Published : Sep 27,
2013 Last modified : Sep 27, 2013 03:47
PM - As scientists have increased their
understanding of the climate system, they
have been able to state with increasing
certainty that the Earth’s climate has changed
beyond historic variability, and that humans
are the main cause. This is demonstrated
in the latest report from the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The Working Group I
contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment
Report (AR5) looks at the most recent physical
science of climate change. It confirms and
strengthens the main findings of the Fourth
Assessment Report from 2007 with new evidence,
drawing on more extensive observations,
greater understanding of climate processes
and feedbacks, improved climate models,
and a wider range of climate change projections.
Climate change is happening
now and will continue over decades and centuries
to come, the report states, finding that
it is at least “95 % certain” that humans
are the dominant cause. Action to reduce
emissions of greenhouse gases can limit
the amount and pace of climate change, the
report says. Without such mitigation action,
global mean temperature would likely pass
the internationally agreed limit of 2 oC
above pre-industrial levels at some point
this century, possibly before 2050.
Climate change in Europe
A recent report from
the European Environment Agency found that
climate change is already evident across
Europe, affecting ecosystems as well as
human activities. This implies that addressing
climate change requires a two-handed approach,
simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions
and adapting societies to observed and projected
changes.
The European Union’s
total greenhouse gas emissions in 2011 were
18.4 % below 11000 levels, according to
the latest official data.
Europe is also reacting
to experienced and projected climate change,
with adaptation now an important policy
area at the EU and national level. So far,
16 EEA member countries have developed national
adaptation strategies. Adaptation plans
have already led to concrete action in many
countries as well as at the transnational,
regional and local level. Such actions vary
considerably, taking into account to address
specific climate conditions as well as social
and economic contexts.
Resources such as the
European Climate Adaptation Portal, Climate-ADAPT,
are important tools for sharing practical
experience and other information relevant
for those adapting to a warmer world.
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River Rhine commended
for river basin management
Published : Sep 13,
2013 Last modified : Sep 16, 2013 10:29
AM - The River Rhine has won the first ever
International River Foundation (IRF) European
River Prize, which is given for remarkable
achievements in integrated river basin management.
The other finalists were the Órbigo
River in Spain, the Upper Drau in Austria,
and the Mura-Drava-Danube in Central Europe.
River basin management
of the Rhine has improved dramatically in
recent years, following decades of degradation
and a devastating chemical accident in 1986.
The river runs through Switzerland, France,
Germany, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Austria,
Liechtenstein, Belgium and Italy.
The International Commission
for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR),
the countries and local authorities in the
basin have dramatically improved the water
quality of the Rhine with better management
of urban wastewater. In addition, a large
area of floodplains has been restored in
the densely populated Rhine basin over the
last 15 years, thanks to new integrated
policies.
The International River
Foundation award was presented in Vienna
on Thursday 12 September. An expert from
the European Environment Agency (EEA) participated
in the Judging Panel, alongside other experts
from across Europe.
The panel selected the
Rhine as the winner as they were able to
clearly demonstrate leadership, sophistication
and an integrated, complex approach to river
basin management. They also recognised that
the Rhine had overcome a range of challenges
and achieved real on-ground improvements
in river and species health.
Rivers under pressure
The IRF Award process
highlights the fact that human activities
use a lot of water, depleting many rivers.
For example, across the European Union,
agriculture uses about a quarter of water
diverted from the natural environment, though
this can be up to 80% in southern Europe.
This could be reduced by making irrigation
more efficient, according to an EEA assessment
published last year.
While there has been
some progress in reducing pollution from
farming, pollution from such ‘diffuse’ sources
remains a significant pressure in more than
40 % of Europe’s river water bodies. Pollution
also comes from ‘point sources’, such as
discharges from wastewater treatment plants
and industry. Wastewater from sewage systems
often overflows during heavy rains.
When the shape of rivers
is changed, this affects the ecosystems
living from the river – for example fish
and other animals may not be able to migrate
when there are dams and other barriers in
the way. The EEA estimates there are several
hundred thousand barriers in European rivers,
in many of these water bodies their natural
continuity is interrupted every second kilometre.
Such ‘hydromorphological
pressures’, together with pollution are
two of the main pressures affecting ecological
status in European rivers. Overall, the
European Commission estimates that more
than half (57 %) of the river water bodies
in Europe have not yet achieved ‘good ecological
status’, something which they are committed
to by 2015 under the Water Framework Directive
(WFD).
