Abu Dhabi: Civil societies and governments in the developing world are more proactive in tacking environmental issues, although they don't have enough resources, a UN official told Gulf News. Citing the examples of such initiatives in Bangladesh, India, China and Eritrea, she said social commitment of the people and experience of the impact of climate change in developing countries also contribute to this trend.
"I found more civic awareness in those countries. And having experienced the impact of climate change, people feel it [the need to act]," said Jaspreet Kindra, information officer at Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) of the United Nations, based in Johannesburg.
"In Bangladesh I found solid awareness against plastic bags. Many people don't use them."
Bangladesh and India have also started using Compressed Natural Gas [CNG], a green fuel in vehicles.
"In India the vigilant civil society took the government into courts to introduce CNG [in Delhi, the Indian capital]," she explained.
UAE workshop
She spoke to Gulf News on the sidelines of a two-day media workshop in Abu Dhabi on environmental humanitarian reporting, organised by the UAE Foreign Aid Coordination Office (FACO) in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IRIN.
Local journalists and media specialists from the donor organisations in the UAE participated in the workshop aimed at strengthening coordination between donor and media organisations in emergencies, in order to maximise the impact of relief efforts among needy communities.
Hazza Mohammad Falah Al Qah'tani, FACO Director General, who opened the workshop, emphasised the relevance of the workshop as the UAE aid community has frequently been called to respond to emergency situations arising from natural disasters in recent years.
Complacency
The UN official said in the developed world, still, there is complacency because they don't feel the impact [of climate change]. However, the eco-friendly policies of some developed countries, especially in Europe, are praiseworthy, she said.
Continuing the initiatives of developing countries, the Chinese government is trying to make the country the biggest producer of renewable energy, she said.
The resource-starved developing world's commitment is mostly visible on the negotiating table of the UN.
An Eritrea delegation, an under-resourced team of just two or three negotiators, recently managed to convince the UN to bag funds for Least Developed Countries. "It was sheer commitment… seen on [at] negotiating table".
The Eritrean government is alleged to be cut off from rest of the world, but it is proactive in tackling environmental issues.
The tiny developing nation with hardly any resources has set up a large number of windmills and their energy contributes to the grid of a city.
Its initiatives in solar energy are also fascinating, she added.
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) being one of the most water-scarce regions in the world, the climate related risks are very high in the region.
"Between 2000 and 2009, 422 natural disasters killed over 120,000 people and affected around 70 million in the MENA region. Water scarcity and recurring drought affected over 50 million people in this region alone," Nadia Evans, External Relations Officer, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said at the workshop. Evans stressed that in the Middle East's already volatile areas, climate related emergencies resulting from recurring drought, desertification, food insecurity and flooding (countries like Egypt and Yemen are particularly vulnerable) could exacerbate existing regional tensions due to forced migration and competition for already scarce resources.
Climate: Mena is particularly vulnerable to change
With the Middle East and North Africa (Mena region), being one of the most water-scarce regions in the world, the climate-related risks are very high in the region.
"Between 2000 and 2009, 422 natural disasters killed over 120,000 people and affected around 70 million in the Mena region. Water scarcity and recurring drought affected over 50 million people in this region alone," Nadia Evans, External Relations Officer, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said at the workshop. Evans stressed that in the Middle East's already volatile areas, climate-related emergencies resulting from recurring drought, desertification, food insecurity and flooding (countries like Egypt and Yemen are particularly vulnerable) could exacerbate existing regional tensions due to forced migration and competition for already scarce resources.
