NEWS in brief
Global Highlights made in solid and liquid waste management.
Based on survey findings, the World Bank will release funds every year to the Government of India. The central government will in turn pass on these funds to the states, where the grant money will flow through district and block levels to successful villages.
These incentives will be in addition to the budgetary support provided by the central government to the states for funding program investments; they will therefore be additional grants based on states’ performance.
By promoting and sustaining changed behaviors, the program will help accelerate progress towards an Open Defecation Free( ODF) India as well as the achievement of other goals under the Clean India Mission.
The World Bank will also help strengthen the institutional capacities of the national Ministry of Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation, as well as of selected states, particularly those which face the greatest challenges in sanitation.
Key UN meeting to address environmental challenges
( Nairobi) The United Nations Environment Assembly( UNEA) convened in Kenya between 23 to27 May this year to discuss the Sustainable Development Goals( SDGs) and the environmental challenges facing today’ s world.
In preparation for the global meeting, representatives to the United Nations Environment Programme( UNEP) attended a meeting in Kenya on 15-19 February this year, focusing on the environment, sustainability and health and discussed the link between conflicts and an increasingly over-exploited
Dr. Achim Steiner natural world.
According to UNEP executive director Achim Steiner, who outlined the agenda for the meeting, experts emphasized the importance of a healthy environment to human health and security.
Living or working in unhealthy environment contributed to 12.6 million deaths worldwide in 2012— almost a quarter of total global deaths— says the WHO.
A healthy, well-managed environment is crucial to wellbeing and the security of the people and the planet, Steiner added, noting that the environment can influence health through exposure to physical, chemical and biological risk factors or by triggering behavioural changes.
The UNEP head said that there is a growing awareness that humans, through their intervention in the environment, play a vital role in worsening or mitigating health risks.
“ Childhood exposure to lead creates economic losses of US $ 977 billion a year through the lowering of intellectual ability in low- and middle-income countries,” says Steiner, adding that 23 per cent of all premature deaths around the world are associated with environmental factors. Among children, that figure rises to 36 per cent.
“ To tackle premature deaths and chronic diseases associated with poor air quality in cities, we need to detoxify [ the environment ]; improve housing; establish green public spaces; ensure that vulnerable communities have access to essential services including education, health, public transport and clean fuels and strengthen networks,” Steiner explains.
Judy Wakhungu, Kenya’ s cabinet secretary for environment, water and natural resources, said that keeping the global environment under review through science and policy dialogue will help governments create international agreements that could improve the environment and boost human development.
Wakhungu added:“ Strong political leadership is essential to create the legislative and regulatory environment to address the environmental dimension of the world’ s current humanitarian crises, including the root causes of conflict and displacement and the damage done to the environment through the illegal exploitation and trade of natural resources in conflict-affected areas.”
Source: SciDev. Net’ s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk
Protecting water in German biosphere reserves
© Flusslandschaft Elbe BR
UNESCO biosphere reserves are unique ecosystems and cultural landscapes. Water underpins the diversity of animal and plant species and is essential for the sustainable
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