By Trevor Evans, Chairman, Harpenden UNA NEWS AND COMMENTJanuary 2010
Hopes for 2010I am not one to make New Year resolutions but as UNA members we remain concerned but hopeful for progress in the resolution of international problems in the coming year. Progress in 2009 was disappointing in many areas. How many of the following will be achieved by the end of 2010?
· A legally binding Climate Change Treaty.
· Progress in reducing nuclear weapons at the Non Proliferation Treaty Revue conference.
· Progress along the roadmap for resolving the Israel/Palestine problem.
· Agreement with Iran over its nuclear programme.
· Big reductions in the US/UK force in Iraq.
· Substantial handover of responsibility for security to the government of Afghanistan
· Progress towards true democracy in Zimbabwe.
· Resolution of the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
· Establishment of an international development fund based on a tax on financial transactions (the Tobin Tax).
Prof Ian Crute MBEProf Crute, former Director of Rothamsted Research, who spoke to us in June last year, was awarded the MBE in the New Year Honours for his contribution to plant science. He is now Chief Scientist at The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB),
Afghanistan – the Harpenden connection
On 12th December we heard from Yusof Mirzazada about the work of the charity Afghan Action in promoting education and the development of small businesses such as carpet making in Afghanistan. Nick Daymond, the Head of Roundwood Park School spoke about the connections being made between some local schools and schools in Northern Afghanistan. At this time of year the schools in Mazar e Sharif are closed because of the weather (an experience that we can now share!) and they hope that pupils will be able to exchange greetings and pictures soon. I am pleased to report that our collection raised over £80 for Afghan Action. The book I mentioned about building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan is called ‘Three Cups of Tea’ by Greg Mortenson. Go to www.threecupsoftea.com.
Why should we care about biodiversity?The World Conservation Monitoring Centre is based in Cambridge and is sponsored by the UN Environment Programme with a mission to put authoritative biodiversity knowledge at the centre of decision-making. I am delighted that on 23rd January the Deputy Director of the Centre has agreed to speak to us about their work and to help us to understand the human impact on and the human consequences of loss of biodiversity.
