Human health is under threat from ecosystem degradation, and threats are particularly acute in poorer countries, according to a report published Friday by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The report, Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Health Synthesis, represents an attempt to describe the complex links between the preservation of healthy and biodiverse natural ecosystems and human health.
"Over the past 50 years, humans have changed natural ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period in human history," said Lee Jong-wook, director-general of WHO.
"This transformation of the planet has contributed to substantial net gains in health, well-being and economic development. But not all regions and groups of people have benefited equally from this process," he said.
According to the report, approximately 60 percent of the benefits that the global ecosystem provides to support life on Earth (such as fresh water, clean air and a relatively stable climate) are being degraded or used unsustainably.
In the report, scientists warn that harmful consequences of this degradation to human health are already being felt and could grow significantly worse over the next 50 years.
"The benefits should be acknowledged," said Carlos Corvalan, WHO 's lead expert on the report. "But these benefits are not enjoyed equally. And the risks we face now from ecosystem degradation, particularly among poor populations directly dependent on natural ecosystems for many basic needs, has to be addressed."
Ecosystem services are absolutely vital to preventing disease and sustaining good health, the Health Synthesis report underlines. Many important human diseases have originated in animals, and so changes in the habitats of animal populations that are disease vectors or reservoirs, may affect human health, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively.
Intensive livestock production, while providing benefits to health in terms of improved nutrition, has also created environments favorable to the emergence of diseases, the report notes.
Trends ranging from forest clearance to climate-induced habitat changes also appear to have impacted on certain populations of mosquitoes, ticks and midges, altering transmission patterns for diseases like malaria and Lyme disease.
Pressures on ecosystems could have unpredictable and potentially severe future impacts on health, the report states. Regions facing the greatest present-day risks, meanwhile, include sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, parts of Latin America, and certain areas in South and Southeast Asia.
One of the most serious problems is nutrition. Degradation of fisheries and agro-ecosystems are factors in the malnutrition of some 800 million people around the world. At least an additional billion people experience chronic micronutrient deficiency.
Safe drinking-water is also serious. Water-associated infectious diseases claim 3.2 million lives, approximately 6 percent of all deaths globally. Over one billion people lack access to safe water supplies, while 2.6 billion lack adequate sanitation, and related problems of water scarcity are increasing, partly due to ecosystem depletion and contamination.
Solid fuel dependency is another problem. About 3 percent of the global burden of disease has been attributed to indoor air pollution, a major cause of respiratory diseases. Most of the world's population uses solid fuels to cook and heat, a factor in deforestation.
The Health Synthesis Report is WHO's contribution to the broader Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a four-year series of studies and reports, involving over 1300 scientists, considering impacts on human well-being, past, present and future.
www.english.people.com.cn
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Malaysian PM urges for enhanced regional business linkage
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Saturday called on the East Asian business community to complement initiatives undertaken by their respective governments to enhance business linkages within the region.
Trade and industry associations in the region should also work to further enhance their networking, the prime minister said while opening the East Asia Business Exhibition here.
This could be facilitated through more frequent exchanges of trade and investment delegations as it would contribute to better understanding of the business environment and more frequent sharing of views and information, the prime minister said.
It would serve to "enhance awareness and facilitate closer business cooperation and discussions on issues of common interest as well as provide feedback to the governments," he said.
Last year, the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) together with China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand accounted for 22.7 percent of world trade.
"This is no small achievement because it represents 24.2 percent of world exports and 21.2 percent of world imports," he said.
These countries also accounted for 22.6 percent of the world's gross domestic product in 2004, amounting to 9.2 trillion US dollars, according to the Malaysian prime minister.
Intra-regional trade for these countries has been growing faster than their trade with other regions.
www.news.xinhuanet.com
Trade and industry associations in the region should also work to further enhance their networking, the prime minister said while opening the East Asia Business Exhibition here.
This could be facilitated through more frequent exchanges of trade and investment delegations as it would contribute to better understanding of the business environment and more frequent sharing of views and information, the prime minister said.
It would serve to "enhance awareness and facilitate closer business cooperation and discussions on issues of common interest as well as provide feedback to the governments," he said.
Last year, the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) together with China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand accounted for 22.7 percent of world trade.
"This is no small achievement because it represents 24.2 percent of world exports and 21.2 percent of world imports," he said.
These countries also accounted for 22.6 percent of the world's gross domestic product in 2004, amounting to 9.2 trillion US dollars, according to the Malaysian prime minister.
Intra-regional trade for these countries has been growing faster than their trade with other regions.
www.news.xinhuanet.com
Old technology gets new look in wake of crashes on short-overrun runways
An airplane crash at Little Rock National Airport in June 1999 that killed 11 people started a flurry of discussions over runway safety.
It was then the acronym EMAS entered the aviation lexicon even though it wasn’t a new concept.
Representatives at one Chicago law firm said Friday they believe the crash at Chicago’s Midway Airport, which left a 6-year-old Leroy boy dead, will force a resurrection of the discussion of the value of the Emergency Material Arresting System technology.
EMAS, developed in the 1980s, uses dense material and places it at the ends of airport runways that have less than 1,000 feet of runway safety space. When a plane can’t stop in the length of a runway, or lands short of the runway, the EMAS material crumbles upon impact, causing the aircraft to stop.
But, there’s debate over whether Midway could accommodate such a system.
“I think as a result of this (crash) the FAA has to take some action at Midway,” said Tom Ellis, spokesman for Nolan Law Group. But, they should have been proactive instead of waiting for an accident to prompt change, he said.
“It seems to be the same FAA tombstone-safety mentality,” Ellis said, referring to the Burbank and Little Rock airports which installed an EMAS only after deadly accidents occurred.
The system has proven effective — most recently preventing an accident at New York’s JFK Airport in January — and the FAA has recommended its installation in several airports across the country that don’t meet the FAA standard of 1,000 feet of overrun space.
According to the FAA, approximately 300 airports in the nation, including Midway and Gary/Chicago International Airport, do not meet those regulations. Recommendations are now being made for these airports to either extend their runways or install an EMAS.
But one FAA official said even though Congress suggests a deadline of 2015 for airports to comply, there would still be exceptions for some.
There may be some extenuating circumstances at some airports where EMAS simply wouldn’t be possible, said Tony Molinera, spokesman for the FAA Great Lakes Region. Midway might fit within that exception, he said.
A standard EMAS requires at least 500 feet, Molinera said. The Midway runway that a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 slid off Thursday was only 83 feet from the wall surrounding the airfield, Molinera said.
In addition, the airport, surrounded on all sides by residential streets, houses and businesses, has no space to expand.
Ellis argues a nonstandard EMAS would require much less space. And he says Midway can accommodate such a system.
The Chicago Department of Aviation didn’t return calls for comment on Friday.
Paul Karas, administrator of Gary/Chicago International Airport, said the FAA recommended it consider EMAS as it started a feasibility study on extending its runway.
But in order to accommodate EMAS, the Gary runway would actually have to be shortened. And the system would cost the airport more than $22 million to install and $400,000 per year in maintenance, Karas said.
The end of Gary’s Runway 30, Karas said, is about 250 feet from a railroad bed. Since an EMAS would require at least 400 feet, the runway would have to be shortened in order to accommodate it. The airport is instead proposing the removal of the railroad bed in order to extend the runway.
“They (FAA) haven’t made their final decision, but they recognize installing EMAS poses other difficulties for Gary Airport,” Karas said.
Ellis said Midway’s runways are capable of accommodating planes as large as the 737-700. But the design needs to account for any possible emergency scenario, and it doesn’t, he said.
If that safety can’t be ensured, Ellis said, “Maybe they should take those flights to O’Hare.”
www.post-trib.com
It was then the acronym EMAS entered the aviation lexicon even though it wasn’t a new concept.
Representatives at one Chicago law firm said Friday they believe the crash at Chicago’s Midway Airport, which left a 6-year-old Leroy boy dead, will force a resurrection of the discussion of the value of the Emergency Material Arresting System technology.
EMAS, developed in the 1980s, uses dense material and places it at the ends of airport runways that have less than 1,000 feet of runway safety space. When a plane can’t stop in the length of a runway, or lands short of the runway, the EMAS material crumbles upon impact, causing the aircraft to stop.
But, there’s debate over whether Midway could accommodate such a system.
“I think as a result of this (crash) the FAA has to take some action at Midway,” said Tom Ellis, spokesman for Nolan Law Group. But, they should have been proactive instead of waiting for an accident to prompt change, he said.
“It seems to be the same FAA tombstone-safety mentality,” Ellis said, referring to the Burbank and Little Rock airports which installed an EMAS only after deadly accidents occurred.
The system has proven effective — most recently preventing an accident at New York’s JFK Airport in January — and the FAA has recommended its installation in several airports across the country that don’t meet the FAA standard of 1,000 feet of overrun space.
According to the FAA, approximately 300 airports in the nation, including Midway and Gary/Chicago International Airport, do not meet those regulations. Recommendations are now being made for these airports to either extend their runways or install an EMAS.
But one FAA official said even though Congress suggests a deadline of 2015 for airports to comply, there would still be exceptions for some.
There may be some extenuating circumstances at some airports where EMAS simply wouldn’t be possible, said Tony Molinera, spokesman for the FAA Great Lakes Region. Midway might fit within that exception, he said.
A standard EMAS requires at least 500 feet, Molinera said. The Midway runway that a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 slid off Thursday was only 83 feet from the wall surrounding the airfield, Molinera said.
In addition, the airport, surrounded on all sides by residential streets, houses and businesses, has no space to expand.
Ellis argues a nonstandard EMAS would require much less space. And he says Midway can accommodate such a system.
The Chicago Department of Aviation didn’t return calls for comment on Friday.
Paul Karas, administrator of Gary/Chicago International Airport, said the FAA recommended it consider EMAS as it started a feasibility study on extending its runway.
But in order to accommodate EMAS, the Gary runway would actually have to be shortened. And the system would cost the airport more than $22 million to install and $400,000 per year in maintenance, Karas said.
The end of Gary’s Runway 30, Karas said, is about 250 feet from a railroad bed. Since an EMAS would require at least 400 feet, the runway would have to be shortened in order to accommodate it. The airport is instead proposing the removal of the railroad bed in order to extend the runway.
“They (FAA) haven’t made their final decision, but they recognize installing EMAS poses other difficulties for Gary Airport,” Karas said.
Ellis said Midway’s runways are capable of accommodating planes as large as the 737-700. But the design needs to account for any possible emergency scenario, and it doesn’t, he said.
If that safety can’t be ensured, Ellis said, “Maybe they should take those flights to O’Hare.”
www.post-trib.com
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