Category: Editorial & Guest Bloggers

“Open Access” and “Professional Blogs” are receiving an enhanced attention and appreciation in a world where Social Media are becoming necessary and indispensable instruments for the Transfer-of-Knowledge. In this context, scientific and technical professional blogs are filling enormous gaps for effective dissemination of knowledge, in particular popularisation of the knowledge needed to promote sustainable socio-economic developments world over.

“Sustain-earth” will house all relevant Guest Bloggers with keen interests in all disciplines of “Sustainability” with associated activities to promote “Applied Sustainability” in all sectors and in all levels. A core of internationally distinguished and recognized Editorial Board will be built-up gradually.

COVID-19 – Inconvenient Truth About Health Care.

Statistics from around the world regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, including the most developed countries in Europe and the USA, show considerable gaps in our health care systems in particular for the risk groups of world population. According existing data most infections and deaths do take place in hospitals (https://www.bbc.com/news/health-52196978). It is an unprecedented truth in the 2020 that our modern health care systems, even in most advanced countries, are unable to provide safe and secure medical treatments for the most needed when it is needed. It is a scary reality for all of us, even for professionals in the health care sectors. The working conditions in hospitals and in health care systems are suffer from several uncertainties with clear associated risks to die among doctors and nurses in COVID-19 is also unacceptably high (https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/asia-pacific-health-workers-risk-all-to-fight-covid-19/1791014; https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/90-000-healthcare-workers-infected-with-covid-19-icn/1831765). The pitfalls and other shortcomings in global health care systems and the related health consequence are being analyzed, assessed and compiled by WHO (e.g. 20200411-sitrep-82-covid-19.pdf). The figure given here shows people died with confirmed COVID-19 in England and Wales by week ending 27 March 2020 according to data from Office for National Statistics (https://www.bbc.com/news/health-52196978). In this figure about 93% of the people infected by COVID-19 died in hospitals, i.e. a total of 501 persons out of a total of 538).

This situation and chaos didn’t take place overnight, though according to the UN-SDGs of 2017, Goal 3 calls is about: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/health/). Naturally the global health care system is very much dependent of other major factors: education; life on land; life under water; clean water and sanitation; poverty; hunger; energy; economic growth; industry and innovation; inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible production and consumption; climate action; peace and strong institutions; partnership in goals and gender equality, all of which are goals in the UN-SDGs-package. According to New York Times, we knew the coronavirus is coming, yet we failed “the vulnerabilities that COVID-19 has revealed were a predictable outgrowth of our market-based health care system”. Also, in Europe, the crisis has been systematically developed and evolved during very long periods, e.g. for Sweden (https://mobil.unt.se/ledare/mangarigt-kaos-i-varden-av-de-allra-aldsta-5564852.aspx) as the death of coronavirus in olderly health care is above 45%. There are several reports of COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes across Europe, e.g. strains on health and social care systems and healthcare workers have been reported with shortages in laboratory and testing capacity, personal protective equipment and healthcare capacity (including ICU ventilator and healthcare workforce capacity and staff being absent due to illness, quarantine or isolation (covid-19-rapid-risk-assessment-coronavirus-disease-2019-eighth-update-8-april-2020.pdf). These highlight vulnerability of the elderly in long-term care settings and the importance of infection control measures to protect the vulnerable population in nursing homes. However, this is the situation of the reality as we know it today and more unknown data and facts will be unfolded gradually as the COVID-19 pandemic will still remain with us for some time. There is no definite answer how long it will keep circulating and how the future will be. Let us hope that we will not have the same fate as the dinosaurs, it was probably a virus that caused them to disappear. When science and technology has no solution it is only the natural laws of the survival of the fittest as described by Darwin.

Indeed, the pandemic is far from bring over and several counties, e.g. in Europe are hesitating in opening their economies or rather have considerable difficulties and uncertainties to do so. At the same time the rates of infections and death are still rapidly growing in many countries around the world, e.g. Russia, Brazil, India, Mexico,
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Bangladesh, Colombia, South Africa, Egypt, Kuwait, Algeria, Nigeria, Iraq and Bolivia (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/).

We are back to Darwins time of the 19th century which strongly motivated him to do research on biological evolution rather than studying medicine. Ironically, he didn’t realize the strong links between medicine and biological evolution which we are facing today because of our tight interaction with ecosphere to secure our food. In his research he answered many questions as how species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual’s ability to compete, survive, and reproduce (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwinism).

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About Me, my first turning point, culture awakeness and social awareness. 

When I see this photo, I recall strong feelings of some parts of my early life, i.e. up to the age of 11-12 years, or so. It is difficult to retrieve all the details of this period of childhood. The memory or the brain as such either had not developed enough to organize, sort all events, one by one and structure them in coherent series of events or there were no physical objects for every separate event that such events could be associated with. This can be also related to, that the brain was still in the process of development and therefore all events could not be easily available. Whatever the reasons were, formulation of the details of my early childhood would be limited to some separated and scattered memories.

So, as a matter of fact I do not remember everything on daily basis, as day by day events. However, I can only reflect in general terms how I and my own environments (home and family, school and free time) interacted together and with each other. This bunch of young kinds in the photo was among very few things I (the person far to the right) remember from my early childhood. As went to school all of us, we could only spend the summer holidays together and whenever we were allowed to spend sometime outside the walls of our houses. The area we were living in had no gardens and no special playing places for children, so we were left to own judgement to select among available children in our age, i.e. from the very near houses to us, one or two at most. Indeed, that worked out fairly good in my case and I do have very good reflections and memories with these bunch of young kids. My younger brother Mourad was always with us but he was the most quite of us all, he is the second to the left in the photo. The first to the left, Saeed, was our leader “the boss” and was always ready to defend all of us and could find smart ways to manage our group in difficult times, i.e. when we run in trouble as in few some cases when we behaved in “wayward” manner. Otherwise we had traditional street games, mini-football, jump rope, “hide and find”, rope competition, ……. . Later on, when I searched the group, I find him “Saeed” a polis officer in Port-Said, I was not surprised when I visited him as he managed the school, joined and graduated from the Polis High School in Cairo.  The one in the middle of the photo is Abou Zead, he was like all of us ready to share his free time, in frictions-free fashion and above all easy going, as we could alway be in agreement. The one next to me “Abbas”, more darker than us, was ready to do as we did. As far as I remember after we all became friends, i.e. getting over introductory conflicts, checks and acceptance from our parents, we had very nice time and fun together. My brother Mourad which I will tell more about later on, became a high ranked military engineering officer “radar specialist” in the Egyptian Army. The other two Abou Zead and Abbas, I lost track with them and I do not know anything about them.

Follow my story, in separate parts I will uncover more and more about myself and my journey in life.


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UN-SGD – Last Emergency Call For Intensive Care of Mother Earth

Indeed, UN-SDG can be regarded as the last call, after a series of regular and continuous calls on several regional and global levels, for meeting pressing and urgent needs for implementation of effective, practical and immediate solutions and measures of the pilling threats and degradation on earth’s environmental and climate systems.

Now the UNEP releases its recent GEO-6 Regional Assessment documents, May 2016. The Networking of “sustain-earth.com” got this information also from Hussein Abaza, an excellent Reporter on sustainability issues and Director at Centre for Sustainable Development Solutions “CSDS”, Cairo, Egypt.

A series of regional reports on the state of the planet’s health deliver the message that environmental deterioration is occurring much faster than previously thought and action is needed now to reverse the worst trends. The ‘Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6): Regional Assessments,’ published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), is a compilation of six reports examining environmental issues affecting the world’s six regions: the Pan-European region, North America, Asia and the Pacific, West Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and Africa.
The release of the regional assessments coincides with the second session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-2), which is convening in Nairobi, Kenya, from 23-27 May 2016. The Pan-European assessment will be launched at the eighth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference in Batumi, Georgia, on 8 June 2016.

The assessments found that the regions share a range of common environmental threats, including climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, population growth, rapid urbanization, rising consumption levels, desertification and water scarcity, which all must be addressed in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The assessments involved 1,203 scientists, hundreds of scientific institutions and more than 160 governments, and are based on scientific data and peer reviewed literature. The regional assessments will inform GEO-6, which will be released before 2018 and will provide an assessment of the state, trends and outlook of the global environment.
The GEO-6 LAC assessment notes the strong impact of emissions from agriculture in the region, including an increase in nitrous oxide emissions of about 29% between 2000 and 2010 from soils, leaching and runoff, direct emissions and animal manure, and an increase in methane emissions of about 19% due to the plethora of beef and dairy cattle. Regarding air pollution, the assessment points to particulate matter (PM) concentrations above World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. In addition, Andean glaciers, which provide water for millions, are shrinking. The LAC region has eliminated lead in gasoline and made headway in reducing ozone-depleting substances.
Approximately 41% of all reported natural disasters over the last two decades have occurred in the Asia and the Pacific region, according to the regional assessment. In Southeast Asia, more than one million hectares is deforested annually. Other environmental issues discussed in the report reference that: approximately 30% of the region’s population drinks water contaminated by human feces; water-related diseases and unsafe water contribute to 1.8 million deaths annually; uncontrolled dumping is a significant source of disease; and population growth, a growing middle class and urbanization have led to higher emissions, ill-managed waste and increased consumption.
In West Asia, an increase in degraded land and the spread of desertification are among the region’s most pressing challenges, as they lead to an increase in water demand, over-exploitation of groundwater resources and deteriorating water quality. In addition, conflict and displacement are having severe environmental impacts, such as heavy metals from explosive munitions and radiation from missiles leaching into the environment, and increased waste production and disease outbreaks. Almost 90% of municipal solid waste is disposed of in unlined landfill sites and is contaminating groundwater resources. The report estimates that air pollution alone caused more than 70,000 premature deaths in 2010.
In Africa, air pollution accounts for 600,000 premature deaths annually. The report also highlights that 68% of the population had clean water in 2012. In addition, inland and marine fisheries face over-exploitation from illegal, under-reported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. According to the report, around 500,000 square meters of land in Africa is being degraded by soil erosion, salinization, pollution and deforestation. African megacities, such as Cairo, Kinshasa and Lagos, have inadequate sanitation services.
In North America, environmental conditions, including air pollution, drinking water quality and well-managed protected areas, have improved due to policies, institutions, data collection and assessment and regulatory frameworks. However, aggressive hydrocarbon extraction methods can lead to increased emissions, water use and induced seismicity, while coastal and marine environments are experiencing, inter alia, ocean acidification and sea-level rise. Climate change is exacerbating the drought in California by approximately 15-20%, and Hurricane Sandy, in 2012, was directly responsible for approximately 150 deaths and US$70 billion in losses. However, mitigation efforts are having a positive impact; for example, solar deployment made up 40% of the market for new electricity generation in the US in the first half of 2015, and solar now powers 4.6 million homes. In the Arctic, warming has increased at twice the global average since 1980, and over the past twenty years, summer sea ice extent has dramatically decreased, which has, inter alia, created new expanses of open ocean, enabling more phytoplankton to bloom and alter the marine food chain.
Overall, recommendations of the assessments include, inter alia: strengthening intergovernmental coordination at the regional and sub-regional levels; improving gathering, processing and sharing data and information; enhancing sustainable consumption and production (SCP); harnessing natural capital in a way that does not damage ecosystems; implementing pollution control measures; investing in urban planning; reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and diversifying energy sources; investing in environmental accounting systems to ensure external costs are addressed; and building resilience to natural hazards and extreme climate events. [UN Press Release] [UNEP Press Release] [UNEP Knowledge Repository] [Factsheet for GEO 6 Regional Assessment for Africa
] [Factsheet for GEO 6 Regional Assessment for Asia Pacific]
 [Factsheet for GEO 6 Regional Assessment for Latin America and the Caribbean
] [Factsheet for GEO 6 Regional Assessment for North America] [
Factsheet for GEO 6 Regional Assessment for West Asia] [
Full Regional Assessment for Africa
] [Full Regional Assessment for Asia Pacific] 
[Full Regional Assessment for Latin America and the Caribbean
] [Full Regional Assessment for North America
] [Full Regional Assessment for West Asia].

Now it remains to see how these “SMART GOALS” will be further put in an effective and fast implementation agenda of actions. They are still many unclear details as what, when, how and where these goals will be dealt with in particular who will do what, how and when. Though the UN-SDG seem to be more or less specific in general terms, they need to be successful and instruments have to be put in place to measure such success as what you can not measure is does not exist and what you can not measure you can not control. Unless these goals become successful they will be gone with the wind as many other smart UN goals.

2016-05-30 08.22.08

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Education, R&D and Public Awareness are Imperative for Sustainable Policies 

Understanding existing pressures and constrains for implementation and performance of successful sustainable policies requires tight and continuous involvement of all citizens on large-scale and long-term socio-economic policies. 

Planet Earth is a complex living organism with delicate balance that makes possible the unique functioning and metabolism of all life forms on earth. Water, energy and natural resources are essential and basic components that contribute in the earth’s delicate balance. Modern neccessities and future challenges are becoming more and more clear and require from us and future generations to keep such balance in tact with nature’s own dynamic processes. Our consumption of water, energy and natural resources needs to take in consideration the nature’s own delicate balance. 

Visit, share and contribute in “Sustain-earth.com” to inform and be informed on our growing needs for understanding the basic of APPLIED SUSTAINABILITY. An introduction is given at ABOUT (http://sustain-earth.com/about/).

  

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Who should govern the Water? Policies or Politics

“Listen well, it is never in our interest to control and eliminate the illegal drilling because such actions can irritate our voters leading to lose any future election” Said a tribal Shaikh from Bani Hushaish, Yemeni Parliament Member.

Wherever you go with your eyes… here or there, to the north or south, east or west of the earth you will find the water issues are managed through a set of technical, social, economic, political…etc. tools. However, this does not mean that it is a same recipe of tools or solutions applicable for every country, region, area…etc. nor all countries adopt and apply all or some of these tools when managing their water resources and uses. What is quite sure is the adoption and application extent varies from country to country based on countries demand, consciousness, will, commitment and capabilities in applying the integrated concept when managing the water resources.

Water strategies and action plans are usually long term frameworks and actions that adopt and implement various water management tools and policies. Water policies are a sectorial tool to overall orient and manage the various water issues through the implemented water strategies and action plans. Given as an example, in the soccer game the decisions on team formulation, attack and defense tactics, player’s replacement…etc. are considered as the game strategy and or plans. On the other hand, rules that specify the playing ground area, game time, number of players, fouls and penalties kicks away of implementation…etc. are considered as the game policies. Similarly, the water strategies are long term strategic plans that determine goals, objectives, approaches, measures and interventions, main players, cross cutting issues, implementing issues…etc. that should be followed and implemented, while the water policies are simply a set of general rules and frameworks that orient, adjust, and determine the implementation of the water strategies and action plans. For instance, banning the importing or exporting of a specific crop that consumes high amount of water is considered as a water policy that can affect the water situation in a country while covering an irrigated area of one hundred thousand hectare with modern irrigation systems can be considered as strategic action that can be implemented during long period of time.

Politics is a state/regime measurements and actions that contribute to the establishment and implementation of both policies and strategies in all development and governing sectors including the water sector. Politics has significant and critical impacts on the on the water policies and strategies determining the effectiveness and efficiency of respective interventions implementation and the ultimate improvements in the water situation. On the other hand, the political systems and elites can also be affected by the way water issues are handled when implementing the adopted water policies and strategies. The effect level itself, however, depends mainly on to the extent the water users in particular and citizens in general are aware of their water interests, and able to move and put pressure on the political elites in order to manage the water resources efficiently, as well as the politicians consciousness about the importance the proper water management policies and strategies. Given as a live example, the German Green Political Party has succeeded to win more seats in the region parliamentarian election in some south and north regions like the Hessen Region in spite of being classified among the small political parties in Germany. Such success was due to the smartness of the party leadership in putting the environmental issues on the top of the party agenda giving the fact that people in those regions are highly aware and concerned of their environmental issues.

Without going that far, here in Yemen many contradictions between the water management policies and other governing politics existed representing a very interesting case full of vague and questionable decisions undertaken on many water. For instance, why did Yemeni Government and the former regime choose to excessively support the agriculture expansion during the last three decades although agriculture has insignificant contribution in the national GDP????!!!

Why did Yemen issue an official decree to ban the import of fruits and vegetables in the 1980s although it has critical adverse impacts on the groundwater in many water basins in Yemen????!!!!

Was it a sheer coincidence that the state politics hurried wildly establishing hundreds of casual dams out of which many were just awarded as gifts by the former president Ali Saleh to the tribes Shaikhs????!!! According to the National Water Strategy (NWSSIP), the total number of constructed dams reached 1000 dams in 2004. Excluding Marib Dam, the annual amount of water such numerous constructed dams could store does not exceed one third of the annual ground water abstracted from Sana’a Basin. Nevertheless, many soci, economic, and environmental adverse impacts have induced by such casualty of dams’ construction. Further, what is the rationality to go with dams’ construction option in a country that has an average of 200mm/year of rainfall and 2300mm/year of potential evaporation rate…!

Another inquiry, why did the government encourage Yemeni farmers to import drilling rigs and big pumps even without paying any type of customs or taxes for a long period of time???!!! Why has the government subsidized the diesel prices during that period as well???!!! Some may justify the taken politics mentioned above as to afford the country food security. However, as everybody knows that although all unpremeditated political measurements are applied, Yemen did not reach the delusive food security the former regime has publicized; nonetheless, we annually pump more than 40% of our finite and vulnerable groundwater to irrigate Qat crops which is neither considered a kind of food nor provides hard currencies that can be used to import food…!!! Others might justify it as to obtain development, stability and wealth for rural communities, and eliminate the increasing rates of internal migration from the countryside to the urban cities which maximizes the pressure on the public services such as water supply and sanitation, roads, schools, hospitals…etc. in the urban areas. However, statistics show that internal migration rates from rural to urban areas has increased annually till it reached up to 7% in the capital city of Sana’a which became amongst the top ten cities with highest population growth worldwide. On the other hand, rural economy that has relatively improved in some basins due to the agriculture leap induced during the 1980s was just a temporary delusive improvement. For instance, economic returns of agriculture attained by depleting huge amounts of fossil groundwater in many basins were spent either on building Luxurious houses or on travelling to some Arab countries for health treatment or tourism which ultimately didn’t provide any alternative economic activity that can secure a sustainable income for the rural communities once the groundwater is totally depleted. Is it right to assume that the politics and interests of the Yemeni politicians were and might still aiming to keep the majority of the Yemeni people busy with their farming business and away from the political game and ruling system? Who knows?

Another example, why Yemeni state still fails to control some hundreds of rigs that drill thousands of illegal wells annually???!!! Is it difficult for the respective security and local authorities to follow and control them everywhere? If so, why didn’t they hold the rigs when passing by the numerous security checkpoints exist elsewhere? Or why the drilling rigs were not hold even earlier when imported and entered through the national border ports where the state has a full controlling power and authority???!!! Are those hundreds of rigs owners more powerful than the Yemeni state??? If so, what kind of power do they have so that the government is disabled to control them???!!!

The simple and obvious factor is again the regime politics and interest that do not match with the water management policies as expressed by a Shaikh from Bani Hushaish, who was elected among the Moatammar Party elites in the national parliament in 2003. When I and another colleague from NWRA Sana’a Branch had admonished him for not cooperating in eliminating the illegal wells drilling in Bani Hushaish District, the Shaikh explicitly responded to us “Listen well, frankly it is never in our interest to control and eliminate the illegal drilling because such actions can infuriate our voters leading us to lose any further election in the future”. If so, it is clearly understood, why the symphony of the illegal wells drilling is still playing till this moment.

Now, if this is the opinion and intendancy of parliament members, it is not then surprising to conclude that all unjustified erroneous politics were not taken by the former regime for the purpose of rural communities’ development and national economy promotion as announced, yet it was just to satisfy the wide base of electors who live in the rural areas so they continue to support and elect the former regime elites in every election. On the other hand, as forth assumed it was also to keep the major base of voters away from the political game and country ruling system and process by keeping them busy with delusive unsustainable agricultural development and ensuring the political stability of the ruling regime; meanwhile, ignoring the critical and non-compensational costs and values such as the vanished groundwater resources that is still vulnerable for high depletion rates on the medium and long term periods. If it wasn’t the case, why the former regime didn’t follow and adopt right tools, policies and interventions for much more realistic and sustainable water management and national economy development???? Why was the former regime highly reluctant to support proper effective and efficient water management actions and interventions rather than the limited timely fictional measurements although the respective knowledge and experiences were available at that time?

Now, what are the results? Did the former succeeded to last as it had planned? Absolutely, no. Was the propaganda-based agricultural and economic development attained? It is never happened. Could the former politics of the state sustain our finite and vulnerable groundwater resources? Regrettably, they could not. The final question now on the today regime, government, political parties and elites, can they draw and learn some lessons of the past? Can they get rid of the personal and or political interest when managing the country different development issues including water? They should answer it yet not me or you dearest readers!

Last but not least, all of us as citizens of this lovely country before being politicians or voters, water users or managers have to consider and learn from the past, act with more comprehensive and integrated insights, and start adopting realistic proper and integrated water resources planning and management policies, tools, and interventions that ensure the public interest of Yemen at first and 25 million Yemenis soci and economic sustainable development at second.

,,,Allah bless and mercy Yemen and Yemenis

Best Regards

MSc. Abdulkhaleq Q. Alwan

IWRM Principle Advisor at MWE

Alwan10@gmail.com

Author name: Abdulkhaleq Alwan
Speciality and expertise: IWRM
Sector/Affiliation: Water Sector
Adress: Khawlan St, Sanaa – Yemen
E-mail: alwan10@gmail.com
Mobile: +967777148875
Type of contribution: Article

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Egypt is heading Towards A New future – The New Cairo

Among the new plans for the socio-economic developments of Egypt a new capital “New Cairo” is planned to be established in region of the Red Sea so the pressure on the existing capital can be mitigated. Interesting enough the Red Sea region and Sinai, including the Suez Canal are becoming among the major changes and reforms in “Egypt the Future”. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=941998875850439

To know more visit also, http://m.bbc.com/news/business-31874886

 

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Sustain-Earth.Com – Connecting People For Healthy and Wealthy Future

Professionals in all sectors and on all levels around the world are corner stones in shaping the future on our planet; they are, also, leaders that can direct its path. However, for our fellow citizens to be safe, secure and share their responsibility the conservation and sustainable management of our collective natural resources on the earth requires innovation, engagement, transparency and full participation in “serve and get served”. With these objectives we can turn past difficulties, existing obstacles and future threats to solutions, admittance and prosperity.

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Seeking the reality – Parts of the Truth is not the Whole Truth

An Event is part of a series of event representing a reality that might be complex. In research we seek knowledge that allow understanding all sides of the complex reality. Education helps to prepare you for research and development which are essential components for achieving sustainable socio-economic developments. Follow, share and contribute in http://sustain-earth.com

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CHANGE INDIA~ I WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

CHANGE INDIA ~ I WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE

To a certain extent, all of us are influenced by our religious texts, customs, traditions, etc. Most of us visit places of worship at regular intervals and are very punctual. IF we really ARE so particular about religion, why don’t we practice what our religious texts preach? As far as I know, the common belief is that, in a place where women are respected, God resides there. When we are aware of this, then why do we exploit women?

Exploitation of women is definitely a crime, but a secondary crime. The most primary crime is to overlook our religious texts and claim ourselves to be religious and spiritual in nature. Be true to others. But first, be true to yourself.

Now, I am going to talk about exploitation of women as a crime. Why do we even have such crimes prevailing in our country? Let us accept it, it is all because of our mindset, that women are weak. But, I repeat, that it is a MINDSET and not reality. This thinking pattern of ours eventually takes the form of actions. What is the point of complaining about the exploitation of women when we ourselves are the cause, when we ourselves are the reason? As Mahatma Gandhi very rightly said, ‘Be the change that you want to see in the world’.

My Civics Textbook of 8th grade says, ‘ Women and other weaker sections of society’. When you are being educated that women are weak, then how do you expect a sudden change to take place, which would improve the status of women in our society? We exploit women because we disrespect them and consider them weak. This is our biggest undoing.

Just think about this, why are Women Empowerment, Feminist Approach, etc. such major concerns in India and not in countries abroad? Why aren’t women molested, burnt on account of their incapacity to pay dowry and why isn’t the Sati practice prevalent in countries abroad?

STOP telling women to not get out of her house after 10 and always to wear full-sleeved clothes. Change how YOU perceive her to be. If our Indian constitution preaches ideals of Liberty, Equality, etc. regardless of gender, then let us learn to conform to them.

https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140622163340-257012117-change-india-i-will-make-a-difference-by-asavari-saxena

Author name: ASAVARI SAXENA
Speciality and expertise: ASAVAREE BRAND NAME
Sector/Affiliation: POLITICS & INFRASTRUCTURE
Adress: Bangalore , INDIA
E-mail: saxenaasavari@gmail.com

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Reports from the Highest point on Earth – Are there dead bodies still on Mount Everest?

Follow our Guest Blogger Rajendra Nhisutu who brings to you interesting information from the highest point on earth. “Sustain-earth” extends its activities for mintoring and reporting on the environments at every corner of the earth and all the space around it. Conservation of natural resources on the planet is essential for sustaining life on the earth and improving its quality.

There Are Over 200 than more Bodies on Mount Everest, And They’re Used as Landmarks and most bodies still remain on the mountain frozen in time.

Is there any Mission/Agency on Earth who can help handovering to their family?

May the souls of the dead rest in peace!!!

“PLEASE don’t leave me,” the dying woman cried. Two climbers heard the screams of Francys Arsentiev, an American climber who had fallen after succumbing to snow blindness and found herself separated from her husband. They were in the death zone, they were low on oxygen, and the woman was on the side of a steep cliff; carrying her was not an option. The trip just to get down to her would be a risk of their own lives. Despite the risks, the two climbers – Ian Woodall and Cathy O’Dowd – climbed down to her and did what they could to give her assistance.

But it was too late. Ian and Cathy administered oxygen and tended to Fran, but there was nothing they could do. They returned to base camp to seek help and report their findings.

Eight years later the two climbers would return (above). In an attempt to give Francys a makeshift high-altitude burial, they would place an American flag on her body along with a note from her family.

At the time of Francys’ death in 1998, no one knew what had happened to her husband and climbing partner Sergei. He had been climbing with her and had disappeared around the same time; all that had been found were his pick axe and rope. On the day Francys died, other climbers had last seen Sergei far ahead of Francys on the descent after the two had accidentally become separated.

Looking for his wife, Sergei later backtracked toward the summit despite knowing he did not have enough Oxygen to last. His exposure to the harsh conditions on Everest so far had been all he could handle, and he was beginning to suffer from frostbite. Still, Sergei would not leave his wife behind.

Sergei had made his way back to Francys, and descended toward the cliff she lay on as she screamed for help. Sadly, he fell to his death trying to reach his wife.

Possibly the most famous body on Everest is that of “Green Boots,” an Indian climber named Tsewang Paljor. Paljor was a Constable with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police who took his last breath on the 10th of May during the famous 1996 Mount Everest Disaster. Paljor was part of a three-man group that was attempting to be the first Indian team to ascend Mt. Everest from the Northeastern route. The weather that season was worse than otheryears and 1996 proved to be one of the deadliest seasons for Mount Everest climbers. When the storm rolled in, visibility went to zero and the temperature dropped considerably. Separated from the climbers in his group and suffering from the cold, Paljor found a small cave and huddled inside for protection from the elements. Little did he know that would be his resting place for the next 15 years.

One of the more storied climbers that met his fate on Everest was George Mallory, a famous English Mountaineer. In 1924, Mallory fell to his death during a storm while attempting to be the first to reach the summit of Everest. His body was discovered in 1999 during the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition. Decades earlier, Chinese climbers had reported seeing a “European body” laying face down on a shelf off the main trail. Given the description and the date of the find, experts had always assumed it was the body of Andrew Irvine. Irvine was another famous English Mountaineer who had attempted the ascent of Everest with Mallory and perished in the same storm.

During a 1933 Everest expedition, climbers found Andrew Irvine’s axe and rope. Because of this, it was widely believe to be Irvine’s body discovered by the Chinese. When the body was found during the 1999 search expedition, it was discovered to be that of George Mallory, not Irvine. Mallory was found face down in a bunch of shale with his arms spread out and up. His skin was in remarkably good condition but was tanned from 75 years of sun exposure. After examining the body, experts hypothesized that Mallory’s rope had failed as he was found with a short severed rope tied around his waist. He was also found with a golf ball-sized hole in his forehead, indicating he might have suffered blunt force trauma from striking a sharp rock. Andrew Irvine has never been found.

A more recent story is that of David Sharp. David was an English mountaineer who, in 2005, ascended Everest in a group but attempted the final climb by himself. At one point he stopped in a small cave and eventually froze to the point he could not move. As he lay near death below the summit, he was passed by over 40 other climbers both on their way up and their way down.

Sharp had stopped to rest and protect himself from the elements in the same cave Green Boots had used. Since David was not moving, the 40 climbers that passed by had either not seen him or assumed he was Green Boots. A group of sherpas in a later expedition on the way up to the summit noticed Sharp just off the trail, alive and moaning. When the sherpas reached David, he was not coherent and badly frostbitten – but he was able to say his name and which party he was with.

After giving David some oxygen, the sherpas attempted to help him climb down but he could not stand under his own power. Realizing Sharp was not going to be able to move, the sherpas pulled David into the sunlight hoping the sun exposure would warm him up. By the time the sherpas returned to camp to report their find, David was dead. The last party to see Sharp alive was the documentary crew filming the ascent of double-amputee Mark Inglis. Since they were filming, they had cameras rolling when they approached David and the footage was used in the documentary.
If any suggestion please contact to Rajendra Nhisutu, Chair of HIMET organization (mounteveresttower@gmail.com)
Kathmandu, Nepal

Author name: Rajendra Nhisutu
Speciality and expertise: Climb for Cause
Sector/Affiliation: HIMET Organization, Nepal
Adress: Kathmandu, Nepal
E-mail: mounteveresttower@gmail.com
Mobile: +9779843097740
Type of contribution: Posting

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Dubai – Youthful promise by SynergY marks World Environment and World Ocean Days with tree plantation

World Oceans Day is celebrated around the world every June 8th, following the World Environment Day on 5th June. SynergY youth group in Dubai made a promise for the ocean by planting 50 trees at Green Mountain MRF supported by Dubai Municipality at the landfill area in Dubai on 7th June’2014. Nearly 1200 trees have been planted at various landfill and waste management sites in a short span in Dubai and 50 more added today. The Members also took interesting selfies near the Mamzar Beach to seal their pledge. These pictures showed the deep commitment this group has to raise awareness and get the community engaged in to support environment. The theme for World Oceans Day for 2014 is, “Together we have the power to protect the ocean!” and that of the World Environment Day was “Raise your voices and not the sea level”.

Simran Vedvyas, the founder of SynergY explained how each and every act of ours can help reduce the effects of global warming which is the biggest threat to humankind as- ‘We throw away over 1/3 of all food that is produced, wasting precious land and water resources that have gone into its production. Food waste in landfills is one of the biggest contributors of the harmful gases that cause global warming. Warmer temperatures are melting glaciers causing sea levels to rise, threatening small islands and low lying cities around the world. We pose everyone to take pledge and ‘reduce food waste’ because this is the only way to make a difference in lives of our future generation’

Mr. Sadin Ismail Al Falasi, Head of Treatment Systems Unit from Waste Management Department, Dubai Municipality and other officials were present at the event to support and encourage the children in their endeavors. He believes that what this group is doing for the community is remarkable and also complimented Simran for her recent achievements and on receiving the John Muir Award for Youth Environmental Conservation Award and the International 2014 Eco Hero Award by Action for Nature USA, recently.

“We ask everyone to help reduce the “FOODprint” by managing the meals smartly, storing food, using leftovers, buying imperfect vegetables and encouraging the supermarkets and restaurants to cut their food waste”, is the message disseminated by the members of this group.

The group celebrated the World Environment Day by visiting the exhibition “Your Planet Needs You” by Dubai Municipality at Children City that encourages a scientific look into the future of Dubai should we choose to take care of or ignore our environment. The visit to this exhibition gave a glimpse into Dubai 2050 as to how citizen of Dubai will survive global changes such as resource availability and the climate. The exhibition is an eye-opener into a scientifically designed future of our world, and is recommended for children, teens and families. The activities were CSR supported by Al Futtaim Carillion and Barakat Juices.

SynergY youth group has worked on grass-root level projects to raise awareness and fight against food waste which campaigns for reducing landfills. Making use of the Information and Communication Technology this youth group has innovatively used tools like videos, blogs, e-mails and shared the work on the social media to ‘reduce the food waste’. SynergY has raised awareness and environmental education through events, lectures, presentations about reducing waste that is filling the landfills and also planting trees and greening the landfill areas.

www.synergyouth.weebly.com
www.facebook.com/CosmoFoundationYouth

Author name: Simran Vedvyas
Speciality and expertise: Environment and Waste Management
Sector/Affiliation: SynergY youth
Adress: P. O.Box 30876 Dubai UAE
E-mail: simran.vedvyas@gmail.com
Mobile: 00971506526228
Type of contribution: Climate Action

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Invitation – A NEW Logo For Sustain-Earth.

http://sustain-earth.com is a platform and a BLOG for integrating and marketing sustainability in education and research, and popularization of sustainability in science and technology. It supports “Open Access”. It has built-in functions and instruments for coupling education, research and technology with society, market and population needs on national and international levels. It, also, acts for promoting “Business-to-Business” and creating “Career-Development-Plans” for professionals and graduates in the emerging applications of sustainability and socio-economic developments. http://sustain-earth.com is an instruments and vehicle for developing and implementing applied sustainability in all sectors and on all levels.

LOGO of "sustain-earth.com" has three colours. Main colour of "earth" is green a product of "blue" for clean water and "yellow" for clean energy.

LOGO of “sustain-earth.com” has three colors. Main color of “earth” is a dynamic green-product of “blue” for clean water and “yellow” for clean energy. A green main arrow representing the functioning and metabolism of “sustain-earth” through fueling life by constant clean water “blue” supported by clean energy “yellow”.

To learn more and get introduction on “http://sustain-earth.com” please visit “ABOUT”. We welcome any questions and inquiries through “CONTACT”. You are, also, most welcome with innovative posts at “CONTRIBUTE”.

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Middle East – Railways for 250 Billion US Dollars

Follow the mega constructions in the Middle East region for the transformation to more a sustainable future where railways provide the most environment friendly and sustainable large-scale and long-term transportation system. Mr. Loay Ghazaleh, Advisor at the Undersecretary Offices, The Ministry of Works, Bahrain, describes in a comprehensive, pedagogic and innovative slideshow the ME “Middle East” Railway Development and PPP “Public Private Partnership” Financing Framework over the next ten years. A major shift in the transport sector of the Middle East with enormous investments that can bring about huge feedback advantages regarding mobility of goods and citizens.  

ABSTRACT. The Middle East has allocated nearly $250bn to various railway projects over the next 10 years with ambitious plan to build around 67,000km of railway tracks throughout the region. The region has the opportunity to build the world’s most advanced passenger and freight transport systems. The presentation touches on all aspects of railway development and strategies in the region including different Public private Partnership (PPP) models and financing / funding advice to better develop rail projects as a sustainable means of transport.

http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/loayghz/me-railway-development-ppp-financing-framework

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Uganda – Green Politics for Sustainable Socio-Economic Developments

Bringing about sustainable socio-economic developments in any society is an enormous task and requires mobilization of a wide-range of stakeholders in all sectors and on all levels.  Politics in this context is of central importance for turning sustainability to reality especially in developing countries.

Uganda recognized the importance of green politics in 2006 where Pilot International (http://www.pilot-int.org/index.html) was founded, by ROBINAH K. NANYUNJA (Full BIO: http://www.robinahknanyunja.com/robk/?page_id=38, the President General, Ecological Party and Uganda’s Green Party. The mission is to promote global sustainable development for the benefit of humanity and the planet, advocate peace, security, unity, preservation of the environment and ecosystem for socio-economic development. The Green ideology of Pilot International rests on solidarity that can be expressed in three parts: Solidarity with all the people of the world; Solidarity with animals, nature and the ecological system; Solidarity with future generations. For more information on this Political Platform, please, visit: 

http://www.robinahknanyunja.com/robk/?page_id=16

ROBINAH K. NANYUNJA is currently a Guest Blogger at “sustain-earth”

 

 

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Ethiopia – Innovation in Coupling Education to Society and Population Needs

Poverty is a social longstanding problem and throughout the human history there have been enormous efforts for raising the public awareness about the huge threats and negative impacts of poverty on the socio-economic developments. There are well-documents correlations between poverty and high crime rates, corruption, illiteracy, sanitation, diseases, many other social fragmentation, cultural and degradation problems. Poverty is the biggest single obstacle not only for achieving sustainable socio-economic development but also for bringing about political stability, safety and security in any society. It is a “socio-economic debt” and without appropriate instruments to cure such “socio-economic debt” a pileup of negative impacts and threats will be the ultimate fate of any society with a final result of total socio-economic collapse. The pathway to  poverty is much simpler than erasing it and once deep rooted it isn’t simple to revert the situation. Religions have recognized poverty as a huge social defect. However, with the increasing importance of politics, cultural diversity, social welfare systems, individualism and competitions in a labor free and globalized market new instruments are needed, if not imperative, to erase or at least to reduce poverty.

If we don’t fight poverty will be forced to fight poor people, which is already happening. It is an enormous task for the developing countries, especially in Africa, Latin America and Asia, to build up modern societies with acceptable, affordable and accessible water, energy and food resources in the shadow of an increasingly global complexity in trade and economy. Engagement of all stakeholder and population through NGOs is of increasing importance as political and governmental systems alone are proved to be insufficient especially for effective and rapid transformation to more welfare based societies. One of such NGOs “Stand for Vulnerable Organization ( SVO)” was established in Ethiopia already in 2005 by Misganaw Eticha, currently a Guest Blogger at “sustain-earth”.

For more information about Stand for Vulnerable Organization (SVO), please visit: http://www.sva.org.et/about-us/historical-background/

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Historical Development of Stand for Vulnerable Organization on Child Development Services

The Stand for Vulnerable Organization (SVO) was founded by Misganaw Eticha Dubie and his wife Tadelu Debissa Eticha with other three co-founders: Berhanu Kenea Yifru, Fayera Abdissa Kitla and Daniel Fantaye Bekana.

Misganaw Eticha Dubie (the founder) was a second year university student in 1992. On April 3, 1992, he went outside of the university campus to look for a shoeshine after he had his lunch. While a Shoe shiner was polishing his shoes, the founder looked at the nearby mother who was sitting on the roadside with her three children, two daughters and a son. Her tears were flowing down while the son was eating bread but the two daughters were crying for. The founder asked the mother “why are you weeping and your children are crying?” The mother immediately responded, “They are hungry”. He was stricken by her words of hunger and gave her the bread that he took for a Shoe Shiner from his lunch plate. This bread was to be given to the Shoe Shiner instead of the payment of some coins. Because of the sensitivity of the founder towards the incident, humanitarian service concept conceived on that day in his mind. He recalled the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 25: 35-45, which directs His disciples to reach for the poor and geared his mind to start thinking on how to give birth of the conception. His heart never got a rest from that day onwards to seek ways and strategies of realizing desired wholistic development for children and empowering their guardians particularly their mothers who mostly suffer with their children.

The founder understood that children and mothers are the most affected vulnerable sections of a society from external shocks. The situation has persuaded him to concentrate on prioritizing children and their mothers/ women’s’ involvement in any process of development undertakings. He started reading and learning operational experiences of other previously established humanitarian organizations on their organizational administration, effectiveness, efficiency, partnership, leadership and other related issues to have an organization with a strong ground in bringing the desired goal in Ethiopia. This enabled him to learn the strengths and weaknesses of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and started to design how to share his vision and recruit people who shared the vision and willing to shoulder the burden and serve their communities with a genuine good will. The dream to have strong kind of NGO in Ethiopia challenged the founder and pushed him to take time to work on effective founding strategies of the Stand for Vulnerable Organization (SVO).

During his efforts to share his vision, he faced many challenges from different people. Many people and organizations were suspicious about a motive of NGO establishment since they see some NGOs misuse organizational resources. This has made the beginning difficult to convince and get committed collaborators to found the SVO. Since it was difficult to believe the idea that was not concrete and on the ground, people were with full of questions and reluctant to work with the founder except a few people. However, the pain of Ethiopian people never gave him rest to evacuate from the vision but continued his way with perseverance, which finally brought forth the birth of the Stand for Vulnerable Organization (SVO) after 12 years of its conception.

Finally, by organizing five co-founders including his wife, who was committed for the founding of the organization at all required costs and shared his burden, he led the meeting on the birth of SVO on October 15, 2005. The intention is to have a strong organization that was not simply adding the number of NGOs but to bring an NGO that is able to influence the development of the country in a meaningful way. With this notion and experience of its first conception of incidence in mind, SVO set priority to address the needs of children and their guardians, particularly women, in its development works to revenge poverty that has been the enemy of generations. It is all about empowering the Ethiopian communities so that they are able to fight poverty particularly the state of being devoid of basic needs.

Fulfilling all the legal requirements, SVO was officially registered on July 26, 2006 at the national level by its previous name, the Stand for the Vulnerables Association (SVA). Under the new Proclamation of 621/2001, the Stand for Vulnerable Organization was re-registered on October 16, 2009 by Charities and Societies Agency with a slight change to its name as the Stand for Vulnerable Organization (SVO).

After its legal registration, the first General Assembly Meeting was held on August 26, 2006 at the Marxist (Dibab Square) in front of Addis Ababa University (Main Campus) and its first official executive board members and executive director were appointed by the General Assembly. The meeting was held at the Square because of the organization was a new beginner without office. The rain that was falling on the attendants of the meeting was unforgettable in the history of SVO since it indicates the level of commitment of the General Assembly members who were recruited and committed to contribute to the development of our country.

The Stand for Vulnerable Organization (SVO) then after was shifted from the vision of single person to the vision of many people who were organized into legal body of General Assembly members to aggressively fight the poverty in the country. The General Assembly members of SVO consists of trained development experts with rich experiences in child and women development, natural resource management, livelihood improvement, health development, consultancy work, education, leadership and management working with different non-governmental and government organizations. It is with this strong background that the General Assembly members were well equipped with expertise and experience of project planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. Above all, they are people with deep love for their country and committed heart to serve their people at any cost. This commitment of the founders and General Assembly members helped SVO to move forward to the position of bringing inexorable impact in the development direction of our country.

Misganaw Eticha
Executive Director
Stand for Vulnerable Organization ( SVO)

· © 2014 Stand for Vulnerable Organization (SVO) (http://www.sva.org.et/about-us/historical-background/)

Author name: Misganaw Eticha
Speciality and expertise: Sociology (BA); Development Studies
Sector/Affiliation: Child and Youth Development
Adress: Addis Ababa – Ethiopia
E-mail: misganaweticha.svo@gmail.com
Mobile: +251911516426
Type of contribution: Child Development

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