Rio de Janeiro, 9 October 2012 – As Brazil prepares for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Tuesday released a report on the environmental performance of South Africa 2010 that highlights both successes and lessons that should be learned to ensure the sustainability of both events in Brazil.
The independent review showed that South Africa 2010’s carbon footprint was far lower than projected, due to fewer visitors than expected, carpooling and Park and Ride schemes, and efficient stadia that cut energy use by an estimated 30 per cent. Solar-powered technology and renewable energy use also contributed to the lower profile.
The actual footprint was 1.65 million Tonnes of CO2 equivalent, compared to a projection of 2.64 million.
UNEP worked with the South African government through the Green Goal 2010 project to promote initiatives such as cutting the tournament’s carbon footprint, reducing waste and water use, and conserving and enhancing biodiversity. Such initiatives are set to be pushed to the next level in Brazil with the aim of creating truly green events.

While the Global Environment Facility-funded review of South Africa’s green performance found many successful initiatives, it said that a lack of focus on environmental considerations in the planning phase of the tournament meant the full potential was not achieved.

“The report points to many great initiatives, but perhaps the most important finding is that South Africa could have achieved more if sustainability measures had been brought in sooner rather than later,” said UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. “Indeed, it underlines that achieving the full potential of greening such tournaments is likely if sustainability is factored into the planning, design and construction from the word go.”

Despite some difficulties in compiling enough data to fully evaluate the green performance of the tournament, the report highlighted many specific examples of success, including the following:
·         Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban incorporated energy-efficient intelligent lighting as part of its Building Management System to reduce energy usage by 30 per cent, while Green Point Stadium in Cape Town additionally used natural ventilation systems to cut power use.
·         Cape Town retrofitted streetlights with low-energy bulbs and traffic lights with LEDs to cut its emission profile.
·         Durban offset its carbon footprint through carbon sequestration, planting 104,000 trees, and planned other measures such as hydropower and biogas schemes to completely account for the city’s carbon footprint of 307,000 Tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
·         A 94-kilometre Bus Rapid Transport network was constructed in Johannesburg, while similar networks, cycle paths, Park and Ride systems and walkways were built in Nelson Mandela Bay, Mbombela, Polokwane, Mangaung and Rustenburg. All of these measures contributed to cutting the event’s carbon footprint.
·         Moses Mabhida Stadium – which used water metering, water-wise fittings and rainwater harvesting into a 700m2 underground storage facility – cut potable water use by 74 per cent, while Green Point Stadium met its target of a 10-per-cent cut.
·         Two- and five-bin systems were used in most spectator and catering areas, which in Durban led to almost 200 tonnes of waste generated during matches being recycled – beating the Green Durban 2010 target for waste by 4 per cent.
·         95 per cent of demolition waste was recovered and reused from the old stadium in the building of Green Point Stadium, Cape Town. In Moses Mabhida, 400 tonnes of steel and 400 tonnes of bricks, masts, control gear, topsoil and seating were salvaged for use in the new stadium and other projects.
·         The tournament backed the International Year of Biodiversity, with a park set up in Cape Town and a greening programme including removal of alien species of vegetation and the rehabilitation of wetlands in Mbombela. Awareness-building programmes were carried out in schools in Johannesburg.
Separately, UNEP teamed up with PUMA and stars from the Cameroon football team, including Samuel Eto’o, to launch the Play for Life campaign to promote biodiversity in Africa
Based on its findings, the report drew key conclusions for South Africa that could help ensure a long-lasting environmental legacy from the World Cup, including:
·         The main areas of success were in energy efficiency, renewable energy and public transport, all of which should be carried forward.
·         Renewable energy demonstration projects should be implemented as soon as possible, along with full implementation of a national energy policy, to help steer South Africa away from its dependence on coal.
·         The improved transport system should be considered the main legacy project of the event, although efforts are needed to expand the network, ensure roadworthy vehicles and improve the image of public transport.
·         While efforts were made to minimize waste, not all host cities and stadia were able to implement proper waste segregation programmes and did not have contracts with companies who would recycle rather than landfill. A coherent and comprehensive policy would have prevented problems, and the implementation of such a policy could be another vital legacy project.
·         Host cities and stadiums showed positive initiatives in water conservation, showing the value of watering metering and the need for further installation of such systems.
Looking forward from 2010, UNEP has signed an agreement with the Brazilian government to help green the two major sporting events it will host in the next four years, carrying on with work that has seen the organization advising on Olympic Games since 2004.

The report also made a raft of recommendations for improving the greening of future large sporting events, such as the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Some of the main findings and recommendations are:

·  Due to the omission of environmental considerations as one of the seventeen FIFA guarantees for hosting the FIFA World Cup™, not enough effort was placed on environmental management. This issue merits serious consideration by FIFA.

·  Environmental guidelines, including those for host cities, should be clear and legally binding. Specific benchmarks must be non-negotiable, measurable and backed by law.

·  FIFA should consider offsetting its own carbon footprint and encourage its partners to do the same.

·  A written and publicly declared commitment by all key stakeholders towards the greening of the event is essential.

·  Funding opportunities for greening initiatives should be explored earlier to avoid situations where planned programmes are not implemented due to lack of funds, and the organizing committee should allocate more resource to greening initiatives.

·  Generation of environmental data is important for benchmarking performance. The absence of environmental data in South Africa made it difficult to assess the impact of the greening initiatives.

The report also provides an example of a checklist for environmental performance in mass spectator events, which would serve as a simple tool for integrating sustainability concerns up front.

The report was unveiled as UNEP officials met this week with representatives from the Brazilian government, FIFA and the Olympic committee to consider concrete steps to green the two major sporting events.

About UNEP and Sport

UNEP’s role in advising the sporting world has gone from strength to strength since it signed an agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1994. As well as South Africa 2010, UNEP has advised on Athens 2004, Torino 2006, Beijing 2008 and Vancouver 2010. The organization has also provided dozens of recommendations to the Organizing Committee of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games to provide guidance on the integration of environmental considerations in the preparation and staging of the games.

Notes to Editors:

The report can be downloaded here: http://www.unep.org/PDF/PressReleases/FIFA_2010_LR.pdf

Media Contacts:

Shereen Zorba, Head, UNEP News Desk, +254 788 526 000, shereen.zorba@unep.org

Amanda Talamonte (UNEP Brazil), +55 61 3038 9237, comunicacao@pnuma.org

UNEP Newsdesk (Nairobi), +254 20 762 3088, unepnewsdesk@unep.org

Achim Steiner Comments on Tour of Olympic Park and Thames Barrier with UK Secretary of State Caroline Spellman

London, 26 July 2012 – Many of London 2012’s sustainability measures were given the thumbs up by UN Under-Secretary General and UN Environment Programme Executive Director Achim Steiner as he toured final preparations for the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Every Olympic Games represents unique challenges and opportunities in terms of raising the bar of the third pillar of Olympism—namely the environment—and London is no exception,” he said during a visit to the Olympic Park on the eve of the grand opening.

“This body of ‘lessons learnt’, dating back to UNEP’s cooperation with the International Olympic Committee in the mid-1990s, is the blueprint and guide to each successive host city and, increasingly, other organizers of mass spectator events from the FIFA World Cup to sports such as motorcycle racing,” said Mr. Steiner as he joined Caroline Spellman, the UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on a walk around the Olympic site.

In its pre-Games sustainability report, the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) said it had met the vast majority of its targets, implementing measures that deliver the most sustainable games yet, such as the following:

·        The Olympic park was created on once-contaminated industrial land, and provides both new wildlife habitats and significant flood alleviation;
·        The most-sustainable and lightest Olympic and Paralympic stadium in history has been completed on time, with old gas pipes used in much of its construction;
·        London 2012 is the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to measure its carbon footprint over the entire project term;
·        London 2012 is the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to commit to a Zero Waste to landfill target, reusing or recycling over 98 per cent of waste in the demolition phase, and 99 per cent in construction of the Olympic Park;
·        London 2012 has pledged to deliver a public transport games, targeting one million extra walking and cycling journeys in London every day of the games.
·        London 2012 is also utilizing a new sustainability assessment guide developed by the Global Reporting Initiative, which was co-founded by UNEP.

“London’s cleanup of an old industrial site; the restoration of flows and habitat on the River Lea; the greening of supply chains; the low energy linked with the design and construction of the stadium including utilizing old gas pipe’s for the facility’s Olympic ring; and the use of temporary structures to reduce emissions are among the actions that can assist in inspiring the organizers of the Rio 2016 games and beyond,” Mr. Steiner said.

Ms. Spelman said sustainability had always been at the heart of the bid to host the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, and called the London 2012 event “the greenest games ever”.

“We are committed to building a future for everyone where the natural environment is not just protected, but valued as a national asset,” she said. “We are delighted to have set new standards in sustainable development, and to showcase the expertise and ingenuity of British companies in delivering a green Olympics so warmly welcomed by Mr. Steiner.”

UNEP has a longstanding collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the greening of the Games that spans Athens 2004, Torino 2006, Beijing 2008 and Vancouver 2010.

UNEP has also provided a raft of recommendations to the Organizing Committee of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games to provide guidance on the integration of environmental considerations in the preparation and staging of the games and has been invited to assist Rio 2016 in its preparations.

The following timeline outlines UNEP’s growing role since 1994, which is aimed at assisting host cities to go the extra mile in respect to sustainability while leaving a positive and lasting legacy:

·        1994: UNEP signed an agreement with the IOC, which the same year made the environment the third pillar of the Olympic movement, alongside sport and culture;
·        1995: The IOC established a Sport and Environment Commission to advise the Executive Board on the integration of environmental considerations into activities of the Olympic Movement, including the Olympic Games. The environment became one of the criteria for assessing bids from potential host cities;
·        1999: Following on from the Rio conference of 1992, and with support from UNEP, the IOC introduced its own Agenda 21 to integrate sustainability principles into its operations;
·        2004: UNEP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the organizers of the Athens Games, the first direct involvement in an Olympic event, although the late point of entry, when all venues and facilities were completed, meant the exercise was more a matter of observation and knowledge gathering for involvement in later Games;
·        2006: UNEP worked closely with the organizing committee of the Torino Games to ensure that the environment was not an afterthought. Close to 70 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the 2006 Winter Olympics were offset using domestic measures in Italy and ‘carbon offsets’ abroad. There were also achievements in sustainable supply chain management, waste minimization, conservation of freshwater and mountain ecosystems, and transport. The alliance with UNEP, the first of its kind, was seen as a genuine step forward in the environmental management of sporting events;
·        2008: At the Beijing Games, in line with an agreement signed in 2005, UNEP remained engaged throughout and ensured that environmental non-governmental organizations were consulted by the organizers, as well as carrying out environmental reviews before and after the Games. The Games provided an added boost to air quality control efforts, raised public awareness of the problem, helped usher in tighter vehicle emission standards and increased the amount of green space in the city;
·        2010: UNEP advised the organizers of the Vancouver Games on its environmental policies. The Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) minimized the event’s carbon impact with clean technology choices, an expanded transport system for the city, green construction for the Olympic venues and a commitment to offset direct carbon emissions from the Games. There were successes in protecting biodiversity and 77 per cent of solid waste was diverted from landfill under the waste management policy. UNEP and VANOC also organized an environmental educational campaign for young people across Canada;
·        2012: UNEP has assisted the organizing committee of the London Olympics to raise awareness of the wide-ranging and integral sustainability measures at the Games, as part of wider efforts to highlight the importance of incorporating environmental concerns into major sporting events;
·        2012: UNEP is advising the Russian Federation on its preparations for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. A team of two dozen UNEP-led international and local experts – with input from the WWF, the Russian Geographical Society and other non-governmental organizations – proposed close to 90 projects designed to minimize the impact of infrastructure developments, including recommendations on restoring fisheries in the Mzymta River and extending areas of the Sochi National Park, around which the Games will take place.

After touring the London 2012 site, Mr. Steiner travelled to The Thames Barrier for a briefing on how the barrier is defending the games and Londoners from storm surges, flooding and other extreme weather events.

As of May 2012, the Thames Barrier had been raised 119 times since it became operational in 1982 (76 were to protect against tidal flooding and 43 were to alleviate fluvial flooding).

Closures of the barrier have increased through the decades, with just over two-thirds coming since 2000. It was closed four times in the 1980s, 35 times in the 1990s, and 80 times since 2000.

Environment Agency officials managing the barrier briefed Mr. Steiner on future challenges linked with climate change.

The agency estimates that the Thames Barrier will have to close more frequently to prevent overtopping of flood defences upstream, which carries increased risk of the barrier failing.

The current recommendation of the Thames Estuary 2100 project is to set 50 as the maximum number of times the barrier should close each year to reduce the chances of mechanical failure. This is a key constraint in the Thames tidal defense system and reaching this figure would force the agency to improve other tidal defense systems.

The Thames Barrier, with some modification, could continue to provide protection to London through this century (based on current climate guidance). However, it may prove more cost effective to build a new barrier further downstream by 2070, when the Thames Barrier would reach its design standard and would need modification.

Notes to editors:

The pre-games sustainability report can be accessed through the London 2012 website:

Pre-Games Summary report: http://www.london2012.com/about-us/publications/publication=london-2012-sustainability-summary-report/

Pre-Games Full report: http://www.london2012.com/about-us/publications/publication=pre-games-sustainability-report/

Read UNEP’s Tunza publication for young people on Sport and the Environment: http://www.unep.org/publications/contents/pub_details_search.asp?ID=6272

For More Information Please Contact: 
Nick Nuttall, Acting Director, UNEP Division of Communications and Public Information/UNEP Spokesperson, on Tel: +254 733 632755, E-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org
Michael Logan, UNEP Newsdesk (Nairobi), on Tel: +254 20 7625211 / +254 725 939 620, E-mail: unepnewsdesk@unep.org

 By Eno-Abasi Sunday

WARHORSES in the ranks of the Professional Golfers’ Association of Nigeria (PGAN) have served notice to the new entrants that they were not ready to let off anytime soon.

This came in form of the dominance they are enjoying at the season opener, the Pa Aikwuta Mark Memorial Golf Championship currently on at the Otukpo Golf Club in Benue State. The event is the first of the three expected to be held in quick succession early in the 2012 professional golf season.

Next week, the tour professionals will move to the Ibori Golf and Country Club in Asaba, Delta State, before returning to Otukpo the upper week for the Benue state Governor’s Cup. However, going into the third round of the first ranking event, Emos Korblah tied with Gift Willy for the first place.

Both players returned one under par on the first day of the 72 holes event and complemented their standing with 72 level par at the close of the second round to stand ahead of the 70 players, who scaled the pre-qualification hurdle. Of the 70 that pre-qualified, only 42 started the third round, having made the cut.

“It is just the beginning of the year and it is a good time to make an attempt for the top of the ranking,” Willy said, adding that more events would definitely throw up more new challenges.

In 2011, Willy won two international titles – the Baby Mariah Jammeh International Championship in Banjul, The Gambia, and Open Du Port Gentil in Gabon. Winner of the 2011 President’s Cup Golf Championship and Nigeria’s former number one, Umoh Edet, trails the clubhouse leaders by six shots.

Mike Ubi, Gboyega Oyebanji, Oche Odoh and Mustapha Abubakar are other players that are also well placed to give the joint leaders a fight for their money.

The PGAN foresees a busy and promising 2012 season judging from the number of tourneys that have so far been confirmed as well as those nearing confirmation. This will be in sharp contrast with the severe paucity of tourneys the Tour witnessed in the out gone season.

PGAN Tournament Director, Dominic Andrew, had told The Guardian in an earlier interview: “We are looking forward to a very busy and promising 2012, which we hope will be better than last season. From history, election years are always very tough for us and 2011 was no exception.

“We hope that by 2015, things would have normalised and we would have been able to have a definite calendar that may not always be interrupted by political activities in the country.

Source: NGRGardiannews.com

Today, world famous footballers from clubs across the world are gathering in Equatorial Guinea for the Africa Cup of Nations – the world’s third most watched football tournament.

Thanks to oil, Equatorial Guinea’s per capita wealth is similar to that of most European countries, yet poverty remains endemic and the vast majority of people can only dream of being able to afford tickets to the games. Many in the country have little or no access to running water, affordable health care or quality education. Nearly one out of every eight children dies before reaching their fifth birthday.

ONE has joined forces with African civil society group EG Justice to call on Europe’s leaders to take swift action to help combat the corruption and misuse of funds that has led to this extreme inequality in Equatorial Guinea. The European Commission has proposed legislation that would require oil, gas, mining and forestry companies to publish all the payments they make to governments – broken down to the level of individual projects – so that they can be held accountable by groups like EG Justice. We’re asking MEPs and member states to fully support these proposals, and ensure that essential aspects like project by project reporting are not watered down in the face of heavy corporate lobbying.

Tutu Alicante, the executive director of EG Justice, said:

“The government of Equatorial Guinea hopes that the recently completed luxury hotels, golf resorts, and shiny monuments will disguise the grinding poverty that dominates the lives of most people in the oil-rich nation. They must not be allowed to get away with this deception.

“Government secrecy allows officials in Equatorial Guinea to spend money according to their whims. The government spent 580 million Euros on Sipopo, a luxury resort with a private golf course. At least 13 presidential palaces have been or are being constructed in ten cities across the country, a rate of one palace for every 54,000 people in this country. This shows a shocking disregard for the needs of the people in Equatorial Guinea.”

We’ve already managed to get some media coverage of the issue in the UK, France and Spain, which will help put the issue on the radar of European leaders. But we’ll be keeping up the pressure until we get the legally binding measures that we need.

Mo Farah’s list of accolades is jaw dropping. Since arriving in the UK from war torn Somalia at the age of 8 he has risen through the ranks to become arguably the greatest long-distance runner in the history of UK athletics. He is currently 5,000m world champion, 10,000m silver medallist and one of the favourites for the pinnacle of athletics success at this summer’s Olympic games in London. He also holds a number of British and European records over those two distances. I’m exhausted just writing about it!

Mo can now add founding the Mo Farah Foundation to his impressive list of achievements. As a Somali native, Mo regularly visits family in the Horn of Africa and is all too aware of the problems that many in the region faces today. As such, his foundation is working to raise funds to provide essential lifelines to those suffering from malnutrition and starvation. In the longer term, they aim to provide and maintain community water wells, crop seeds for agricultural farming and the tools to sustain this essential way of life. Mo’s links to the country mean that this is an issue very close to his heart:

“As someone born in Somalia this is something that is very important to me. I’ve seen the situation out there and I want to help make a difference. There are kids out there right now who are starving and I want the foundation to be able to help them get over this and plan for the future. That’s why the work of organisations like ONE, which campaigns for better funding for solutions to the problems that lead to famine, is so important.”

This long term work is crucial for the development of the region and the importance of the work of groups like Mo’s Foundation cannot be underestimated. Most food crises are preventable and investments in agriculture can actually help people become more resilient to shocks such as drought. Other types of investments in rural roads, proper storage facilities, and access to improved seed varieties can also build tolerance to drought, save grains from previous seasons and help communities access food when drought strikes. But it is not just up to private foundations to tackle the problem. Government’s around the world need to improve their funding of long-term agricultural solutions for drought-stricken regions like the Horn of Africa.

In 2009, the G8 pledged $22 billion for agricultural development in developing countries and committed to principles to guide the quality, effectiveness, and accountability of their aid.  Some countries have clarified their commitments, outlining how much is new money and constructing plans that will ensure that the principles are upheld. However our recent report “Agricultural Accountability” revealed that G8 and G20 countries had only delivered on a fifth of the promised amount. This is unacceptable. We need governments to step up and work with partners like the Mo Farah Foundation to ensure that the world doesn’t slide back into another food crisis and, instead, find successful solutions to help ensure that droughts do not inevitably to famine.

To find out more, please visit www.mofarahfoundation.co.uk