Baraza

Category: Africa, Trade | Date: Mar 26 2009 | By: admin

When Nimu and Volker reported a dugong caught in a net at the south coast of Kenya, we thought it was a one off occurance. But now the true damage caused by nets has been revealed in this shocking story about how US aid is destroying marine life in Kenya has gone totally viral on the internet

“In 2003, USAID began a four-year project worth $575,000 to improve the lives of coastal communities. It worked on a project with a Kenyan government agency that included providing freezers for the fishermen to store their catch, along with boats and nets.

But the plastic nets are destroying the very ecosystems that the fishermen depend on and the tourists come to see, said Daniel Floren, who runs a local diving school.

Officials, experts and even the fishermen themselves acknowledge the nets are killing wildlife and coral.

“Without the reefs, there will be no diving. If we have nothing to show, I’ll have to shut up shop,” Floren said.

The aim of the U.S. project was to help lift local people out of poverty, said Robert Buzzard, a USAID official involved in the initiative. But there were no studies to show how the kind of equipment supplied might affect the marine life”.

I find this story highly disturbing because US aid disown responsibility for conducting an environmental impact assessment before issuing out these nets. I hope that the relevant government authorities take swift action

If you would like to help us save Kenya’s marine life, support the Whale Shark project.

Tags: dugong, fishing, Kenya, marine, Mombasa, Turtles, whale sharks, wildlifedirect

One response so far

Category: Climate change | Date: Mar 23 2009 | By: admin

While Tata Motors today rolls out the first of the worlds cheapest car, the Nano, at $1,980 a piece, it will enable poorer citizens in developing countries to move to four wheels for the first time. It will be a  monumental celebration of Indian leadership in innovation- particularly at a time when many Western car manufacturers are facing economic crises

You’ll agree with me, it’s an adorable little car. But the celebration may be dampened if not completely drenched by environmentalists who are crying murder.

The release of Tata Nano has been hyped up so much that it is probably the most anticipated car in world history, after all, it’s the first time in history, the worlds poor will be able to afford a car.

Millions of Indians will fulfil their dreams of car ownership, and most importantly, safe transportation which indeed was one of the main motivations of Tata Motors Chairman Rtan Tata, for making this new safe family car.

But despite Tata Nano being India’s pride and joy in technology and innovation, criticism and controversies abounds about the environmental and social impacts of this car. Greenpeace have released a video criticizing Tata for it’s impacts on turtles.

Because of it’s afordability, this cheap car will lead to a reliance on cars and not mass transport. This will lead to more cars on the road and therefore more pollution and congestion in a nation that is already suffering severely from both. One of India’s most prominent scientists, Sunita Narain of the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), has called for the Tata Nano to be “taxed like crazy”. Another prominent environmentalist, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, who chairs the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (which won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, with Al Gore) claims that he is “having nightmares” about the Tata Nano.

American scientists are also outspoken. “This car promises to be an environmental disaster of substantial proportions,” says Daniel Esty, an environmental expert at Yale.

Tata however responds that the Tata Nano will get about 20 kilometers per liter of gasoline (50 miles per gallon) and will meet stringent European emissions standards that have yet to be adopted in India - check out this table. If this is true, then the Nano will pollute less than the two-wheelers it is intended to replace and get roughly the same gas mileage as the Maruti models. The Nano’s catalytic converter will reduce most pollutants by about 80 percent. Environmentalists predict that Indians will not maintain their cars in tip top shape and therfore the catalytic convertors will fail. When this happens, emmissions of pollutants could shoot up fivefold.  Note that exhaust emissions standards regulate the particles that make up smog, not emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide which the EU does not currently regulate.

When it comes to carbon the story is worse. CO₂ escapes catalytic converters completely. Since the Nano will replace motor scooters and motorbikes, which get about 54 kilometers to the liter, much more fuel will be burned and therefore increasing carbon emissions. According to Daniel Sperling, director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis, “Every new purchase of this vehicle is increasing fuel use per passenger by a factor of two to seven, depending on how many people are in the car,” says Sperling. That doesn’t even account for a decline in fuel efficiency if the cars are not maintained well.

These doomsday predictions bother me deeply. I don’t think that any of us really have the moral standing to criticize Indians for wanting safe family cars, particularly if the vehicles meet the highest Western emissions standards. Some observers feel that the environmental criticisms  smack of hypocrisy.

At the same time, the release of hundreds of thousands of these cars onto  Indian markets will undoubtably affect the climate change - nobody has done the projections yet on the scale of the impac but some environmentalists believe that the consequences will be far reaching if not disastrous.

I would love to consider the argument from both sides by asking you all a question. If you could, would you buy a Nano?

Tags: Climate change, global emissions, green peace, Nano, Tata, Turtles, wildlifedirect

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 19 2008 | By: baraza

Joy just sent me this story about baby turtles losing their way and ending up in a seaside restaurant. Luckily for them, turtles are not eaten in Italy and the stranded babies were released back into the sea. But this story serves as a reminder about how vulnerable these amazing animals are.

The problem caused by artificial lights has been  documented in Kenya where turtle conservation groups like the Lamu Marine Conservation are working night and day to save turtles.  Meanwhile the Born Free Foundation have also reported tagging turtles while Nimu from the whale sharks blog has sent out an appeal to save Chelonia, an Australian based turtle conservation organization.

If you love turtles  please contact these different blogs and tell them!

Tags: chelonia, Lamu Marine Conservation, Turtles, whale sharks, wildlifedirect

3 responses so far