Sustainable development laws and international treaty obligations : discussion papers, and commentaries from participants in a sustainable development law seminar (Kingston, Jamaica); concerning a legislative framework for developing sustainable management of the environment in Jamaica, final report

Project number related to IDRC support could not be determine

Cities and climate change mitigation: Economic opportunities and governance challenges in Asia

Cities are central to the fight against climate change, but the IPCC recently noted that many cities — and particularly those in the developing world — lack the institutional, financial and technical capacities needed to switch to low emission development paths. Based on detailed case studies of three Asian cities, this paper finds that the adoption of low emission development strategies (LEDS) at the urban level could be economically attractive. However, it also argues that without a coordinated multi-level, cross-sectoral governance framework these opportunities for low carbon urban development are likely to be left unexploited. As these governance conditions are frequently not in place, we argue that these case study cities, and cities in similar contexts, are likely to miss even the economically attractive low carbon development opportunities and become increasingly locked in to higher cost, higher carbon development paths. Due to their growing size and importance, we conclude that the presence or absence of governance arrangements that enable the adoption of low carbon development strategies in Asian cities will have global implications for climate change

Risk factors for children’s blood lead levels in metal mining and smelting communities in Armenia: a cross-sectional study

Background: Children's exposure to lead poses a significant risk for neurobehavioral consequences. Existing studies documented lead contamination in residential soil in mining and smelting communities in Armenia. This study aimed to assess blood lead levels (BLL) in children living in three communities in Armenia adjacent to metal mining and smelting industries, and related risk factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 159 children born from 2007 to 2009 and living in Alaverdi and Akhtala communities and Erebuni district in Yerevan - the capital city. The BLL was measured with a portable LeadCare II Blood Lead Analyzer; a survey was conducted with primary caregivers. Results: Overall Geometric Mean (GM) of BLL was 6.0 μg/dl: 6.8 for Akhtala, 6.4 for Alaverdi and 5.1 for Yerevan. In the sample 68.6 % of children had BLL above CDC defined reference level of 5 μg/dl: 83.8 % in Akhtala, 72.5 % in Alaverdi, and 52.8 % in Yerevan. Caregiver's lower education, dusting furniture less than daily, and housing distance from toxic source(s) were risk factors for higher BLL. Additional analysis for separate communities demonstrated interaction between housing distance from toxic source(s) and type of window in Erebuni district of Yerevan. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that children in three communities adjacent to metal mining and smelting industries were exposed to lead. Investigation of the risk factors suggested that in addition to promoting safe industrial practices at the national level, community-specific interventions could be implemented in low- and middle-income countries to reduce BLL among children

Wastewater irrigation: the state of play

As demand for fresh water intensifies, wastewater is frequently being seen as a valuable resource. Furthermore, wise reuse of wastewater alleviates concerns attendant with its discharge to the environment. Globally, around 20 million ha of land are irrigated with wastewater, and this is likely to increase markedly during the next few decades as water stress intensifies. In 1995, around 2.3 billion people lived in water-stressed river basins and this could increase to 3.5 billion by 2025. We review the current status of wastewater irrigation by providing an overview of the extent of the practice throughout the world and through synthesizing the current understanding of factors influencing sustainable wastewater irrigation. A theme that emerges is that wastewater irrigation is not only more common in water-stressed regions such as the Near East, but the rationale for the practice also tends to differ between the developing and developed worlds. In developing nations, the prime drivers are livelihood dependence and food security, whereas environmental agendas appear to hold greater sway in the developed world. The following were identified as areas requiring greater understanding for the long-term sustainability of wastewater irrigation: (i) accumulation of bioavailable forms of heavy metals in soils, (ii) environmental fate of organics in wastewater-irrigated soils, (iii) influence of reuse schemes on catchment hydrology, including transport of salt loads, (iv) risk models for helminth infections (pertinent to developing nations), (v) microbiological contamination risks for aquifers and surface waters, (vi) transfer efficiencies of chemical contaminants from soil to plants, (vii) health effects of chronic exposure to chemical contaminants, and (viii) strategies for engaging the public.<br /

Kenya Climate-Smart Agriculture Framework Program

Kenya envisions being a middle- income country with citizens enjoying high quality of life and a sustained annual economic growth rate of at least 10% by the year 2030 according to the National Development Blue Print “The Kenya Vision 2030”. The agriculture sector has been identified as one of the key sectors to contribute to the projected annual national economic growth. About 98% of Kenya’s agricultural systems are rain-fed and susceptible to climate change and variability which would jeopardize attainment of the projected sector contribution to the national economic growth. There is evidence from historical records that Kenya’s has experienced increased temperature over the last 50 years and the frequency coupled with intense extreme climate and weather events like droughts and floods. Future climatic predictions for Kenya indicate possible temperature increase of 1ºC by 2020 and 2.3ºC by 2050. The changes in climate and weather patterns will expose the rain-fed farming systems, especially the arid and semi-arid lands, to more climate related vulnerabilities thereby predisposing farming communities to food insecurity and poverty through erosion of the productive assets and the weakening of coping strategies and resilience. Innovative and transformative measures are therefore urgently required to assist stakeholders in the sector across the agricultural value chain to cope with effects of current and projected change in climate patterns. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) has been identified as a viable alternative to provide solutions towards increased agriculture sector productivity while addressing effects of changing climate and weather patterns. Consequently, the Ministries of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and Environment and Natural Resources with support from COMESA, CCAFS and DFID are leading efforts towards development of a National “Country CSA Program for 2015-2030.” The Vision for the CSA Program is a “Climate resilient and low carbon growth sustainable agriculture that ensures food security and contributes to national development goals in line with Kenya Vision 2030.” In order to carry out a successfully implement the CSA country program, various stakeholders need to come on board to support this venture. We therefore, urge all the relevant stakeholders to play their respective roles in ensuring that the country CSA program is successfully implemented to ensure that the sector attains its vision of ensuring food security and employment creation for the all citizens