The Environment Chronicle

The 23rd session of the International Coordinating Council of UNESCO's Programme "Man and the Biosphere" took place in the city of Dresden from 28 June to 1 July 2011. 40 years ago, in 1971, the ICC assembled for its first session. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the MAB programme, Germany’s environment minister invited the ICC to Germany. It is the first time that the ICC session took place in Germany. The International Coordinating Council of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) has added 18 new sites to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR), which now numbers 580 sites in 14 countries.

Between 1998 and 2008, at least 1,060 new species have been discovered in the forests, wetlands and waters of New Guinea. The newly described species include 580 invertebrates, 218 plants, 134 amphibians, 71 fishes, 43 reptiles, 12 mammals and 2 birds. New Guinea covers less than 0.5% of the Earth’s landmass, but is home to 6–8% of the world’s species. This report shows that New Guinea’s forests and rivers are among the richest and most biodiverse in the world.

A raging forest fire threatened the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory in New Mexico on 27 July 2011 and led to the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents. The fire started in Santa Fe national forest on Sunday and has so far burnt 200 sq km (78 sq miles).

On 27 June 2011 the UNESCO declared the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park a World Natural Heritage Site. The Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park is part of the much larger Wadden Sea National Park, which extends into the German states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, as well as the Netherlands. Those parts of the park were awarded heritage status in 2009.

The grace period for application of PFOS-based fire extinguishing foams ends on 27 June 2011. PFOS, or perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, is an extremely persistent chemical. This acid accumulates in organisms and is toxic. The chemical can be traced in every ecosystem, even in remote regions such as the Arctic and the animals that inhabit it. The EU ban on the use of PFOS in fire extinguishing agents takes effect on 28 June 2011, ending the grace period that started throughout the EU in 2006. In the meantime the signatory states to the Stockholm Convention have taken it up on the POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) List and thus signaled its phase-out worldwide.

In a vote on 26 June 2011, residents of the German North Sea archipelago of Helgoland voted against a land reclamation plan that would have reunited the main island with a smaller neighboring island. Island inhabitants voted by a majority of 54.7 percent against the project aimed at boosting tourism, while 45.3 percent supported it.

On 24 June 2011 the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention, meeting in Geneva, decided to list endosulfan, alchlor and aldicarb under annex III to the Convention.

On 23 June 2011 a new analysis of the global power plant market launched by Greenpeace International in Amsterdam. The study shows that since the 1990s, installations of wind and solar grew faster than any other power plant technology. In addition, renewable energy expanded rapidly, to reach its biggest market share in 2010 and providing enough capacity to supply electricity to the equivalent of one third of Europe. The Silent Energy Revolution report shows that between 2000 and 2010, 26% of all new power plants worldwide were renewables – mainly wind – and 42% gas power plants. So, two-thirds of all new power plants installed globally are gas power plants and renewables, with close to one-third as coal. Nuclear remains irrelevant on a global scale with just 2% of the global market share.

On 25 June 2011 the World Heritage Committee inscribed the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany as an extension to the World Heritage site of Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (Slovakia, Ukraine) on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Ancient Beech Forests of Germany, represent examples of on-going post-glacial biological and ecological evolution of terrestrial ecosystems and are indispensable to understanding the spread of the Fagus beech in the Northern Hemisphere across a variety of environments. The new inscription represents the addition of five forests totaling 4,391 hectares that are added to the 29,278 hectares of Slovakian and Ukranian beech forests inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2007. The tri-national property is now to be known as the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany (Slovakia, Ukraine, Germany).

On 23 June 2011 twelve nations and the European Union added their signatures to a United Nations treaty on the equitable sharing of the planet’s genetic resources in a ceremony at UN Headquarters. Representatives from Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom and the European Union signed the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing, which calls for “fair and equitable sharing” of the utilization of genetic resources. The protocol, adopted 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, will enter into force 90 days after the fiftieth country ratifies it.

On 21 June 2011 the first map of sea-ice thickness from ESA’s CryoSat mission was revealed at the Paris Air and Space Show. From an altitude of just over 700 km and reaching unprecedented latitudes of 88º, CryoSat has spent the last seven months delivering precise measurements to study changes in the thickness of Earth’s ice. CryoSat measures the height of the sea ice above the water line, known as the freeboard, to calculate the thickness. The measurements used to generate this first map of the Arctic were from January and February 2011, as the ice approaches its annual maximum.

The Environment Council adopted Council conclusions on biodiversity and water strategy, on 21 June 2011 in Luxembourg.

On 21 June 2011 the SPD/Green government of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia adopted a Climate Protection Act. The draft bill is the first of its kind in the sixteen German states. It enacts climate protection targets in NRW and shall be the legal basis for emission reduction and mitigation measures. Total green house gas emissions in NRW shall be reduced by at least 25% until 2020 and by at least 80% until 2050 compared with 1990.The draft bill will now be submitted for review by selected associations (Verbändeanhörung). The government wants to introduce the bill to parliament in summer.

An international research team including University of Pennsylvania scientists has shown that the rate of sea-level rise along the U.S. Atlantic coast is greater now than at any time in the past 2,000 years and that there is a consistent link between changes in global mean surface temperature and sea level. The research was conducted by members of the Department of Earth and Environmental Science in Penn’s School of Arts and Science: Benjamin Horton, associate professor and director of the Sea Level Research Laboratory, and postdoctoral fellow Andrew Kemp, now at Yale University’s Climate and Energy Institute. Their work was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on 20 June 2011.

On 17 June 2011 the head of Greenpeace International and another activist were arrested after they climbed the Leiv Eirikson oil rig off Greenland's west coast in an attempt to stop the Scottish oil company Cairn Energy from deepwater drilling in Arctic waters. Before leaving the Esperanza for the race to the Leiv Eiriksson he said:“For me this is one of the defining environmental battles of our age, it’s a fight for sanity against the madness of a mindset that sees the melting of the Arctic sea ice as a good thing. As the ice retreats the oil companies want to send the rigs in and drill for the fossil fuels that got us into this mess in the first place. We have to stop them."

The regal Arabian Oryx (Oryx leucoryx), which was hunted to near extinction, is now facing a more secure future according to the latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Its wild population now stands at 1,000 individuals. The Arabian Oryx, a species of antelope found only on the Arabian Peninsula, is locally known as Al Maha. It is believed the last wild individual was shot in 1972. This year, thanks to successful captive breeding and re-introduction efforts, the oryx has finally qualified for a move from the Endangered category to Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List—the first time that a species that was once Extinct in the Wild has improved by three categories.

Brussels, 16 June - The Commission is asking Germany to comply with two pieces of EU environmental legislation. Despite earlier warnings, Germany has failed to inform the Commission about the transposition of legislation on water quality standards, which should have been in place by 13 July 2010, and about a strategy to protect its seas, which should have been in place by 15 July 2010. On the recommendation of Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik, the Commission has decided to send Germany a reasoned opinion, giving it two months to respond. If Germany fails to comply, the Commission may refer the cases to the EU Court of Justice and ask the Court to impose financial sanctions already at this stage, without having to return to the court for a second ruling.

How high is the risk for societies worldwide to become victims of natural hazards and climate change? Earthquakes, floods, droughts, storms: disasters seem to occur unexpectedly and with unimaginable force. But why do some countries better succeed than others to cope with extreme natural events? The WorldRiskReport 2011 helps to evaluate the vulnerability of societies to natural hazards. Using world maps to visualize, it shows on the one hand where the probability of a natural hazard to occur is particularly high; on the other hand it is shown in which countries the population can cope with these events especially good or bad. The central element of the WorldRiskReport, the concept of the WorldRiskIndex, was developed by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) in Bonn/Germany, in cooperation with the Alliance Development Works and its partners. Alliance Development Works also is editor of the report. The German version of the "WeltRisikoBericht" was released on 15 June 2011 in Germany.

The moratorium on nuclear power announced by Chancellor Angela Merkel ended on 15 June 2011.

The report – The Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Tropospheric Ozone was released on 14 June 2011 in Bonn, Germany during a meeting of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). UNEP, in conjunction with WMO, undertook an assessment of the impacts of these so-called Short-Lived Climate Forcers (SLCFs) on the earth’s climate and on health and vegetation/crop damage across the world.

On 10 Juni 2011 the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, kicking off a mission to measure ocean surface salinity to understand how the ocean interacts with the atmosphere to influence climate. The joint U.S./Argentinian Aquarius/Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas (SAC)-D mission will map the salinity—the concentration of dissolved salt—at the ocean surface, information critical to improving our understanding of two major components of Earth's climate system: the water cycle and ocean circulation. By measuring ocean salinity from space, Aquarius will provide new insights into how the massive natural exchange of freshwater between the ocean, atmosphere and sea ice influences ocean circulation, weather and climate.

On 8 June 2011 the Swiss Parliament voted in favor of step-by-step plan to shut down the country's five nuclear reactors by 2034.

On 7 June 2011 the European Parliament endorsed a compromise deal on the revision of Eurovignette Directive. The final vote will allow member states to charge all vehicles above 3.5 tonnes not only for infrastructure costs but also for noise and pollution. The revised Eurovignette Directive is the first EU law to implement the bloc's wider strategy of internalising the external costs of transport.

On 6 June 2011 the Federal Environment Ministry in Germany celebrated its 25 anniversary in Berlin.

The Bohai bay oil spill was a series of oil spills 2011 at Bohai Bay, China. On June 4, 2011 the Penglai 19-3 oilfield caused an oil spill from a sea floor leak that lasted until June 7. On June 17 a second oil spill that occurred at the Penglai 19-3 oilfield, but was contained within 48 hours. A third leak took place on July 12 with the Suizhong 36-1 oil field.

The European REACH Regulation obliges companies to register substances of very high concern with the European Chemicals Agency starting 1 June 2011. President Jochen Flasbarth of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) is calling upon companies to carry out an exacting review of their product range. Anyone seeking to avoid contact with substances of very high concern can make use of his right to information. REACH places the onus of providing information on traders upon a request from concerned citizens as to whether a certain product contains such substances. Businesses or producers must answer the enquiry within 45 days’ time. The obligation to provide information does not require purchase of any given product.

On 1 June 2011 the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources decided to allow construction of the Belo Monte plant on the Xingu River in the Brazil state of para.

Dragonfly of the Year 2011 is the Broad Scarlet (Crocothemis erythraea).

On 31 May 2011 a new campaign to stop waste practised by the European Union's fishing fleet was launched in Brüssel. The EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki backs the campaign Fish Fight. Fish Fight has been launched in the United Kingdom in October 2010 by journalist Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, to raise awareness about the issue of sustainable fishing and how to stop discarding of fish. The initiative has been supported by more than 675.000 people so far and "Hugh's Fish Fight" won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts 2011 award for best feature film.

The Fukushima nuclear accidents are a series of equipment failures and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the 9.0 magnitude Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011.

On 30 May 2011, the German Government announced plans to completely phase out nuclear energy by 2022. In March, Merkel announced a temporary shutdown of seven older nuclear plants. The new timeline would keep those seven plants offline permanently plus Krümmel reactor. Six more would be shut down in 2021, and three would stay on until 2022 to ensure no disruption to power supply.

The E-PRTR, launched in 2009 to improve access to environmental information, contains already data reported by individual industrial facilities (point sources) and, as of 26 May 2011, information on emissions from road transport, shipping, aviation, heating of buildings, agriculture and small businesses (diffuse sources). Diffuse sources of pollution are widespread and/or concentrated in highly populated areas. A large number of many tiny emissions from houses and vehicles represent collectively a large, diffuse source of pollution, in particular in cities. The new, comprehensive set of 32 maps allows Europeans to see on a scale of 5 km by 5 km where pollutants are released. They include details of nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulphur oxides (SOX), carbon monoxide (CO), ammonia (NH3) and particulate matter (PM10).

On 25 May 2011 Swiss Federal Council decided to phase out nuclear power by 2034 after the Japan disaster shook public confidence in the industry, but said it will not shut any existing power plants prematurely. The Federal Council agreed to build no more nuclear reactors once the current power plants reach the end of their lifespan, with the oldest set to come offline in 2019, while the newest would remain in operation until 2034.

The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex said on 24 May 2011 that meltdowns are assumed to have occurred in the cores of the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors in addition to the meltdown already confirmed at the No. 1 reactor, but stressed that it believes the melted fuel is being kept cool at the bottom of the pressure vessels.

On May 25th, the Project “Canal de Castilla”, designed and managed by Fundación Global Nature Spain, received the prestigious award “Best of the Best LIFE Projects in Europe”. The project “Canal de Castilla” was finished in 2010 and aimed at recovering and preserving more than 30 small wetlands that surround this important water canal built in the 18th century. Most of these wetlands are declared Nature 2000 site but in spite of that proper protection is still lacking. The restoration program is a part of a holistic wetlands conservation action plan that Fundación Global Nature is implementing in the North of Spain (Castile). The LIFE Program is the most important European financial instrument and provides funding to hundreds of nature conservation activities throughout the whole European Union.

Cadmium in jewellery, plastics and brazing sticks will be banned in the EU from December 2011. The new legislation prohibits the use of cadmium in all types of jewellery products, except for antiques. The ban also covers cadmium in all plastics and brazing sticks. The ban ensures that EU consumers are better protected against exposure to cadmium, and will reduce environmental pollution from cadmium. It will be adopted as an amendment under REACH. The new legislation prohibits cadmium in all plastic products while encouraging the recovery of PVC waste for use in a number of construction products. As PVC is a valuable material that can be recovered a number of times, the new legislation allows the re-use of recovered PVC containing low levels of cadmium in a limited number of construction products, without danger for the public or environment. The new ban will be listed in Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation (Regulation No. 1907/2006 for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals).

The European Union (EU) funded project ECO2 to evaluate the potential impact of sub-seabed carbon dioxide (CO2) leakage from storage sites on marine ecosystems has now been launched. 27 project partners from nine nations will study existing sub-seabed storage sites in the Norwegian North Sea and the Barents Sea as well as natural seeps at the seafloor to assess the safety of storage sites and the impact of potential CO2 leakage on the marine ecosystem. The project is coordinated at Kiel, Germany by the Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR). The EU has allocated €10.5 Mio. to the ECO2 project to evaluate the likelihood of leakage, the possible impacts on marine ecosystems, and the potential economic and legal consequences of leakage from sub-seabed storage sites.

The Stockholm Memorandum was signed by Nobel Laureates on May 18th 2011 and handed over in person to the UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, which is preparing the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro (Rio +20). The Stockholm Memorandum concludes that the planet has entered a new geological age, the Anthropocene. It recommends a suite of urgent and far-reaching actions for decision makers and societies to become active stewards of the planet for future generations.

The Federal cabinet adopted the Government Programme for Electric Mobility on 18 May 2011. The government programme builds on many recommendations for action given in the Second Report by the National Platform for Electric Mobility, which was submitted to the Federal government on 16 May 2011.