CENN – SEPTEMBER 21, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
Table of Contents:
1. Seismologists Predict No Major Tremors
2. National Geographic Travel Column: Armenia’s Lesson in Street Life
3. Armenia To Ask For $900M In Extra U.S. Aid
4. Measuring Landcover Change and its Impact on Endangered Species
1. SEISMOLOGISTS PREDICT NO MAJOR TREMORS
Source: ArmenPress, September 17, 2004
Armenian seismological stations have registered 29 earthquakes since the
start of the year, the strongest of which measured 3.4 points on Richter
scale and was reported 70 km north-east of the town of Ararat on January
4 and the lowest was 1.3 points on Richter scale, reported on July 19
near the town of Spitak, the site of the destructive 1988 earthquake.
Judging by a set of indications, observed in the last 10 years, Armenian
seismologists predict that the possible strongest earthquake that may
hit Armenia will be no higher than 5-6 points on Richter scale, saying
its possible location may be in the southern-eastern province of Syunik.
The national seismic service has already started a series of measures
aimed to raise the level of local population’s awareness concerning
earthquake risks. The Armenian government adopted in the last two years
two comprehensive programs on seismic risks, one encloses the Law on
Seismic Protection and the second lists the strategically important
facilities that need reinforced seismic protection.
Armenian national seismic service, included in the world seismic
networks, is considered one of the best services in Europe. The service
is cooperating closely with a German GFZ and US NASA and UNAVCO
organizations in identifying and registration of seismic risks.
2. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL COLUMN: ARMENIA’S LESSON IN STREET LIFE
September 17 2004
TravelWatch
Jonathan B. Tourtellot
National Geographic Traveler
Updated September 17, 2004
A small experiment in Gyumri, Armenia has shown how easy it is to turn
an urban dead zone into an appealing, living place. Gyumri boasts two
Soviet-era monumental, lifeless city squares. You know the type: asphalt
deserts walled by concrete office facades, beloved by urban planners and
hated by travelers on foot. In a remote corner of one square, a Gyumri
company recently installed just three things: a park bench, a street
lamp, and a seesaw.
Men sit on a bench in Dilizhan, Armenia. In another town, just such a
streetscape is sprouting in a once barren plaza.
According to the New York-based Project for Public Spaces, magic
resulted. Kids flocked to the seesaw, parents in tow. Parents began to
chat with each other. Soon street vendors set up stands next to the
bench, drawing more people. Three tiny seeds had bloomed into a garden
of street life. Any visitor entering that square would automatically
gravitate toward the lively corner.
Modern cities abound in dead zones; some are even handsome. But it’s
people that make a town worth visiting. Nothing makes a town or city
more appealing for tourists than lively, pedestrian-friendly streets and
squares.
It’s a lesson Europe seems to be learning, as city after city there has
created car-free zones. In the ultra-motorized U.S. – despite success
stories like San Antonio’s riverwalk–cities have been slower to embrace
the idea of streets that are more populated by people than by traffic.
Yet all you need to do is set aside a few blocks and provide ways for
people to do what people like to do–eat, drink, talk, play. Tourists
show up. Businesses thrive.
As the Gyumri experiment shows, it doesn’t take much to turn a square
with nothing into a square with something. Bring on the seesaws.
3. ARMENIA TO ASK FOR $900M IN EXTRA U.S. AID
Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc., September 17, 2004
Armenia is seeking as much as $900 million in additional U.S. government
assistance for the next three years and would like to spend most of the
money on getting its battered irrigation and drinking water
infrastructure into shape, officials said Friday.
The requested extra aid would come as part of the U.S. government’s
Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), a scheme designed to promote
political and market reforms around the world. Armenia as well as
neighboring Georgia was included last spring in the first group of 16
countries eligible for it. Each of them has to present and substantiate
specific aid proposals that will be considered by the Millennium
Challenge Corporation, a government body in charge of the MCA.
According to Aram Andreasian, head of the State Committee on Water
Resources, the Armenian government has already finalized its package of
proposals and will submit them to Washington by the end of this month.
He said two thirds of the requested sum is proposed to be used for
improving patchy water supplies to Armenian households and farmers.
`As far as our [MCA] package is concerned, the water sector is in
greatest need of investments,’ Andreasian told a news conference after a
weekly cabinet meeting.
Armenia’s notoriously inefficient drinking water network has undergone
sweeping structural reforms over the past two years. The authorities
promised in late 2002 that the situation with water supplies will
improve radically after introduction of water consumption meters. Most
Armenians have already bought and installed them at their own expense.
However, change has been very slow so far.
Andreasian reiterated a government pledge to extend round-the-clock
water supplies to 80 percent of the Yerevan households by the end of
this year. But with less than half of them having running water for 24
hours a day at the moment, this seems highly problematic.
Even more difficult is access to irrigation water in the country’s rural
areas. The problem is high on the list of grievances routinely cited by
impoverished villagers.
Andreasian’s controversial predecessor, Gagik Martirosian, estimated
that at least $300 million worth of capital investments will be needed
for ensuring normal functioning of the sector. The government has
already received some $150 million in low-interest loans from the World
Bank for that purpose.
Earlier this year, an ad hoc commission of the Armenian parliament
accused the government of misusing one such loan worth $30 million. The
allegations were rejected by the government and the World Bank’s office
in Yerevan.
Andreasian revealed that the government wants the Americans to set aside
$137 million for road construction and repair in Armenia. The Armenian
government would spend the rest of the requested sum on education and
agriculture, he said.
The U.S. government has already allocated some $1.5 billion in regular
assistance to Armenia since 1992. It remains to be seen whether it will
agree to the drastic increase in aid levels sought by Yerevan.
The total amount of MCA funds made available by the administration of
President George W. Bush for this year is $1 billion. The figure is
expected to soar to $5 billion in 2006.
4. MEASURING LANDCOVER CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON ENDANGERED SPECIES
The Smithsonian Conservation and Research Center is offering the
following advanced GIS and remote sensing course:
Measuring Landcover Change and its Impact on Endangered Species
October 4-8, 2004 and November 15-19, 2004
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
This one-week advanced GIS and remote sensing course provides
conservationists with an opportunity to learn how GIS and remote sensing
can be used to assess the conservation status of endangered species.
Participants will be provided with their own desktop computer for all
lab exercises. During the hands-on exercises participants will use the
Internet, ArcView, ArcView Spatial Analyst, ERDAS Imagine, Fragstats,
and other spatial analysis programs. Instructors will lead participants
step-by-step through the process of:
o conducting a regional conservation assessment using GIS to determine
critical conservation areas for an endangered species
o acquiring multi-date satellite imagery to quantify land cover change
and to map the extent of the remaining habitat
o using landscape analysis to determine optimal landscape configurations
for conserving the endangered species.
Visit the following web address for more details and registration
information.
Contact:
Lily Paniagua
giscourse@si.edu
1500 Remount Road
Front Royal, VA 22630
540-635-6535 (GIS Lab)
540-635-6506 (FAX)
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