Transcript Environmental Protection

區域協作與環境保護
Regional Cooperation with Reference to Environmental Protection
何建宗教授
香港公開大學
Prof. K. C. Ho
The Open University of University
Global Environmental Issues with Local,
Regional and Worldwide Concern:
 Loss of land resources and soil erosion
 Water shortage and pollution
 Coastal and marine resources at risk
 Atmospheric pollution
 Conservation and biodiversity
 Deterioration of the quality of living environment
 Ozone Layer depletion
 Global warming and climate changes
 Disasters
Loss of land resources:
•In 2005, over 70 per cent of the Earth’s land surface was severely
damaged by the construction of roads, mining, urbanization and
unplanned economic developments.
•Latin America and the Caribbean region are likely to be the hardest hit
with > 80 per cent of the land affected, closely followed by Asia and
the Pacific region.
•Moreover, > 75 per cent of valuable habitats are disturbed by human
activities including agriculture and urban development, resulting in the
loss of biodiversity and other environmental damages.
Soil Erosion:
•Over 10 per cent, between 25 - 30 million ha, of the
world’s irrigated lands are classed as severely derelict.
• Soil erosion is a key factor in land degradation.
Around15 per cent of the Earth’s land cover or an
area bigger than the United States and Mexico
combined, is now classed as degraded as a result of
human activities.
• Land degradation mainly results from and with
water erosion and spread of agricultural chemicals.
Water shortage and pollution :
•60 per cent of the world’s largest 227 rivers have been strongly or
moderately fragmented by dams and other engineering works.
•Half of the world’s rivers are seriously depleted and polluted.
•In some countries, groundwater levels are falling as a result of overabstraction.
•Some 80 countries, amounting to 40 per cent of the world’s population,
were suffering serious water shortages by the mid-1990s.
•There are about 4 billion cases of diarrhea and 2.2 million deaths a year,
equivalent to 20 jumbo jets crashing everyday.
Coastal and marine resources at risk:
•Discharges of untreated sewage is the biggest risk to coastal and
oceanic pollution.
•About one-third of the world’s fish stocks are now ranked as depleted,
overexploited or recovering after threats, as a result of over-fishing,
harmful algal blooms (commonly known as red tides) and pollution.
•Other threats to the oceans include climate change, oil spills,
discharges of heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and
litter.
Atmospheric pollution:
•Acid precipitation, resulted from emissions of sulfur dioxides,
nitrogenous oxides, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from
burning of fuels,
•Dirty air affects the health of human beings as well as causing
severe ecological damages. Many people die of respiratory
diseases and lung cancer due to the pollution of ambient and
indoor environments.
•Thousands of lakes in the world had reductions in fish populations
due to acidification from the 1950s to the 1980s.
•Sources of air pollutants emission include power generation plants,
industries and vehicles.
Conservation and biodiversity loss:
•Forests, which cover around one-third of the Earth’s land surface
(~3 866 million ha), have declined by 2.4 per cent since 1990.
•Production of roundwood for fuel is the main cause of forest loss
in developing countries, although commercial logging for the
consumption in developed countries is often very destructive
•Mangrove forests, natural sea defences, nursery grounds for fish
and prime nesting and resting sites for migratory birds, are
threatened
•The introduction of alien species from one part of the world to
another has emerged as a significant threat in recent years
alongside climate change. Alien species often have no natural
predators in their new homes and can out-compete native species
for breeding and feeding sites.
Deterioration of the quality of living
environment:
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Population increase
Increased urbanization
Housing
Transport
Noise
Landscape and amenity
Reclamation
Natural and anthropological heritages
Ozone Layer depletion:
• The protection of the ozone
layer has become one of the
major challenges over the past
20 years. In September 2000,
the Antarctic ozone hole
covered more than 28 million
km3.
Global warming and climate changes :
•Greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions are unevenly distributed
between countries and regions. Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries
contributed more than half of emissions in 1998, with a per
capita emission of about three times the world average.
•Climate change represents an important additional stress on
those ecosystems
•The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change and the Kyoto Protocol are the key policy
instruments adopted by the international community to try
to address the problem of greenhouse gases emissions.
Sea Level Rise
ESPO effects
Disasters:
•It is estimated that the number of people affected by disasters
climbed from an average of 147 million a year in the 1980s to 211
million a year in the 1990s.
•The number of people affected by disasters climbed from an
average of 147 million a year in the 1980s to 211 million a year in
the 1990s. Global financial losses from natural disasters were, in
1999, estimated to cost as high as over US$ 100 billion.
•Believe it or not, some scientists have claimed that the level of
weather-related disasters has climbed due to increased humanmade emissions into atmosphere.
•In the 1990s, 90 per cent of those killed in natural disasters were
victims of events such as floods, windstorms and droughts which
are closely linked to rises in water level and global climate change.
THE EIGHTEENTH APEC MINISTERIAL MEETING, HA NOI, VIET NAM
15-16 November 2006
JOINT STATEMENT:
…..Ministers recognized the importance of sustainable
development in marine and coastal resources, and
the opportunities this creates for wealth and
employment generation from investment and
trade. The Marine Resources Conservation Working
Group's (MRCWG) work on post-tsunami economic
activities and natural buffer protection ensures
greater sustainable growth for affected areas.
 From the early days, sustainable development has been a matter
of great concern for APEC.
 The APEC Leaders' Economic Vision Statement in 1993 stated:
"Our environment is improved as we protect the quality of our air,
water and green spaces and manage our energy resources and
renewable resources to ensure sustainable growth and provide a
more secure future for our people".
 This Statement provides the mandate for APEC's work on
sustainable development.
 In March 1994, Ministers of APEC adopted an Environmental
Vision Statement and a Framework of Principles for Integrating
Economy and Development in APEC.
 In 1995, the APEC Economic Leaders' Declaration for Action
reaffirmed the integration of the environment and sustainable
development into APEC activities.
 The 1996 Manila Declaration of Ministers Responsible for
Environment sketched out priority issues concerning sustainable
development such as promotion of public-private partnership,
local empowerment, sustainable cities and sustainable marine
environment.
 The 1997 APEC Economic Leaders stated
categorically that "Achieving sustainable
development is at the heart of APEC's mandate".
 In 2004, APEC further enhanced its commitments to
pursuing sustainable development with Declaration of
the Tourism Ministerial Meeting, Joint Statement of
the Mining Ministerial Meeting, and the Science and
Technology Ministerial Meeting.
The Economic and Technical Cooperation (ECOTECH)’s mandate
states: "APEC economies will pursue economic and technical cooperation in order to attain sustainable growth and equitable
development in the Asia-Pacific region".
The ECOTECH agenda includes initiatives for promoting and
ensuring sustainable development through cooperative schemes,
joint research and training, sharing information and experiences,
and the proliferation of best practices.
Areas of cooperation in the coming years:
 Global climate changes – with emphases on energy
policies and technologies of power generation (compliance
with the Kyoto Protocol and the use of renewable energy)
 Ozone layer depletion – phasing out of CFC derivatives and
other ozone layer depletion agents
 Regional atmospheric pollution – promotion of crossborder control, cleaner production, environmental friendly
transport and “emission trading”
 Marine pollution, marine dumping and oil spillages (e.g.
compliance to London Convention and the MARPOL)
 Eutrophication and harmful algal blooms (red tides) –
reduction of non-point source pollution especially the
discharge of Nitrogen
 Conservation and wildlife protection (e.g. enforcement of
the CITES)
 Promotion of “Eco-tourism”
Economic drives:
Polluters Pay’s Principle
Environmental Management System (EMS)
Eco- and Environmental friendly labels
Re-distribution of trades and industries under
well-planned strategies (circular economy)
 Promotion of cleaner technologies
 Bans of toxic and harmful substances
 Prevention of cross-border disposal of wastes
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Environmental drives:
 Regional Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
and Strategic EIA
 Ecological mitigation and compensation (both
on-site and off site)
Social drives:
 Public participation
 Transparency of information
 Environmental governance (from Government to
Governance)
 Environmental education
Thank you for the
attention and your
comments are
welcome!