|
|
UNEP/GRID 1998 Annual Report
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background
The Year in Review
Reports, Projects and Meetings
ISO/FGDC Clearing House
Development and Implemation for UNEP Data
Staff
Visiting Scientists
The North American node of the United Nations Environment
Programme's Global Resources Information Database,
UNEP/GRID-Sioux Falls, located at the EROS Data Center (EDC),
has been operational since 1991 as a partnership between UNEP,
the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Beginning in 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) also
joined the partnership for the next five years.
UNEP/GRID-Sioux Falls serves as a window for the
United Nations community into the activities of
its North American partner organizations particularly
related to information technology tools for environmental
solutions. Through a worldwide network of collaborating
centers, UNEP/GRID facilitates the assembly, integration,
and visualization of environmental data sets to provide
a scientific basis for decision making.
The following are highlights of activities
carried out and accomplishments during the year.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
An agreement for the operation of UNEP/GRID-Sioux
Falls was signed between UNEP, NASA, USGS, USFS,
and US EPA for the next five years (1998-2002).
Advisory Committee Meetings
The activities of UNEP/GRID-Sioux Falls are guided
by an Advisory Committee with membership from several
U.S. federal agencies, representatives from Mexican
and Canadian agencies, academic institutions,
scientific bodies, NGOs, UNEP, and UNDP.
The 11th meeting was held in Washington,
D.C., and hosted by the U.S. State Department.
The 12th meeting was held in Sioux Falls
and hosted by the EROS Data Center. The following
members and invitees attended the meetings:
John R. Townshend (Chair), University of Maryland
Peter S. Thacher, Earth Council Foundation-US
Carmen Reyes, UNAM, Mexico
Donald Lauer, EDC, USGS
June Thormodsgard, EDC, USGS
Martha Maiden, NASA
Matthew Schwaller, NASA
Kamlesh Lulla, NASA
Tom Brennan, U.S. Department of State
Kirk Lindly, U.S. Department of State
Eileen Kane, U.S. Department of State
Bill Wood, U.S. Department of State
Chuck Dull, USFS
Gerald S. Barton, NOAA
Janice Sessing, NOAA
Amy Fraenkel, US EPA
D. Wayne Mooneyhan, Universities Space Research Association
Dan Claasen, UNEP, Nairobi
Joanne Fox-Przeworski, UNEP, New York
Cynthia Cluck, USGS
Thomas Cline, USGS
Ashbindu Singh, Secretary
Land Form, Land Cover and Crop Use Intensity
Mapping for Agriculture Rehabilitation and Food Security
in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), with
an area of approximately 122,370 km2, has
been severely affected by three consecutive years of
severe weather, including floods in 1995 and 1996,
plus a drought and typhoon in 1997. In February 1998,
at the request of United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), UNEP/GRID-Sioux Falls initiated a landform,
land cover and crop use intensity mapping project to
develop baseline information for assessing the impact
of these disasters and support agricultural rehabilitation
and food security issues. A series of maps and a digital
database were created to describe the intensity of
cropping, general land cover, and landforms throughout
the DPRK. For some targeted areas, the best available
satellite images were used in a change analysis. The
whole project was completed in three months time,
which, by any standard, was a massive undertaking.
The results and maps have been used by UNDP, FAO,
and the World Food Program (WFP) to attract investments
for agriculture rehabilitation and food security by
the donor community in DPRK.
Early Warning of Selected
Emerging Environmental Issues in Africa
This study of the world's second largest continent,
Africa, focuses on assessing the state of the
interconnected nature of population dynamics,
land cover distribution, protected areas, and
transboundary water resources. By placing human
beings at the heart of the environmental protection
process, the regional case studies in this report
concentrate on identifying some of the emerging
environmental issues by critically examining
problems over larger areas and by assessing cumulative
impacts on natural resources. This type of information
can assist policy makers in setting priorities and
taking preventive measures. An attempt has also been
made to quantify the magnitude of the transboundary
nature of river basins as well as protected areas
that transcend national boundaries.
One of the main objectives of this analysis is
to provide concise, policy-relevant, and credible
information about the terrestrial environment of
Africa by applying the latest technologies and
scientific methodologies. An important feature
of this study is the use of globally-consistent
and comprehensive geospatial data sets developed
by UNEP and its collaborating agencies using
remote sensing and other sources. Geographic
Information System (GIS) tools have been utilized
for analysis, integration, and visualization of
results; and for identifying areas at risk or
vulnerable otherwise to adverse
population-environment-development interactions.
Maps and graphs have been used as the primary
means of presenting the factual and quantitative
data for informing and educating policy makers.
Furthermore, baseline information is provided
for measuring changes in the environment
Major Findings of the Study:
- The geographic distribution of
population in Africa is highly uneven.
The most dramatic population changes
are occurring around Nigeria and the
Great Lakes region of Africa. Continued
rapid growth would significantly impact
the environmental conditions of these
areas and neighboring regions.
- About 11 percent of the
African coastal areas (using a 100-km. buffer)
presently supports nearly 28 percent of
the population. Population density is
relatively low in most of the region,
except around a network of large
coastal cities. Coastal areas
have registered an increase in population
in the same proportion as the rest of the
continent. The lack of apparent migration
toward the coastal areas is an indication
that subsistence agriculture continues to
be the mainstay of the African people.
The coastal regions of Africa, barring
some local exceptions, do not seem to
be experiencing the same level of growth
as coastal areas in other regions of the
world. However, as the market-based economy
expands, the existing conditions are likely
to undergo a radical change bringing
coastal areas face-to-face with a new set
of environmentally stressful conditions.
- About 9 percent of the land
under forest cover sustains approximately
10 percent of Africa's population. While
5 percent of forested regions have a high
population density, the majority of the
people in Africa, 60 percent, live in and
around the savannas and grasslands. Increases
in population may translate into increasing
pressures on land cover; which has social,
economic, and ecological consequences. The
presence of a sizable population and its
rapid growth in and around forested areas
are likely to result in further degradation
of such lands. The fast dwindling nature of
the resources leaves the growing population
highly vulnerable, as these resources are
vital for their survival.
- About 16 percent of Africa's
population lives within 20 km. of designated
protected areas. The population growth
during the period 1960-1990 within these
buffer zones was higher than outside the
buffer areas. This trend could potentially
threaten the resources of such areas.
- Protected areas in Africa account
for nearly 7 percent of the continent's 30
million km2. Alarmingly, however,
only 6 percent of natural tropical forests rich
in biodiversity are accorded protection status.
The lack of protection status
and the relatively ineffective implementation
of protection measures in the designated protected
areas pose serious threats to forest biodiversity.
- Low population densities in many
natural forested areas of high biodiversity
provide an opportunity for the protection and
conservation of such areas.
- About 63 percent of the total
land in Africa lies within transboundary river
basins. This unique phenomenon heavily influences
Africa's political geography. The growing
scarcity of water, increasing population,
degradation of shared freshwater ecosystems,
and competing demand for shrinking natural
resources distributed over such a huge area
involving so many countries have the potential
for creating bilateral and multilateral conflicts.
- Five major river basins, the Congo,
Nile, Niger, Chad, and Zambezi, occupy about
42 percent of the geographical area and sustain
over 44 percent of the African population. The
high population growth rate and rather low
protection status of natural forests of high
biodiversity in the Congo Basin are indicators
of emerging environmental problems of global
significance.
- A low percentage of forest cover
and high density of population distribution
around Lake Victoria are indicators of increasing
pressure on the lake's ecosystem.
- An overwhelming majority of African
countries, 33 of them, share 189 protected
areas along their national borders. The migratory
nature of animals and declining populations in
game reserves and national parks could result in
loss of tourism revenues. There are also growing
requirements for implementing the provisions
of the environmental conventions. In light of
such developments, transboundary protected
areas could be a source of potential tension
between the concerned parties.
In conclusion, this study, with the application of
the modern information technology tools and consistent
data sets, has made it possible to identify and quantify
selected emerging environmental issues requiring national
and international attention.
The study and report were done in cooperation between
UNEP, NASA, USFS, USGS, and partially funded by the
Government of Japan.
Wild Fires and Environment: A
Global Synthesis
During 1997 and 1998, relatively small-scale,
human-initiated fires for land clearing and land-use
changed quickly developed into large-scale and
widespread uncontrolled fires. These fires occurred
in Southeast Asia, South America, Central America,
Mexico, Africa, Europe, Russia, China, and the United
States. These uncontrolled and widespread wildfires
were a consequence of extreme drought conditions
brought about by the 1997 El Nino. On a daily basis,
these wildfires were reported on the front pages of
the world's newspapers and nightly on television and
radio throughout the world. Internet web sites
worldwide reported on the daily and, in some cases,
the hourly progress of these wildfires.
The extensive and widespread wildfires of 1997
and 1998 made the world aware of the environmental
and human health impacts associated with these fires.
In Southeast Asia alone, tens of millions of people
were exposed to high levels of fire-produced gases
and particulates for weeks at a time. The poor
atmospheric visibility resulting from these fires
was responsible for the crash of a commercial airplane
and the collision of two ships at sea in Southeast Asia.
In general, the countries of the world were not prepared
to react to these fires. Fire monitoring systems and
air quality monitoring systems were not providing the
needed information to government officials in time
needed for decision making. The wildfires of 1997
and 1998 were a learning experience for many environmental
managers. Even before the appearance of humans on our
planet, natural fire, induced by atmospheric lightning,
has been a process of disturbance. Fire is a vital
and important process that initiates natural cycles
of vegetation succession and maintains ecosystem
viability. Particularly in the tropics, but also
elsewhere, human-initiated fire has become an
important and widespread tool for land clearing
and land-use change. Fires initiated by human
activities (which may account for as much as
90% of all fires) can have a negative impact
on the composition and chemistry of the regional
and global atmosphere, on the climate of our
planet, and on human health.
Fires are a significant source of gases and
particulates to the regional and global atmosphere.
Environmentally important gases produced by fire
include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane,
non-methane hydrocarbons, and oxides of nitrogen.
Carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases
that lead to global warming. Methane, carbon
monoxide, non-methane hydrocarbons, and
oxides of nitrogen are chemically active
gases, which lead to the photochemical
production of ozone near the ground. Ozone is
another greenhouse gas. At enhanced levels,
ground-level ozone is an irritant and pollutant
and has a negative impact on all living systems,
including humans. Fire also produces large
amounts of particulate matter, small solid
particles. The fire-produced particulate matter
absorbs and scatters incoming solar radiation;
and, hence, impacts the climate of our planet.
In addition, smoke particulates smaller than
about 2.5 micrometers can easily enter the human
respiratory system leading to health problems.
The Wildland Fires and the Environment: A
Global Synthesis report was prepared in
cooperation with UNEP/GRID-Geneva, NASA, USFS,
and USGS to better inform decision makers about
fires, their environmental and health risks, and
the technology available to monitor fires in the future.
UNEP Meeting on Early
Warning of Emerging Environmental Threats
December 8, 1998, Washington, D.C.
One of the outcomes of the United Nations
reform process is to streamline global
environmental policy development and environmental
information management issues in a coordinated manner.
As per recommendations of the recent report of the
UN Task Force on Environment and Human Settlements,
June 15, 1998, UNEP is in the process of developing
suitable mechanisms for early warning of significant
environmental problems which could result in human or
environmental disasters and emergencies requiring
international action. As a result, the UNEP's Division
of Environmental Information, Assessment and Early
Warning - North America organized a meeting of experts
from the region for developing guidance for possible
UNEP strategies in this field. The meeting as chaired
by Professor Mario Molina, the Nobel Prize winner
in Chemistry, and attended by over 25 participants
from U.S. and Canadian foundations, academies,
institutions, and the private sector.
The meeting was designed to elicit suggestions
on what contributions North Americans might make
to UNEP's Early Warning program. It was pointed
out that early warning was highlighted in the Nairobi
Declaration and the Secretary General's UN reform
proposal. UNEP's Executive Director's intention was
to mobilize UNEP to carry out the new mandate and
to: (1) be able to anticipate and respond immediately
and authoritatively to current environmental issues,
and (2) over a longer term, alert the world community
and the Governing Council to upcoming threats so
they could address them appropriately.
Participants expressed strong interest in and
support for UNEP's early warning initiative.
They said there was a real need for catalyzing
and coordinating international efforts along
these lines and they thought that they could
make a contribution to UNEP's work. The effort
could link a wide range of information networks
around the world, give focus to scientific
concerns, involve the private sector, and help
build capacity for information exchange in
developing countries. There was an interesting
discussion around the concept of a trip-wire
network that is designated to go off when certain
criteria are met or violated. As such, it is
not necessary to know what has caused the
trip-wire to activate. When the trip-wire fires,
resources could be rallied to look into the
causes and find the remedies.
All participants agreed that the diminishing
quantity and quality of the world's freshwater
resources were urgent problems requiring
international attention. Professor Molina spoke
out on the need to alert the world to new changes
taking place in the lower atmosphere due to
combustion of fossil fuels and biomass burning.
Others indicated that sustainable health of human
and ecosystem, forest fragmentation, toxic wastes,
misguided land use, climate change, and signs of
urban environmental deterioration should be addressed.
They felt that UNEP highlighting urgent and
longer-term problems would be a valuable service
to the international community. The information
could be provided in a number of ways - announcements
by the Executive Director, periodic action-oriented
UNEP reports, and publications.
Several participants suggested the UNEP should see
itself and perform more as an action-oriented educator
that would identify issues, publicize them
internationally, and inspire governments and others
to take action on them. UNEP could publicize them
and bring them to the attention of the public,
governments, and the Governing Council. UNEP would
encourage other UN agencies, governments, the
scientific community, and the private sector
to collaborate in this work. It would convene
scientific panels and other gatherings to perfect
the data and draw conclusions about actions. But
UNEP should be wary of trying to be a major data
collector itself, although it could encourage
coordination and collaboration by others in the
collection effort. UNEP's focus would be on
calling attention to urgent matters, seeking
solutions, and promoting international action
to address the early warning issues identified.
Other Analytical Studies
Three analytical studies that were also completed
during 1998 include:
- Biodiversity-Rich Ecoregions in Africa
Need Protection,
- Status and Trends in Spatial Data Handling
Software 1997, and
- Methodology for Forest Fire Potential,
Detection, and Monitoring - Global Forest Fires Watch.
A proposal "ISO/FGDC Clearinghouse Development and
Implementation for UNEP Data" was funded by the
U.S. National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The
NSDI Funding Programs were established by the Federal
Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) to help form partnerships
among organizations that will assist in the evolution of
the NSDI. The goal is to encourage resource-sharing
projects through the use of technology, networking,
and more efficient interagency coordination.
The main components of the proposal include:
- establishment of a National Geospatial Data
Clearinghouse node to provide public access to UNEP
datasets, as well as metadata converted from the UNEP
metadata standard,
- enhancement of the PC MetaLite software,
developed by USGS and UNEP, to conform and produce
ISO compliant metadata, and
- development of ISO metadata on the
UNEP/GRID clearinghouse to prototype the
transition of an NSDI clearinghouse node to an
ISO compliant clearinghouse node.
UNEP/GRID Sioux Falls staff have undertaken
the following activities of the proposal:
- Installed and tested the ISITE clearinghouse
software on a newly purchased UNIX system.
- A first draft of FGDC metadata has
been developed for the datasets housed on the
UNEP/GRID website.
- Implemented the first draft of
metadata with the ISITE clearinghouse software
and tested the search engine functionality.
- New website pages have been designed
to provide a more consistent and efficient interface
to the datasets and metadata of the UNEP/GRID website.
UNEP/GRID-Sioux Falls is pioneering the use of such
cutting-edge information technology tools for dissemination
of environmental data and information within the United
Nations system in partnership with the private sector.
Core Data Sets and
Data Dissemination
UNEP/GRID-Sioux Falls created the first World Wide
Web (WWW) site within UNEP related to the Indonesian
Forest fires to raise global awareness.
Of particular interest is the implementation of
the DPRK project database using the Internet
Map Server technology developed by the
Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI),
Inc., which allows users to visualize and analyze
Geographic Information System (GIS) databases using
Internet browsers. ESRI, Inc., donated the necessary
software and provided training to staff.
During the past several years, UNEP/GRID-Sioux
Falls has been an active partner in the development
of core data sets for environmental assessment and
sustainable development planning. A summary of files
transferred and dissemination of georeferenced data
sets related to Population distribution, Land Cover,
Topography (Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and River
basins boundaries database (HYDRO1K) developed in
partnership with a number of organizations around
the world are given in the attached Table.
Ashbindu Singh, Regional Coordinator
Eugene Fosnight, Senior Scientist
Michelle Anthony, Information Scientist
Jeffrey Danielson, Scientist I (6 months)
M. Sean Chenoweth, Scientist I (6 months)
Amadou Dieye, Centre de Suivr Ecologique (Ecological
Monitoring Center), Senegal, Scientist I (6 months)
UNEP/GRID-Sioux Falls hosted two visiting scientists,
namely: Firipo Mpabulungi, from the National Environment
Management Authority, Uganda, and Albert Allotey, from the
University of Ghana, Ghana, to support the study on Early
Warning of Selected Environmental Issues in Africa. The
Geographical Survey Institute (GSI) of Japan seconded a
scientist, Norishige Kubo, to support Metadata standards
and clearinghouse research.
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Ashbindu Singh
Regional Coordinator
United Nations Environment Programme
Division of Environmental Assessment, Information and
Early Warning — North America
EROS Data Center
Sioux Falls, SD 57198
Tel: 605-594-6107/6117
Fax: 605-594-6119
Email:
singh@usgs.gov
www: https://na.unep.net
|
