with the opportunity perhaps
to receive a 'singing thank you note'
or for you to speak directly with the young coach and the even younger players throughout the game's season.
Get involved with sports becoming a team supporter
Fair Play, Ubunto, & the Beauty of a Skilful game
The potential of athletic performance as a career path on the quest for Olympic or Inner Gold.
September 21st - October 4th & October 6th - October 21st
The crux of the problem lies in FAO’s faulty definition of forests. Presently, FAO accepts monoculture tree plantations as a “planted” forests, but the problem with these “fake forests”, as GFC and its allies refer to them, is that they replace initiatives to restore real forests and other ecosystems.
Yet, fake forests are incapable of doing the things real forests do:
provide water, shelter to many species, medicine and food for people and climate change resilience.
September 21, is the international day against monoculture tree plantations
The Global Forest Coalition commemorates the many years of struggles of local communities, Indigenous Peoples, women and other forest advocates across the world – from Indigenous peoples in Asia that fight against palm oil, to local communities who resist Eucalyptus “green deserts” in Latin America and “fake forests” in Africa, and forest activists fighting
monoculture timber plantations of genetically modified
and/or alien invasive trees in Europe, the US and the Pacific.
The Global Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) 2015 shows that monoculture tree plantations have expanded with 110 million hectares since 1990. This expansion, which is increasingly driven by wood-based bioenergy demand, comes at the expense of real forests and other precious ecosystems, including grassland. It also comes at the expense of the women and men who depend on these ecosystems for their livelihoods.
Meanwhile, the FRA claims that an area the size of South Africa in real forests was lost since 1990, but that deforestation rates have started to decline.
We in Global Forest Coalition have pointed out at the recent World Forestry Congress that the Forest Resource Assessment is misleading as it accepts monoculture tree plantations as “planted” forests, even though they form a major threat to the world’s biodiversity.
The crux of the problem lies in FAO’s faulty definition of forests. Presently, FAO accepts monoculture tree plantations as a “planted” forests, but the problem with these “fake forests”, as GFC and its allies refer to them, is that they replace initiatives to restore real forests and other ecosystems.
Yet, fake forests are incapable of doing the things real forests do:
provide water, shelter to many species, medicine and food for people and climate change resilience.
See also the Civil Society Alternative Program and Timberwatch websites:
Some of the media links from Durban about the struggle against plantations:
http://mgafrica.com/article/2015-09-01-the-threat-of-fake-forests-in-africa#.VffLFREWfio.facebook
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Push-for-action-against-fake-forests-20150903
http://saforestryonline.co.za/articles/flash-mobs-drama-and-robust-debate-at-wfc/
"La lucha sigue / the struggle continues!" The GFC Team
https://globalforestcoalition.org/international-day-against-monoculture-tree-plantations/ retrieved 18 sep 22 + 23 Nov 22
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through the website: www.globalforestcoalition.org
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For regular updates on campaigns of GFC against the replacement of real forests, grasslands, community natural ways of living and territories by monoculture tree plantations.
Monoculture plantations are not forests - Grasslands are not empty lands - It's the richness of biodiversity that acts as carbon sequestration.
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GeaSphere Africa & GeaSphere Europe Article on End Water Poverty
Local community based organisations are involved in efforts to clear sections of rivers affected, but are struggling to maintain these efforts due to a lack of support. They often lack the basic protections such as rubber boots and gloves and having to commit their own sparse equipment.
African Traditional Health Practitioners complain about the way this particular pollution impacts their practice. Easy accessible areas along local rivers are used for traditional ceremonies and rituals. But these areas are now often littered with discarded diapers and other forms of plastic pollution, rendering the space unfit for healing or religious practices.
Apart from the obvious plastic pollution, used diapers contain human excrement, which should never be disposed of irresponsibly as it might lead to dangerous disease epidemics. According to the World Health Organisation, used diapers should first be rinsed before being discarded, to ensure raw human waste does not get disposed of in landfills. It is doubtful if any consumers follow these guidelines.
In 2015, GeaSphere was mandated by the South African Water Caucus (SAWC) to draft a letter directed at the corporations responsible for the production and distribution of these products, raising the issue and enquiring about the associated health risks. Subsequently, there have been various efforts to reach out to these corporations in an effort to obtain some commitment from industry leaders to assist in developing solutions to this problem. However, to date, no meaningful co-operation could be obtained.
[...]
in a recent e-mail group conversation amongst members of the African Network for Water and Sanitation (ANEW), members from more than 20 civil society organizations, representing 15 African countries, raised concerns regarding discarded disposable diapers and other ‘single use’ sanitary products, polluting the environment and presenting a growing health risk. It is clear that there is an urgent need for a campaign to be developed to quantify and address the issue of disposable sanitary products. It is encouraging that there is commitment and a sense of urgency among regional civil society organisations.
Placed in a more global context, it can be seen that the diaper industry has already gained a strong foothold over the consumers. Preliminary research by GeaSphere Europe underlines the extent of the problem globally and more specifically in Europe. The global baby diapers market was worth US$ 46.5 billion in 2016, and its total revenue is forecast to grow to US$ 67.5 billion by 2022. In the US and many European countries, 90% of diapers are disposable. Given that a baby needs between 4000 – 6000 diaper changes, consumption is accordingly high. For instance, the annual amount of baby diapers used is an estimated 4 billion in the UK and 5 billion in Germany. In the latter, baby diapers produce approximately 1 million tonnes of waste every year, representing roughly 2% of all household waste. It is worth noting that used baby diapers mainly end up in landfills, taking up to 450 years to decompose.
Industry manufacturers, distributors and retailers are in large measure responsible for this problem, promoting the use of these products and changing the culture of consumers. The industry has to be involved in finding solutions to the problems they created, assisting to develop disposal facilities where none currently exist and developing their products to be recyclable, reusable or safely compostable.
Solutions to the problem of these discarded diapers are complex, and involve a collective effort from households, communities, civil society organisations, government departments and the industry itself. As part of the solution, awareness needs to be created regarding the impacts of single use sanitary products, safe and appropriate disposal, and alternative options, such as traditional knowledge-based solutions or reusable products.
By Philip Owen, GeaSphere. Source: End Water Poverty
published nov 2017 - retrieved from green times 6 dec 2022