European Rivers Being Sold Downstream
To mark World Water Day - 22 March 2012, the EEB has published a review of European water protection.
Managing our water resources from space
Today is World Water Day, and satellite observations are indispensible for monitoring our water resources. ESA’s TIGER initiative is supporting Africa in monitoring precious water assets by exploiting satellite information.
The demand for water is growing inexorably. Access to water is vital – not only for drinking, but also for agriculture, energy and sanitation.
In certain regions of the world, water scarcity is caused by population growth, climate conditions and increasing climate variability, economic development or urbanisation.
At the sixth World Water Forum held last week in Marseille, France, experts from over 170 countries met to discuss solutions for sustainable water management.
Satellite observations of our planet were widely acknowledged as an indispensable tool for collecting information on available water resources. This is especially true for areas like cross-boundary river basins, such as the Nile basin and its 11 countries.
Responding to this need for information on water, ESA’s TIGER initiative is running projects and building capacity to use space technology for managing water resources in direct partnership with several African and international organisations, such as the African Ministers’ Council on Water, UNESCO-IHP, African Water Facility, UN-ECA and the Canadian Space Agency.
At last week’s World Water Forum, TIGER’s recent Aquifer project was highlighted as a major success story.
Aquifer was developed in collaboration with the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) to use satellites for managing cross-boundary groundwater aquifers, which are the main source of freshwater in the region.
The results led to the African Water Facility of the African Development Bank investing in the technology, culminating in the OSS being selected as the winner of the King Hassan II Great World Water Prize.
“The European Space Agency has continuously supported OSS with the integration of Earth observation in our programmes on trans-boundary groundwater aquifers through the TIGER initiative,” said Chedli Fezzani, Executive Secretary of the OSS.
“I personally thank ESA for this support and associate ESA to the distinction of the King Hassan II Great World Water Price to OSS.”
The newest TIGER activity, TIGER-NET, was also launched at the Forum, chaired by the Africa Ministers’ Council on Water.
This project is developing Earth observation solutions for integrated water resource management to support numerous African water authorities: Nile Basin Initiative, Lake Chad Basin Commission, Volta Basin Authority, Department of Water Affairs South Africa and the Namibian Ministry of Water.
A cost-effective water observation and information system exploiting satellite data will be installed in each of the selected water authorities to monitor, assess and take inventory of water resources in their river basins.
Successful and sustainable development of Earth observation applications requires dedicated capacity building and training of African scientists and water authorities to exploit current and future satellite observations such as the upcoming Sentinel missions.
Recent and planned activities of the TIGER Capacity Building Facility – where African researchers are trained in exploiting satellite data – were also presented at the World Water Forum.
“UNESCO’s close cooperation with the TIGER initiative stimulates water researchers to exploit spaceborne remote sensing technology in UNESCO’s priority region: Africa,” says Siegfried Demuth, Chief of Hydrological System and Global Change Section at UNESCO.
Scenarios and Modeling: Contributions to solutions in water management?
Youth acts for water at the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille
Alliance for Water Stewardship releases draft standard for public comment
Policy Seminar “Achieving solutions for water scarcity and drought” organised by STREAM project at the World Water Forum, Marseille
New Handbook for Integrated Water Resources Management in the Basins of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Aquifers
This publication was launched at the 6thWorld Water Forum in Marseille by the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), the Global Water Partnership (GWP), UNECE, UNESCO, GEF, EVREN and AFD who worked together to produce it.
GWP Hosts UNFCCC Round Table
During COP 17, the UNFCCC issued a decision requesting the UNFCCC's Secretariat to organise a Technical Workshop on water and climate change adaptation before COP 18 (December 2012).
DG SANCO caves in to farmers and industry lobby request to allow the spread of highly dangerous pest
6th World Water Forum
References
6th World Water Forum
6th World Water Forum
Short-sighted Poland hampers Europe’s climate ambitions
Following the recent Environment Council meeting the EEB commented on the decision of Poland to block ambitious climate targets.
World Water Forum: AWS Regional Initiative meets in Marseille
Expert Reports Released: Setting the Baseline for Measuring the Baltic Marine Environment
Carbon capture and storage could also impact air pollution
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves capturing carbon dioxide released by power stations and other industrial sources, and burying it deep underground. But in addition to keeping an important greenhouse gas (GHG) out of the atmosphere, this technology will lead to benefits and trade-offs for air pollution. A new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) describes the effects that CCS may have on emissions of some key air pollutants.
European transport sector must be ambitious to meet targets
Emissions of many pollutants from transport fell in 2009. But this reduction may only be a temporary effect of the economic downturn, according to the latest annual report on transport emissions from the European Environment Agency (EEA). The Transport and Environment Reporting Mechanism (TERM) explores the environmental impact of transport. For the first time, the report considers a comprehensive set of quantitative targets proposed by the European Commission’s 2011 roadmap on transport.
Ozone and particulates most serious air quality problems in Europe
Air quality in Europe has improved between 1990 and 2009, as emissions of most pollutants have fallen, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). But there is still a lot of room for improvement, as many EU countries are expected to exceed the emissions ceilings in 2010 for at least one pollutant. In addition, concentration levels of ground-level ozone and particulate matter have remained stable over recent years despite efforts to improve air quality.
Cutting noise with quiet asphalt and traffic lane management
Noise pollution affects many Europeans, and for some, it is not only a nuisance - it can also trigger serious disease. Tuesday evening, at a prestigious ceremony in London, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Noise Abatement Society (NAS) presented the European Soundscape Award for the first time to raise awareness and recognise initiatives that help reduce noise levels. The winner was a Dutch project which was commended for its integrated traffic noise reduction scheme.
