is unwise to stop environmental policies during a recession. Political fashion statements are ostentatious and unattractive to the voting population. Turning serious issues into political footballs is dangerous and risks contaminating the subject matter. Britain's execrable green fiscal policy risks ending up mired in resentment and protest. As I said at the start, tax cutting the green agenda has painted such directives as being expensive to the economy. The stereotype is now truth. Once great virtues are now being disassociated with and politicians are focusing on new beliefs instead – Presidential candidates are silent on environmental matters. In the United Kingdom, the Conservative party and the government are more or less focusing on the economy and crime. The environment “costs too much” during a recession and those three words are torturous to hear. Isolating the green agenda for political gains is playing Russian Roulette with the Earth's future.

Society, it seems will have to be educated [again] to understand the importance of environmental policy. It will have to understand that, sometimes, it is significant to introduce taxation to fiscal policy to protect our environment. If we keep vanguarding ourselves against responsibility, then the economy in the future will have to allocate vast amount of money to repair the damage. We either spend a little now or pay billions later.

It may be “the economy stupid”, but it's also the environment too.

Comment: Overfishing must now be seen as a Threat to Human Existence

Virtually every threat to life in the sea is attributable to our use of the 'wait and see principle', which allows overexploitation, ecosystem destruction or pollution so long as someone gains economically and the environmental consequences are uncertain.


In 1988 the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) was formed to gain a better understanding of global climate change and provide scientific evidence that climate change was causing significant damage to our environment.

In 2001 it published its Third Assessment Report (TAR). This report was a comprehensive assessment of the scientific, technical, and socio-economic dimensions of climate change and the panel concluded that it was at least ninety percent certain that human emissions of greenhouse gases rather than natural variations are warming the planet's surface. This proclamation galvanised the world into confronting the threat of climate change, if not actually combating it effectively as yet.

The threats to our marine environment (which accounts for seventy percent of the Earth's surface) have had no such large scale, unified effort, and where the scientific data does exist it is often grossly inaccurate or misleading.

Take overfishing for example. The FAO (UN Food & Agriculture Organisation) maintains the only global database of fisheries statistics collected between 1950 and 2004. Numbers used are voluntarily reported by individual countries and are taken from sales of fish, rather than scientific surveys. The system overlooks fish caught and consumed by those who catch them because this leaves no economic trail. Three and fourfold underestimates are not uncommon. This can have profound implications for overfishing as some nations sell rights to foreign fishing boats on the basis of these flawed statistics.

Other scientific fisheries data can be equally misleading. In a study by Dalhousie University, Canada, it was discovered that the true scale of the devastation caused by overfishing has remained hidden because in most of the world's oceans industrial fishing began long before fisheries biologists started making accurate estimates of fish numbers.

Populations of large commercial fish species tend to level off at about ten percent of their pristine numbers after prolonged industrial exploitation as they no longer become viable to catch at this level. Fisheries managers may be unaware of the initial plenty and come to see this reduced population as normal, sometimes even regarding the fishery as healthy as the population remains relatively stable when it is actually only a shadow of its former self.

On this basis it would be fair to assume that the world's oceans may have once held ten times as many fish as they do today, a sobering thought which makes a mockery of the so-called 'sustainable' industrial scale commercial fisheries.

And this situation is not without precedent. Commercial whaling focused initially on the largest species, the blue whale, but switched to progressively smaller less commercially valuable species - Fin, Sei and then Minke whales - as each stock of the larger species, in turn, was pushed towards extinction. The blue whale was officially protected in 1966 but has never recovered from this slaughter and has stabilised at around five to ten percent of pristine numbers. In 1982 the IWC (International Whaling Commission) applied a moratorium to all commercial whaling.

International cooperation has effectively produced wide-ranging proposals and solutions to combat climate change and to a lesser degree commercial whaling and the same is now needed for the worldwide fishing industry.

Two-thirds of the Earth is fast becoming a biological desert and if the destruction of our marine ecosystems is to be halted, and ultimately reversed, bold, systematic, and effective measures are needed now.

An Intergovernmental Panel on Marine Exploitation, if backed up by proper, exhaustive fisheries science, may galvanise world opinion in a similar way that the IPCC has done for climate change.


Written for Hii Dunia by The Blue Planet Society

The Arrest of Karadzic - What Does it Mean and to Who?

Radovan Karadzic, 63, was accosted on a Belgrade bus on an otherwise mundane Monday, July 21st. This principal architect of the war in Bosnia and coordinator of the Srebrenica massacre (killing 8000 muslim men in 5 days in 1995), had been in hiding for thirteen years. During this time he had written a play from an unknown hiding place. Entitled “Situation”, it mocked the west’s attempts to capture him. Today, arrested and uncovered, Karadzic’s play, set in Belgrade, is laughably anachronistic, one scene too short. The world has watched the bearded and devout-looking Dr. Karadzic’s unmasking (and unmaking) with no less incredulity than that of a child seeing a Scooby Doo villain unveiled in a fantastical cartoon. But this is not the end of a cartoon, but a hunt for a war criminal accused - on 15 counts - of genocide and crimes against humanity. The many guises of Dr. Karadzic - playwright, poet, psychologist, one-time sports psychiatrist - were intriguing even before the war of 1992-1995. Yet surpassing all this we now learn that he lived in Belgrade as ‘Dragan Dabic’, working as an alternative therapist, spiritualist lecturer and columnist for the magazine ‘Healthy Life’. For the latter, he wrote on themes such as “peace of mind” - ironic for one of the world’s most wanted men, whose actions destroyed the peace of mind of many. Now, as the world digests news of this tale, we should consider whether any sustainable and substantial “peace of mind” can be guaranteed by these events, and for who? What does Karadzic’s arrest mean for Serbia, for BiH, for international law and the European Union (E.U)?

Karadzic’s arrest certainly suggests the dawn of a new political landscape in the notoriously proud and isolationist Serbia. The fact that the arrest occurred only days after pro-western President Boris Tadic triumphed in a crucial election suggests that a line may be being drawn under nationalist sentiments, or at least the mechanisms and power behind these. Following his victory, Tadic reformed Serbia’s security service, ousting its head (loyal to nationalist Prime Minister Kostunica) and installing a pro-western, pro-active candidate. This shift seems to have accelerated moves to arrest Karadzic, suggesting that though intelligence on his whereabouts may have long existed, the political will to act on such intelligence, so crucially needed, only recently materialised.

The move to arrest the war criminal was exceptionally well-timed, occurring as European Union members are seen to be developing what Misha Glenny calls “enlargement fatigue”. Following Karadzic’s unveiling, Serbia has moved closer to E. U membership rather than to nationalist regression, taking what many deem as a wise step after lingering for so long at a political crossroads. As for what the arrest means for international institutions, many suggest it will install fresh wind in the sails of the international justice system. The timing of Karadzic’s arrest means that he can be prosecuted by the international criminal tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) before it closes in 2010, though Karadzic has for now vowed to fight extradition. In addition, Serbia’s bold move to arrest Karadzic (who some in the country still deem a ‘hero) so soon after the ‘loss’ of Kosovo, has been hailed by some as a reason to uphold the validity of the E.U. Indeed, it appears true that the lure of membership to the E.U and its many trade benefits can subtly coerce delinquent states into good behaviour in return for a metaphorical membership queue-jump. Nonetheless, though recent media coverage has framed this event in terms of it bringing “justice” to BiH, it is important to raise concern over the fact that Serbia’s gold-star actions appear largely economically motivated. This is of course understandable and pragmatic, but meanwhile for BiH, prospects for genuine ‘justice’ and ‘healing’, remain limited.

What does Karadzic’s arrest really mean for BiH? Paddy Ashdown, the former High Commissioner of the divided country, believes this “at last brings the prospect of justice to Bosnia”. Perhaps he is being too optimistic, too soon. After all, Haris Silajdzic, the Bosnian president, has remarked that “for justice to be complete we must erase the consequences” of the war. This remains central as the international community celebrates Karadzic’s capture. For, though Serbia may well deserve the reward of a turbo-boost on its path to E.U entry, and “prospects” for justice may unfold, BiH remains troubled. There is over 30% unemployment, a perceived culture of criminal impunity, many refugees have not returned home and over 10,000 bodies remain missing. “Justice” in the abstract sense may not be enough for BiH, haunted not only by ghosts of war but surrounded by physical reminders of its destruction. On top of this, BiH lags far behind Serbia and Croatia in terms of its prospects for EU entry. Indeed, even if BiH became an EU member, the economic benefits would flow into the whole territory, including the ‘Serb Republic’ (R.S) which occupies 49% of what was once a united Bosnia and was created by 1995’s Dayton Accords (which ended war but consolidated territorial gains made by Serbs). Since the R.S was conjured in part by Karadzic himself, his wartime vision will remain maintained, despite his capture and detention, as Adam Le Bor observes.

So, though Monday’s events warrant a deserved pat on the back for Serbia’s new government and give a much-needed rejuvenation to the validity of the E.U and the international justice system, a thought should remain for BiH. The very ‘peace of mind’, of which Karadzic himself wrote, is still a distant prize for many of his victims. In the meantime, his comment that “Serbs always have the last bullet” appears true. As Serbia heads towards the E.U, BiH sadly stagnates. Though Karadzic’s arrest has caused relief in BiH, Serbia will most probably be the ultimate benefactor in terms of material benefits.


Written for Hii Dunia by Alice Bloch


Links & Resources:

Times Online - 'Europe's powder keg could at last be defused'

Development Army?

In a speech given on Thursday evening in London the joint head of the British armed forces General Sir Richard Dannatt openly proposed what many in NGO’s have muted for some time that the role of the Armed forces should extend to Development support tasks. He called for the creation of ‘Stabilisation Specialists’ units within the military.

Richard Dannatt also stated that in certain circumstances he can see the British armed forces under the command of the British Government department for International Development (DfID) or the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He said in his speech that the armed forces should deliver “civil as well as military effects within areas as diverse as governance, town administration, finance and banking, law and order and sanitation”.

He went on to suggest that; "an officer spending a tour with indigenous forces, followed perhaps by an attachment to the Department for International Development overseas, or a local council at home or a police force in Africa or elsewhere."

Certainly the lessons that the military have been forced to learn in Iraq and especially Afghanistan point to the importance of Development work in bringing stability and prosperity to areas that have been vastly affected by war and resulting civil upheaval. If branches of the military were to fall under the command of NGO or relevant Government departments such as DiFD or the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as suggested by Gen. Dannatt, post conflict situations could well be resolved more satisfactory than using purely military understanding, as is done at present.

If the scale were to be increased and this idea taken up by the US military for example the effect would likewise be amplified.

Present problems of poor relations with large proportions of the population in rural Afghanistan for example could be eased. Large numbers of civilian casualties have been caused by US bombing and as a result riots have broken out at checkpoints against the international military presence in that country. These situations may not have arisen if a stronger emphasis was put on coordinated military and development work from the outset of the West’s involvement in Afghanistan.

Similar problems plagued US and British troops for years after the invasion of Iraq, as development of that country was very slow to take place and it had become clear that the necessary plans had not been drawn up for development of Iraq prior to the invasion.

Several problems remain, not least the effectiveness of Development work at present in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Billions have been spent in both places and much of the funds are often misappropriated. Whether the military’s involvement in the future will make those handling such funds more accountable remains to be seen.

Secondly many in the Development sector opposed both the invasion of Afghanistan and then later the attack on Iraq. Their willingness to be involved and associated with any future operations may be doubtful and therefore may throw into jeopardy any possible future involvement with the Military.

General Dannatt’s speech may embolden those who believe in ‘Liberal interventionism’ as championed by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. It may be that this method, usually associated with intervention by one or more country in the affairs of another may well in the end only sit well with a supra national organisation such as the United Nations. Seen as being above narrow national interests, the Development sector may prove to be more of a natural bedfellow with UN Blue Berets’ than with any one nations’ military.


Links & Resources:

Al Jazeera - Article highlighting calls for increased Aid to Afghanisatn by NGO's

Open Democracy - Article on the 'Blair doctrine' of Liberal Interventionism

Times Online - 'Sir Richard Dannatt, Army chief, calls for soldiers to learn nation-building'


Picture Credit: Capt Dave Muralt - Canadian Military

Links & Resources - July 2008

This is Africa (TIA) - The detailed and compelling diary of Bethany, an American NGO worker living and working in Africa. Her accounts which are almost always personal, offer an honest insight into the work, cultures and complexities of her livelihood and are complimented by great photography. Few sites give as detailed accounts of what it is like for women working in the NGO sector in Africa today.

Louder than Swahili - Continuing with Women in Development work, this awarding winning site is by Pernille a Danish NGO worker based in Dar Es Salam, Tanzania. Again it is full of valuable personal insights as well as great photography full of the colours you would expect to see from East Africa.

Relief Web - Alarming news last month from Northern Kenya where renewed fighting in Somalia has caused thousands more to flee to the camps at Dadaab. According to the site;

"The U.N. says 4,000 Somalis a month are crossing the long border, swelling Dadaab's total by 20,000 this year to 200,000". Reuters

This site last year carried exclusive pictures from Dadaab in Kenya where the camps have slowly taken on permanent status as a sad testament to the long lasting crisis in Somalia.

More For Less

Hii Dunia presents ‘More for Less’, a short film by Sonal Sachdeva.

The film is story of two men called Martin and Alf who have been living over the past few years from the excessive waste generated by other people. In a way they have chosen to go against the societal norm of having steady, paid jobs and yet survive comfortably by not participating in the process of earning money and adding to the burden of existing over-consumption.

As they put it 'being content to live off less'.

What do they do then?

Martin and Alfred live in a old camper van which they bought two years ago from travelling gypsies and completely refurbished it.

As a result of their lifestyle change they have more time to give back into society through free,voluntary work,distributing helpful literature which they print themselves.And inspiring people to change their habits on over consumption our society.

They have taken this hard stand of living on just what you need to the next level. By walking around London for 7 days. With the strong conviction that by helping and serving people and not worrying about where their next meal comes from ,one truly begins to live.

So what motivates these two to opt out of a way of living that we all are desperately aspiring to? To climb out of the wagon of riches and fame? And what kind of a beliefs would inspire them to do something like that?

This film takes a closer look at their world and the way they choose to live.
That they can still survive very well without joining in the struggle to grab higher incomes, bigger homes and grander lifestyle by putting their faith in a higher power and making others aware that alternate choices are within one's reach.

Spirituality and Food Waste?
An accompaning article by Sonal Sachdeva

Aren't we all worried about the 10 tonnes of food that we waste in Britain every year? The average household throws out £420 of good food a year. An average family with children is worse at £610 - money which could have helped pay other household bills. Anyone in their right mind would think that we are surely and truely at crisis point. If we continue with our alarming rate of consumption and consequently chucking away commodities be it food, clothing, electronics our survival on this planet is at stake! So how have we got to this point? And more importantly what is the way forward?

To throw some light on how people of different ages deal with this issue , there is an incidence that comes to my mind.

About a month ago I was at a workshop for 'how to produce your films independently' where there were people of all with ages.

What was interesting was the entire morning was spent on analyzing the effects of climate change and the importance of making films which instigate a change in the world. Needless to say we all agreed that we need to consume less, reduce plastic etc.

Then around late noon we all split up for lunch and came back getting our own 'takeaways' . The lady who was sitting next to me about the age of 60 said ' Oh you know we are from the world war generation so we know what skimping and saving on food is like and are quite comfortable with the whole idea of it.' Then she pointed out how every single person who were 'younger' than her had gone out and walked in with a plastic bag to carry their little lunch which she said could well have been without. And added that if I observed some of them they would eat no more than half or three quarters of their lunch and bin the rest. I must admit I was amazed to see the truth in that!

Then she went on to explain (or more like complain) how the young people of today are ‘all talk’ and ‘no action’, and how one's values have to be tested and experienced in order to make a change that comes from the heart. She said one has to actually go through 'deprivation' in its worst form or have certain set of values and awareness drilled into you from very young to respect how and what we consume. The youth of today have no idea of the value of saving. She then cited examples of how on her street where she lives the most avid recyclers are from her age group.

Not taking more than what you need is indeed a very spiritual concept and stems from a deep respect for one's environment. So what will it take to make a significant change in the direction of not creating excess waste? Do we reach the tipping point for all of us to act? If that is what it would take to learn then its very sad state of affairs. Until then there is hope perhaps?


Links & Resources:

Freegan.org.uk - Community information pages for UK 'Freegans'

Love Food Hate Waste - UK Government sponsored campaign aimed at reducing household food waste

Comment: Oceans in Crisis

One of the long-established ecological principles is that large animals are less abundant than smaller ones. There are fewer elephants than antelope, which are less numerous than rabbits. Because larger animals need more resources, an ecosystem can support fewer of them.

The one glaring exception to this principle is us: Homo sapiens. There are 6.7 billion humans on earth. No other large animal gets close to us as a species. For example, our nearest relatives the great apes, gorillas, orang-utans and chimpanzees, number fewer than 350,000.

Part of our success as a species can be attributed to our ability to domesticate animals and plants. Farming as we now call it, has enabled us to feed a population that would be impossible to sustain from wild resources alone. Crops and livestock, genetically modified over millennia for food, have led to a situation where the global population of humans can now double every 40 years or so.

The domestication of land animals may have also inadvertently saved the remaining wild populations from being hunted to extinction, a situation that unfortunately does not apply across the board. The exploitation of wild marine animals continues unabated, mostly without the safety-valve of large scale farming to reduce pressure on the populations.

Perhaps because of the vast and hostile environment in which they inhabit marine animals have, until recently, shown remarkable resilience to over 100 years of industrial scale exploitation. But there are now numerous unmistakeable indicators that this is no longer the case.

Ninety percent of all commercial fish species are in dire trouble. Fished well beyond sustainable limits for decades some experts predict that 'wild seafood', as such, will cease to exist by 2050.

Fish and jellyfish essentially compete for similar nutrient resources and with the fish gone the jellyfish thrive. Jellyfish populations have exploded all across the world, overtaking fish in terms of total biomass in many areas.

There have been an increasing number of reports where whales, porpoises, seals and seabirds have been found starving to death through lack of enough fish to eat and Namibia are culling 86,000 Cape fur seals this year to protect their overexploited and dwindling fish stocks.

In the Mediterranean sharks have been declared 'functionally extinct' and the bluefin tuna is expected to join them any day now. Sharks across the globe are being cruelly slaughtered in their millions to satisfy the fin soup market - hardly an essential ingredient to human survival.

Longlining is decimating the billfish and pelagic bird populations. The iconic marlin, sailfish and swordfish are now in grave danger of disappearing off the face of the earth forever and the accidental bycatch of pelagic seabirds and turtles, such as the albatross and hawksbill, is reducing populations so quickly that there is virtually no hope of their breeding quickly enough to maintain healthy populations.

Not satisfied with taking all the fish, pelagic fishing boats are now converting to krill fishing to satisfy the increasing demand for fish-oil and fish-meal. Venturing deep into Antarctic waters to harvest what has recently been described as 'pink gold'. Krill are a 'keystone' species whose exploitation we may later refer to as the 'straw that broke the camels back'.

The evidence of destruction is there for all but the blindest to see, and yet the exploitation goes on unabated and largely unregulated. Something is very seriously wrong with our oceans and if these tell tale signs are continually ignored, that damage may well become irreparable.


Written for Hii Dunia by www.blueplanetsociety.org

The Other Iraq

"Have you seen the other Iraq?", the posters ask. "It's spectacular. It's peaceful. It's joyful", they continue, concluding "Fewer than 200 US troops are stationed here". The posters - aimed at encouraging investment - advertise Iraqi Kurdistan, the semi-autonomous district in Northern Iraq which is best recovering from the horrific days of Saddam Hussein's rule and the tumultuous US-led invasion of 2003.

It may come as some surprise to observers in the West that much of Northern Iraq is now relatively peaceful. And even the clued-up are likely to be surprised that the ministry of tourism in Kurdistan employs 417 people. The area is modernising fast, hoping to draw back the Kurds who fled under Saddam, as well as Arabs from the Gulf attracted by the lush mountains and a relaxed attitude towards alcohol.

Naz City, a burgeoning development outside the capital of Erbil, is a new complex of 14 high-rise apartment towers which are designed with Western-style comfort in mind. Seven ministers in the Kurdish regional government, more than 100 assembly members and at least 50 academics have recently secured flats there. This high-profile, expensive project is one of several springing up in the region: this month the Kurdish prime minister signed a deal with the United Arab Emirates said to be worth $4.5 billion to build a hotel, shops and resort complex in Erbil. One projected shopping mall is rumoured to be planning for 6,000 shops.

Clearly Kurdistan is a very different part of the world to Baghdad. So much so, in fact, that many in Iraq (and abroad - particularly Turkey) are fearful that the region is preparing for independence. It's something the Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, denies, saying:

"We just want to rebuild our region as part of Iraq, that's it. We are not a threat to anybody. We want to be a factor of stability"

A rational look suggests that Iraqi Kurdistan has higher ambitions. The government has recently awarded oil contracts to foreign investers such as America's Hunt oil, Austria's OMV, and Russia's TNK-BP, and have bypassed the national government in the process. Major plans are afoot to start exploiting the region's gas reserves, with a $20 billion project currently being negotiated.

In addition, "the KRG has all the trappings of an independent state -- its own flag, its own army, its own border patrol, its own national anthem, its own education system, even its own stamp inked into the passports of visitors".

Despite the new prosperity, there are real grounds for caution - Iraq is not impressed at the manouverings of the region, and there are concerns that the two main parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union for Kurdistan (PUK) have stakes in almost every project. Many fear that corruption is rife.

More worryingly, the claims of security may be premature; in May two bombs shattered the peace - one outside the regional government's Interior Ministry which killed 15 people and wounded more than 100, and one in the office of Barzani's KDP, which left 30 dead and injured 50.

Nevertheless, the region is functioning and expanding, and certainly by far the safest territory in Iraq. Although it's possible that its status may cause problems for the country in the future, it stands as a model of what is still possible; a peaceful Iraq in the heart of the Middle East.

Written for Hii Dunia by Jonathan Shipley, of Assistant Blog

In Pictures: Children's Map of Africa

A few years ago I was given a framed picture of a Children's map of Africa made by South African educationalist Margaret Whiting Spilhaus. Originally it had been a scroll intended to be hung and its condition had been deteriorating.

It had originally belonged to my Grandparents who had received it as a gift from a long term South African lodger and who had become very good friends with both them and my Dad. It's history before that I am unsure of.



The map is a joy. It has so much colour and detail and has been a prized possession of mine since receiving it. As far as I have been able to find out the map was produced in the 1920's (this is a guess based on a similar map of Australia made by Margaret Whiting Spilhaus in 1927) and was printed and produced by The Cape Times. Other than that I know very little about it.



As an educational tool (as was intended) though it is highly questionable, even given the time it was made. It has a Key denoting the locations of precious minerals and resources such as Ivory, Coca, Gold and Copper and these are marked at the exclusion of all else, including many important place names. As wonderful as the map is to look at, the 'tone' is clearly one of exploitation and profiteering.



At the top centre of the map are the flags of the major European colonial powers and also of the United States placing this map firmly in the context as clearly desired by its author.



Around both the top and bottom of the map is a potted history of the Continent, all of which it has to be said is from the perspective of exploration and colonisation by Europeans. Examples of the single frame drawings are shown above and below.



The following passage appears on the reverse;

The Purpose of the Children's Map of Africa

by Margaret Whiting Spilhaus

Modern educationalists recognise the interrelation of the different branches of learning, and in particular have done much of late to develop the relations between Geography and History. "The land we live in" is not a mere matter of climatic conditions, place names and configuration of land. Place names are the history of discoverers' and builders'. Climate is a dull fact until we discover its influence upon the lives of men; upon their industry; upon vegetation, which is their food and environment. It is also a physiological truth that wherever we sound the human note we arouse the interest of the child, and interest means the retention of the lesson in memory, and therefore work of real educative value.

This new map is designed to compliment the ordinary class map. It is not intended to replace the geographers work. An attempt to combine in so small a compass a mass of geographical detail with the details of human interest would result in confusion. The attempt is to give the child an insight of the life of the country and to inspire him with its possibilities of development and adventure.

Our children in Africa have a special heritage, and a special responsibility. Africa is a mine of treasure. The romance of its magnificent possibilities from north to south progressively unfolds to the student, and he discovers with ever increasing passion that the Golden Age is not yet passed. There comes a day when he will stand before a new revelation.

"Silent, upon a peak in Darien"

The striking image (below) of a white child looking out over the continent next to a crest bearing the words "Behold Child Your Inheritance".



Should anyone have any further information on the 'Children's Map of Africa' or on Margaret Whiting Spilhaus, please do leave a comment or get in touch via Hii Dunia's email address. I would be very interested to hear from you.


Dan


Links & Resources:

The Cape Times - Leading South African paper and original producers of Children's Map of Africa

George Galzer Gallery - Pictures of a similar map made by Margaret Whiting Spilhaus, this time of Australia

University of Cape Town - Interesting list of Manuscripts by Margaret Whiting Spilhaus and left to the University including a possible mention of the Children's map of Africa

Comment: North Sea Sandeel Fishery: An Industry of Destruction

Most people accept that the North Sea has been subjected to the most appalling overfishing. Whitefish stocks, such as cod and haddock, have collapsed and the mackerel and herring fisheries are all but commercially extinct.

Under normal circumstances the removal of whole rafts of large predatory fish would allow room for species such as sandeel, the favoured prey species of these fish, to increase their numbers dramatically, but this is not the case.

And why is this? Well, the sandeel fishery has now become by far the biggest single-species fishery in the North Sea, with landings accounting for one-third of all fish landed. The vast majority of this catch is landed and processed in Denmark. Such fundamental changes in the fabric of the marine ecosystem are what ecologists refer to as 'fishing down the food web'.

Since 1977, total yearly North Sea sandeel catches have fluctuated around 600,000-800,000 tonnes, but since 2003 catches have crashed dramatically to between 200,000-300,000 tonnes. The collapse of the fishery was particularly severe in the Norwegian economical zone with a 95% reduction in landings in 2005.

You will not have eaten a sandeel knowingly (unwittingly perhaps as a fish-oil supplement), so what exactly are sandeels used for? The sandeel is an exceptionally oily fish and is harvested for the rapidly expanding fish-oil and fish-meal industries and used in everything from food for farmed salmon to animal feed and health supplements. At one stage sandeels were even used to fuel Danish power stations. And demand is set to increase.

Recent forecasts by the FAO (UN Food & Agriculture Organisation) indicate that aquaculture and its insatiable appetite for fish-oil, will dominate world fish supplies by 2030, fuelling pressure for a high level of industrial sandeel fishing in the North Sea. It takes, for example, 4kg of wild caught sandeel to produce 1kg of farmed salmon.

This does not bode well for the marine species in the North Sea that depend on sandeels for food. Many scientists and ecologists believe that the recent disastrous breeding seasons for many of Europe's seabird colonies can be directly linked to the industrial fishing of sandeels in the North Sea.

As early as 1997, two respected Danish fisheries scientists - Henrik Gislason and Eskild Kirkegaard - were highly critical of the North Sea sandeel fishery, and they concluded that "it cannot be ruled out that (sandeel) fishing could adversely effect (sic) the breeding success of the birds. It would therefore be precautionary to close areas to fishing until more is known about sandeel stock structure and interactions between sandeels and seabirds".

And a report published by the International Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES) suggests that "the amount of industrial fish species taken by fishermen in the North Sea appears to leave little for seabirds and marine mammals".

It would not be unreasonable then to suggest that the overfishing of sandeel stocks may represent the single greatest threat to seabirds in the North Sea, especially in the breeding season when seabirds forage close to their colonies.

And it is not only the seabirds that are suffering. Studies into the diet of common dolphins, grey seals and harbour porpoises in Scottish waters have shown that they feed mainly on sandeels in the spring and early summer. The affects on these species if they cannot find sandeels to eat at this time of year can be disastrous. For example, spring is a critical time for dolphins and porpoises in terms of energy requirements. Some of the lowest sea temperatures occur in the North Sea in March, putting a great strain on dolphins and porpoises as they require the thickest blubber layer to limit heat loss at this time. In addition, young animals are weaned and become independent foragers in spring, placing them at the mercy of changes in sandeel availability.

Ironically the long-term overfishing of sandeels in the North Sea may also inhibit a return to the former healthy status of predatory fish stocks such as cod and haddock, as these stocks can only recover if there are sufficient prey fish for them to feed upon. This is what ecologists refer to as a 'negative feedback loop', a vicious circle of exploitation that renders an ecosystem incapable of a recovery to anywhere near its former productivity.

It may not yet be too late however, but our attitudes and tolerance to an industry that has got perilously close to destroying the very fabric of the North Sea must change dramatically. No longer can we view the commercial fishing industry with the romantic notion of hard working fishermen risking everything to put fish on our plates. It must now be seen for what it is, a ruthless, efficient, hi-tech industry of destruction, that is prepared to wipe out whole species for profit with almost no long-term consideration for the health of the marine environment.


Written for Hii Dunia by www.blueplanetsociety.org