Global Compact International Yearbook 2009

News around the world
Australia
in 1840 between the British Crown and
the Maori. But the Crown failed to keep
its promise: European immigrants in
the 19th century forcefully displaced
the indigenous people of New Zealand
from their land. That was around 150
years ago. Negotiations over compensation
between a Maori collective of seven
tribes and the New Zealand government
lasted, all in all, 20 years. In June 2008,
the goal was reached: The government
signed over 176,000 hectares of forest to
the Maori group. Together with the income
from forest management, the total
value of the forest area is 500 million
New Zealand dollars, equal to 243 million
euros. Now the tribes, with around
100,000 members, are the largest private
forest owners in New Zealand: “We will
become major investors in the forestry
sector, and the land to be returned is
culturally significant to us all,” said
spokesperson Tamati Kruger.
Micronesia: Uncertain future
The rising sea level, worsening coast conditions,
decreasing fresh water supplies
and invasion of non-endemic species
are making many of Oceania’s island
states especially vulnerable. Almost half
the population of Kiribati have already
been resettled to larger islands. In 2007,
the Fourth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) already left no doubt: The
survival of the Pacific island state, a part
of Oceania that stretches across a number
of islands in Micronesia and Polynesia,
is acutely threatened. With the goal of
reducing risks, the presidents of Micronesia,
Palau and the Marshall Islands as
well as the governors of the US territories
in Micronesia signed the “Micronesia
Challenge” in 2006. In this agreement,
they adopted the goal of conserving 30
percent of near-shore coastal waters and
20 percent of land resources by 2020.
It will be implemented in practice by
establishing nature preserves, such as
coral reefs, forests and even entire islands.
An example is Woja Island, which
faces a shortage of drinking water due
to poorly planned water management.
Corresponding protective measures are
based on agreements with local actors to
protect their living space and build up an
ecological network. The project will be
carried out by the international nature
protection organisation “The Nature
Conservancy” and a regional organisation
for protection of biodiversity called
“Micronesia Conservation Trust Fund”.
Green polar station
The environmentally friendliest polar
station ever built, Belgium’s “Princess
Elisabeth”, is powered solely by wind and
solar energy and produces no CO2 emissions.
Nine wind turbines and 408 solar
cells supply electricity to the building,
which houses up to 20 people. Heating
is provided by 24 square metres of thermal
solar cells. Built in a passive house
style, the station can forego a separate
heating system by avoiding heat loss and
optimising free heat gain. Additionally,
drinking water is won from snow, and
waste water is cleaned and reused. The
station is recognised as a pioneer for its
use of the most modern technologies
under extreme conditions: “If we can
build such a station in Antarctica, we
can do that elsewhere in our society. We
have the capacity, the technology, the
knowledge to change our world,” said
engineer Alain Hubert, the station’s
developer. Named for the granddaughter
of Belgium’s King Albert II, the Princess
Elisabeth Station was opened in February
2009. Its main purpose is to investigate
climate change and the variety of life
forms around the South Pole. The Belgian
government and private investors,
in cooperation with the International
Polar Foundation, invested 21 million
euros for the station’s construction. One
million euros per year are provided by
economics minister Sabine Laruelle for
its operation.
Antarctic tourism declines
Journeys to the South Pole are in demand
but relatively expensive. The global
economic crisis caused the number of
visitors to Antarctica to fall massively
in the southern summer of 2008/2009.
While a total of 46,000 people went there
the year before, current visitor numbers
are estimated at only 36,000. The season
will be slow, writes the International Association
of Antarctica Tour Operators
IAATO. For ecologists, this is good news.
For years they have warned of a major
disaster resulting from tourism in the
ecologically sensitive South Pole region.
The environment got off lightly when
the cruise ship Explorer sank two years
ago and again when the Ocean Nova ran
aground at the beginning of this year
near the Argentine San Martin Station.
But accidents such as these pose grave
risks for the Antarctic region, for example
from oil spills: “The decomposition of
oil takes much longer in the cold regions
than in the tropics, for example. This
could have disastrous consequences for
many of the species living in the region,”
says Greenpeace marine biologist Antje
Helms. To protect the ecosystem, participants
in an international conference on
the 50th anniversary of the Antarctic
Treaty resolved to restrict tourism in
the polar region. In April 2009, they
decided that only cruise ships with a
maximum of 500 passengers on board
would be allowed to land in future. In
addition, the docking stations can only
be stopped at successively, and only 100
passengers will be allowed on land at the
same time. There must also be at least
one guide for every 20 vacationers.
Global Compact International Yearbook 2009 31