Drought will cause crop failures in Spain, farmers warn
Drought now affects 60% of the Spanish countryside, with crops like wheat and barley likely to fail entirely in four regions, the main Spanish farmers’ association said on Thursday.
Spain’s long-term drought is causing “irreversible losses” to more than 3.5 million hectares of crops, the Coordinator of Farmers’ and Ranchers’ Organizations (COAG in its Spanish acronym) said in a new report.
Some cereals need to be “written off” in the prime growing regions of Andalusia, Castilla La Mancha, Extremadura and Murcia, and are likely to be lost in the driest areas of three other regions, according to the report. In the wine-growing region of La Rioja, farmers were in the exceptional situation of “having to irrigate cereals ... when normally they are never watered,” the association said.
Nuts and vineyards are also struggling, and olives will be badly affected if rain does not arrive in the next few weeks, the report stated. The lack of available water was further impacting the ability of farmers to irrigate corn, sunflowers, rice and cotton, likely leading to reduced sowing of these crops over the summer, it added.
Three years of very low rainfall and high temperatures have put Spain officially into long-term drought, the country’s weather agency said last month. Last year was Spain’s sixth driest — and the hottest since records began in 1961.
EBRD and EU upgrade wastewater sector in Jordan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed an agreement with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation to channel EU grants and help the Water Authority of Jordan to modernise and enhance the water and wastewater management sector in Jordan.
The European Union (EU) is providing a grant of €30 million that is co-financed by a €41.3 million loan from the EBRD for the construction of a greenfield wastewater treatment facility in Al Ghabawi on the outskirts of the capital, Amman. The new facility will replace the existing one in Ain Ghazal, which is harming the environment and causing a nuisance to the surrounding communities.
The Al Ghabawi facility will treat septage collected from areas in Amman that are not connected to the sewerage network. This will help eliminate odour, noise pollution and traffic problems due to septic tank truck movements around the current facility in Ain Ghazal.
Land. Water. Sources
The 4th International Forum on Integrated Water Management is looking for speakers. The event, wich is scheduled to be held in Quebec City from November 1st to 3rd, 2016, will address the source water protection issue.
The conference aims to share ideas, knowledge, tools and innovative practices regarding the protection of drinking water sources. Targeted topics are: diagnosis and monitoring of water sources; risk management an emergency measures; plans, strategies and source protection measures; regulatory and economic instruments; governance and land use planning. Professionals, researchers and students are invited to submit a proposal for oral presentation, workshop or poster in relation with the previous topics before May 31st 2016.
Call for abstracts Professionals, researchers and students are invited to submit a proposal conference, workshop or poster. Topics- The state of water sources: diagnosis, follow-up and monitoring
- Risk management and emergency measures
- Plans, strategies and source protection measures
- Regulatory and economics instruments
- Governance and land use planning
19th International River Symposium - Great Rivers of the World: Management for Shared Benefits
The 19th International Riversymposium will address some of the world's most pressing river basin management challenges. How can we best balance economic development with environmental and livelihood values in our own unique parts of the world ? The Greater Himalaya is one of the world's most populous regions, where climate change poses an additional risk to water security and river health. Ten major rivers drain the Greater Himalaya, providing water, food, energy and environmental services to around 1.5 billion people across central, south, southeast and east Asia ; supporting over one fifth of the global population on less than 2 percent of the global land mass. This special part of the planet will play host to the 19th International Riversymposium in New Delhi, India. Hot topics will be addressed throughout the program incorporating perspectives from different sectors and parts of the world, with a specific sub-theme and post-conference tours dedicated to exploring the unique challenges of the Himalayas. TOPICS:
- Food-water-energy nexus in the Himalayan basins - balancing benefits
- Understanding and adapting to a changing climate
- Protecting and restoring river ecosystems in an IRBM framework
- Building community resilience - linking local action to basin planning
- Approaches to cooperative management in transboundary basins
- Source of the Ganges - Gangotri glacier
- Hydropower development in Nepal or Bhutan
- The Sundarbans of West Bengal and Bangladesh
- Mt Kailash landscape of the Tibetan Plateau
- Flood control and sediment management on the Yellow River
22e Conférence des parties à la convention-cadre des Nations-Unies sur les changements climatiques
3ème Gala Misez EAU !
Le Gala Misez EAU! vise à offrir une reconnaissance aux entreprises, aux organismes communautaires, aux municipalités et aux communautés autochtones qui se sont illustrés par leur réalisation particulière dans la gestion et la gouvernance de l'eau par bassin versant au Québec, ainsi qu'aux individus s'étant démarqués par leur implication exceptionnelle dans la cause. Il est présenté dans le cadre du Rendez-vous international sur la gestion intégrée de l'eau.
Des prix dans 5 catégories !
- Secteur communautaire (associations de lacs et de rivières, établissements d'enseignement...)
- Secteur économique (milieu forestier, industriel et agricole)
- Municipalités et communautés autochtones
- Organismes de bassins versants (OBV)
- Prix reconnaissance ROBVQ pour l'implication exceptionnelle d'un individu
La remise des prix se fera à l'occasion d'un souper qui aura lieu à l'Aquarium de Québec le 2 novembre 2016.
Air pollution from agriculture: EU exceeds international limit in 2014
Ammonia emissions in Europe have fallen since 1990, but by not as much as emissions of other air pollutants tracked under an internationally agreed United Nations convention. According to a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA), ammonia emissions increased in 2014, meaning several EU Member States as well as the EU now exceed their respective ammonia emission limits under the convention.
Building resilient cities key to tackling effects of climate change
Cities across Europe must step up their adaptation efforts if they are to handle the increasingly complex challenges caused by climate change such as more extreme flooding or prolonged heatwaves. A European Environment Agency (EEA) report published today stresses the benefits of investing in long-term preventive measures that cities should take to improve their resilience.
Towards clean and smart mobility
Transport plays a critical role in the way we live. Our food, clothes and household waste all need to be transported, contributing to our economy and quality of life. But the increasing use of planes, cars and other fossil-fuel dependent modes of transport is causing more pollution, putting at risk our environment and health. The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) Signals 2016 explores how Europe’s carbon-dependent transport sector can be turned into a clean and smart mobility system.
