Millenium Challenge Account The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) is a bilateral U.S. development assistance program. The MCA was designed to be different than other U.S. aid programs in six key ways. The first (FOCUS) is outlined below. The remaining five appear on its website. FOCUS: The objective of the MCA is to help support economic growth and poverty reduction in the poorest countries in the world. The program is not designed for humanitarian assistance, to help in post-conflict situations, to further security interests, or to reward political allies.
BBC News / Africa Heavy flooding has now affected some 350,000 people across West Africa, killing at least 32 in Ghana and Burkina Faso, UN officials say. More than 150,000 people in Burkina Faso have fled their homes, mainly in the capital Ouagadougou.
The UN Think Tank on Water United Nations University / International Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) Created by the UNU Governing Council in 1996 to strengthen water management capacity, particularly of developing countries, and to provide on-the-ground project support. UNU-INWEH’s mission is “to contribute, through capacity development and directed research, to efforts to resolve pressing global water problems that are of concern to the United Nations, its Member States and their Peoples”.
What is Groundwater & Why Should I Care About it? We don't often think about freshwater - either its origin or its availability. This USGS site will help answer a lot of questions and clear-up much of your uncertainty.
blogs
Desertification / Drought, Desertification & Poverty in the Drylands / Willem Romanus Jozef Van Cotthem This site is simply about desertification. In fact, it is the very first site that I used to begin the research for my documentary. Over the past two years, I have come to know the owner of this blog as well as many others who truly understand the environmental consequences of our behavior and the realities of ecosystems. Whether you are looking through archives or current postings, I think you will find this most informative.
articles/publications
Lessons From the Field - Boston Conservation / Sandra Postel for National Geographic It’s hardly in a water-short region, so it may come as a surprise that Boston, Massachusetts, stands out as one of the biggest success stories in urban conservation in the United States.
Just because a country is capable of sustaining agricultural production, does not mean it will be able to successfully feed its people or establish agriculture as an export. This paper outlines the challenges in Nigeria. It can also be a blueprint for many other developing countries. Agriculture is regarded in Nigeria as the major employer of Labour for its citizens. A significant number of Nigeria's citizens are engaged in one form of agricultural production or the other, be it crop, animal, fishery, etc., even though most of this productions are carried out at subsistence levels or rather low scale, it is mostly affected by inconsistent government policies on agriculture.
Climate Consensus: WSJ/Sept 03, 2009: Bjorn Lomborg's Recipe to Save the World. Spraying clouds with drops of seawater to help them reflect the sun's rays and keep global temperatures in check.
Tracking Millenium Challenge Funding / Burkina Faso In July 2005, Burkina Faso became the first country to sign a threshold program with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). The $12.9 million threshold program, aimed at improving the country’s failing girls’ primary school completion indicator, consisted of building 132 ‘girl-friendly’ schools in rural communities along with social mobilization campaigns. On the basis of an independent impact evaluation, the program was considered a great success, with positive effects on school enrollment and math and French test scores. The program did not, however, make a measurable difference in improving Burkina Faso’s girls’ primary school completion rate to a passing score. The MCC named Burkina Faso as eligible for a full compact in 2006. Burkina’s $480.9 million compact, focusing on agriculture, roads, land tenure, and girls’ education, was signed in July 2008 and should begin entry into force (EIF) in July 2009. Burkina is only the second country to transition from a MCC threshold program to compact implementation, but was the 17th MCC compact signed. Of course, with the recent flooding (as noted in another article linked below), it may be that a portion of those funds will be needed to rebuild severely damaged infrastructure.
Israel, Jordon: Finding New Water Supplies / Ancient Problem - More Controversy WashingtonPost: An acute water shortage has prompted Jordon and Israel to embark on audacious water-supply projects that supporters say will prevent an impending regional crisis but environmentalists have criticized as ill-advised attempts to rewire nature.
Emissions Linked to End of 2,000 Year Arctic Trend / Shifting Arctic Climate Patterns WashingtonPost/adapted from an article in Science: Human-generated greenhouse gas emissions have helped reverse a 2,000-year trend of cooling in the Arctic, prompting warmer average temperatures in the past decade that now rank higher than at any time since 1 B.C., according to a study published Thursday in the online version of the journal Science.
Nature Conservation Helps Fight Climate Change A single page press release from the Society for Conservation Biology offers a very succinct view on WHY it is in everyone's interest to be proactive in conservation efforts - however large or small.
Millenium Assessment / Desertification Synthesis / Ecosystems & Human Well-Being Desertification is a concept used to grasp the more acute forms of the degradation of land-based ecosystems and the consequences of the loss of their services. Drought is the silent killer - the natural catastrophe that is only too easily forgotten. Experience shows that awareness of the implications of desertification and drought must be expanded and that policy orientation must be backed by robust monitoring systems and related findings. The Desertification Synthesis, based on a sound summary of scientific evidence, states that desertification must imperatively be addressed to meet the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. Desertification must be fought at all levels, but this battle must ultimately be won at the local level. The following is a list of the eight Millenium Development Goals.
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Goal 5: Improve maternal health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
When Green Means More Green Rising energy costs may be good news for 'Clean Tech' firms and their Investors. This article from the Wharton School suggests that "the value of clean-tech firms isn't supported by factors that could disappear quickly. Rather, it's driven by forces -- high energy prices and global warming -- that could endure for decades."
Land Subsistence / Human-Induced Ground Collapse Groundwater is among a nation's most important natural resource. Land subsidence is a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth's surface owing to subsurface movement of earth materials. Subsidence is a global problem. Learn about how human behavior contributes to this global problem.
Land Subsistence from Groundwater Pumping Overdrafting of aquifers is the major cause of subsidence in the southwestern United States, and as groundwater pumping increases, land subsidence also will increase.
How 3-Regions are Coping with Aquifers & Rivers Running Dry Parts of the US/UK/Australia are experiencing peak water in rivers and aquifers. Even though the world is not running out of freshwater - the same amount exists today as existed for millions of years, the problems that are occurring in these 3 regions are just examples of what is occurring throughout many regions of the world.
videos
Picassa Photo Account of West African Floods in Ouagadougou Recent flooding in the West African country of Burkina Faso has brought nearly one-quarter on their annual rainfall in just a single storm series. When I dug wells there as a Peace Corps volunteer, it was during the worst drought of the century. It seems there is either too little rainfall or too much.
A Tuareg Tribe/Niger - Losing the Battle for Traditional Nomadic Living The Tuareg have lived throughout the Sahara Desert for thousands of years. They are believed to be descendants from the Biblical Canaanites. This small community in Niger is suffering both from land degradation and the government's search for mineral deposits. It is just one example in one location of the multi-dimensional threats posed by the many forms of exploitation.
Watch a 6-Year Video Synopsis of Climate Change in Europe You can see climate change in action (1997-2003) by viewing the vegetation and carbon consumption by photosynthesis. It clearly shows that the color green represents abundant plant life while the colors tan and white represent areas where the vegetation is sparse or non-existent.
UNEP Outlook on Global Desertification There are several United Nations agencies that focus, in some way, on the impact and effects of desertification around the world. The UN Environmental Proogrammes is one of those agencies.
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