Accelerated glacial melt causing water sources to dwindle.
As home to 70% of the Earth’s tropical glaciers, Peru has witnessed a 30% loss of glacial mass in the last 30 years due to climate change. Catholic University Research Center Director Bernex Nicol expressed his concern about the matter in a talk given on the radio station Radio Programs of Peru.

With shortages already threatening cities like Lima, where 1.5 million people are currently without water, further reductions are anticipated from factors such as the disappearance of freshwater springs in the northern Andes, where over 50% have dried due to deforestation.

Moreover, Peru’s National University of Engineering Director Julio Kuroiwa has stated that further shortages are expected in Lima, where water supplies could decrease by another 25% over the next decade.

Meanwhile, demands on this fragile resource are further complicated by metal contamination coming from mines in the country’s highlands.

Our appreciation Directors Nicol, Kuroiwa and colleagues for your evaluation and voiced concern about the vanishing Peruvian glaciers and their effect on people’s lives.

Let us act in unison now to stabilize the security and survival of the Peruvian people and all inhabitants of our shared Earthly home. As on previous occasions, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke during a September 2009 conference in Peru about the country’s water crisis and how to bring relief to this global problem.


http://www.peruviantimes.com/limas-water-supply-to-decrease-by-25-percent-over-next-10-years/075683
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sci/2010-03/28/c_13227756.htm
http://www.peruviantimes.com/brack-limas-water-supply-secure-over-next-years/285418

Climate Champions convene in Bahrain.
Sponsored by the British Council, a UK-based organization that promotes educational opportunities and cultural relations, 25 young persons from Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Libya came together for a two-day conference to demonstrate projects they had created over the previous year to raise awareness and address global warming.

Their green initiatives included a plastic bag reduction plan in Libya, tree planting in Qatar, recycling in Kuwait and Libya, and replacing the incandescent light bulbs of mosques with luminescent paint in the United Arab Emirates. As part of the British Council’s growing global network of 1,300 Climate Champions from 60 countries worldwide, two of the Middle East champions were selected to represent their region at the December 2009 UN climate summit in Copenhagen.

A big bravo, young Climate Champions, and our heartfelt thanks for all you are doing to protect the planet. May you continue such beneficial work for a bright future for all.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=353442&version=1&template_id=36&
parent_id=16
http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20100330073428
/British%20Council%20International%20Climate%20Champions%20Showcase%20Projects%20to%20Combat%20Climate%20Change%20in%20the%20Arab%20World

Extra News
Prolonged drought since December 2009 in the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago has caused wildfires and water shortages, with local officials calling an emergency press conference to raise public awareness and warn of the need for immediate water conservation.
http://antiguaobserver.com/?p=28393
http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/26598/trinidad-and-tobago-drought-co.asp    

Due to dry conditions that are being called the worst in 60 years, the town of Kaitaia in northernmost New Zealand announces plans to begin water transport to the region.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/07/2865773.htm?section=justin
http://www.efarming.com.au/News/general/07/04/2010/93779/towns-dry-up-in-drought-stricken-nz.html

Citing the destruction of coral reefs and marine life caused by the fishing practice of bottom trawling, Yemen’s Undersecretary of the Water and Environment Ministry, Mufeed al-Halimi, pledges stricter measures to protect the environment.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news210485.htm