MAP News Issue 406, Dec 24, 2016

Africa must lead if Trump rescinds US climate change commitments

SOUTH AFRICA – Scott Pruitt, United States president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the US Environmental Protection Agency, publicly questions the existence of climate change. He, and presumably Trump, opposes President Barack Obama’s environmental initiatives to limit greenhouse gases that cause global warming. US withdrawal from these agreements would imperil Africa. It is the region least responsible, most vulnerable and least able to afford the cost of adapting to global climate change. Southern Africa is already suffering the effects of global warming rates that are twice as high as the global average. If Trump forsakes US support for the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, endorsed by 193 members of the United Nations, as well as Obama’s bilateral climate agreement with China, the resultant rise in global warming and extreme weather events will wreak havoc throughout Africa. READ MORE 

ASIA

Bloomberg reports tainted Chinese shrimp reaching US tables

CHINA – A new Bloomberg Businessweek investigation has shed light on a process that is allowing Chinese shrimp producers to sneak antibiotic-tainted products into the United States via transshipment. Through the use of forged records and lax oversight in China, the United States, and third-party, pass-through countries, Chinese companies have managed to import tens of millions of dollars of shrimp into the United States, the article claims. The article details the business workings of a large Chinese company that typifies the process being used to bring Chinese shrimp into the U.S. under the guise of being a product of Malaysia. Through a lawsuit filed in Texas against its U.S. subsidiary American Fisheries, China’s Shanghai Fisheries was found to have shipped shrimp labeled as “Product of Malaysia” that tested positive for an antibiotic that was banned in the U.S. U.S. authorities then discovered that the shrimp was actually from China, not Malaysia. In April, following several similar discoveries, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an import alert allowing its district offices to detain and test shrimp and prawn imports from peninsular Malaysia. READ MORE 

Deficiencies in the audit of Kuliarchar Shrimp Farm conducted by Bureau Veritas
BANGLADESH – In June 2016, a shrimp farm in Bangladesh was audited to determine its compliance to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Shrimp Standard. Nijera Kori sent a team to monitor the audit, which was conducted by Bureau Veritas — Nijera Kori’s presence is mentioned in the draft report submitted by the auditors to ASC. Khushi Kabir, Coordinator with Nijera Kori says “Our criticism of the ASC Shrimp Standard is well documented. However, our principle concerns at this stage are not the deficiencies in the ASC Shrimp Standard, but the manner in which audits (to determine compliance to the standard) are being conducted.” The following are excerpts from Nijera Kori's report on the audit conducted at the shrimp farm with comments added after Bureau Veritas's draft report was published by ASC. READ MORE 

Symposium tackles mangroves for coastal defense

PHILIPPINES – The importance of mangroves as primary defense against the effects of typhoons and storm surges was emphasized yesterday during the symposium dubbed as Mangrove for Climate – Adaptive and Resilient Communities, attended by at least 200 participants in the Visayas. The symposium aims to encourage the planting of mangroves and get the participation of the different sectors. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Isabelo Montejo, in his speech, said when Super Typhoon Yolanda hit the country in 2013, it was very clear that there was a lack of natural barriers in the coastline like mangroves.“The communities were hugely devastated by storm surges sending five-meter high, tsunami-like waves. Many families were left homeless, sending thousands of people in complete disarray as evacuation centers were severely damaged,” Montejo said. READ MORE 

AMERICAS

Mangrove Restoration: Letting Mother Nature Do The Work

USA – The ecological importance of coastal mangrove forests is common knowledge today. The trees’ gnarled roots , submerged in saltwater for part of the day, make ideal underwater perches for barnacles, oysters, crabs and other marine organisms. These, in turn, make a plentiful feast for juvenile fish, as well as birds, reptiles and an abundance of other wildlife both above and below the water’s surface.However, this is a relatively new notion. “Mangroves prior to 1970 were generally considered to be mosquito-infested swamps that nobody needed really to worry about, and if you wanted to destroy them, that was okay,” says Robin Lewis, an ichthyologist-turned-wetland scientist who now restores mangroves around the world.  Unfortunately, a better understanding of mangroves’ importance hasn’t stopped their destruction. Nearly 14,000 square miles of mangrove forests were destroyed between 1980 and 2005, according to the United Nations, and the losses continue today. READ MORE 

Environmental Leaders Receive Champions of the Earth Award – UN's Top Environmental Prize
MEXICO – The President of Rwanda, Australian eco-innovator, Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy, Indian organizer of world's largest beach clean-up, Honduran indigenous activist Berta Cáceres, and veteran Mexican biologist all lauded as Champions of the Earth Award – UN's Top Environmental Prize. Six inspirational environmental leaders representing government, research and grassroots action received today the United Nations' highest environmental accolade, the Champions of the Earth award, during a global conference on biological diversity in Cancún, Mexico. The annual award recognizes outstanding figures from the public and private sectors and from civil society whose actions have had a significant positive impact on the environment. READ MORE

EUROPE

LONDON PICKET Of BRITISH MINERS Of DEVASTATIVE PHULBARI COAL PROJECT

U.K. – Bangladeshi protesters from Phulbari were joined by transnational climate activists in a picket of directors of Global Coal Management (GCM) Resources Plc, an AIM-listed British mining company who want to build a massive open cast coal mine by forcibly displacing 130,000 people in Phulbari, Bangladesh. During the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday 15 December in London a large group of protesters holding colourful banners and placards with powerful messages occupied the entrance of Aeronautical Society , an elite venue near Hyde Park Corner, where the AGM of GCM Resources was held.Anti-coal protesters outside and inside the AGM called to shut down GCM Resources because the company does not have a valid license for business with Bangladesh but they are selling shares in London and committing abuse and human rights violation of farmers and local businessmen in Phulbari. READ MORE 

WORLD

A Call for Global Day of Protest for the Sundarbans January 7, 2017

Scrap Rampal Power Plant, Save the World’s Largest Mangrove Forest- The Sundarbans
BANGLADESH – The largest single tract mangrove forest, extraordinarily rich in biodiversity, a Ramsar Site, the UNESCO-declared World Heritage site is now in grave danger of losing its unique biodiversity and extra-ordinary eco-system for the planned coal fired power plant along with many other commercial projects in and around the forest. The Sundarbans, to preserve its outstanding universal value, now demand global public action for its survival. Let us raise our voice together on January 7 2017 in different parts of the world to save the Sundarbans and to make a step forward to save our mother earth from projects of mass destruction. We look forward to your participation and hope that our common struggle would further bind us together, and contribute to a stronger global movement for upholding public interest. READ MORE 
 

Help Coastal Communities Restore Their Mangroves

WORLDWIDE – Without the mangrove trees that used to protect them, Khun Nit and her grandchildren cannot sleep soundly because they’re frightened by the roar of the waves. Sometimes the waves reach the roof of their house. Khun Nit has lived on the coast her entire life, but she and her family can’t move any further inland. There is nowhere else to move. Villagers like Khun Nit and her grandchildren need support and training to protect and restore their mangroves so they can keep their home. You can give women like Khun Nit the skills and knowledge needed to become a local conservation expert, spreading awareness about the importance of mangroves, and empower her to train other women to do the same. LEARN MORE

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