BBC World Challenge 08- won by Pakistanis

BBC world challenge is a global competition aimed at projects showing enterprise and innovation at grassroots level. The year 2008 competition has been won by Plan Bee by the Hashoo Foundation - Pakistan in Northern Areas. This Pakistani project helps female beekeepers boost their income by selling high quality honey. The northern areas of Pakistan are among the poorest and most isolated regions in the country. Effective development assistance has yet to reach these hilly, remote areas and it is the women and children who are most affected. The only workable and sustainable solution is to capitalise on local resources, building on what is achievable as well as culturally acceptable.
Nominations for World Challenge 09 have started,vt aims at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level (the "Competition"). They want to hear from their viewers and readers about the social entrepreneurs who are making a difference without costing the earth. It could be you or someone you know.
Rules of nomination:
Projects/small business that show initiative, the innovative use of technology or an invention.
Projects/Small business that increase investment into the local community.
Projects/Small business that take a responsible approach to the environment in which they are operating.
Grant:
Each grant will be awarded to one person nominated by the relevant project/small business to represent the project/small business and accept the grant on its behalf (the 'Representatives'?), and BBC World News, Newsweek and the Jury accept no obligation to any other people linked to the project/small business. In the event of a tie for first place, the top two Finalists will receive a grant of $15,000 each and the third Finalist will receive a grant of $10,000.
The Representatives will be brought to The Hague, The Netherlands to receive the grants. The grants will be awarded by BBC World News in an awards ceremony which will be filmed and shown as the last programme in the World Challenge series on the BBC World channel (the "Ceremony").
Each Representative will receive one fully paid economy class return flight to The Hague, accommodation for the duration of the Ceremony, and transfers to and from the Ceremony. The Representatives will be responsible for ensuring that they fulfil Dutch entry requirements, including without limitation, being in possession of a valid passport and obtaining any visa that they may require. In addition the Representatives will bear all other expenses incurred on the trip, including without limitation: any necessary vaccinations, insurance and unlisted transfers, phone calls and other services within the accommodation and any shopping and meal expenses.
If you know some worthy projects then do not waste time it is great forum. Further details are available at: http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk
Good luck!!!!

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Change in terms of use by Facebook

In future, the Facebook has announced, proposals to change its terms of service will be circulated to users in order to get feedback. Some may go to a public vote, while it also said that its legal contract with Facebook addicts will be simplified into a "bill of rights and responsibilities". the social networking site has decided to stem off future criticism by putting some changes to public vote and asking users to sign simplified 'bill of rights'
The move comes just a few days after an embarrassing climbdown, after changes to the site's terms of use led to outrage among many of the site's 175m users. The concerns, over a shift in wording that appeared to give Facebook perpetual ownership to every piece of data on the site, eventually led to Zuckerberg making a drastic U-turn.
Although executives at the site said they did not intend to offend or annoy users with the earlier changes, they recognised that data ownership was a sensitive issue for many people.
Facebook's vice president of communications and public policy, Eliot Schrage, said: "Because of the nature of the information our users share, we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard."
Facebook has suffered from backlashes before – when implementing its news feed or its controversial Beacon advertising system, for example. But this latest change effectively hopes to stem future controversies in the bud by putting part of the company's up for public approval (although Facebook will, of course, still control which issues are up for public discussion and vote)
Zuckerberg, who seemed stuck for words on a few occasions, said that although the announcement was precipitated by last week's farce, the changes had been discussed for a "long time".

Next release of Apple's Mac OS X operating system includes "geopositioning"

Apple's Snow Leopard to include "geopositioning" for your computer,
The next release of Apple's Mac OS X operating system will have the capability to pinpoint your position, the latest release notes of Apple's Snow Leopard operating system - still in preparation - show that the company is going to build in geopositioning for desktop and laptop computers, bringing it into line with its GPS-enabled iPhone.
This sees includes the CoreLocation framework which lets you determine the current latitude and longitude of a computer. The framework uses the available hardware to triangulate the user's position based on nearby signal information.
Now, what could you do with that? Well, apart from fitting in with the new location-enabled services in the latest version of Apple's iLife, one can see that there's going to be lot of people offering apps that will tell you where your precious computer is at all times - including if/when it's stolen.
The new seed includes some other stuff and it is being reported that it runs quite noticeably faster, at least on Apple's own apps compiled under the new gcc compiler. And it tells us that great progress has been made in the Grand Central Dispatch (libdispatch) and OpenCL APIs.
Grand Central and OpenCL, you'll recall, are the methods being used to get the graphics processing units (GPUs) to take over some of the processing load from the CPU.
There's also now Microsoft Exchange support. Though a few bugs do remain, such as
-The date shown in the iCal Dock icon does not update correctly. The prediction of launch if all goes well is May this year.

Transfer and save your vinyl or tape collections into digital files

In India and Pakistan there is huge collection of vinyl tapes(audio and video cassettes), now the technology is there to digitalis these collections into CDs, MP3 etc. Use Your Existing Audio Player to Convert Vinyl & Tape to Digital.If you already own a record player or tape cassette deck and want to transfer and save your vinyl or tape collections into digital files on your PC or MAC for copying to CD or MP3, “U-Record” is all you need.

Features:
• Simple to use:- Connect U-Record to PC or Mac, install software to computer, connect your existing player to U-Record (using phono or line input) and begin digitising
• PC and Mac compatible
• EZ-RIPPER (for PC only) and Audacity* software (PC and Mac) make ‘burning’ vinyl / tape to your computer extremely easy
• Measures just 115 x 115 x 35mm
*Audacity editing software helps to clean up recordings as well as providing the full range of editing functions including pitch control, selections, dividing, noise removal and labelling.
Includes:
• USB Cable
• User-friendly installation software
System Requirements:
• PC’s: Windows XP or Vista
• Mac: OS9 or higher
• USB1.1 or higher

New gadegets and new trends in Silicon Valley

The Silicon Valley which is famous for computers and software produciton has seen some new trends wherein the target is shifting from USA to Asian consumer markets. For example Telegent, which produces a mobile-phone chip that enables devices to pick up analogue TV broadcasts, is one of a growing number of valley companies innovating for the rest of the world. It sells products in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, though not in the United States. It's a kind of technological jujitsu.
"We leverage the brainpower in the valley," said Weijie Yun, co-founder and chief executive of four-year-old Telegent, which has 80 engineers in Sunnyvale, California."This has allowed us to do something unique."
Nonetheless, start-ups creating technology primarily marketed in other countries are "increasing pretty rapidly," said William Miller, a professor at Stanford University's graduate school of business.
No official numbers are available on how many of these under-the-radar companies have sprung up in Silicon Valley, but industry insiders such as Jin Yi, former marketing director of networking group Hua Yuan Science and Technology Association, or HYSTA, estimate there are two dozen or so.
It's a different twist to globalisation. Rather than merely seeking out low-cost talent abroad, these companies hire brilliant minds in the valley to create products that, at least initially, are designed for other cultures.
"At one time, they were just producer markets," Stanford's Miller said. "Now they have become consumer markets. That's a dramatic change."
UTStarcom, an Alameda, California, company that specialises in internet protocol and communications technology, is so enamoured of overseas markets that last year it ditched its division that made handsets for the US market, selling it for about $240m to an entity controlled by AIG Vantage Capital. But UTStarcom continues to make and sell cell phones in China. Now, at least 75% of its $1bn in annual revenue comes from outside the United States.
"These markets have typically been ignored," said Craig Samuel, UTStarcom's chief technology officer. "Silicon Valley has a unique ability and innovations that appeal to the rest of the world. The big brands are addressing these markets. But are they taking full advantage of them? Probably not."
Legend Silicon makes HDTV chips based on China's technical standards for home and car TVs, as well as for Hewlett-Packard laptops made for Chinese consumers. The company plans to roll out HDTV semiconductors for mobile phones in a year or two.
However there are some risk doing business in Asia therefore doing business overseas without deep knowledge is going to be fatal. In many Asian countries, the way the business is done is based upon relationships and who you know, and less on what you have and what you know.
Telegent Systems, which began shipping its power-sipping chips in April 2007, has so far supplied more than 20m mobile phones worldwide - including 5m in China - with its technology. CEO Yun claimed that while other companies battle over digital standards, his company is the first to provide the technological backbone for mobile analogue TV, which snatches free programming off the airwaves. He first looked to Asia because that region is the world's trendsetter when it comes to cell phones.

Trans-Saharan gas pipeline to EU reducing dependence on Russian gazprom.

Total, the French oil major, said on Wednesday that it was ready to participate in a planned Trans-Saharan gas pipeline, seen by European governments as a potential route to reducing their dependence on Russian energy. Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly, has already expressed an interest in the €15bn scheme as part of a wider strategy of gaining access to Nigeria’s vast gas reserves, seen as crucial to future energy security in Europe and the US.
Total’s announcement suggests western energy companies are also starting to look seriously at the pipeline in spite of the huge technical and commercial challenges of pumping gas from Nigeria’s restive Niger Delta to export terminals on Algeria’s Mediterranean coast.
Guy Maurice, managing director of Total Exploration and Production in Nigeria, told an oil and gas conference in Abuja, the capital, that the pipeline would be a long-term strategic investment for Nigeria. “Total is ready to be involved in this project,” Mr Maurice said.
Disruptions in Russian supplies to Europe have heightened anxiety in the EU, which depends on Russia for a quarter of its annual gas consumption of 300bn cubic metres. The planned Trans-Sahara pipeline could provide 20-30bn cubic metres.
Gazprom appeared to steal a march on rival energy companies interested in the project when it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the state oil company, in September last year to cooperate on gas exploration, production and transportation.
Gazprom has, however, said it would start work in Nigeria by investing at least $2.5bn to develop government plans to build a network of pipelines and processing plants to harness gas for local use.
Sonatrach, Algeria’s state oil company, is also interested in working on the pipeline, although a consortium to build the project has yet to emerge. Mr Ilyanin told reporters that Gazprom would be willing to consider working with other companies, perhaps including Total, to make the pipeline a reality.
Gazprom’s offer to develop Nigeria’s domestic gas industry appeals directly to the ambitions of Umaru Yar’Adua, Nigeria’s president, who has made harnessing gas to fuel local power generation and industry a priority since he came to power in May, 2007.
Nigeria’s government has long complained that Western majors such as Total, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil have been content to export the country’s oil and gas while doing little to ensure the energy spurs development in Nigeria.
Western companies counter that the government has failed to provide the kind of regulatory framework that would make investing in gas infrastructure to serve Nigerian markets a viable proposition.
Nigeria has drafted plans for a new pricing system as part of a wider overhaul of the oil and gas industry, but energy companies say the government needs to guarantee them a higher price for gas to spur significant investment in harnessing it for local use. Nigeria boasts the world’s seventh largest reserves of gas.

Value addition and value creation-from Farm to Kitchen plate

Pyarey hum watanoo!! Pakistan is blessed with enormous natural resources. Our economy is mainly agri dominant. There is dire need to diversify our economic inputs. Solely depending on agriculture sector can only provide good startup but unless and until we focus industrial input starting from small industrial units things will not change. Small scale industry will be a good initiative. But here again come the problems of electricity even that is solvable, as compared to other European countries we are blessed with enormous sun shine. One would wonder to know that daily Sun provide 10,000 more energy than consumed by the earth duelers. Yesterday in a drawing room discussion there was lot of gossip with some friends and colleagues every body was arguing and blaming why we can not progress. From inside I was blaming the drawing room politics. It is prevalent culture rather I should say dominant culture we always enjoy drawing room politics in reality things are bit different. I suggested to friends that solely looking towards government that it should provide job for every citizen will be living in fool paradise. There is greater need to explore alternative sources of living. The time has come that we should immediately explore alternate sources of earnings. Creating alternate means of living for the people of backwards areas and allover Pakistan will immediately resolve the law and order problems in Pakistan.

It shall not be out of place to mention few things which can benefit us if we plan carefully. Value creation and value addition from Farm to kitchen plate is an idea where we can explore adding some value to our agri products. If one happens to visit Bhalwal, largest citrus and mandarins producing area in Pakistan, you would see this attitude prevailing over there. But we need more value creation in Balochistan as well. The natural resources being taped in Balochistan can best be value added and value crated by simple planning. The smokeless coal briquettes, the phoenix, copper refineries, hybrid seeds technology, hybrid seeds production farms, coal power generation, coal briquettes coal washer plants, are few to mention. For example chromium as raw material is being bought much cheaper, but the same product if refined can earn lot of revenue for the locals.

If see agriculture as whole the post harvest losses are immense same is about the pre-harvest losses. The integrated paste management, the idea of bio pesticides and bio fertilizers should benefit the agric sector in Pakistan.

A permanent ceasfire with Taliban

A "permanent ceasefire" in the troubled northwestern Swat valley, is being looked upon with suspicion by West. It would not be out of place to mention that peace can only prevail through dialogue why world is bent upon creat more trouble for the people who have suffered the most. Around 1,200 people have been killed and between 250,000 and 500,000 have fled Swat in 18 months of fierce fighting over the beautiful valley that was once a centre of tourism. Three thousand militants have been battling up to 12,000 troops.
The new US administration has launched a review of its policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan and British officials are hoping the World Bank will set up a development fund to channel aid money to the violent border regions of Pakistan. The fund would receive hundreds of millions of pounds which the government hopes will be pledged this year to fund roads, clinics and schools.
The plan, which officials stress would have to be initiated by the Pakistani government, is part of a wide-ranging strategy aimed at boosting development in the tribal areas to fight Islamic militancy and counteract the effects of missiles fired by unarmed drones operated by the CIA.
Of the massive American aid to Pakistan since 2001, little has been used for development. In recent months, the country has been forced to ask for emergency funding from the International Monetary Fund to avoid a default. The US Congress is considering a $1.6bn development aid request from the Obama adminstration. Officials at the World Bank said they had yet to hear of the plan for a fund.
One Whitehall source said the idea was to stop development money for the tribal regions arriving "in penny packets" and to make sure it reached its target.

West contemplates buying Afghan poppy

Western governments are contemplating to buy every year the entire poppy crop of Afghanistan or legalise the use of heroin because they are finding it increasingly difficult to curb the Afghan drugs trade which is said to be fuelling the war in the terror-torn country.According to a report in the Times on Friday, when the US-led invasion toppled the Taliban government eight years ago, Afghanistan’s opium production was virtually zero because the clerics had largely eradicated poppy cultivation. Last year Afghanistan produced 7,700 tonnes of opium worth about $2.9 billion, accounting for 90 per cent of the world’s illegal supply.The US alone spends $1 billion a year in Afghanistan on a counter-narcotics strategy that Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy to the region, calls “the single most ineffective policy in the history of American foreign policy”. Britain, for its part, spent £2.5 billion last year on military operations against a Taliban insurgency inextricably linked to the drugs trade.So wouldn’t it be cheaper and easier to purchase the entire crop? James Nathan, a former State Department official and now a professor at Auburn University in Alabama, believes so. “Purchasing the whole crop would take it away from the traffickers without cutting more than half the economy out of Afghanistan,” he wrote recently.He estimated it would cost between $2 billion and $2.5billion a year; a fraction of the $200 billion Afghanistan has cost the US taxpayer so far. The opium would be stored in the US, and perhaps released for medical emergencies.A less radical proposal comes from the International Council on Security and Development, a UKbased NGO, which wants Afghanistan to produce legal opiate medicine such as codeine and morphine. The ICSD proposes granting international licences to poppy farmers, placing Afghanistan alongside Turkey, India and Australia as a legal opium producer.However, the plan to purchase the entire crop takes into account only the price of the opium, ignoring the enormous potential cost of running the operation year after year. It also assumes the corrupt Afghan government is capable of carrying out such an enormous logistical task.Another risk is that taking most of the crop off the international market would drive up the price of illegal opium.The legalisation proposal is criticised for overestimating demand for opiate medicines, and being too complex to have any short-term effect.

Relations on internet dangerous

	ذاتی ملاقات کے بغیر سماجی روابط کے حیاتیاتی اثرات مرتب ہوں گے

ماہرین کا کہنا ہے کہ انٹرنیٹ پر لوگوں کے ساتھ ’نیٹ ورکنگ‘ صحت کے لیے مضر ہے کیونکہ اس میں لوگ ذاتی طور پر آپس میں نہیں ملتے۔

ڈاکٹر ایرک سگمین کا کہنا ہے کہ فیس بک جیسی ویب سائٹ لوگوں کی سماجی زندگی بہتر کرنے کے لیے ہیں لیکن اس سے لوگوں کے بیچ موجود دوری ختم نہیں ہوتی۔

ڈاکٹر ایرک سگمین نے یہ تحقیق انسٹیٹیوٹ آف بیالوجی کے جریدے بیالوجسٹ میں شائع کی ہے۔ان کا کہنا ہے کہ ذاتی ملاقات کے بغیر سماجی روابط رکھنے پر حیاتیاتی اثرات مرتب ہوں گے۔

انہوں نے کہا ہے کہ تحقیق میں یہ بات سامنے آئی ہے کہ ذاتی طور پر ملاقات کے بغیر دوستی رکھنے سے جینیات کی کارکردگی متاثر ہو گی، حیاتی کیمیا کی مقدار میں تبدیلی، شریانوں کی کارکردگی اور ذہنی صلاحیت پر اثر پڑے گا۔

ان تبدیلیوں کی وجہ سے صحت پر مضر اثرات مرتب ہو سکتے ہیں اور سرطان، فالج، امراض قلب جیسی بیماریاں ہو سکتی ہیں۔

ڈاکٹر ایرک سگمین کا کہنا ہے کہ انٹرنیٹ پر دوستی کرنے کی وجہ سے لوگ مزید تنہا ہو گئے ہیں۔’انٹرنیٹ پر دوستی کرنے والی ویب سائٹ میں سب سے زیادہ اضافہ ہوا اور خاص طور پر نوجوان یہ ویب سائٹ بہت پسند کرتے ہیں‘۔

ڈاکٹر ایرک سگمین نے کہا ہے کہ الیکٹرانک میڈیا کی وجہ سے سنہ 1987 سے ذاتی طور پر ملاقاتوں کی تعداد گرتی جا رہی ہے۔ اس تحقیق میں یہ بھی کہا گیا ہے کہ ذاتی ملاقات سے انسانی جسم پر مثبت اثر پڑتا ہے جو کہ ای میل پڑھنے سے نہیں ہوتا۔

FIA and Microsoft on Piracy in Pakistan

As per media reports microsoft and Federal Investigation Agency on Wednesday jointly organized a training session for FIA officials to increase their awareness of copyright infringement. The session was aimed at identification of different forms of copyright infringement, detection of counterfeit software, and investigation of software evidence to prosecute culprits in the court.
Country Manager Microsoft Pakistan, Kamal Ahmed, shed light on Microsoft’s commitment to safeguarding interests of the consumers and said, “The ability of the government and IT eco-system to create new jobs and a better quality of life through information technology is strongly affected by how they handle piracy.
According to a statement issued here, Microsoft and FIA had realised the need to ensure a proactive counter-strategy to protect the interests of Pakistani consumers who end up paying original price for pirated software.
In the year 2008, Economist Intelligence Unit sponsored by the Business Software Alliance downgraded IT competitiveness of Pakistan to 62nd.
An alarmingly high rate of software piracy which stands at 84 per cent negatively impacted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the software industry and research and development within the economy.
Training programme, delivered by experts from Microsoft, was attended among others by representatives of all branches of FIA including crime circle wing, cyber crime wing.
Corporate Attorney, Antipiracy Microsoft, Middle East and Africa, Dale Waterman, presided the session and said, “The commitment of FIA in countering software piracy sends a very clear message to counterfeiters that Pakistani government is serious about stopping this form of criminality and are willing to protect their citizens from the harm caused by pirated as well as counterfeit software.”
He said that currently, about eight out of 10 softwares being run on PCs were pirated. This resulted in huge losses not only to legitimate businesses but also to the national exchequer in terms of lost taxes and duties. FIA had a leading role in addressing this situation and Microsoft is keen for working with FIA to support them in delivering this commitment.

Khetran Tribal Whirling Dance

Khetran is a tribe living in the Barkhan District, Balochistan. The traditional tribal dance which also known as martial dance and its war cries are well known. There are seven different styles of khetran (Kehtran) dance for example DRESO, chau pheri, pidra, gatay etc. Mostly people dance in the marriage ceremonies.

A clip of such dance from a marriage ceremony held in Nahar Kot is attached to have taste of such dance.

Bamboo Forests and end of poverty

A shift toward more bamboo production by small scale farmers in Vietnam could reduce poverty and help circumvent worldwide demand for timber as a building material. Perhaps due to its many benefits, bamboo has been touted as an environmental miracle crop. It's a significant carbon sink, it grows fast, is more termite-resistant than timber, and can be used for everything from food to clothing material to scaffolding for building construction.

But are environmentalists being bamboozled? Despite its benefits, increased bamboo production could raise a lot of concerns too. Perhaps the biggest concern about bamboo comes from the fact that it can't be sustainably grown on a large scale in North America and Europe, meaning it has to be imported from abroad. Currently 80% of the world's bamboo production comes from China, where regulatory standards for organic and sustainable production are either non-existent or largely opaque. There's also a concern that increased demand for bamboo could encourage farmers to ramp up their use of pesticides to boost yield, which would readily accumulate as run-off in the moist regions where bamboo grows best.

There is also increased distress that bamboo is environmentally inappropriate as raw material for textiles and clothing fabrics. Because of its rugged fibers, bamboo must be cooked in strong chemical solvents and turned into a viscose solution before it can be reconstructed into proper weaving material. The chemicals used are pollutants that could threaten human health and wildlife if the manufacturing process is untidy– a likely consequence of manufacturing these products in the developing world.
And let's not forget about everyone's favorite endangered Chinese export– their lovable Giant Pandas. Since Pandas eat bamboo almost exclusively, wouldn't harvesting bamboo contribute to the destruction of their habitat?
Although concerns about bamboo as a textile and clothing fabric are warranted (and consumers should probably avoid bamboo textiles unless they're particularly well-informed), bamboo is a remarkably suitable replacement for timber as building material. It forms a very hard wood that is extremely light weight and exceptionally durable.
For farmers and local communities in developing countries like Vietnam, it's impossible to deny the economic benefits of growing more bamboo. The Prosperity Institute estimates that 60% of the value of bamboo production goes right back into the pocket of the farmers who grew it. And as demand for the gregarious grass increases around the globe, rural economies in Southeast Asia could garner huge benefits by growing and selling bamboo to foreign buyers.
As many as 1.5 billion people already rely upon bamboo or rattan in some significant way, according to the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan. So even if bamboo isn't an omnibenevolent eco-crop, it's not bad, and it's here to stay.
And so far, there's no reason to believe that increased bamboo production will necessarily put the Panda at risk. The species' of plant used for construction are different varieties than the ones Pandas consume. That said, consumers concerned about the spot-eyed herbivores should always take the time to be conscious of where their forested products come from, especially if they're from China. Deforestation, agricultural encroachment and road-building remain the biggest threats to Panda habitat.

Focus on livestock and dairy farming

To meet increasing food requirements and to achieve more sustained growth in agriculture, it is necessary to focus on livestock and dairy farming. Around 30-35 million people in rural areas are engaged in livestock farming. This sector, if promoted, can contribute significantly to alleviate poverty.

Farmers play a vital role in agricultural production and hence need special focus.The second important segment is service providers. Their role and behaviour directly affects the efficiency of farmers in handling livestock. All departments providing basic needs of livestock like, veterinary hospitals, medical stores, loan-giving institutes, market players, suppliers of fertiliser for fodder etc., to farmers fall in the category of service providers.
After crops, livestock is the second important source of farmer’s income. So, most farmers’ families living in rural areas have animals and they desire to enlarge the number of animals to enhance their income.
Further, women are the central part of the farming system. Over 65 per cent of farmers said that their women work at farms with them. Handling of livestock like feeding, milking, etc. are mostly carried out by females. Basic reason of their devotion to livestock is the comparatively less physical work.

The development of livestock suffers because of their lack of knowledge and training. They fail in saving their livestock. If they are granted access to finances and if proper attention is paid on their skill improvement, they would make more significant contribution to raising livestock production and providing food security.

There is a need to focus on agricultural policy especially on increasing livestock output by utilising farmer’s potential. It is only possible by solving problems confronted by farmers.
Service providers: While replying to queries, 84 per cent of farmers said that they were not satisfied with the performance of the veterinary doctors. Most of the hospitals are in towns, and it is very difficult for them to take their animals for check-up. Severity of diseases or unavailability of transport is also a hindrance which may, quite often, result in death of animals.
Another factor, the farmers said, was the disease of the udders which deprived the farmers of milk for a few months which was a big loss.
Most vaccines are temperature sensitive and if not used within specified time and not kept under required temperature, expire. In most medical stores in villages such facilities are not available, and as a result, the use of expired vaccines become harmful for animals. There is a need for proper arrangement for storage of such medicines.

The following suggestions can help promote livestock production:

As most farmers are unable to feed their animals proper and balanced diet to acquire the required quantity of milk and meat due to lack of knowledge and finance, there is a need to provide them with simple techniques to prepare balanced and cheap fodder with the available materials in the village like molasses, bread crams, peals of vegetables and fruits, floor, wheat, rice and sugarcane.
Farmers should also be provided with short and intermediate easy-term credit through one window operation for investment in livestock. The existing cumbersome process of loan disbursement needs to be simplified.

Subsidy is normally given to farmers on inputs needed to boost output; such subsidies should also be given on animals and their fodder and farmers should be facilitated to buy animals in installments. Moreover, animals should be provided with insurance cover to minimise farmers’ losses.

Buffalos and cows are a major source of milk and meat. But goat and sheep can be more income-generating source which remains ignored.

There is a need to promote farming of these animals as they produce two to four offsprings twice a year, whereas cows and buffalo give birth mostly to a calf once a year. At present, there are 53.8 million goats and 26.5 million sheep. These can be doubled and even tripled in a single year by promoting goat and sheep farming.

At present 5.45 million tons of meat (beef, mutton, and poultry) and 84.39 million tons of milk is produced yearly. Through proper farming more animals can be produced and, meat production and milk output enhanced.

Indigenisation of fuel- a recipe of energy crisis

In Pakistan whole energy sector is in a turmoil. Power, gas, (all forms viz CNG, LPG, LNG) and POL products are in short supply. One day there are lines for buying petrol, the next day, CNG stations seek respite from sale during daytime and inform customers about night time sales only.
In the wake of 1973 oil imbroglio wherein ques were observed to get the petrol , the US decided that no repeat of the situation should occur. National oil reserves were built, oil prospecting speeded up, gas brought into use instead of burning it, and an ambitious and stringent energy efficiency programme was launched.
What are the lessons to be learnt for Pakistan?Energy security is of utmost importance even if the existing world order had to be turned upside down. Understanding the dynamics of energy security, China and India prowl for fast track acquisition of energy resources outside their borders. China has acquired rights to future oil and gas finds in the horn of Africa to the delight of the countries there.
In Pakistan, the present power generation and industry are fired by furnace oil, diesel, petrol and gas. Hydro-generation also adds to the national power pool by anything between 400 MW to 6,500 MW depending upon the season and the prevalent hydrology.This, in turn, makes up to 22 per cent of the power needs, while the rest 78 per cent is met through expensive and mostly imported oil. That Pakistan needs 3,50,000 barrels of oil imports a day against 50-60,000 barrels per day of local production highlights the problem in its entirety.
The power sector alone needs 30,000 tones of furnace oil a day, which at today’s price needs an expenditure Rs1 billion per day. Local gas, which could have saved the day, is in perennial short supply.The present shortage of 0.192 bcfd of gas will balloon to more than double with the scarcity reaching the figure of 0.507 bcfd during 2010. Although the government has set a drilling target of 100 wells for the current year to increase local production of oil and gas, chances of any reduction in shortages soon are bleak.
Because Pakistan ranks at the 101 slot of the International Competitive Index (ICI) from the earlier position at 92 and that the national productivity is fast slipping, there is a need to reduce the cost of doing business. This is only possible through indigenisation of fuel on the fast track and as a national goal.
Similarly, though it may sound ambitious, the country should place full reliance on renewable energy sources like wind power. The solar power is expensive to harness and needs a multi-pronged strategy but the concerned departments other than AEDB too need to look into possibility of focusing on solar power generation. Wapda and the Pepco should be suitable organisations to take up solar power generation in a big way while the private is shy.
However, as quick addition of solar and wind power is a highly difficult preposition, we need to look at coal, sugar molasses (for ethanol production), naphtha and biomass to add on to the national oil and gas stocks. Consequently, the present oil fired power stations will have to be converted to coal under a national programme. It has to be on a sustainable basis unlike the earlier conversion of generating plants to gas between 2000 and 2002, only to be told in 2007 about the non-availability of the fuel.
Hubco is planning to switch over to coal fired generation soon. The huge expenditures to be made for the conversion would be recoverable within the first 1-3 years of coal fired operations, making the change-over an economical undertaking. The government can help by giving incentives to improve upon the viability of the conversion projects.
As the Thar coal deposits of 175 billion tons are of the lignite quality, a resource younger in age by 15,000 years in comparison to the bituminous coal deposits in Balochistan, NWFP and the Punjab, these can be tackled separately through the Thar Coal Energy Board. More so, because it would require new and specialised power generation located at the mine mouths.
Experts consider that with the help from authorities, the explored mineral can sustain the conversion of power projects to coal. Similarly, just 2-3 years in all are required for the completion of the job. As the conversion possesses extremely high return on investments, arranging finance for conversion would not be difficult.
A majority of captive power should also be converted to coal use. As a first step, no new captive generation should be allowed to be run through gas or oil. Additionally, the other processes should also be converted to coal fired/steam units as far as possible. Actually, the goal has to be indigenisation of fuel, led by coal use and followed by local gas and oil finds.
As indigenisation would spare gas from power generation, the same could thereafter be value added in the chemical, pharma and allied sectors.This is the way to assure energy security and sustainable growth.

Soviet veterans warn US on Afghan surge

Soviet veterans marking 20 years since their defeat in Afghanistan warned the United States it would never truly control the country, citing bitter memories of a fiercely proud people and unforgiving landscape. The withdrawal of the last Soviet troops from Afghanistan in February of 1989 ended a decade of fighting that killed an estimated 15,000 Soviet troops and convinced a generation of soldiers they had been sent to fight a war they could not win. The United States, preparing to pour more troops into Afghanistan to fight a growing Taliban-led insurgency, is reliving their nightmare, they said. “It’s like fighting sand. No force in the world can get the better of the Afghans,” said Oleg Kubanov, a stocky 47-year-old former officer with the Order of the Red Star pinned to his chest at an anniversary concert in Moscow. “It’s their holy land, it doesn’t matter to them if you’re Russian, American. We’re all soldiers to them.” Thousands of veterans, some in dress suits, some in combats, gathered on Friday for a lavish concert organised by Moscow City Hall. As they embraced and posed for pictures before the show, many cited America’s troubles as proof their campaign in Afghanistan had been hopeless from the start. Reports that President Barack Obama plans to boost US forces there to 60,000 revived bitter memories for members of the Soviet deployment that steadily climbed to a peak of more than 100,000 troops as the insurgency deepened in the mid-1980s. There are 36,000 US troops in Afghanistan today, split between the 55,000-strong Nato force and separate US missions, both charged with protecting a transitional government from Taliban forces. “Numbers don’t solve anything,” said Shamil Tyukteyev, 59, who led a regiment in Afghanistan from 1986-88. “You can’t put a soldier outside every house or a base on every mountain.We saw it ourselves, the more troops, the more resistance.” Soviet tanks and troops rolled into Afghanistan in 1979 to prop up a puppet Communist government in Kabul. But hopes of a swift victory were dashed as Soviet forces found themselves bogged down in a guerrilla war waged by a fierce Mujahideen force that was backed by US arms and money and had access to bases in neighbouring Pakistan. After a decade of pouring in more and more troops and money, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ordered a withdrawal in 1989. “They’ll send more in and they’ll lose more,”Andrei Bandarenko, 42, a former special forces officer, said of the US plans. “What does Obama know about the situation on the ground? We had our own fool who knew even less.” Two decades on, Bandarenko is still bitter at being forced to withdraw through the mountains in mid-winter temperatures of minus 27 degrees Celsius — a trip he sketched for friends on a commemorative map pinned to the wall of the concert hall. The Soviet military leadership, he said, never came to terms with the difficulties of fighting a native force in barren mountains where temperatures could dive from 40 degrees Celsius to freezing within hours. Like the US, the Soviet Union tried to mould Afghanistan into a unified state, papering over an ancient web of tribal and ethnic rivalries, he said. “There is no common language between the ethnic groups, between the clans,” he said. “They are impossible to control.”

Bumper Wheat crop expected this year.

The government has reported a six per cent increase in the wheat sowing area against last year’s crop area, raising the possibility that this season’s wheat crop target of 25 million tons may be achieved. According to initial estimates released by the provinces, the crop was sown on 9.053 million hectares against last year’s 8.54 million hectares. This year’s sowing target was 8.61 million hectares. The increase in crop area may be linked to the government’s decision to increase wheat procurement price to Rs950 per 40 kg.
It is hoped that this year's bumper crop may provide a relief from the food crisis which had hard hit the poor at large. Crop support price has provide a dividend there is great need on the similar lines that the government should provide incentives to farmer/growers in the form of support price for other major crops. Doing so it is widely believed that we shall be able to overcome our food crisis easily.

Complete Genome of early human

Scientists have unravelled the complete genetic make-up of the Neanderthal, the long-faced, barrel-chested relative of modern humans.
Anthropologists analysed more than a billion fragments of ancient DNA plucked from three Croatian fossils to reconstruct a first draft of the Neanderthal genome.
The extraordinary feat gives scientists an unprecedented opportunity to clarify the evolutionary relationship between humans and Neanderthals that may ultimately shed light on the great mystery of how we became the most formidable species on the planet.
Neanderthals were the closest relatives of modern living humans. They lived in Europe and Asia until they became extinct around 30,000 years ago. The reason they died out is not clear, but likely factors are dramatic swings in the climate that affected the availability of food, and competition with early humans.
By comparing the genomes of modern humans with Neanderthals and chimps, scientists hope to unravel the genetic differences that define what it is to be human.
The Neanderthal genome was built up from strands of DNA, most of which came from a 38,000-year-old fossilised leg bone unearthed in a cave in Vindija, Croatia. Other material came from older remains dating back 70,000 years. Together, the fragments make up more than 60% off the Neanderthal genome.
Svante Pääbo, who led the project at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Leipzig, Germany, said the team will spend the rest of the year analysing the DNA. They will focus on genes linked to modern human evolution, such as FOXP2, which is involved in speech and language.
The draft genome was announced at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Chicago.
Two years ago, the same group used the ancient DNA to pinpoint the moment, around 500,000 years ago, when modern humans split from Neanderthals.
The analysis should clear up once and for all the on-going debate as to whether Neanderthals and modern humans continued to mate with each other after separating along the path of evolution.
Remains of Neanderthals dating back to 400,000 years ago suggest they were proficient at crafting basic tools and weapons and buried their dead. The last Neanderthals died out shortly after Homo sapiens migrated to Europe and settled.
Neanderthals were stocky and well-adapted to a cold climate. Despite their barrel chests, the strong ridges above their eyes and a lack of chins, their brains were on average larger than those of modern humans. Some fossil evidence suggests they were occasionally cannibalistic, though more commonly hunted large animals including horses and mammoths.

Dual approach linking ecosystem and economic development

Eight years ago, the natural habitat of the Hail Haor wetland on the eastern shores of northern Bangladesh was in a poor state, with aquatic plants dying and fish and wildfowl dis­appearing.

Since then, a programme granting fishing rights to locals and training them in fisheries management has reversed the decline. But it is not only the natural environment that has benefited. Locals are enjoying a 140 per cent increase in fish catches and a 33 per cent rise in their incomes.

The success of the project, which was funded by the US Agency for International Development, demonstrates how protecting the environment and reducing poverty are inextricably linked. But if the philanthropic sector is to achieve similar results, the question is whether organisations can broaden their remit sufficiently and attract funding for programmes focused on issues that were once the preserve of others.

Many senior government and philanthropy leaders are making the correlation between human development and climate change.

Barack Obama, the US president, has argued that investing in solar and wind power and other forms of renewable energy could be a way not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote energy independence, but also to help create jobs in green or environment-related industries.

“Rather than looking at how to invest in nature for development, for many years the core strategy of environmental groups was to promote protected areas at all costs, which is very polarising,” says Janet Ranganathan, head of science and research at the World Resources Institute and lead author of a new WRI book designed to help decision makers link ecosystems and economic development.

Nevertheless, as the growing connections between the world’s problems emerges, large, progressive global non-profits and charities have recognised that protecting the environment and fostering economic development are not necessarily conflicting aims.

For Oxfam – the charity whose mission is to fight poverty and injustice around the world – combating climate change is now most prominent among its campaigns. Oxfam says the effects of unpredictable weather patterns are likely to hurt the world’s poorest people the most.

Meanwhile, the World Wildlife Fund – which was established to protect endangered species and prevent the degradation of the natural environment – is working to place the environment at the heart of economic development and demonstrate the importance of poverty reduction to conservation.

Another way for non-profits to broaden their mission is by forming alliances with other organisations that have different but complementary expertise. This is the approach being taken by the Nature Conservancy. Its Alliance for Water Stewardship is an initiative that includes a range of partners, from other non-profits to businesses and governments.

“Our forte is in the environmental aspects of water use,” says Mr Richter. “So we have sought out other partners that have expertise in the development and social issues.”

He believes that the trend towards multi-issue partnerships will increase as the complexity of dealing with the world’s problems becomes more apparent. “No one organisation is going to be fully capable of addressing all these concerns,” he says. “And you can build strength through these alliances and access different areas of expertise.”

Whether it will be through alliances between donors and non-profits or the emergence of specialised organisations, the pressure for the philanthropic community to address environmental issues and poverty together is increasing. Part of the reason is that the effects of ecosystem degradation and climate change are starting to be felt. Most prominently, the global food crisis has highlighted the fact that climate changes are likely to have a direct impact on the ability of poor nations to feed their populations.

Ms Ranganathan believes the most powerful tool in forming a bridge between the environment and development will therefore be the concept of “ecosystems services”.

“By focusing on dependencies [of humans on the environment], we will inherently start reconciling these two traditionally siloed groups,” she says. “Because if we’re going to make a compelling argument for saving ecosystems, it’s not the argument of saving them for nature’s sake, but saving them for people’s sake.”

Earth Hour to Switch Off the Globe

• 377 cities already committed, and double the number of countries that participated in 2008
  
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu leads call for action on climate change
  
• Christ The Redeemer statue to turn off its lights
  
• Iconic Obama artist Shepard Fairey joins campaign
  

February 5, 2009: With eight weeks still to go before people around the world switch off their lights for Earth Hour, the public awareness raising campaign on climate change is showing signs of being the greatest voluntary action the world has ever witnessed.
The lights out initiative, which began in Sydney in 2007 as a one-city environmental campaign, has evolved into a grassroots action that has captured the attention of the citizens of the world. In 2008, 371 cities across 35 countries turned their lights out in a united call for action on climate change.
Now, with almost two months still remaining before Earth Hour 2009, that number has already been eclipsed, with 377 cities across 74 countries now committed to turning off their lights for one hour at 8.30pm on 28 March.
WWF Director General, Mr James Leape, said he is optimistic about the campaigns potential to drive key decision making on the issue of climate change.
With hundreds more cities expected to sign up to switch off in the coming months, Earth Hour 2009 is setting the platform for an unprecedented global mandate for action on climate change, he said.
The list of cities confirming their participation in Earth Hour 2009 includes 37 national capitals and some of the great cities of the world, including London, Beijing, Rome, Moscow, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Athens, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, Mexico City, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Manila, Las Vegas, Brussels, Cape Town and Helsinki.
Along with the great metropolises of the world, Earth Hour 2009 will also see the lights go out on some of the most recognised landmarks on the planet, including Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town, Merlion in Singapore, Sydney Opera House, CN Tower in Toronto, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the worldís tallest constructed building Taipei 101.
A host of high profile ambassadors across the world have also lent their support to the campaign, most notably Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett. Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the iconic imagery for Barack Obama in the recent US Presidential Election, has agreed to create artwork for the Earth Hour campaign.
Earth Hour Executive Director, Mr Andy Ridley, said the 2009 campaign is an opportunity for the people of the world to cast their vote on this important global issue.
Earth Hour by its very nature is the essence of grassroots action. This is the opportunity for individuals from all corners of the globe to unite in a single voice and demand action on climate change, said Mr Ridley.
2009 is a critical year for action on climate change, with the worldís leaders due to meet at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December to sign a new deal to supersede the Kyoto Protocol.

Earth Hour

Earth Hour at 8:30pm Saturday March 28 2009!
Earth Hour will be celebrated on March 28, 2009. Cities already listed to participate in Earth Hour 2009 include Cape Town, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Las Vegas, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Mexico City, Moscow, Nashville, Oslo, Rome, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, and Warsaw.
On this special night, the world will witness some of the most recognisable landmarks on the planet dim the lights in support of decisive action on climate change. Icons switching off include the world’s tallest hotel building in Dubai - the Burj Dubai, the tallest free-standing structure in the Americas - the CN Tower in Toronto, Moscow's Federation Tower and in Rome - Quirinale - the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano.
Auckland's Sky Tower - the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere will go dark, joined by Australia’s iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House and across in Cape Town, South Africa, the iconic Table Mountain will mark Earth Hour by turning off its flood lights.
Earth Hour 2008
Where did the lights go off?
From the President of Fiji to the residents of Santa Cruz in Bolivia, individuals around the world turned off the lights off in their homes and businesses.
Major participation took place in more then 25 major cities, on 6 continents, including Chicago, Copenhagen, Manila, Tel Aviv, Bangkok, Dublin and Toronto.
In total more than 400 more cities signed up to support this event in 2008.
Lights off at The Sydney Opera House, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and Toronto's CN Tower meant world-famous city skylines disappeared for an hour while celebrities like Nelly Furtado hosted acoustic concerts for fans.
Join this campaign and spread this message to every human. As a nation and as an individual that we should care about mother nature.

Sport in Afghanistan-War Torn Country

It has taken less than eight months for Afghanistan to jump from the fifth division of world cricket to one level below the major Test-playing countries. The team from the war-torn nation continued one of sport's unlikeliest success stories by winning the third division in Argentina last week, a six-team tournament which doubles as a qualifier for the World Cup.
Last May Afghanistan were playing in the fifth division of the International Cricket Council's world league. Having finished top of that in a tournament played in Jersey, they then came top in the fourth-division tournament in Tanzania last October.
In April they travel to South Africa with a chance of qualifying for the 2011 World Cup or gaining coveted one-day-international status while, back in Afghanistan, their national television network charts the team's progress and thousands of people turn out to welcome them home after their tournament wins.
The national coach, Kabir Khan, describes his team as ambassadors for the country, offering a change from the stereotyped image of religious fanatics and interminable violence. "We might be the first Afghans to come to Argentina, so we were the ambassadors for Afghanistan," he said. "Most people might have got a view about us and the sort of nation we may be, because of all the war and stuff. They might think all kinds of things but they welcomed us with open arms and we have been treated very well here."Cricket is getting a huge following and it brings people together as well," he said, adding that the players never discussed politics among themselves. "What I've seen is that people might be in different groups politically but when it comes to cricket all of them are together."
Remarkably the sport has only recently been introduced to the country by Afghans who were raised in neighbouring Pakistan, in particular in the city of Peshawar. "Before the war started and before people started migrating to Pakistan, there was no sense of cricket," said Khan, himself a Pakistani who played four Tests and 10 ODIs for his country in the 1990s. "Nobody even knew about cricket. But the boys who migrated, started to learn about cricket because there was nothing else in Pakistan. It's a game which you can play in the street, that's how they got into this sport."

Cheapest laptop and computer

This month, India announced a plan to produce a $10-$20 laptop to boost distance-learning potential and help fulfil the country's overwhelming education needs. While the proposed laptop's processing capacities have been quickly criticised, the effort to make computers more accessible in the developing world is meritorious. The previous attempt by the international community priced the laptop at $200, which leaves the computer out of reach for many poor communities. India's intention to innovate something more affordable is right, and it exemplifies the role government can and should play in stimulating innovative solutions to educational challenges, particularly for those without resources.
To take a dose from Indian medicine some analysts have proposing an educational innovation board to stimulate technological ingenuity across USA,that would subsequently inspire free new educational tools to every school. Intended to take full advantage of new educational technologies and harness the brainpower of entrepreneurs in districts in the Silicon Valley, the board would award $10m to the winning design in each the following categories, for a total of $50m: multimedia video lessons, individualised interactive learning software, rigorous assessments, longitudinal data systems and affordable portable computers. The designs would then be licensed for free to any school in the US desiring the new technology.
The prize model for incentivising innovative solutions is becoming increasingly popular among industry and nonprofits. What I am suggesting for education is what philanthropist Richard Branson, among others, is doing to innovate climate solutions. The formula works because it inspires designers to think outside the box – something we desperately need when it comes to fixing our country's education system.
In Pakistan education budget is already lesser and this sector has got lowest priority, we need an about-face on education to make innovation a top priority. We have failed to provide schools the tools needed to be competitive for too long.
That India is already designing a $10 computer is emblematic of their country's focus on addressing the critical educational needs of schools with technology, in Hyderabad especially, but throughout their entire nation.
In Pakistan we shall too, must make education innovation a national priority, before our educational challenges nosedive further.

River Basin Wetland and their Management in Pakistan

Wetlands are platforms that perform as a host of ecological and hydrological functions that benefit humankind. Some of the most important functions of wetlands are related to water supply, water purification and flood control. Wetlands also perform many other important socio-economic functions, such as provision of habitat for fisheries and forestry resources, and are critical for the conservation of biological diversity. River basins or river catchments (the land area between the source and the mouth of a river including all of the lands that drain into the river) and coastal and marine systems influenced by catchments’ discharges, are important geographical units for considering the management of wetlands and water resources. Rapid unsustainable development of wetlands and the river basins has led to the disruption of natural hydrological cycles. In many cases this has resulted in greater frequency and severity of flooding, drought and pollution. The degradation and loss of wetlands and their biodiversity imposes major economic and social losses and costs to the human populations of these river basins.Thus, appropriate protection and allocation of water to wetlands is essential to enable these ecosystems to survive and continue to provide important goods and services to local communities
In the past, the water resources and wetlands have tended to be the responsibility of separate sectoral agencies, frequently with very different objectives and modes of operation. As a result there have been regular conflicts over water resource use and river basin management. Regrettably, in these considerations wetlands have not always been given the priority they deserve based on the important functions they perform in contributing to the maintenance of healthy and productive river systems.
Integrated water resources management is based on the concept of water being an integral part of an ecosystem, a natural resource and a social and economic good, whose quantity and quality determine the nature of its use (Agenda 21, United Nations, 1992). A water source that is reliable, in terms both of its quantity and its quality, is a prerequisite for the survival of human civilization and socio-economic development.
Water scarcity, gradual deterioration, aggravated pollution and infrastructure development has increasingly created conflicts over the different uses of this resource. The river basin management ap proach is an example of an incentive-based participatory mechanism for solving conflicts and allocating water between competing users, including natural ecosystems.
Another key issue is the lack of awareness of the cross-sectoral nature of water problems and the need for a new development paradigm towards integrating the technical, economic, environmental, social and legal aspects of water management.The development of administrative units in water resource management has to coincide with river basins’ boundaries instead of political boundaries. The lack, or inadequacy, of water legislation and policies is another major constraint for integrated management of river basin and optimal use of water resources.
An essential component of river basin management is knowledge of both current and future supply and demand upon water resources in a river basin, taking into consideration the possible impacts of climate change. Current and future assessments of the resource need to focus on the human uses of water (such as irrigation, hydro-electricity and domestic or industrial water supply) as well as the ecological needs for water within different parts of a river basin. In this respect, water demands should not only be defined in terms of water quantity but also water quality.
Wetlands ecosystems depend on the maintenance of the natural water regimes such as flows, quantity and quality, temperature and timing to maintain their biodiversity, functions and values. The natural flow regime can be considered the most important variable that regulates the ecological integrity of riverine wetlands ecosystems.
The construction of structures that prevent the flow of water, and of channels that carry water out of the floodplain faster than would occur naturally, result in the degradation of natural wetlands and eventual loss of the services they provide.
An important element within the concept of integrated river basin management is that planning and management institutions work with and for the entire community of water users in the basin, including wetlands wildlife and users, as well as relevant stakeholders outside the river basin.
Pakistan is blessed with about 225 significant man-made and natural wetlands spread over approximately 10 per cent of the country. Lakes, canals, dams and lagoons formed as part of Pakistan’s extensive Indus Basin Irrigation System are classified as man-made wetlands.
Wetlands and their resources make a significant, though largely unrecognised, contribution to the economy. Both freshwater and marine fish, for example, form a noteworthy portion of fish production and exports. Further, they provide livelihoods for several rural communities such as fisher folk, hunters, graziers and forest users living close to wetlands.
Various wetlands products are used by the people on a daily basis. Fish and fish products, baskets, blinds and reed mats and herbal medicines comprise just a few examples of these products. Rural people, especially poor households, also extract and process wetlands material for meeting daily needs.
Wetlands support a broad spectrum of important plant species and invertebrate and vertebrate animals. The latter includes a range of threatened, endemic and endangered species: five species of mammals, nine bird species, six forms of reptile, and about six freshwater, estuarine and marine fish types. Several of these animals are world famous such as the Indus dolphin, Punjab urial, marsh crocodile and green and olive Ridley turtles. Many types of migratory birds including white-headed duck, Siberian cranes, Sarus cranes, greater flamingos and spot-billed pelicans use wetlands as wintering grounds.
The wetlands are generally degrading due to a whole range of human– induced threats such as conversion of wetlands and their immediate surroundings for agriculture and other purposes, damming of rivers and changes in water flow regimes, over harvesting of many forms of wetlands resources, felling of timber and deforestation of catchments’ areas, organic and inorganic pollution of wetlands, policy deficiencies and inadequate management.
Impact of climate change on the wetlands has to be documented, as sharp decline in the migratory birds is being reported, particularly in Sindh. Pakistan being a signatory to the Ramsar Wetlands Convention has obligations to undertake several initiatives to conserve and promote sustainable use of wetlands within the framework of the River basin management.
A large number of Ramsar sites are located in Sindh including Keenjhar, Haleji, Indus Delta in the Thatta district, Runn of Kuchch and NarririJubbo Lagoon in Badin, Deh Akro in Benazirabad district, Drigh in Larkana district and the Indus Dolphin Reserve from the Sukkur barrage upstream Guddu barrage near Kashmore and the Hub dam.
The situation of Ramsar sites is quite dismal. One of such sites includes the Narriri-Jubbo lagoon in Badin district, which has completely vanished and if measures are not taken for its rehabilitation, the Ramsar secretariat may consider de-listing this site.

UNICEF Clean Water Project-Tape Project

UNICEF, which raises money for children's health and education programs around the world, is implementing the Tap Project—its first new consumer campaign in 56 years—to help fund its clean drinking water programs worldwide. Unlike many other money-raising campaigns, UNICEF isn't offering anything in exchange for a donation: no T-shirt, bracelet, or even a bottle of water. The Tap Project asks diners at restaurants to donate $1 for a glass of tap water that they get for free, with the proceeds going to UNICEF's various programs to help 1.1 billion people around the world get clean drinking water.
The Tap Project kicks off in New York City on Mar. 22 (which has been deemed World Water Day by the U.N.). Nearly 300 city restaurants— including New York's top-notch Le Bernardin, Craft, Alto, Vong, and the Four Seasons—will place postcards on each table describing the NY Tap Project campaign (with images of children and water from photo agency Magnum) with a blue sticker that allows diners to write the amount of a donation. The donation can be added to the restaurant bill, or the card can be taken home and a donation can be made online or mailed directly to UNICEF.
According to UNICEF, more than 21% of children in developing countries don't have access to clean water, and 80% of all illness and infant mortality is due to waterborne disease. Lack of clean water is the second-largest killer of children under 5, according to the nonprofit. Areas that have the lowest supply of safe water are sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia.
New York, a city renowned for its clean tap water, is the first and this year's only stop for the Tap Project. Each of the participating restaurants is expected to raise $200 that day, according to UNICEF. True, the initial goal is modest, but next year, UNICEF plans to expand the campaign to U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Houston—all of which, like New York, have clean tap water. And in 2009, the organization plans to take it international, to cities such as London and Paris.
Stevan Miller, director of new business and corporate partnerships at UNICEF, believes the Tap Project will be "as big as Trick-or-Treat"—a campaign started by a Philadelphia youth group on Halloween in 1950 that collected $17 to help children left vulnerable by World War II. Since then, kids using UNICEF's signature Trick-or-Treat milk cartons have raised more than $132 million to provide clean water, health care, food, and education to children in 156 countries and territories.
Though it remains to be seen how people will react to the campaign, and it takes time for behaviors to gain critical mass, the Tap Project's message is very direct and has the potential to catch fire, says Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of New York-based Ad Council, the force behind such memorable public service messages as "A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste" for the United Negro College Fund and "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk" for the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
"It's a logical comparison to think about the fact that people in developing countries don't enjoy the same clean, wonderful water we have," she says. "It's a very genuine connection, and therefore has the opportunity to be successful."
The Tap Project was sparked by a challenge from Esquire magazine editors to David Droga, founder of New York-based advertising agency Droga5, to invent a brand out of nothing that could also be "a positive change agent." The 38-year-old Australian, who was raised by an environmental-activist mother, says he first started thinking about how many people lack clean drinking water after seeing a documentary about post-Katrina New Orleans.
And inspiration struck one night when he received the typical complimentary glass of tap water at a restaurant. "I remember thinking, we have to make people aware of the luxury we have and help others who don't have it," Droga recalls.
Tap water, Droga explains, is a "brand that no one owns" and is available in many metropolitan cities around the world. Plus, since the campaign rests on people making donations for their tap water, there are no costs for packing, bottling, and shipping the water. Marketing tap water is "a sustainable idea—that's why I like it so much," says Droga.
Flush with Partners In November, Droga5 took the idea to UNICEF, which quickly agreed to adopt it as its next campaign. Esquire featured the Tap Project in its December, 2006, "Best & Brightest" issue, and is co-sponsoring a launch party along with Donna Karan's DKNY on Mar. 21 at the Hearst building in midtown New York. Much of Droga5's 36-member staff has worked on the campaign pro bono. One of the ads the agency created features a clear wine-shaped bottle of water with a simple blue "NY Tap" label with the message: "Now with Added Karma." Another ad features a few glasses of water with labels of other cities expected to participate in coming years, and the message: "What if every glass of water you drank quenched someone else's thirst?" The New York Times has donated a full-page ad that will appear on Mar. 21. Billboard advertiser Van Wagner has given ad space for NY Tap posters on 1,000 phone booths around the city. Reuters has agreed to give Tap a free monster screen in Times Square on Mar. 21-22, and Microsoft (MSFT) has offered Tap a link on its MSN site, says Droga5 CEO Andrew Essex. The agency is also producing a viral film for Tap Project. (Droga5's first video that spread like wildfire online last year was Air Force One for graffiti artist and entrepreneur Marc Ecko.) Ready to Travel
UNICEF recruited top New York chefs and is funding the campaign's promotion and marketing, along with the cost of creating tool kits for restaurants and a database to track donations. Restaurant owners were lured by both the simplicity of the idea—asking patrons to donate $1 for tap water that's taken for granted—and the ease of implementing the program. And they didn't seem concerned about giving up profits from selling bottled water for a day. "It's such a great opportunity," says Scott Conant, chef and owner of Alto and L'Impero. "It's not often you can make an impact like this with so little effort." Indeed, the apparent ease of implementing Tap could help the campaign grow beyond just New York. The Ad Council's Conlon thinks New York is a smart test market, and Miller expects that the launch will help them refine best practices for other cities to follow. UNICEF has devised a simple transaction process for restaurants that won't disrupt their business, has automated the sign-up process for restaurants, and is building a database to track it, Miller says. And it will provide advertising and promotional materials that can be easily replicated in large and small markets, Miller explains. Besides the challenge of expanding the campaign, UNICEF also faces competition from other charities fighting for consumers' dollars and their successful fundraising methods, especially the "paper icons" placed at checkout counters of grocery stores. Still, Miller thinks people will respond to the simple idea of giving $1 for a glass of tap water, and that it's unique enough to give the campaign "a competitive edge." "We're giving people at least a moment to think about a global issue—providing clean and accessible drinking water to children in need," Miller says. "It's a non-threatening way that corresponds with their everyday life." Says chef and owner Tom Colicchio, who expects to raise $450 from Craft and two other participating restaurants: "Hopefully we raise money—and more importantly we raise awareness."

South Asia Region – Towards a Climate Change Strategy

World Bank is releasing a new report titled 'South Asia Region – Towards a Climate Change Strategy'. According this report there are several factors like, high population densities, a large concentration of poverty and the region’s climate variability have all combined to make South Asia highly sensitive to the consequences of climate change. This report forecasts that climate change has the potential to compound existing development problems and increase pressures on key resources needed to sustain future growth, urbanisation and industrialisation.
South Asia is the least integrated region in the world but would grow further if it were more integrated. Regional cooperation can be a powerful tool for increasing growth, reducing inequality, increasing energy trade and reducing vulnerabilities for the poor, suggests the report.
Climate change will reinforce the need for greater levels of economic integration. Likewise regional energy trade can contribute to the goal of low-carbon development. The challenge for South Asia is to maintain high growth rates while being climate resilient, environmentally sustainable and inclusive, it says.
Forecasts suggest higher but more variable and intense rainfall in South Asia, except in the relatively drier areas of Afghanistan, western India and Pakistan, which could see even less rainfall. IPCC projections indicate that the number of days for which extreme events last would increase in duration and severity. This effect will be especially pronounced in South Asia with its reliance on the monsoons – more so than in many other parts of the world.
Changes in precipitation and temperature are expected to interact in complex ways to change the balance between ‘green’ water and ‘blue’ water. ‘Green’ water is the water that is used or lost in catchments before it reaches the rivers, while ‘blue’ water is the runoff that reaches the rivers. The runoff is expected to change significantly in the subcontinent, with implications for agriculture. The Indus and Ganges/Brahmaputra basins are expected to experience increased runoff driven by precipitation changes and glacial melt.
South Asia is subject to a range of climate-related disasters, including tropical cyclones, sand storms, floods and droughts. Although it is difficult to predict the relationship between storms and climate change, it is expected, globally, that there will be more storms, at higher intensity.
Likewise, floods and droughts are also expected to increase given predictions of higher precipitation in fewer days. Over 50 per cent of South Asians – more than 750 million people – have been affected by a natural disaster in the last two decades. The human and economic toll has been high with almost 230,000 deaths and about $45 billion in damages, it says.
With rising temperatures the ice mass of the Himalayan-Hindukush is retreating more rapidly than the global average in some locations.The receding trends of glacier masses threaten water supplies, livelihoods and the economy of the region.
Agriculture and the region’s economic structure will need to undergo significant adjustment to cope with these changes.
The region faces daunting climate-related development challenges. The impacts of climate change in the form of higher temperatures, more variable precipitation and more extreme weather events are already felt in South Asia and it has been projected that these will intensify.
High population levels translate into increased resource demands on an already stressed natural resource base. By 2050, South Asias population is likely to exceed 2.2 billion from the current level of 1.5 billion. With an estimated 600 million South Asians subsisting on less than $1.25 a day, even small climate shocks can cause irreversible losses and tip a large number of people into destitution.
Sea level rise is a major source of concern not only for coastal urban areas but also for the fertile delta systems, which are threatened by both inundation and salinity intrusion. Salt water intrusion in low-lying agricultural plains and water resources could lead to localised food insecurity, spread of water-related diseases and the contamination of freshwater reserves.
South Asia is home to some of the fastest growing cities in the world. Projections indicate that in three decades about half the region’s population will dwell in the cities. By 2020, Mumbai will be the second largest city in the world, closely followed by Delhi, and Dhaka. With Karachi and Kolkata – five of the world’s 11 mega-cities will then be in South Asia.
There are particular challenges in making cities’ climate resilient. Building urban resilience requires improving infrastructure, governance and finance. Without a substantial investment in basic amenities and infrastructure in these large cities, climate change will exacerbate existing vulnerabilities.

New Health policy in Pakistan

The government is working on new health policy in Pakistan. It is encouraging to learn that but little is known about the government’s strategy and one can only hope that all stakeholders are consulted and taken on board. That alone will ensure the successful implementation of the new policy.
It is the need of hour that government should widely take into confident the stake holders, therefore one can recommend to the government that they should put new draft health policy on ministry’s website and send a copy Pakistan Medical Association.

The last health policy that was framed in December 2001 is on paper only. However, it identified the major weaknesses in the health sector very well and could provide a starting point for policymakers. New health problems have now emerged but the basic flaws that need to be addressed have not changed. The health system is too urban oriented and neglects the bulk of the population that lives in the countryside. Financial allocations have been far less and do not provide much scope for expansion and upgrading. There is greater emphasis on tertiary medical
facilities with primary health not receiving enough attention. There is no effective monitoring of the system while the private sector has been given a free rein with no regulatory controls in place, although its role has been growing. Above all, the preventive approach is limited to immunisation strategies with no concept of health being perceived as a sense of wellbeing rather than the absence of disease. This calls for linking health with a lifestyle that makes the government responsible for providing people with potable water, sanitation and a clean environment.

S. Asia’s river basins depleting fast, says UN study

South Asia is the region pregnant with the conflicts on water. Hundreds of millions of people in South Asia face growing water stress due to over-exploitation, climate change and inadequate cooperation among countries, which are threatening river basins that sustain about half of the region’s 1.5bn people, says a United Nations report released on Friday.

“Fresh water under threat: South Asia,” a new report produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Asian Institute of Technology examines the state of fresh water resources in selected major river basins in the region, identifies key threats to water resources development and management, and assesses the challenges in coping with these threats.

The three trans-boundary river basins assessed in the report include the largest in South Asia: the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM basin (which spans Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal), the Indus river basin (Afghanistan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan) and the Helmand river basin (Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan).

The report calls for urgent policy attention and more research into the impact of climate change on water resources, infrastructure and management practices, as well as improved cooperation among the affected countries and integrated basin management.

UNEP’s executive director Achim Steiner stressed the need to invest in the sustainable management of these river basins.

“These river systems are major economic arteries as well as social and environmental assets for South Asia,” he said. “Investing in sustainable management is thus an investment in the current and future prosperity of Asia and will be a central and determining factor underpinning the transition to a resource efficient, sustainable green economy.” South Asia is home to onefourth of the global population, which has access to less than 5 per cent of the planet’s fresh water resources, according to the UNEP report.

Largest Water Reservoir in Balochistan-Mirani Dam

THE Mirani Dam has been constructed at a cost of Rs5.861 billion on the River Dasht, 43 km south-west of Turbat city in Makran, for irrigation purposes. The 127-ft-high, 3,350-ft-long, earth-filled dam has created a reservoir extending to about 10 miles upstream. It has a designed capacity of 377 cusecs, and can provide irrigation water on both sides of the River Dasht, which mostly depends on rains, averaging 4.2 inches annually, in the upper catchments area.
The River Dasht is a non-perennial stream and its flow depends entirely on rainfall in the catchments area which extends over 7,964 square miles of barren hilly terrain.The average annual runoff from the catchments has been estimated at 226,000 acre feet.
“At present, hardly 500 acres out of 33,200 acres are under cultivation in the command area. Benefits of the project will gradually reach the local people and in five to 10 years they will be able to start farming and developing irrigated agriculture in the area,” so is being said by local experts. “The command area will not see the development of irrigated agriculture so long the big land owners of the area do not come forward and utilise their lands for farming”, it is further added by the experts on the subject.
The project command area can attain an average annual cropping intensity of 85 per cent, as the Mirani Dam can sustain perennial supply to 33,200 acres benefiting about 32,000 people of more than 4,400 families in the area. There are widespread news reports that government land was being allotted to foreigners, particularly the UAE nationals, for developing agriculture farms in the area.
At present, agriculture in the project command area is below sustenance level. The average cropping intensity is about five per cent. The crops grown in the area are sorghum, pulses, fodder and wheat but the yield is very poor. The project can help raise annual agriculture production by 85 per cent - i.e. 36 per cent Kharif and 49 per cent Rabi crops. Under ultimate development conditions, the proposed cropping pattern includes fruit orchards, vegetables, fodders and wheat etc.
The construction of Mirani Dam has not been without its social and environmental costs. The local people however hold technical flaws in the Mirani Dam design responsible for devastation of the area by flashfloods and rains.
“The dam at present is intact with a storage capacity of 377 cusecs.The irrigation outlet conduit has a length of 1,490 feet with pressure conduit diameter of six feet. The low level outlet conduit has a storage capacity of 120 cusecs with a length of 855.27 feet and a diametre of three feet. Water from the dam is released as per requirements of irrigation”.
The local farmers should be patronised and provided with incentives to develop agriculture in the area. The project area is underdeveloped and lacks basic amenities. There is also a need to improve infrastructure such as farm-to-market roads and potable water, basic health and education facilities, electricity and communications in the area.
Experts suggest that economic feasibility of generating hydroelectric power at this project should also be examined. According to one estimate, the dam can produce about 500 KW of electricity for the nearby villages.
Some experts put the question mark on the viability of the Mirani Dam on a non-perennial stream. They doubt about the availability of water during the periods of drought, which at times persist for more than five years.
Enhanced sedimentation in Balochistan has already caused failure of reservoirs. It is likely to shorten the life span of Mirani reservoir, which has been worked out as 30 years. They suggest a review of the hydrological parameters of the feasibility, as many dams having barren catchments areas producing silt-laden runoff, ended in failures.

Largest Muslim Festival

The Eid economy of a whooping Rs90 billion (estimated) offers a variety of opportunities with the market rewarding graciously the enterprising ones in Pakistan only. The informal cross border trade of cattle, especially cows is said to be rampant in border areas of Sindh.
The economy of Eid-ul-Azha, an Islamic festival, commemorating the sacrifice of prophet Ibrahim, seems to be the most dynamic of all other celebrations in generating business and temporary employment. The quantum of economy estimated at around Rs90 billion, is stated to be at least 20 per cent bigger than that of Eid-ul-Fitr. This is despite the fact that the total number of people who shop are less as compared to Eid-ul-Fitr.
The estimate (beside other random estimates) is based on the study of Dr Syed Waqar Hussain of the Institute of Management Sciences Peshawar, titled ‘Poverty alleviation: the redistribution impact of the practice of animal sacrifice on rural economy’. According to the study “.the total number of animals slaughtered in 2007-08 Eid-ul-Azha was 5.5 million heads. The total value of these animals at the prevalent market price amounted to Rs80 billion”.
On Eid-ul-Fitr, the key beneficiary of spurt in spending are urban traders and producers of consumer items. On Eid-ulAzha, however, it is the rural Pakistan that raises sacrificial animals and receives the major chunk of the spending.
As expected Karachi attracted most cattle traders not only from rural Sindh but beyond as the city’s middle and upper classes have always been on the forefront as buyers. Lahore is said to be next in line where 230,000 animals were sold last year. According to an estimate, Karachi and Lahore share between them about 50 per cent of the total cattle sales.
Next to cattle traders, probably butchers make most during three days of Eid. They overcharge but there is no dearth of clients desperate to fulfil the obligation of sacrifice. The high demand encourages several novices to enter the field. There are several other Eid specific businesses that sprung up during these days. Transporters have already been mentioned. Trucks and other smaller pick-ups work round the clock. There are caretakers of animals bought by people who are either incapable or not inclined to handle cattle by themselves.
Hide collectors, animal feed sellers, animal doctors and makeshift stalls of other paraphernalia have sprung up all over the country employing people in thousands. Normally sale of freezers rise before the Eid as many people store the meat for consumption.