The Environment Chronicle

Notable environmental events between 2010 and 2010 Deselect

  1. Norway and Indonesia agreed on 26 May 2010 to enter into a partnership to support Indonesia’s efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests and peat lands. Indonesia will take immediate and decisive action to reduce its forest and peat related greenhouse gas emissions. Norway will support those efforts with one billion USD over the next few years.

  2. On 18 May 2010 21 member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), and nine leading environmental organizations, unveiled an unprecedented agreement – the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement – that applies to 72 million hectares of public forests licensed to FPAC members. The Agreement, when fully implemented, will conserve significant areas of Canada’s vast Boreal Forest, protect threatened woodland caribou and provide a competitive market edge for participating companies.

  3. On 14 May 2010, the “Gardens of the World” in the Marzahn Recreational Park were honored with the British Green Flag Award. The Green Flag Award® scheme is the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in England and Wales. It was first launched in 1996 to recognise and reward the best green spaces in the country. The first awards were given in 1997.

  4. The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) have started their cooperation in human biomonitoring, in order to improve the knowledge of substances taken up by the human organism. The focus is on substances that might involve increasing exposure of the public at large or can have special relevance to human health without, however, being measurable in the human body with currently available methods. Against this backdrop, there are plans to develop over the next 10 years adequate analytical methods for up to 50 jointly selected substances or substance groups and to apply newly developed methods in relevant studies. Joint activities begin with a three-year trial and pilot phase. The VCI is in charge of the development of detection methods, which the BMU will put to the test in suitable studies. In these efforts, the BMU will closely work with the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA).

  5. To protect water resources and biological diversity, MEPs want the Commission to propose a complete ban on the use of cyanide mining technologies in the EU before the end of 2011. They also believe companies dealing with the management of waste from the extractive industries should be forced to take out insurance to cover costs in the event of an accident and that mining projects in the EU involving cyanide technology should receive no support from the Commission or Member States. In a resolution adopted on 6. May 2010 by 488 votes to 48 with 57 abstentions, Parliament argues that a complete ban "is the only safe way to protect our water resources and ecosystems against cyanide pollution from mining activities". It urges the development and application of safer – in particular cyanide-free – mining.

  6. On 5 May 2010 the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) and KfW Banking Group celebrated the 30th anniversary of the BMU’s Environmental Innovation Programme. The Programme supports pilot projects applying state-of-the-art technologies in Germany on a large scale. Around 700 million euros have been provided for more than 700 pilot projects since the start of the Programme. The Environmental Innovation Programme was launched in 1979. At the time, the aim was to achieve "blue skies over the Ruhr". At the beginning, the focus of support was on end-of-pipe cleaning technologies, such as air filters and waste water treatment facilities. Today, this focus has shifted to integrated environmental protection measures and activities in the areas of renewable energies and energy efficiency. These projects will improve the environmental situation, contribute to achieving the German Government’s climate protection goals, offer insights for updating environmental legislation and give fresh impetus to economic and employment policies.

  7. The children from the student initiative Plant-for-the-Planet are seeking to plant a million trees in every country, each tree symbolizing climate justice. In Germany, their goal has been achieved: On the 4th of May, 2010 the millionth tree was planted on Mt. Petersberg. This occurred alongside the Petersberg climate dialogue, the preparatory meeting for the climate summit in December 2010 in Cancun, Mexico.

  8. Marine species of May 2010 in the International Year of Biodiversity is the diatom Guinardia delicatula.

  9. United Nations peacekeepers in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have airlifted four endangered gorillas to a safer habitat to keep them from being illegally trafficked or eaten before they are released back into the wild. Three young females and a male named – all eastern lowland gorillas – flew by helicopter for 50 minutes on Tuesday with veterinarians and other caregivers from Goma to a village near the heavily forested Tanya Nature Reserve in north Kivu province. The decision to move the gorillas by air was made after scientists said ground transportation would be too difficult and traumatic. The four gorillas, victims of illegal trafficking in wildlife and bushmeat, will be joined in early June by six adolescent orphans flown by MONUC from Rwanda.

  10. Germany’s first offshore wind farm "alpha ventus" officially starts up on 27 April 2010 in the North Sea. Alpha ventus was constructed 45 kilometres off the coast of the island of Borkum.

  11. On 24 April 2010 around 120,000 nuclear protesters formed a 120-kilometer human chain that stretched from a nuclear power plant in Brunsbuettel, through Hamburg along the Elbe River to another plant in Kruemmel. The protest come just days before 24th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine.

  12. After intensive negotiations, two German environmental groups – BUND Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania and WWF Germany – have reached an agreement with Nord Stream AG on further far-reaching environmental steps to protect the Baltic Sea. Plans for the long-term storage of excavation material from construction works at the landfall, and for environmental monitoring during construction have been modified. Furthermore, an additional “close season” of ten days for herring has been agreed for next year.

  13. Professor Peter Lemke of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven has been awarded the 50,000 € “Bayer Climate Award 2010” by the Bayer Science & Education Foundation. He is being honoured for his groundbreaking research and pioneering contributions to the understanding of the role of sea ice in the climate system. Werner Wenning, Chairman of the Board of Bayer AG, presented Lemke with the award at the international climate conference “Continents under climate change” organized by the Humboldt University, in Berlin on April 22, 2010. An independent international board of experts selected the winner from 16 candidates, nominated by the presidents of major European research associations.

  14. Europe's first mission dedicated to studying the Earth’s ice was launched on 8 April 2010 from Kazakhstan. From its polar orbit, CryoSat-2 will send back data leading to new insights into how ice is responding to climate change and the role it plays in our Earth system. The CryoSat-2 satellite was launched at 15:57 CEST (13:57 UTC) on a Dnepr rocket provided by the International Space Company Kosmotras from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The signal confirming that it had separated from the launcher came 17 minutes later from the Malindi ground station in Kenya. CryoSat-2 replaces the original CryoSat satellite that was lost in 2005 owing to a launch failure. The mission objectives, however, remain the same: to measure changes in the thickness of the vast ice sheets that overlie Antarctica and Greenland, as well as variations in the thickness of the relatively thin ice floating in the polar oceans.

  15. On 7 April 2010 the Solar Impulse HB-SIA underwent an extended 87 minute test flight. The flight reached an altitude of 1,200 m (3,937 ft). The Solar Impulse is designed by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard's team - there are plans to fly it around the world in 2012.

  16. Marine species of April 2010 in the International Year of Biodiversity is the unicellular alga Emiliania huxleyi.

  17. On 29 MArch 2010 Russia signed a deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to set up the world's first nuclear fuel bank of low-enriched uranium for countries that need fuel for civilian purposes, including nuclear power plants.

  18. On 26 March 2010 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its proposal under the Clean Water Act to significantly restrict or prohibit mountain top mining at the Spruce No. 1 surface mine in Logan County, W. Va. Spruce No.1 mine is one of the largest mountaintop removal operations ever proposed in Central Appalachia. The project was permitted in 2007 and subsequently delayed by litigation. The Spruce No. 1 mine would bury over 7 miles of headwater streams, directly impact 2,278 acres of forestland and degrade water quality in streams adjacent to the mine. EPA’s proposed determination comes after extended discussions with the company failed to produce an agreement that would lead to a significant decrease of the environmental and health impacts of the Spruce No. 1 mine. EPA has used its Clean Water Act veto authority in just 12 circumstances since 1972 and never for a previously permitted project.

  19. Portuguese authorities have announced the establishment of four marine protected areas on the extended continental shelves of the Azores as well as mainland Portugal. The four sites – on the southern Mid Atlantic Ridge, Altair Seamount, Antialtair Seamount and Josephine Bank - together cover an area of 120,000 square km rich in vulnerable deepwater communities, including cold-water coral reefs, sponge fields, coral gardens, and deep sea bony fish, sharks and rays. The announcement of marine protected area status was made at an international North Atlantic environmental commission (OSPAR Convention) meeting attended by UN fisheries and seabed agencies in Funchal, Madeira. It follows three of the four sites being declared off limits to the use of destructive bottom fishing gear just under a year ago.

  20. The signatories to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have come one important step closer to a global agreement on biopiracy. Delegates from the 194 states met in Cali, Colombia, and agreed on a common basis for negotiation of an international regime on access and benefit sharing of genetic resources. Its purpose is to create a global legal framework that regulates both access to genetic resources and the distribution of the profits made through their commercial use.

  21. The Plastiki and crew have reached the end of their voyage which has taken them through the Pacific Ocean on an 8,000 nautical mile adventure lasting over 130 days. On 26 July 2010 the team arrived on at Sydney’s Australian National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour.

  22. The German Meteorological Service has defined the Brocken observatory as climate reference station for climate observations. Twelve National Reference Stations (Aachen, Brocken, Fichtelberg, Frankfurt/Main, Görlitz, Helgoland, Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel, Hohenpeissenberg, Konstanz, Lindenberg, Potsdam and Schleswig)were established in the national network to monitor climate developments.

  23. German federal environment minister Norbert Röttgen has lifted a 10-year moratorium on exploratory work at the Gorleben salt dome, a potential repository for Germany's radioactive waste.

  24. On 8 March 2010 police stopped a tractor-trailer transporting a uranium hexafluoride cylinder on the A1 motorway in Bremen. The cylinder was mounted on a flat rack with essential components rusted through. The police ordered the flat rack to be replaced, before the transport would be allowed to continue. The cylinder had arrived in the Hamburg port from the USA and was on the way to Urenco's Gronau enrichment plant.

  25. The United Nations Secretary General and the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) announced on 10 March 2010 that they asked the InterAcademy Council (IAC) to conduct an independent review of the IPCC’s processes and procedures to further strengthen the quality of the Panel’s reports on climate change. The IAC is the umbrella organization for various national academies of science from countries around the world. The review will examine every aspect of how the IPCC’s reports are prepared, including the use of non-peer reviewed literature and the reflection of diverse viewpoints. The review will also examine institutional aspects, including management functions as well as the panel’s procedures for communicating its findings with the public.

  26. On 2 March 2010, the European Commission adopted a Green Paper which sets out options for a European Union approach to the protection of forests and to information about forest resources and their condition. Responses to the Green Paper from the public, Member States, EU institutions and other stakeholders will guide the Commission on whether additional action is needed at EU level. The Green Paper 1 sets out the main challenges facing Europe's forests. It presents existing forest information systems and the tools available to protect forests, and raises a series of questions relevant to the development of future policy options. The paper is part of the follow-up to the White Paper 2 on adapting to climate change adopted by the Commission in April 2009. Since competence for forest policy lies primarily with the Member States, the debate should focus on how climate change is modifying forest management and protection in Europe and how EU policy should evolve to enhance its contribution to Member State initiatives.

  27. Marine species of March 2010 in the International Year of Biodiversity is a free-living marine nematode (Nematoda)

  28. On 26 February 2010 Adventure Ecology founder and environmentalist David de Rothschild unveiled the Plastiki, a pioneering 60ft catamaran made from approximately 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles and srPET: a fully recyclable material. The Plastiki crew is making final preparations to embark on an adventure taking them 11,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Sydney. The Plastiki will be drawing attention to the health of world oceans, and in particular the large amounts of plastic debris, by showcasing waste as a resource and demonstrating real world solutions through the design and construction of the Plastiki.

  29. On 25 February 2010 the largest solar-powered boat in the world was unveiled to the press and public in Kiel, Germany. The catamaran-style yacht is nearly 102 feet long, and almost 50 feet wide, has over 5,000 square feet of solar panels covering an arrow shaped deck perched atop two hulls. The goal of this worldwide unique project is to sail around the world in 2011 with a multi hull vessel powered solely by solar energy. The trip will take approximately 140 days at a average speed of 8 knots.

  30. On 22 February the European Commission proposed that the European Union should press for a ban on international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna to enter into force within the next year. The Commission is deeply concerned that overfishing of Atlantic bluefin tuna driven largely by international trade is seriously depleting stocks of the species. The proposal will be discussed with Member States in order to reach a common EU position for the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), taking place in Doha, Qatar, from 13 to 25 March 2010.

  31. The European Commission has taken a number of decisions to implement the organisational consequences of the allocation of portfolios to Commissioners. Two new Directorates-General have been created: DG Energy (ENER) and DG Climate Action (CLIM). The Energy DG consists of the departments in the former Transport and Energy DG dealing with energy issues and of the Task Force Energy which will be transferred from the External Relations DG. The departments responsible for transport policy will remain in the renamed Mobility and Transport DG (MOVE). The Climate Action DG will be created from the relevant activities in DG Environment, the activities in the External Relations DG related to international negotiations on climate change and the activities in the Enterprise and Industry DG related to climate change.

  32. On 17 February 2010 Kenya launched a national largest carnivore conservation and management strategy. The Africa’s first ever such strategies provide a clear roadmap for the conservation of cheetahs, lions, leopards, stripped and spotted hyenas and the African wild dogs. The number of lions in the East African country has dropped to 2,000, from 20,000 about 50 years ago. The cheetah population has plunged to 1,160, compared with 10,000 a half-century ago.

  33. On 16 February 2010 US President Barack Obama announced loan guarantees through the Department of Energy to operate two new nuclear reactors at a plant in Burke, Georgia. It will be the first new nuclear power plant in nearly three decades.

  34. The Helsinki Commission (Helcom) has launched together with its partners a new project to curb eutrophication of the Baltic Sea through the promotion of advanced removal of phosphorus from the municipal sewage discharge. This project, named PURE (Project on Urban Reduction of Eutrophication), is part of the strategic HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan to radically reduce pollution to the sea and restore the good ecological status of the marine environment by 2021. The plan includes actions to curb eutrophication of the Baltic Sea, caused by excessive inputs of phosphorus and nitrogen loads originating from inadequately cleaned municipal wastewaters and agricultural run-off. PURE will prepare and implement investments that reduce phosphorus loads to the Baltic Sea. The Project targets selected municipalities and their wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and supports them in reaching a phosphorus content of 0,5 mg/liter in outgoing wastewaters. Altogether PURE aims at annual reduction of at least 300-500 tonnes of phosphorus from the Baltic Sea via investments in Riga, Jurmala and Brest water utilities. PURE is co-financed by the European Union. The Project has been approved for financing by the Baltic Sea Region Programme (BSRP) 2007-2013 and its total budget amounts to around EUR 3.2 million, with approximately EUR 2.0 million to be allocated as co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund and European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument. The Project will last for 42 months, including 36 months of implementation period (2010-2013).

  35. On 8 February 2010 scientists at the Centre of Scientific Diving of the Biological Institute Helgoland start a project that is unique thus far for the North Sea: “MarGate”, an innovative underwater experimental field. In future, scientists want to acquire marine biology data with a high resolution in terms of time and space there by means of state-of-the-art sensor technologies. These data will then be available online via the Internet. For instance, climatically and anthropogenically induced changes in the hydrography and ecology of the North Sea will be examined in order to gain a better understanding of and be able to model the mechanisms of changes in the ecosystem due to climate change.

  36. Marine species of February 2010 in the International Year of Biodiversity is the Sargassum muticum.

  37. On 29 January 2010 Germany submitted the nomination of the outstanding German beech forests for inclusion into the UNESCO World Heritage List. For this ambitious endeavour a comprehensive nomination dossier was elaborated by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and the Länder Brandenburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Thuringia. Expert support came from Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). Germany's "old beech forests" are to supplement the existing world heritage site "Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathian in Slovakia and Ukraine". A decision from UNESCO is expected for the summer of 2011. Selected areas in five protected areas in Germany have been proposed for nomination: Jasmund National Park, Serrahn in the Müritz National Park, Grumsin in the Schorfheide-Chorin UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Hainich National Park and Kellerwald-Edersee National Park. They represent valuable relics of Germany's large-scale semi-natural beech forests and thus supplement in an ideal manner the UNESCO world heritage site Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathian listed in 2007.

  38. Since 2000, one scientific discipline has chosen to be the topic of a Year of Science. The BMBF together with research organisations and industry has founded Science in Dialog to establish the process of "Public Understanding of Science and Humanities. The eleventh Science Year in 2010 is the Year of the Future of Energy.

  39. In the field of consumer electronics it is now possible to label TV sets, DVD recorders, Blu-Ray and DVD players as well as compact hi-fi systems with the Blue Angel. The requirements of the Blue Angel for TV sets are aligned with those of the European Ecolabel, but are even more ambitious. The highest admissible power consumption, for example, is 160 watts. And for DVD recorders (with and without hard disk) and players as well as Blu-Ray disk players (DVD players with high memory capacity, improved picture quality, different sound formats) power consumption is likewise the key award criterion. The Blue Angel for compact hi-fi systems in addition demands a non-deactivatable automatic switch-off at the latest after 15 minutes of non-use, and it must be possible to take the device off the grid completely. In the kitchen the Blue Angel is establishing benchmarks for more and more appliances. Exhaust hoods with the Blue Angel must be low noise and easy to disassemble. Furthermore, spare parts have to be available long-term. Energy-saving electric ovens for use in the home may now be labelled with the Blue Angel as well.

  40. Within the European Union, liquid / transport biofuels may only be financially supported or be counted towards renewable energy targets if the biomass used is produced in a sustainable way. Germany is now the first EU member state to have developed a certification scheme for sustainable biomass production. The preliminary approval of this certification system, the “International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISSC)“, by the German Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE) means Germnay is transposing European requirements into national law.