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A
GREEN PRESENT FROM HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
The
British Embassy in Peru
goes green to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's birthday
by joining Tolerance
International's Human and Habitat Campaign.
The
invitation sent to all guests invited reads, “This year,
as part of our activities to challenge Climate Change,
the embassy will make the Queen's birthday celebrations
carbon neutral. Tolerance
International will be calculating the CO2 emissions
resulting from the event and these will be offset by
supporting the reforestation project of Tolerance
International in the Amazon.
The
embassy appreciates the kindness of our guests who have
traditionally sent flowers for this occasion but would
request that this year instead guests might consider
joining the carbon neutral community. Individuals,
organisations and companies who wish to contribute to
the Loreto rainforest project, may do so by sending
contributions directly to Tolerance
International's bank ...”
"Birthday
of Her Majesty
The
British Ambassador's invitation to a reception for the
birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.
Instead
of the traditional bunches of flowers, the embassy
suggested helping to neutralise CO2 emissions by making
a contribution to the reforestation project in Loreta
via Tolerance International."
BRITISH
PERUVIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE GOLF
TOURNAMENT
A
CARBON NEUTRAL EVENT
On
the 6th September,2008, the British Peruvian Chamber of
Commerce held their annual golf tournament in Chaclacayo,
Peru, 30 km from the capital, Lima, the first ever carbon
neutral golf tournament in Peru.
The carbon emissions
of the 150 attendees who had driven to Chaclacayo was offset
with the help of Tolerance International's TICOFF programme
(www.ticoff.org ).
The event
was attended by British Ambassador to Peru, Catherine
Nettleton
The
Human and Habitat conference and workshops for the
Amazon press coverage.
“SUCCESSFUL
TRAINING ON REFORESTATION FOR CARBON
SEQUESTRATION”
The
Peruvian National Council of the Environment and the
Foundation, together with Tolerance International, ran a
highly successful training project to instruct the technical
team and workers of the regional government of Loreto on the
project devised for the regional government by Tolerance
International to remunerate the indigenous rain forest
population for their environmental services.
Workshops
included instruction on the role of the global carbon credit
market and on the CDM (Clean Development Mechanism)
methodology.
The
event was aimed at the decision makers for the Regional
Government of Loreto providing them with all the information
they require to make feasible the pilot project of
reforestation, which has already been implemented.
The
project’s objectives are twofold. To reforest areas that
have been destroyed and to eliminate the dependence of the
local communities’ activities that cause deforestation. The
project provides a great opportunity to further a regional
development proposal in accordance with the CDM methodology
helping reduce the effects of climate change and introducing
sustainable alternative employment
Dr.
Kember Mejía, member of the directory of the Support to
PROCREL (a consortium of environmental organisations which
includes the national Peruvian authority in charge of
natural resources (INRENA), The Institute for the
Investigation of the Peruvian Amazon (IIAP), The University
for the Investigation of the Peruvian Amazon (UIAP), Nature
and Culture International (NCI) and the regional government
of Loreto (GOREL), which is sponsored by the US Moor
Foundation), said that climate change will affect the
poorest population in the Amazonian Rainforest and around
the world. Even though climate change may be assumed
irreversible, he emphasized that there are mechanisms that
must be adopted by the authorities.
The
Executive Director of Tolerance International Peru, Mr.
Martin Alarco, gave a presentation of the foundation’s
policy and its commitment to fight the effects produced by
climate change at their roots. He also detailed the
objectives of Tolerance International’s campaigns, “Human
& Habitat” and “TICOFF”, both of which being directed to
protect future generations from the devastating effects of
global warming, these campaigns encourage CO2 neutral life
styles on a global scale.
Mr.
Alarco closed the session by stating that he had great
expectations of agreeing more and greater compromises with
the regional government and other authorities.
FAT make light work of Walsall contest
The
competition to design the new community library in the
Bentley area of Walsall, West Midlands, has
been won by FAT.
The
London-based Post-Modernist saw off finalists Aaron
Evans Architects, Featherstone Associates, McMorran and
Gatehouse Architects, Panter Hudspith Architects, and
Sjölander da Cruz Architects in the RIBA-organised
contest.
According
to the judges, FAT's scheme – the practice's first
public building – 'responded most closely to the
stakeholders' aspirations' and 'would set a design benchmark
for future developments in Bentley'.
Delighted
FAT director Sean Griffiths said: 'It's nice to have an
opportunity to work in Walsall, where there are already
great buildings and projects by some very good
architects.
'We
hope that our library will add to Walsall's growing
collection of fine contemporary buildings and also give the
community of Bentley something that they'll be proud
of.'
Meanwhile,
the practice has become the first architectural outfit
to go 100 per cent carbon free.
As
well reducing its 'carbon impact' in line with
recommendations from environmental auditors
Tolerance
International, the firm has also agreed to offset its
remaining use by investing in a reforestation programme
for the Amazon rainforest in Loreto, northern Peru.
Author:
Richard Waite
The
Catholic Diocese of Brentwood will join TICOFF and goes
CO2
neutral
Mgr
Chris Brooks, a trustee of the Catholic diocese of
Brentwood, informed the trustees of TIUK that in the
December and January meetings of the dioceses joining the
TICOFF community and going carbon neutral was discussed and
it was approved that the diocese would join the TICOFF
energy management programme to reduce its emissions and
invest the savings in the reforestation programme to go
completely CO2
neutral.
This will be the first UK diocese to have followed on the
foot steps of Pope Benedict XVI who embarked on the same
initiative last year to make Vatican the first Carbon
neutral Sovereign State.
SOUTH WOODFORD: Mosque shows its
green credentials
By Megan Reynolds
AS the pressure to reduce our environmental
footprint grows, one mosque has promised to do its bit
by becoming the first in the country to be entirely
carbon neutral.
In a bid to combat climate change, all of the
carbon emissions produced by the South Woodford Muslim
community centre through use of gas and electricity will
be offset by the charity Tolerance International, which
will plant trees in the rainforest to eliminate the
centre's impact on global warming.
Dr Mohammed Fahim, chairman and head Imam at
the mosque and community centre in Mulberry Way, said:
"We are the first mosque in the country to be carbon
free and we are trying to be pioneers. We are going to
ensure that we promote environmentally friendly things
so people will start to recycle more and not be
wasteful. And people at the mosque will have to start to
think about how to be carbon free in their lives as
well.
Dr Fahim's new year's resolution is to be
consistently kind to the environment, and encourage
others to be green as he leads by example.
"One of the things Muslims do is use a lot of
water," he said. "We must wash before we pray, and we
must shower after certain things, but even if the water
comes from a rushing stream it is important to not be
wasteful."
Tolerance International has calculated the
mosque's carbon emissions and will offset them through
its tree planting programme in Peru which costs the
mosque just £3 per month.
Charity representative Anne Cooper said: "One
of the main problems with the energy intensive
lifestyles of people in the developed world is the
impact it is having on people in the developing world -
we are changing the weather and making life very
difficult for people in Africa and Asia by causing more
droughts, more storms, rising sea temperatures, more
famines and more land disputes over diminishing food
supplies. So we should be doing our bit."
The average business emits ten to 12 tonnes
of CO2 a year. To calculate your carbon emissions and
work out how to eliminate them, log on to
www.toleranceinternational.org.uk.
GUARDIAN
2:50pm Monday 31st December 2007
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