links for 2009-10-01

• Reuters AlertNet – JORDAN: Declining rainfall, population growth spur search for water
  "eclining rainfall levels in water scarce and debt-ridden Jordan, the population of which is growing rapidly, have given further urgency to the search for alternative water sources.

  Jordan captures and utilizes 90 percent of its rainfall, but climate change has led to decreasing levels of precipitation, particularly over the past two years, environmentalists say.
  [..]
  One third of its water needs are pumped to it by Israel as part of the 1994 Wadi Araba Treaty (also known as the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace). The water is pumped to Zai plant before being treated and sent to Amman and nearby cities.
  [..]
  The water level in Jordan's dams is also falling, said water expert Elias Salameh from the University of Jordan.
  [..]
  To cope with chronic water shortages this year, the government adopted a strict water distribution programme in June [..] by reducing the number of times water was pumped to households from three or four times a week to just once or twice."

  (tags: jordan water climate-change global-warming)
• Reuters AlertNet – Poverty in developing world deepening despite "green shoots" of recovery in West
  On the eve of the upcoming G20 summit i, a new ActionAid briefing finds that many developing countries are far from seeing the bottom of the economic downturn.
  In the face of overwhelming need, only half of the $50 billion promised to help the world's poorest countries at the London G20 in April has been delivered. Instead the G20 has concentrated on bailing out richer countries to the tune of $1.1trillion.
  The briefing finds that no money at all has been found for the World Bank Vulnerability Framework, the only fund that was actually earmarked for poor people.
  Additionally the IMF, which was appointed keeper of the G20's piggy bank, has continued to demand strict conditions from countries needing loans. These include zero growth in public spending in Ethiopia and ten per cent budget cuts in Latvia.
  The G20's reliance on the IMF is also threatening the build-up of another debt crisis as money is being lent [..] at a time when developing countries have fewer funds to repay their debt.
  (tags: development g20 economic-crisis poverty imf worldbank)
• Reuters AlertNet – In Brief: Climate-related disasters force 20 million out of homes in 2008
  "Climate related natural disasters like droughts, hurricanes and floods forced 20 million people – slightly less than the population of Australia – out of their homes in 2008 alone said a new study, making a strong case for regularly monitoring displacement in the context of climate change. Using the 2008 data as a test case, the study proposed the ongoing monitoring of disaster related displacement using existing information, such as the Emergency Events Database produced by the Belgium-based Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, cross-referenced with various other sources, and individually investigating events to estimate the numbers of persons displaced.

  The next step is further research into displacement caused by slow-onset disasters and sea level rise. The study also called for a legal framework to protect people forced to cross a border by a natural disaster. "

  (tags: climate-change disaster migration refugee poverty)
• Reuters AlertNet – World Vision to G20: More influence must equal more responsibility toward global poor
  "The Group of Twenty's shift to prominence as a top global forum raises questions for the international development agenda and accountability for meeting goals, says World Vision, a relief and development organization working in 100 countries including most G20 nations. While a more-empowered G20 could become a stronger voice for the poor, aid policy experts note that the group's failure to prioritize the needs of the poor during this week's summit is concerning. "
  (tags: g20 MDGs g8 development economy economics)
• المصرى اليوم
  man and his son get 1 year sentence for killing their daughter/sister because she slept with someone at the age of 16.
  I find it unbelievable how little interest there is in upholding any sort of equality or justice.
  (tags: egypt law sex sexuality gender)