Well digging has been the forte of the ‘Mannu Vaddar’ community in Bangalore. They are the people who work with earth for many centuries. They have dug the many lakes of Bangalore and also the many wells that dotted the landscape. Then their cousins the ‘Kallu Vaddars’ would take over and line the well with stones . The craft is at least 6000 years old in India.

The stone lined wells of South Karnataka

Since the 1980 ‘s , especially during a period of 3 continuous years of bad rainfall, the construction of wells stopped and people shifted to the bore-wells. This rendered the well diggers jobless and they shifted to digging foundations for buildings as well as digging pits for toilets.

With the recent rainwater harvesting interest in the city and the coming in of the bye-law , wells are being dug again, only this time to recharge water…

(PRESS RELEASE VIA SNO) – The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), University of Florida, and the government of St Lucia (Department of fisheries) formed an alliance to undertake a Caribbean Climate Change Adaptation Project.

According to Albert Jones, CCCCC Representative, “The project encompasses adaptation measures in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.”

The installation of a Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS) Network took place in the Soufriere Marine Reserve on Monday, May 14th, 2018. The CREWS network will provide information to Caribbean scientists and researchers to monitor reef health, sea temperature changes, winds (speed and gusts), barometric pressure and much needed data.

“The CREWS Network will include five new countries in the Eastern Caribbean- Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, and Grenada” Jones further added.

The Department of fisheries is thankful for the initiative. Fisheries…

Photo shows participants in a series of meetings to discuss the development of an early warning system for St Lucia. The project is being funded by the Government of Italy through the Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea – Contributed photo

The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and representatives from the Governments of Italy and Saint Lucia held a series of meetings this week, to discuss the development of an early warning system (EWS) for the island.

The Project is being funded by the Government of Italy through its Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea. Using geographic information, the system is expected to forecast the potential effects of national disasters, provide flood mapping and other sector- relevant and necessary information to aid decision-making during events. As the primary stakeholder, the Government of Saint Lucia would be responsible for the operation and management of the system, thereby allowing the country…

Hon. Allen Chastenet, Prime Minister of St. Lucia

Press Release:–  The Government of Saint Lucia and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations (UNECLAC), hosted the fifth meeting of the Caribbean Development Round Table, under the theme “Promoting Climate Resilience and Sustainable Economic Growth in the Caribbean,” and the twenty-seventh session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee on April 26 and 27.

In frank and pointed remarks, Prime Minister Hon. Allen Chastenet, also the Chairperson of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee called for deliberate action in dealing with climate change, questioning the preparedness of the region for the hurricane season, which is exactly one month away.

“Climate change doesn’t discriminate,” he said. “It does not have any empathy for you because you are a poor country. It does not have any empathy because more people are unemployed. It does not…

Hon. Allen Chastenet, Prime Minister of St. Lucia

Press Release:–  The Government of Saint Lucia and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations (UNECLAC), hosted the fifth meeting of the Caribbean Development Round Table, under the theme “Promoting Climate Resilience and Sustainable Economic Growth in the Caribbean,” and the twenty-seventh session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee on April 26 and 27.

In frank and pointed remarks, Prime Minister Hon. Allen Chastenet, also the Chairperson of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee called for deliberate action in dealing with climate change, questioning the preparedness of the region for the hurricane season, which is exactly one month away.

“Climate change doesn’t discriminate,” he said. “It does not have any empathy for you because you are a poor country. It does not have any empathy because more people are unemployed. It does not…

Source: CANARI; May 4, 2018

Background

CANARI is facilitating the development of  National Forest Policy and Strategic Plan and Revised Environmental Management Act 2014.  This activity is part of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Global Climate Change Alliance Project on Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Land Management in the Eastern Caribbean (the iLAND Resilience – Promoting a Climate for Change) funded by the European Union.  Background papers, workshop reports and draft environmental frameworks are available through the links below.

Background paper

Report of First National Workshop  (December 2017)

The revised Grenada National Forest Policy and Strategic Plan and revised Protected Area, Forest and Wildlife Act are currently being drafted based on the outputs of the December 2017 Workshop. Stakeholders are invited to submit further comments and suggestions for revisions of the documents. Please review the original documents below and email your suggestions to Dr. Natalie Boodram at natalie@canari.org by…

CCRIF Scholarship Programme
Provides scholarships to individuals to pursue a masters degree in hazard/disaster related disciplines at Caribbean universities (other than UWI) as well as institutions the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Deadline May 31 2018.
http://www.ccrif.org/content/scholarship

CCRIF-UWI Scholarship Programme
Provides scholarships to students at UWI for undergraduate and post-graduate study in fields such as natural resource management, climate change, meteorology, geography/geology and civil/environmental engineering
Deadlines: Postgraduate scholarships: May 25 2018 | Undergraduate scholarships: May 31 2018
http://www.ccrif.org/content/programmes/ccrif-uwi-scholarship

Regional Internship Programme
Provides opportunities for university graduates who have specialized in the areas of disaster risk management, environmental management, actuarial science, geography, climate studies and other similar areas to be assigned to national and regional organizations for practical work assignments. Deadline May 31 2018.
http://www.ccrif.org/content/regional-internship-programme

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Palestinian Declaration

An invitation to All Palestinians and their supporters to unite under the banner of LIBERATION, affirming our Inalienable Rights and clarifying our aims and aspirations to ourselves and to the world.For the sake of historical truth, and for defending, preserving and protecting the rights of future Palestinian children, we present this document:

• Whereas, no foreign government, international institution or individual, has any form of legitimacy or jurisdiction to dispossess any other Nation by distributing their land and property,

• Whereas, all colonial dealings regarding Palestine, whether by the “League of Nations” or the subsequent land confiscations by British colonial forces, as well as coerced transactions by early Zionists, did not invalidate the irrefutable fact that Palestine is the sole indigenous representative of all people of Palestine, settled and anchored culturally to the land since time immemorial,

• Whereas, the religious…