CENN – August 22, Daily Digest
Table of Contents:1.. Ecologists Alarmed By Perevoznaya Bay Pipeline
Project
2.. Saakashvili Look to 100.000 Armenian Tourists in Ajaria
3.. Millennium Challenges Account – Armenia Official Web-site Launched
4.. World Running Out of Time for Oil Alternatives
5.. German Biodiesel Sales Strong as Oil Prices Rise
6.. Call for Papers – International Symposium Towards Sustainable
Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mountainous Regions
7.. Third International Conference on Plants & Environmental Pollution
(ICPEP-3)
1. Ecologists Alarmed By Perevoznaya Bay Pipeline Project
Source: ITAR-TASS, August 5, 2005
Ecologists of the Far Eastern Primorye region are alarmed by the project
to build an oil pipeline from East Siberia to Perevoznaya Bay on the
Pacific Coast and propose to move the terminal to other bays of the
region.
The Fenix ecological organization began collecting signatures on Friday
under an address to the Transneft oil transportation monopoly calling to
“include into the feasibility study the possible impacts on the
environment”.
The address timed to the public hearings of the project scheduled for
August 15 also calls “to design and calculate the efficiency of
alternative variants giving priority attention to ecological safety
issues and economic efficiency for the budget of Primorye”.
Local scientists and ecologists fear the closeness of the oil terminal
in Berevoznaya Bay in the south of Primorye to three nature preserves
may trigger negative ecological consequences.
Experts of the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
propose to build the terminal either in the Ussuri Bay or in the Bay of
Nakhodka which will be ecologically safer.
2. SAAKASHVILI LOOKS TO 100.000 ARMENIAN TOURISTS IN AJARIA
Source: AZG Armenian Daily #144, August 17, 2005
At the meeting with Armenian journalists holidaying in Batumi, Ajaria,
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili stated that around 100.000
Armenian citizens will spend their vacation in Ajaria in 2006. According
to Novosti agency, Saakashvili welcomed Armenian businessmen willing to
invest in hotel construction and tourism development in Ajaria. In 2005,
tens of thousands of Armenian citizens spent their holiday on the
seaside of Ajaria.
3. MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT – ARMENIA OFFICIAL WEB-SITE
LAUNCHED
Source: ARKA, August 17, 2005
The official web-site () of the Board of Trustees of the
Armenian program of Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) – Armenia has
been launched to provide publicity of development and realizations of
the projects, the press-service of the RA Ministry of Finance and
Economy reported to ARKA News Agency. The site contains general
information about Millennium Challenge Account – Armenia, as well as the
latest information on the program development. Special importance is
given to the coverage of negotiation process. The feedback is provided
through MCA-Armenia Forum
4. World Running Out of Time for Oil Alternatives
Source: Planet Ark, August 19, 2005
The world could run out of time to develop cleaner alternatives to oil
and other fossil fuels before depletion drives prices through the roof,
a leading Dutch energy researcher said on Thursday.
Ton Hoff, manager of the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, said
it could take decades to make alternatives affordable to the point where
they can be used widely, although high oil prices were already
stimulating such research.
“If we run out of fossil fuels — by the time the oil price hits 100
dollars or plus, people will be screaming for alternatives, but whether
they will be available at that moment of time — that’s my biggest
worry,” Hoff said.
“That’s why we need to use fossil fuels in a more efficient way to have
some more time to develop these alternatives up to a level where the
robustness is guaranteed and their price has come down … This could
take decades for some technologies.”
Stubbornly high oil prices have renewed worldwide interest in
sustainable energy sources, such as solar, wind and biomass as well as
biofuels.
But the world currently covers just some two percent of its energy needs
with renewable as high costs and mixed policy initiatives hinder a
widespread usage.
“The high oil price makes people at least think about alternatives …
For us it’s a definitely a stimulus to work even harder than before,”
Hoff said.
LOWERING COSTS
ECN, one of Europe’s leading energy research institutes, is working to
improve or develop new technologies to boost efficiency and lower the
costs of power production from wind, solar and biomass, he said.
ECN researchers are trying to raise the energy conversion efficiency of
solar panels to above 20 percent from the current 17 percent, while
reducing costs.
“In 10-15 years, I expect that solar energy conversion could be in
competition with electricity produced from coal,” Hoff said. He believes
the Netherlands has the potential to cover a large part of its power
needs with solar energy.
ECN is also researching to increase the size of wind power turbines from
the 3 megawatt a turbine produces now to 5 or 6 MW. This could be done
by raising the height to 100 metres from 70 now and enlarging wings span
to 120 metres from 90, he said.
ECN is also part of the $225 million “Global Climate and Energy Project”
led by the US University of Stanford and financed by General Electric,
Toyota, Schlumberger and ExxonMobil.
The project aims to crack new technologies on fuel cells, which make
electricity from hydrogen and emit only water vapour, energy production
from biomass and separation and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2). The
greenhouse CO2 gas is released when burning fossil fuels and is blamed
for global warming.
Under the project, ECN will develop a new type of membrane reactor,
which will separate CO2 during the process of producing hydrogen from
fossil fuels, Hoff said. The CO2 could later be stored by companies in
depleted gas or oil fields.
Hoff and other researchers say a transition to the so-called hydrogen
economy could take decades as the cost of building new hydrogen-burning
cars and power plants and storing CO2 are huge.
To test hydrogen usage in real life, ECN is in talks with the northern
Dutch island of Texel to install hydrogen-based facilities, which would
supply electricity to homes and offices.
“The idea is to see the pitfalls, fix them … and prepare for the
future. My hopes are that this will stimulate the usage of this type of
new technology because it is extremely important to have it in real life
rather than in laboratories,” Hoff said.
5. German Biodiesel Sales Strong as Oil Prices Rise
Source: Planet Ark, August 19, 2005
German demand for biodiesel fuel made from rapeseed is rising as soaring
oil prices make vehicle operators seek alternatives, Germany’s biodiesel
industry association said on Thursday.
“Biodiesel demand has significantly increased in the past few months as
oil prices rose so high,” said Karin Retzlaff, of the association of
German biodiesel producers VDB.
There are no official sales statistics. “We have the impression sales
are growing especially in the trucking sector which is facing the double
impact of Germany’s new road toll and higher diesel prices,” Retzlaff
said.
“Trucking companies are under very heavy cost pressure and are looking
for quick methods of saving money.”
Biodiesel is 15 to 20 euro cents cheaper than conventional diesel,
largely because of special tax breaks granted by Germany’s government to
help the industry. The price difference has risen by about five euro
cents in past months as conventional fuel prices rose but biodiesel
remained unchanged.
German consumption this year was likely to rise to around 1.5 million
tones against 1.1 million tones in 2004 and only 720,000 tonnes in 2003,
association chairman Arnd von Wissel estimated.
Overall consumption was difficult to estimate as strong demand was
sucking in imports from neighboring countries and could be higher.
“If you are running fleets of thousands of trucks, savings of millions
can be made with biodiesel,” von Wissel said.
Farmers have also been turning to biodiesel following the loss of
special tax breaks for agricultural diesel.
But it is difficult for the German public to buy the fuel.
Many car manufacturers have technical doubts about the fuel, so it is
not sold in petrol stations run by the multinational oil companies.
Biodiesel blocks some exhaust dust filters, can break pipes and pumps
while it can freeze in Germany’s very cold winters.
The industry finds the technical objections exaggerated. “But this does
mean that private car consumption of biodiesel from petrol pumps will be
limited,” Retzlaff said.
However, millions of motorists are already using biodiesel without
knowing it. Since early 2004, Germany has permitted oil companies to mix
biodiesel with conventional fuels up to a maximum five percent biodiesel
content.
About half of German biodiesel is for blending with conventional diesel,
von Wissel estimated. Again no precise figures are available.
MORE EXPANSION PLANNED
German production capacity was likely to rise to around two million
tones annually in early 2006 against 1.2 million tonnes at the start of
2005, von Wissel said. The sector was currently working at full
capacity.
Most production plants are owned by agricultural cooperatives seeking
new markets for rapeseed, and other small companies.
But global agribusiness giants are also undertaking major biodiesel
projects in Germany. US group Cargill recently announced construction of
a production plant in Mainz in central Germany to be operational in
2006.
Archer Daniels Midland Co. of the US is doubling biodiesel production
capacity at its Oelmuhle Hamburg plant by the end of 2005.
6. CALL FOR PAPERS – INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE
LIVELIHOODS AND ECOSYSTEMS IN MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS
Source: Mountain Forum – Global, August 19, 2005
The Uplands Program
Research for Sustainable Land Use and Rural
Development in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia
7-9 March 2006
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Organized by:
“The Uplands Program” (SFB564)
University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart (Germany)
Chiang Mai University (Thailand)
World Agroforestry Centre (Thailand)
Supported by: DFG – Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research
Foundation)
BACKGROUND
Mountainous regions cover more than one-fifth of the world’s landscape
and are home to more than 600 million people. They are of significant
importance for the global ecosystem and are characterized by a high
degree of ethnic, cultural and ecological diversity. High population
growth, political and social marginalization of mountain people, tenure
insecurity, and extraction of natural resources by a variety of actors
have increased the pressure on fragile mountainous areas. As a
consequence, we observe vicious circles of resource degradation of a
distinctly different nature: in more remote and subsistence oriented
areas farmers react to increasing pressure by shortening fallow periods
and cultivating steep hillsides resulting in erosion, loss of soil
fertility and decreasing agricultural productivity. In areas that are
closer linked to markets, farmers attempt to maintain agricultural
productivity by intensifying land use, employing increasing amounts of
fertilizer and pesticides, resulting in a loss of biodiversity and
contamination of water resources. At the same time, we observe that the
urban centers with dynamic trade and manufacturing sectors develop
rapidly, thus increasing the gap in living conditions between rural and
urban areas. To reverse these trends and to stop the downward spiral of
resource degradation, rural poverty and food insecurity, integrated
scientific analysis and new approaches to mountain development are
needed that identify sustainable agricultural practices, strengthen
local institutions and knowledge systems, and increase the resilience of
both mountain ecosystems and rural livelihoods.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of the symposium is to bring together scholars and
practitioners to exchange both innovative multidisciplinary and
integrated research outcomes and successful extension and development
approaches. Another aim of the conference is to present and discuss the
research results of “The Uplands Program” and compare these with
experience and scientific analyses from other regions. Particular
emphasis will be given on research results and development experience
that make a significant contribution to
1. developing sustainable production and land use systems with increased
productivity in ecologically fragile, economically disadvantaged and
socio-culturally complex mountainous regions;
2. identifying viable concepts for rural institutions, food processing
and marketing that can
reduce rural poverty and food insecurity in mountainous areas; and
3. advancing methods for analyzing complex ecosystems and their
interactions with the sociocultural, economic and institutional
environment.
THEMES
. Mountainous Regions: A challenging ecosystem
– Sustainability concepts, research priorities and development
strategies for mountainous areas
– Comparative perspectives from mountainous areas in Asia, Africa and
Latin America
. Securing mountain livelihoods in a globalizing economy:
Options and strategies
– Viable conservation-oriented cropping strategies
– Integrated livestock and aquaculture systems
– Processing and marketing of high-value products
– Policies, institutions and social networks
– Payment for environmental services
– Alternative livelihood strategies
. Assessing and modeling complexity and diversity in mountainous areas
– Innovative methodological approaches
– Assessment of mountain agroecosystems
– Modeling land use changes and landscape dynamics
– Bridging local and scientific knowledge
– Multi-scale and multi-criteria analysis
These themes are still tentative. We particularly encourage the
submission of interdisciplinary and comparative contributions.
REGISTRATION FEE
The registration fee is US-$150. A reduced early-bird-registration fee
of US-$120 is valid until
31 December 2005. A special rate of US-$ 75 will be charged for
participants from developing countries. The fee includes conference
material, refreshments, lunch for three days, a reception dinner and a
half-day mid-symposium excursion. Please note that the organizers cannot
provide funding for travel costs and accommodation of participants.
DATES AND DEADLINES
Submission of oral presentation/poster abstracts (1-2 pages): 15 October
2005
Notification of acceptance of oral presentation/poster abstracts: 15
November 2005
End of early-bird-registration (reduced fee): 31 December 2005
End of registration: 31 January 2006
Deadline for submission of final papers/posters: 15 February 2006
ORGANIZERS
Dr. Andreas Neef
Assist. Prof. Dr. Pittaya Sruamsiri
The Uplands Program (SFB 564)
Hohenheim Office
Faculty of Agriculture
Chiang Mai University
Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Dr. David Thomas
World Agroforestry Centre
c/o Faculty of Agriculture
Chiang Mai University
Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Prof. Dr. Karl Stahr
Prof. Dr. Franz Heidhues
Dr. Jens Pape
The Uplands Program (SFB 564)
University of Hohenheim (796)
70593 Stuttgart
Germany
SYMPOSIUM SECRETARIAT
The Uplands Program (SFB 564)
Hohenheim Office
Faculty of Agriculture
Chiang Mai University
Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Tel: +66-53-944647
Fax: +66-53-893099
E-mail: uplands@loxinfo.co.th
For further information see:
7. Third International Conference on PLANTS & ENVIRONMENTAL
POLLUTION (ICPEP-3)
Source: Ecological North West Line (ENWL), August 12, 2005
29 November – 2 December 2005, Lucknow, India
This is to inform that International Society of Environmental Botanists,
India and National Botanical Research Institute of Government of India,
are jointly organizing Third International Conference on Plants &
Environmental Pollution (ICPEP-3) in Lucknow, India during 29 November
to 2 December 2005.
The Conference is Co-sponsored by International Union of Biological
Sciences (IUBS), Paris, The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World
(TWAS), Trieste, Italy, and UNESCO amongst others.
The Conference aims to provide an international forum for serious
scientific discussions and deliberations on the role of plants in
indication and bio-remediation of environmental pollution and related
areas such as bio-diversity conservation, sustainable development,
climate change, environmental pollution effects on agriculture, forestry
and human health.
The response from various regions of the Globe has been tremendous and
till now persons from more than 54 countries have pre-registered and
have expressed their desire to attend the conference.
The Conference will be an ideal platform for the scientists, botanists
and environmentalists of your region to communicate and to share
experiences on the critical issues of “Environment Pollution” and the
“Role of Plants in Indication, Monitoring and Containment of Pollution.”
The Call for Registration and Submission of Abstract has been issued and
the same as well as details about the Society can be seen at our Web
site –
Dr. K J Ahmad
Secretary,
International Society of Environmental Botanists,
National Botanical Research Institute,
Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow – 226001, India.
Phone: +91-522-2205831 to 35 ext 223
Fax: +91-522-2205836 / 2205839
E-mail: isebnbrilko@satyam.net.in / kjahmad@sancharnet.in
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
Tel: ++995 32 75 19 03/04
Fax: ++995 32 75 19 05
E-mail: info@cenn.org
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