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Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate change

This is where you can talk about every subject (previously it was called shout room)

Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:20 pm

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Erbil has lowest water levels in 15 years

“Erbil has not faced such low water levels since before 2006,” Masoud Karash said in an interview with Rudaw radio. “This year’s drought had a very bad effect. The water levels of the rivers and wells have reduced a lot, and many lakes and wells went dry. This year the problem is big.”

In Erbil, over a third of water comes from surface-level sources, while nearly two-thirds come from underground reservoirs.

The Kurdistan Region and Iraq are regularly affected by water shortages, however, this year the situation has been particularly bad, with was less snowfall and rain than usual during the winter and spring, as well as hampered water flow from neighboring countries.

“We have set up a team to look into facing off the drought, and they have done good work,” Karash said.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials warned in April that the Region was already in the midst of a water crisis.

Erbil has three water treatment plants named Ifraz 1, Ifraz 2, and Ifraz 3. Combined, all three plants provide around 20,000 cubic meters of water per hour.

Karash said that they are working on Ifraz 4 which he says will solve the water problem in Erbil.

Water shortages in the Kurdistan Region are also attributed to poor water management and inadequate funding. A budget of 2.5 billion dinars ($1.7 million) was provided in June by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for drinking water.

However Erbil governor Omed Khoshnaw said earlier this month that the amount of money provided by the government is not nearly enough.

"In Erbil alone, we may need three times the amount provided to the entire Kurdistan region to control the issue."

https://www.rudaw.net/english/lifestyle/17072021
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:24 pm

One shot dead in Iran water shortage protests

A demonstrator was shot dead during protests against water shortages in drought-hit southwestern Iran, state media reported Saturday, with an official blaming the death on "opportunists and rioters"

The demonstrator was killed in the Khuzestan province town of Shadegan, the official IRNA news agency said.

The province is Iran's main oil-producing region and one of its wealthiest, but it has been hit by a persistent drought that has led to tensions since late March.

"Last night (Friday), a number of Shadegan's people had gathered to protest water shortages due to the drought, during which opportunists and rioters shot dead one of the demonstrators," the county's acting governor, Omid Sabripour, told IRNA.

Sabripour said the perpetrators "sought to agitate the people by shooting in the air" and a "young Shadegan resident" was shot in the process.

In separate comments to the ISNA news agency, Sabripour said the fire was directed at both the demonstrators and security forces.

He added that the victim was a "30-year-old passer-by" and that those responsible were identified and some arrested on Friday night, with a manhunt under way for the others.

Iran has endured repeated droughts over the past decade, particularly in the south.

Earlier this month, President Hassan Rouhani said this year's drought was "unprecedented" with average rainfall down 52 percent compared to the previous year.

- 'Insecurity' -

Khuzestan's governor had on Friday dismissed videos of protests across the province as "fake".

"Some seek to agitate the people and publish fake videos," Qasem Soleimani-Dashtaki told IRNA.

Videos on social media apparently showed protests in several Khuzestan towns, including Susangerd, Mahshahr and Hamidiyeh as well as Shadegan.

Farsi-language media based abroad said security forces had cracked down on protesters demonstrating against severe water shortages on Thursday, but domestic media played down the reports.

Addressing the discontent, Khuzestan MP Abdollah Izadpanah warned on Friday that "Khuzestan's insecurity means lack of security for the whole country."

He blamed the water shortages on "mistakes and unjustified decisions" such as the transfer of water from Khuzestan's rivers to other provinces, ISNA reported.

On Friday, the government sent a delegation to Khuzestan to address the problem.

This month, rolling blackouts began in the capital Tehran and several other large cities, which officials blamed on the impact of the drought on hydroelectric power generation as well as surging demand.

Power cuts in the peak summer months are not uncommon in Iran but the ongoing drought has intensified the situation.

Khuzestan is home to a large Sunni Arab minority, which has frequently complained of marginalisation in mainly Shiite Iran.

In 2019, the province was a hotspot of anti-government protests that had shaken other areas of the Islamic republic.

Over the years, blistering summer heatwaves and seasonal sandstorms blowing in from Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Iraq have dried up Khuzestan's once fertile plains.

Scientists say climate change amplifies droughts, and their intensity and frequency in turn threaten food security.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/17072021
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Jul 20, 2021 3:01 am

France bans crushing of live chicks

France will ban from next year the killing of male chicks by crushing or gassing, a practice denounced as barbaric by animal welfare groups, and will push for a similar measure at European level, the agriculture minister said on Sunday

Each year, 50 million male chicks are culled in this way, Julien Denormandie said in an interview posted on the website of daily Le Parisien. Only females, future egg-laying hens, are kept alive.

"France is the first country in the world, along with Germany, to end the crushing and gassing of male chicks," Denormandie added.

The two countries will try to convince their European Union partners to outlaw the practice at a council of EU agriculture ministers on Monday, he said.

From 2022, breeders in France will instead need to equip themselves with machines to detect the sex of chicks before they hatch.

"The dynamic is well underway and, given the orders already placed, the machines will be installed for two-thirds of production in France by the end of the first quarter of 2022," Denormandie added.

The measure is expected to lead to an extra cost of 1 euro cent per box of six eggs, he said.

To help breeders buy the equipment, France will grant subsidies totalling 10 million euros ($11.8 million).

The castration of live piglets will also be prohibited from the start of 2022, Denormandie said.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/fr ... 021-07-18/
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:53 am

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We must unite and defend nature

Trees have been cut down and destroyed for a long time in the region of Şırnak where Turkish military operations are carried out. In the area of Mount Cudi, tens of thousands of trees have been cut down so far and more than 10 military posts have been built there. In places where trees are not cut, fires are provoked and nothing is done to extinguish them, allegedly for ‘security’ reasons

Mezopotamya Ecology activist and Hevsel Conservation Platform co-spokesperson Vahap Işıklı drew attention to the forest fires provoked in Kurdistan and said that nature was plundered due to the politics of rent in Turkey and war policies in Kurdistan.

Işıklı said that a fire broke out in the region of Besta in Şırnak for days and trees were cut down by village guards after the fire. "The same situation happened in Lice a week ago. Two days ago, a fire broke out on the Silopi side in Cudi and it still going on. This is a special policy used against nature in Kurdistan. Trees are burned and cut down every year in the summer due to war policies."

Işıklı continued: "One day in Turkey, when a fire broke out in Marmara, helicopters were sent immediately. The fire that broke out on the same day in Bingöl was not extinguished for a week. Thousands of hectares of forest burned down. But there was no intervention. Other military operations led to a fire breaking out in Kurdistan. The fire, which started in Hozat, in the province of Dersim, did not stop for days and continued in the same way in Cudi and Bingöl. Trees were cut down.”

Işıklı said that a year ago the organization went to the area to see the extent of the damage. “In recent days, they are doing the same in Lice, between the village of Derxun and others, on an area of ​​98 hectares. About the equivalent of 140 football playgrounds of trees have since been cut down by rangers. Private companies do not accept these tenders, but they make the village guards do the job. A fire breaks out in Turkey under the name of ‘development’ and in Kurdistan under the name of 'security'. Hotels are being built where forests have been burned down in Turkey, and police stations are being built in Kurdistan."

Emphasizing that the policy of burning forests and cutting trees has also started in South Kurdistan, Işıklı said: "Unfortunately, this agreement was put into effect in Başur [South Kurdistan] as well. Trees began to be cut down in Metina and other regions during the war. All this is done in the name of security. The Iraqi government has responded to it, albeit incompletely. They voted against it, but the regional government did not vote and did not take responsibility for it. It is astonishing how the trees and forests of a region are plundered and the government said nothing.”

Turkey evacuated the villages and lands of Kurdistan in the 1990s, forced the people to emigrate, and thus introduced its assimilation policies. “They still continue their policies by plundering the nature of Kurdistan,” said Işıklı, adding: “It is necessary to know that war is not only against the people and their identity, but also against nature. Forests are being burned by some circles not only in Kurdistan, but also in many parts of Turkey. From Hevsel to Cudi to Metina, nature belongs to all of us. That's why we must protect nature together."
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:38 am

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Arab tourists polluting Kurdistan

Tourist sites in the Kurdistan Region are being left covered in litter, including in Erbil's Soran district

"We come here to cool off. We pay a lot of attention to keeping the resort and water clean. When the water is dirty, we do not feel comfortable and our children won’t able to play around here," said tourist Naha Raeed.

The Balakayati area is particularly popular with tourists.

The tourism sector took a hit last year due to coronavirus lockdowns, but is now recovering.

On the first day of Eid, thousands of tourists from central and southern Iraq visited Erbil.

Soran authorities say they plan on cracking down on littering.

"We will have to commit the tourist companies and resorts to keeping the area clean. This is their responsibility. We have to take this issue seriously," said Soran Mayor Halgurd Sheikh Najib.

Link to Article - Video:

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/240720212
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Mon Jul 26, 2021 3:13 am

Wildfire burns in Duhok forests

A wildfire northeast of Duhok continues to burn for the third day in a row as firefighting teams struggle to bring the blaze under control because of landmines and explosives in the mountains

Kawa Sabri, head of the Duhok forestry directorate told Rudaw the fire in the Zawita area could have been started because of the hot weather or may have been “intentionally” set.

"We have controlled it to a certain extent," he said. "However in certain places, due to the presence of mines and explosives in the mountains, we cannot proceed, except with the use of specialized aircraft."

Northern Duhok province is the site of frequent clashes between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Turkish forces.

"While we were trying to control the fire, four landmines exploded,” Karwan Abid from Duhok’s directorate of civil protection told Rudaw’s Ayub Nasri on Sunday at the scene of the blaze.

Thousands of dunams of land have been burned in Duhok province this year, many fires sparked by clashes between Turkey and the PKK. According to data from the forest police in May, 4,181 dunams of land had been burned by Turkish bombardments.

Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes and ground operations in the Kurdistan Region, against what it says are positions belonging to the PKK, an armed group seeking more rights for Kurds in Turkey. Turkish forces launched two operations, Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt, which are still ongoing in Duhok’s Metina and Avashin areas, on the mountainous frontier with Turkey. Operation Claw-Eagle 2 targeted Duhok’s Mount Gara in February.

Zawita is located about 10 kilometres northeast of Duhok, on the road to Amedi. The forests in the area are home to many wild animals. Last winter, environmentalists set up shelters for animals and birds in the Zawita forests.

There are more than 300 bird species in the Kurdistan Region, according to figures from the Kurdistan Organization for Animal Rights Protection (KOARP). At least ten are under threat of extinction due to a number of factors, including environmental destruction by human beings, hunting and climate change, according to environmental scientist Korsh Ararat.

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https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/250720213
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Mon Jul 26, 2021 3:09 pm

Water shortage protests in Iran

Water protests reached the streets of Tehran on Monday as anger grows over water shortages and a lack of basic services

Scores of angry protesters gathered on the capital’s Jomhouri street chanting against the government, and specifically the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Video footage on social media showed protesters chanting “this land will not be a homeland until the clerics are buried.”

Other videos show people chanting “death to the dictator” and “neither Gaza nor Lebanon, my life for Iran” referring to Iran’s armed activity elsewhere in the Middle East, with others calling on Khamenei to leave the country.

The deputy governor of Tehran told the semi-official ISNA on Monday that the reason for the protests was due to an electricity outage in a passage near Jomhouri Street.

Iran’s southern Khuzestan province has seen a week of protests over severe water shortages, with several people killed in a crackdown by security forces. Demonstrations have also broken out in neighbouring Lorestan.

Khuzestan is home to an Arab minority that has complained of discrimination and marginalization. The province used to have ample water resources, but a government scheme to redirect the water to elsewhere in the country coupled with droughts has left the province with a severe shortage of water. Water levels in the province’s dams are down by as much as half.

On Friday, Khamenei said the protesters’ complaints are “legitimate.” He criticised government failures to address water management in Khuzestan and said the administration of president-elect Ebrahim Raisi should “seriously attend to this issue” when it takes office in August.

Iran has seen disrupted internet connection amid the protests, and rights groups have accused Iran of using “excessive force” against protesters.

Earlier this month, Iran suffered extreme electricity outages, driving President Hassan Rouhani to issue a public apology to the Iranian people.

The apology came two days after videos circulating on social media showed people chanting against the government and supreme leader during a blackout, saying “Death to the dictator, death to Khamenei.”

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/26072021
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Mon Jul 26, 2021 3:25 pm

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Kurdistan and Netherlands agricultural cooperation

The Netherlands and the Kurdistan Region have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate in the field of agriculture and develop local produce, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources announced on Sunday

“This MoU is one of the most important MoUs, that puts a great responsibility on the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, and at the same time the Netherlands consulate to be able to cooperate in developing the agricultural sector in the Kurdistan Region,” Begard Talabani said in a press conference.

The agreement includes forming a team of Kurdish and Dutch advisors, experts, and directorate officials to develop the industry and ensure food security, she added, saying it will also create jobs and help farmers sell their products.

Kurdish farmers have struggled to find markets for their produce in the past. Last year, farmers dumped loads of potatoes in front of the agriculture ministry in Erbil, protesting against imports that pushed their spuds out of the market.

“You are blessed with a green and very fertile country, but when I go to any supermarket here in the Kurdistan Region, I only find imported products,” Dutch Consul-General Hans Akerboom said at the press conference.

That’s why the Netherlands “as the experts in the field of agriculture, are supporting the minister and supporting the Kurdistan Region, to explore and to expand to develop the agricultural sector … That’s why we just signed this MoU to have better, healthier, and cheaper vegetables here in the Kurdistan Region, grown by your own farmers,” he added.

The Netherlands, though a small country, is the second biggest agricultural exporter in the world. They have been a constant backer of developing Kurdistan Region’s agriculture, economy and infrastructure, as well as providing financial and training support to farmers.

Akerboom announced in May that they are working towards expanding the Kurdistan Region's agriculture sector.

"We are using high-tech technology... top-market innovation," he told Rudaw in an interview on April 29. "But we also like to support Kurdistan in doing this."

Amsterdam has also teamed up with the KRG and NGOs to support the building of greenhouses in the Region, which Talabani said have been implemented in both Erbil and Sulaimani, and will be implemented soon in Duhok.

The Netherlands Municipalities Association (VNG) also signed an MoU in May with the Region’s municipality and tourism ministry for further cooperation in providing services, team training and to improve infrastructure.

The small nation has invested about $17 million in the agriculture sector.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/25072021
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:10 am

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Trees felled in Hawraman

More than fifteen trees planted by environmentalists on a main highway in the border area of Hawraman were cut down overnight

“We are an environmentalist group who, for the past two years, have planted more than 500 mulberry plants on the road from Byara to Gulp village,” Rebaz Gulpi, the supervisor of the village’s environmental council told Rudaw on Monday, confirming trees were felled by unknown individuals during the night.

Fires have been started near the road in an attempt to burn down more trees, he added.

“I take this road at least four times every day, and every time I would come I would look at these trees and it would make me really happy,” livestock owner Mahdi Mahmood said.

“This morning when I came and saw that the trees were cut down, it really upset me, to a point that when I went home I could not stop myself and I came back here at around three,” Mahmood said.

Halabja police spokesperson Barzan Othman said that they had started investigating the incident.

Tree felling has become a recurring problem in the Kurdistan Region.

In addition to reports of Turkey stealing trees in Duhok province, civilians have also cut down trees for economic gain.

According to the board of Environmental Protection and Improvement of the Kurdistan, those rooting out trees and saplings, plants and grass on public property face a jail sentence and fines between 150,000 to 200 million Iraqi Dinars ($100 - $1,370).

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/270720211
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:40 pm

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Kurdistan’s hidden nature

The Kurdistan Region sits at a confluence of habitats, topographies, and climates, stretching from the Nineveh Plains to the snow-capped peaks in the Zagros Mountains

It is here that arid desert climes of the Arabian Peninsula meet the temperate air of the Mediterranean. These variations make the region rich in plant and animal life.

Take a tour through some of this unique environment to meet jackdaws who nest in the cliffs or a Persian jird, a nocturnal rodent that snacks on seeds and insects. Watch a kingfisher dive bomb Lake Darbandikhan in search of a meal.

Link to Article - Video:

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/30072021
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sun Aug 01, 2021 9:21 am

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Monks Wood Wilderness

In the archive of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology there is a typed note from the 1960s that planted the seed of an idea

Written by Kenneth Mellanby, director of the Monks Wood Experimental Station, a former research centre in Cambridgeshire, UK, the note describes a four-hectare arable field that lies next to the station and the ancient woodland of the Monks Wood National Nature Reserve. After harvesting a final barley crop, the field was ploughed and then abandoned in 1961.

The note reads:

    It might be interesting to watch what happens to this area if man does not interfere. Will it become a wood again, how long will it take, which species will be in it?
So began the Monks Wood Wilderness experiment, which is now 60 years old. A rewilding study before the term existed, it shows how allowing land to naturally regenerate can expand native woodland and help tackle climate change and biodiversity loss.

How new woodland generates itself

A shrubland of thorn thickets emerged after the first ten to 15 years. Dominated by bramble and hawthorn, its seeds were dropped by thrushes and other berry-eating birds. This thicket protected seedlings of wind-blown common ash and field maple, but especially English oak, whose acorns were planted by Eurasian jays (and maybe grey squirrels too) as forgotten food caches.

It’s thought that jays were particularly busy in the Monks Wood Wilderness, as 52% of the trees are oaks.

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The intermediate shrubland stage was a suntrap of blossom and wildflowers. Rabbits, brown hares, muntjac deer and roe deer were all common, but the protective thicket meant there was no need for fencing to prevent them eating the emerging trees. Those trees eventually rose up and closed their canopy above the thicket, which became the woodland understorey.

The result is a structurally complex woodland with multiple layers of tree and shrub vegetation, and accumulating deadwood as the habitat ages. This complexity offers niches for a wide variety of woodland wildlife, from fungi and invertebrates in the dead logs and branches, to song thrushes, garden warblers and nuthatches which nest in the ground layer, understorey and tree canopy.

The Monks Wood experiment benefited from the field lying close to an ancient woodland, which meant an ample supply of seeds and agents for their dispersal – jays, rodents, and the wind. Such rapid colonisation of the land would be unlikely in more remote places, or where deer are superabundant.

But there are many woods in the UK that could expand by allowing adjacent fields to return to nature. This would eventually add up to a significant increase in total woodland cover.

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Tree planting or natural regeneration?

The UK is one of the least forested places in Europe, with just 13% forest cover compared to an average of 38% across the EU. Only half of the UK’s forest is native woodland, which sustains a wide variety of indigenous species. The rest is dominated by non-native conifer plantations grown for timber

This situation is gradually changing. The UK government aims to create 30,000 hectares of new woodland each year until 2025, providing new habitat for wildlife and helping reach net zero emissions, as woodland stores more carbon than any other habitat except peatlands.

With the climate and biodiversity crises getting worse each day, there’s an urgent need to expand woodland fast. But how? Tree planting is the usual approach, but it’s costly. Saplings also have to be grown, transported, planted and protected with fencing and plastic tubes – that’s a lot of carbon emissions and potential plastic pollution, as tubes break down into the soil.

What about doing virtually nothing instead? Natural regeneration involves creating woodlands by allowing trees and shrubs to plant themselves under natural processes. It’s free and involves no plastic or nursery-grown saplings, which can introduce diseases. The result is woodland that’s well adapted to local conditions.

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Allowing the land to naturally regenerate sounds exciting, but planners and ecologists need to know where this approach is likely to work best. How abandoned land turns into woodland is rarely documented, as it usually happens where people have walked away.

The Monks Wood Wilderness fills in this gap in our knowledge as an example of planned natural regeneration that has been monitored over decades, with a second two-hectare field (named the New Wilderness) added in 1996 to expand the experiment.

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Shrubland in the New Wilderness field after 25 years, with hawthorns blossoming.

Since the 1990s, the two Wildernesses have been regularly surveyed by scientists counting and measuring trees on foot and tracking tree cover from planes and drones. These surveys documented the development of woodland over 60 years in our recently published study, revealing the patterns of habitat regeneration.

We can now finally answer Mellanby’s 60-year old questions. Within 40 to 50 years, the ploughed field became a closed canopy woodland with almost 400 trees per hectare. And as the canopy grows taller, more plant and animal species are arriving, such as marsh tits and purple hairstreak butterflies – mature woodland specialists that have made a home here as the habitat gradually converges with the ancient woodland nearby.

The Wilderness experiment shows what’s possible when nature is allowed to create rich, native woodland for free. I think Mellanby would be pleased with how it all turned out.

https://theconversation.com/monks-wood- ... obal-en-GB
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Aug 03, 2021 3:12 am

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Honey production buzzing in Kurdistan’s mountains

Beehives in the mountains are bursting with honey, indicating it will be a bumper crop this year for some of Kurdistan Region’s beekeepers, rebounding from a bad year in 2020. But out of the mountains, in hotter, dryer areas, this year’s drought-like conditions are damaging hives

Beekeepers in the mountains said the mild winter with less snow has been good for their bees. “Drought has been beneficial in the mountains this year. Compared to last year, the produce has tripled. It has tripled since last year,” said Jabar Nawandayi, a beekeeper on Mount Halgurd.

Wildflowers were able to thrive this year in the mountains, but there were not enough buds elsewhere, because of the lack of rainfall.

“We had a little rain in spring. There was not enough flower growth to meet the needs of bees. The weather wasn't stable. Some days were cold and other days were hot,” said beekeeper Mohammed Qadir in Halabja.

Kurdish honey has won international awards, but production varies widely annually because of the weather. Last year, hives in the Kurdistan Region produced about 100 tons. This year, production is estimated to reach 700 tons, according to the Beekeepers Network Association of Kurdistan.

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https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/020820211
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Thu Aug 05, 2021 7:19 am

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Farm pesticides killing bees

Agricultural pesticides sold to farmers ready-mixed into "cocktails" can kill twice as many bees, according to an analysis of 90 studies

Each measured the impact of environmental stresses such as pesticides and poor nutrition.

And they say commercial formulas, which contain multiple chemicals, should now require their own licences.

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The UK has lost 97% of its wildflower meadows - an important food source for bees - since the 1930s

"Exposure to multiple pesticides is the norm, not the exception," Dr Harry Siviter, from the University of Texas at Austin, who led the study, told the BBC Radio 4's Inside Science programme.

One 2016 study showed bee colonies containing larger numbers of pesticides were much more likely to die.

"If you have a honeybee colony exposed to one pesticide that kills 10% of the bees and another pesticide that kills another 10%, you would expect, if those effects were additive, for 20% of the bees to be killed," Dr Siviter said.

    But a "synergistic effect" could produce 30-40% mortality
"And that's exactly what we found when we looked at the interactions," he said.

"So we really should consider the interaction between those chemicals" when licensing commercial formulas for use, Dr Siviter said.

"We don't continue to monitor pesticides once they're licensed for use, so we're proposing post-licensing observations.

"If those pesticides [used in combination] harm bees, that harm is recorded."

'Resistance increasing'

Another study published this week, however, suggests bees around the world are developing the ability to "clear out" a particularly damaging parasite - varroa, a mite that lives and feeds on honeybees and larvae.

Varroa mites (red spot) on a honeybeeimage sourceUniversity of Hawaii
image captionVarroa mites (red spot) on a honeybee

Bees already have complex organised hygienic behaviours, such as removing infected broods of larvae from the hive.

And now, data published in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, from 40 years of research into colonies that survive infestations, without any chemical treatment, reveals they are evolving to "repurpose" that behaviour against varroa.

"We're seeing this resistance increasing around the world," Isobel Grindrod, from the University of Salford, said.

"And we're also seeing an increase recently in bee-keepers not having to treat [the mites] with chemical treatments."

"Pressure" from the mites was driving healthy bees to adapt, she said.

"Their adaptability is really important, and that's why we need to maintain healthy bee colonies - to keep that adaptability - because there will be other, new diseases and pressures in the future."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58089545
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Thu Aug 05, 2021 6:58 pm

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A Sulaimani river is drying up

The Chami Rokhana river in Southern Sulaimani province is drying up, because of drought and dams in Iran. The lack of water has killed thousands of fish

“This river is running out of water because of the damming of water flowing from Iran to Sulaimani and Basara and from there to here and then to Kirkuk. The drying up of the river has led to the death of tens of thousands of fish and other animals,” said Ghafur Ali, who lives in the town of Qadir Karam, on the banks of the river.

This winter and spring saw lower than average snow and rainfall, creating drought-like conditions and worsening water security in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, as well as across the border in Iran.

Part of Iran’s strategy to solve its water problems is building a network of dams and canals, diverting and holding onto water in rivers that cross the border into the Kurdistan Region. A dam on the Sirwan has affected water levels in the river system that includes the Chami Rokhana.

“Our trees have dried up, our vegetables have been destroyed. There’s no water here. Our livestock are dying of thirst. We don’t even have water to drink. There’s a village behind ours. Its residents have all left and abandoned it. In the next three to four days, it will completely dry up,” said shepherd Ahmed Mawlood Jotiar.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has allocated an additional $1.7 million for drinking water because of shortages.

The mayor of the town of Chamchamal has proposed digging new wells and bringing in tanks of water.

Water shortages aren’t the only problem. Mismanagement, waste, and pollution also plague the waterways.

This is the second time in a month fish in the Chami Rokhana have died. Pollution killed off hundreds of fish in early July.

Link to Article - Video:

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/05082021
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Re: Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate ch

PostAuthor: Anthea » Thu Aug 05, 2021 7:29 pm

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The damage in flood-hit Van is enormous

The Van Labor and Democracy Platform has launched an aid campaign for Turkey’s Kurdish-majority eastern province of Van, which has been hit by heavy rainfall and floods, leading to the death of 900 animals and collapse of dozens of houses

While the southern cities of Turkey have been hit by forest fires since July 28, the eastern cities of the country, especially Van and Hakkari, have been ravaged by heavy rainfall and floods since then.

In the successive floods that first hit the districts of Başkale, Özalp and Çaldıran in Van on July 28, several houses in 21 neighborhoods have collapsed and hundreds of animals have lost their lives.

After over 15 houses collapsed and dozens of others became uninhabitable in the Esenyamaç Village in Başkale on July 31, the heavy rainfall that struck the district of İpekyolu on August 3 submerged the houses built by the Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ).

In the wake of this flood disaster, an aid campaign has been launched by the Van Labor and Democracy Platform, which comprises the Van Bar Association, Van Medical Chamber, the Van Provincial Coordination Board of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), Confederation of Public Employees Trade Unions (KESK) Van Branches Platform and the Van Branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD).

60 houses damaged, 15 houses collapsed

Murat Atabay, the Chair of the Education and Science Laborers Union (Eğitim-Sen) Van Branch Chair, has said that they, as a platform, visited Başkale, one of the most severely affected districts.

According to Atabay nearly 60 houses have been damaged and 15 houses have entirely collapsed in the Esenyamaç Village. Atabay has indicated that the damaged houses are in an uninhabitable condition.

Noting that 11 houses have been damaged in the Onikidere hamlet in Esenyamaç, Murat Atabay has said that the tents have been put up in a school garden distant from the village and people are now mostly staying with their relatives or neighbors.

Atabay has underlined that there is an urgent need for dry food, diapers, sanitary pads, underwear and clothes: "The damage is enormous, people are miserable. We expect everyone to help as much as they can."
Takva: Let's do what we can

Necdet Takva, the Chair of the Van Chamber Commerce, which is not a part of the platform, but is supporting the campaign, has also said that "he stayed in Başkale for two days" and that "the situation is no good":

"The construction in the river bed and natural causes led to a flood. In both Başkale and Çaldıran, people have lost their houses and their animals, which were their means of livelihood. Tents have been set up for the ones who have a problem with housing. Some of them have started staying with their relatives. But people need a lot of help.

"We talked to the sub-governor after the first flood in Başkale. We sent 10 tons of water. We will provide food and water support. We also make a call to the businesspeople from Van. People have lost their houses and their animals, their means of livelihood. Let's do what we can."

The list of needs: Dry food, baby food, packaged water, blankets, diapers, sanitary pads, underwear for women and children, children shoes (size 27-38), shoes for women and men, clothes for female and male adults, face masks, gloves, disinfectants, eau de cologne. Contact: +90(432) 214 61 69 - +90(545) 535 06 65

https://bianet.org/english/human-rights ... s-enormous
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