EQUITABLE DATA ACCESS BY GLOBAL GEOSPATIAL GROUP

EQUITABLE DATA ACCESS BY GLOBAL GEOSPATIAL GROUP

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Geospatial information can empower decision-making. Access to information, however, is as unequal as it could get across the globe.

To address the problem of inequitable access to information, diverse geospatial groups across the continents have been holding consultative talks. Incidentally, a UN agency, the Economic and Social Council or ECOSOC, had taken the role to spearhead the global talks to promote greater equitable data access.

Such an access was once the monopoly of developed countries or DCs notably the OECD countries. From climatological mapping to mineneralogy assessments, the exclusivity of access by the Northern countries was very marked. The information was then used by multinational companies and business stakeholders to corner contracts and investments in the developing countries to the dis-advantage of the latter.

Below is a summary report about the ongoing geospatial initiatives.

[Philippines, 19 September 2011]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/en/news/global-geospatial-group-to-promote-equitable-data-access.html

Global geospatial group to promote equitable data access

Gozde Zorlu

18 August 2011

A high-level global group promoting geospatial information could help developing countries gain better access to data to help tackle issues such as climate change, conservation and disaster management.

The UN has set up an expert committee and a programme on global geospatial information management under its Economic and Social Council to encourage international cooperation and establish best practice on the use of geographic data, collected by technologies such as remote sensing and the global positioning system (GPS).

The decision, announced last month (27 July), was triggered by a report earlier this year by the UN secretary-general that concluded that many developing countries have a "serious lack of institutional capacity to harness the enormous potential of geospatial information technologies and to build a sustainable national infrastructure".

There have been several efforts to manage such information, including the Permanent Committee for Geospatial Data Infrastructure of the Americas (PC-IDEA) and the Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific (PCGIAP).

"But these discussions have been regional in focus," said Paul Cheung, director of the new initiative and head of the UN's statistics division in New York.

"There is a need for a global platform, for all countries to come together and focus on all of the issues. That is why we have created this committee," he told SciDev.Net.

A key task will be to standardise geospatial information and applications to enable the sharing of data and services across borders.

According to Cheung, geospatial data is increasingly owned by multinational corporations, which sell software and platforms to developing countries that may not have the capacity to know what the best products are or how best to use them. The new committee could help represent developing countries and advise them on building up their national institutions.

"Spatial information and analysis lie at the heart of nearly all major international peace, global health and economic development problems," Mark Becker, a geospatial applications expert at the Earth Institute at Columbia University, United States, told SciDev.Net.

"Having a central committee focused on setting standards for accuracy of data and guidelines for the fair redistribution of data is essential," he said.

Becker added that the new committee could increase the efficient use of spatial information in projects for developing countries, such as managing refugee centres and immunisation programmes.

"If you can easily discover and download data that is critical for your operations and not have to create it yourself you have increased your efficiency," he said.

Geospatial information can empower decision-making on "extremely important" concerns in developing countries, such as development and environmental conservation, said Susan Wolfinbarger, from the Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"Given the rapid development of technologies such as remote sensing, mapping and GPS, a group of experts on geographic technology is essential to help develop standards for data quality, cooperation and use of geospatial information," Wolfinbarger added.

The first UN high-level forum on geospatial information management is scheduled to take place in Seoul, Korea, in October to bring together countries, international organisations and the private sector.

"But at the end of the day, it is governments that will have to decide on issues," said Cheung.

Link to UN secretary-general's 'Global geospatial information management' report [217kB]

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CLIMATE CHANGE & ENERGY

CLIMATE CHANGE & ENERGY

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

‘Smoke stack’ industries have to a great extent factored into the climate change patterns, with dire consequences of more erratic weather patterns that we experience today. ‘Smoke stack’ industries—those utilizing ‘hot process’ technologies—have for so long employed fossil fuels as energy sources, thus compounding the pollution arising from the manufacturing sector.

The tall order is for manufacturing to eventually shift to ‘cold process’ technologies and the utilization of renewable energy or RE sources. Scale wise, the days of very large-scale, energy-intensive production, e.g. plant churning out over a million tons per annum of steel, should be scaled down to more manageable levels, which hopefully will utilize RE.

A long-term total shift to RE must be envisioned and put into action, with the additional consequence of reversing the climate change patterns of the day. It isn’t too late yet for such a reversal job to undertake, so let’s see what is in store in the UNIDO that resonates with the overall vision.

[Philippines, 14 July 2011]

Source: http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=1001541

Energy and Climate change

Issue

Energy is closely linked with key contemporary global challenges the world faces – social development and poverty alleviation, environmental degradation and climate change and food security – and is therefore a defining issue of our time. Industry needs reliable and affordable energy. At the same time, there has to be an appropriate balance between growing demand for energy and the urgent need to protect environment and climate.

Objective

UNIDO seeks to tackle these challenges. Indeed, climate change and energy policies are inextricably linked – two thirds of our emissions come from the energy we use. Decisions in one field cannot be made without considering the impacts in the other. Thus, UNIDO's Energy Strategy aims at helping developing countries and countries in transition to achieve the following objectives:

• Increase the competitiveness of their industries by reducing industrial energy intensity

• Reduce their impact on climate change by decreasing the carbon emissions of their industries and by promoting renewable energy technologies

• Increase the viability of their enterprises, particularly in rural areas, by augmenting the use of renewable energy sources

Activities

The responsibility of UNIDO is to promote access to energy for productive uses while at the same time supporting patterns of energy use by industry that mitigate climate change and are otherwise environmentally sustainable. More broadly, UNIDO's services can be categorized as follows:

• Renewable and Rural Energy
• Industrial Energy Efficiency and Climate Change
• Energy Policy and Partnership

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HEALTH & CLIMATE CHANGE

HEALTH & CLIMATE CHANGE

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

How does climate change dovetail into health, hygiene, and public policy concerns regarding healthcare?

The impact of climate change is surely very complex a matter, as it involves many intervening factors affecting epidemiology and ailments. Health perspectives must, first of all, be re-tooled to constitute emerging paradigms about the matter.

Below is an update report by the development group eldis.org. Country cases showing climate change impact on health are incorporated.

[Philippines, 08 July 2011]

ELDIS HEALTH REPORTER
5 July 2011
Source: http://www.eldis.org/go/topics/resource-guides/health

In this issue:

1. Predicting and mapping malaria under climate change scenarios: the potential redistribution of malaria vectors in Africa
2. A human health perspective on climate change
3. Impacts of climate change on public health in India: future research directions
4. The implications of climate change for health in Africa

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Predicting and mapping malaria under climate change scenarios: the potential redistribution of malaria vectors in Africa

Authors: EZ Tonnang,Henri; YM Kangalawe,Richard; Z Yanda,Pius
Produced by: Malaria Journal, BioMed Central (2010)

This paper, published in the Malaria Journal, posits that malaria is rampant in Africa and causes untold mortality and morbidity. Since vector-borne diseases such as malaria are climate sensitive, the authors argue that this fact raises considerable concern over the implications of climate change on future disease risk, as malaria vectors (Anopheles mosquitoes) may shift from their traditional locations to invade new zones.

Exploiting the sets of information previously generated by entomologists, e.g. on geographical ranges of vectors and malaria distribution, the authors build models that will enable prediction and mapping the potential redistribution of Anopheles mosquitoes in Africa.

Key findings of this study are:

• Shifts in the Anopheles mosquitoes species boundaries southward and eastward of Africa may occur rather than jump into quite different climatic environments.
• In the absence of adequate control, these predictions are crucial in understanding the possible future geographical range of the vectors and the disease, which could facilitate planning for various adaptation options.

The authors conclude that the outputs from this study will be helpful at various levels of decision making, for example, in setting up of an early warning and sustainable strategies for climate change and climate change adaptation for malaria vectors control programmes in Africa.

Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=58482

A human health perspective on climate change

Produced by: Environmental Health Perspectives (2010)

This report, published by the the Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health, highlights 11 key categories of diseases and other health consequences that are occurring or will occur due to climate change.

The purpose of this paper is to identify research needs for all aspects of the research-to-decision making pathway that will help us understand and mitigate the health effects of climate change, as well as ensure that we choose the healthiest and most efficient approaches to climate change adaptation. This way, the authors provide a starting point for coordination of research to better understand climate’s impact on human health. The authors articulate, in a concrete way, that human beings are vulnerable in many ways to the health effects of climate change. They lay out both what we know and what we need to know about these effects in a way that will allow the health research community to bring its collective knowledge to bear on solving these problems.

The paper highlights the state-of-the-science on the human health consequences of climate change on:

• Asthma, respiratory allergies, and airway diseases.
• Cancer.
• Cardiovascular disease and stroke.
• Foodborne diseases and nutrition.
• Heat-related morbidity and mortality.
• Human developmental effects.
• Mental health and stress- related disorders.
• Neurological diseases and disorders.
• Waterborne diseases.
• Weather-related morbidity and mortality.
• Vectorborne and zoonotic diseases (like malaria, which can be transmitted from animals to humans).

The report also examines a number of cross-cutting issues for research in this area, including susceptible, vulnerable, and displaced populations; public health and health care infrastructure; capacities and skills needed; and communication and education efforts.

The authors conclude that the actions we take today will help to shape our environment in the decades to come. Some degree of climate change is unavoidable, and we must adapt to its associated health effects; however, aggressive mitigation actions can significantly blunt the worst of the expected exposures.

They recommend research to identify who will be most vulnerable, and what efforts will be most beneficial; and to focus on the following areas:

• Integrating climate science with health science.
• Integrating environmental, public health, and marine and wildlife surveillance.
• Applying climate and meteorological observations to real-time public health issues.
• Down-scaling long-term climate models to estimate human exposure risks and burden of disease.

Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=58464

Impacts of climate change on public health in India: future research directions

Authors: F. Bush,Kathleen; Luber,George
Produced by: Environmental Health Perspectives (2011)

Building on the information presented at the 2009 Joint Indo–U.S. Workshop on Climate Change and Health in Goa, India, this paper reviews relevant literature and data, to address gaps in knowledge, and identify priorities and strategies for future research in India.

The authors argue that:

• Climate change and associated increases in climate variability willlikely further exacerbate global health disparities. As such, moreresearch is needed, particularly in developing countries, to accuratelypredict the anticipated impacts and inform effective interventions.
• The scope of the problem in India is enormous, based on the potential for climate change and variability to exacerbate endemic malaria, dengue, yellow fever, cholera, and chikungunya, as well as chronic diseases, particularly among the millions of people who already experience poor sanitation, pollution, malnutrition, and a shortage of drinking water.
• In light of this realisation, the authors highlight the importance of improving the surveillance, monitoring, and integration of meteorological, environmental, geospatial, and health data while working in parallel to implement adaptation strategies.

Key conclusions and recommendations:

• It is critical for India to invest in improvements in information infrastructure that are innovative and that promote interdisciplinary collaborations while embarking on adaptation strategies.
• This will require unprecedented levels of collaboration across diverse institutions in India and abroad.
• The ensuing data can be used in research on the likely impacts of climate change on health that reflect India’s diverse climates and populations.
• Finally, the authors recommend the enhancement of local human and technical capacities for risk communication and promoting adaptive behavior.

Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=58462

The implications of climate change for health in Africa

Authors: Chimbari,M., J.
Produced by: Arid Lands Information Network (2010)

The interactions between health and climate change are clearly recognised; the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change includes a chapter on health issues in all its publications. But we still need to better understand all the possible impacts of climate change on health.

To date, much of the evidence of the health impacts of climate change has focused on malaria. But the impacts are much wider than this. Climate change projections for Africa indicate that temperatures will increase by 0.2–0.5°C per decade, and many African regions will experience more severe droughts. This will translate to a short growing season for food crops, thus leading to food shortages. These changes may affect human health directly, as the changing weather patterns encourage the production of disease vectors and parasites, such as those causing malaria. Indirect changes will result through impacts on water availability, air quality, food quality and quantity, ecosystems, agriculture and economies – all factors that affect people’s health.

This issue of Joto Afrika features articles from different countries, which highlight ongoing or completed research into climate change and health across Africa. These articles indicate:

• climate change may increase the prevalence of diseases transmitted between humans and animals
• children are most vulnerable to climate change; in times of food shortage, they must be well-fed to avoid malnutrition, as this can make them more vulnerable to other diseases
• communities living in areas prone to flooding are often displaced, forcing them to move to temporary accommodation with basic facilities. This makes them more vulnerable to waterborne diseases
• modelling is an important tool for early warning for climate-induced health disasters
• vulnerable people in communities, for example people living with HIV, can develop successful coping strategies.

Climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health. There is need for capacity building and implementation of projects to strengthen the health system response to climate change and to ensure that health is appropriately considered in decisions made by other sectors such as energy and transport.

Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=57204

NEW ZEALAND QUAKE & TESLA EARTHQUAKE MACHINE

Erle Frayne D. Argonza


A quake of intensity Reichter 6+ struck New Zealand just recently. Scores of people were instantly killed by the catastrophe, with some couples of Filipino expatriate workers there missing or presumed dead. The quake was the 2nd in a row to strike the city of Christchurch, and that to me bodes ill of the times.

There seems to be a hyper-attenuation of tectonic attacks across the globe over the last two decades or so. If one were to graph them on a sheet of paper, you’d notice a pattern of geometric rise in the frequency and intensity of the quakes.

What makes the Zealand quake earth-shaking as a new fact is that it struck the same city for a 2nd time in a short time span. Thus, there’s no telling that a strong quake may strike the same city or region for a 3rd time, 4th time, and so on till infinity within short time spans till the region submerges beneath the waters.

Some opinion writers and analysts may conclude in rather haphazard fashion that the quake may have been a natural event all along. Haphazard indeed, as little do folks and experts know that a very deadly weapon of mass destruction—the Tesla Earthquake Machine or TEM—has been in operational use for two (2) decades now.

Just a few years back, a powerful quake hit China, resulting to massive deaths by the thousands. Towns vanished overnight, buried as they were by billions of tons of earth loosened by the quake. Chinese officials never spoke about the cause openly, but never take the Chinese experts as ignorant as rats, for they knew what struck China then.

It was the TEM that hit China, which was unleashed by a special military force from a Northern power. Remember that just days before the quake happened, the US Pentagon released information that China supposedly has been building submarine bases below the seas, which is a mere cover up for the real thing: US naval assets were testing submarine facilities on China.

Much earlier than the China quake, there was the Japan quake in the 90s. That big one flattened a major city there, and it was a classic TEM operation executed by Yakuza operators on the payroll of the Aum cult. The TEM could have been purchased from the Russian mafia via the global inter-syndicate crime networks. Needless to say, rouge elements in Japan possess the technology, passed on to them by rouge elements in Russia.

Alarmed about such a development, the Anglo-American oligarchy quickly directed its own defense establishments to accelerate the catching up process. The technology was to come under the disguise of a beneficial HAARP project that is based in Alaska. The frequencies from the HAARP can be used to control people’s minds, create super-storms (like Philippine’s typhoon Ondoy), induce super-quakes (Tesla effect like they did on China and Indonesia), and more.

Not only was China a favored guinea pig for the deadly weapon. Indonesia was already struck at least a couple of times using the same mad equipment, with 300,000 dead across couples of countries due to a tsunami coming as aftershock effect of a powerful quake on an island there.

Knowing such patterns of deadly attacks in the past can somehow provide as a tool to understand what happened to New Zealand. Australia’s quaking events in the near future, if ever, will suspiciously follow the same pattern as Indonesia’s and New Zealand’s, and better prepare yourselves for that eventuality.

The global elites—exemplified by Prince Charles—regard humans as viruses and/or ‘useless eaters’. Reducing the viruses via mad Malthusian means—from nuclear thermidore to TEM—is in the drawing board of the depopulation strategy of the evil elites, with end goal of taking down the present 7-billion population to a manageable two (2) billions by the year 2050.

[Philippines, 08 March 2011]

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