Pages 1--16

COMMUNICATION
South Africa Improves Communication to Enhance Air Safety. 1min. 23secs. 8 Anticipating increases in future air traffic, South Africa

enhances air safety.
All You Need is Your Fingertip Not a Password. 1min. 26secs. 11 A new invention by computer maker, Compaq has brought

the computer security system within the realm of science fiction.
EDUCATION
Zambian Schools Retool for Gender-Sensitive Education 3mins. 8secs. 7 Zambians are empowering their women to contribute

to nation-building.
HEALTH
Scientists Study Nature -friendly Water Purifier 1min. 12secs. 7 A pleasant surprise from nature: the Moringa tree purifies water better

than industrial salt.
FINANCE & ECONOMY
Conservation and Economic Development. 26secs. 11 Governments are urged to consider the impact of

national development plans on the environment.
Forest Fires of 1997: Indonesia Takes Stock 50secs. 14 The monetary loss caused by the forest fires that spread

across South-East Asia last year has been assessed.
Where In the World is your Money Going to? 30secs. 15 The poor nations remain poor because the rich avoid

investing in them.
POLLUTION
Man Dumps Refuse in Space 57secs. 5

Growing and unregulated human activity in space has turned it into a veritable refuse dump.

Environment POLLUTION
Wood and Plant Fibre May be Needed Answer to Oil Spills 2mins. 29secs. 9 Nature provides one more solution to cleaning up disastrous oil spills.
Road Oil Tankers are Worse Polluters Than Those on Sea. 34secs. 15
The sea is polluted more from on-shore-than off-shore-oil tankers.
The Crab as Agent of Cleanliness. 59secs. 14 River crabs could become an essential indicator species of freshwater pollution. 1
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CLIMATE CHANGE
From El Nino to La Nina: The Eratic Weather is not over. 1min. 1sec. 4 El Nino brought drought and devastation. Now comes its big

sister, La Nina, with more devastation.
POLICY
Conservation Groups Combine for Greater Effectiveness. 1min. 58secs. 8

Developing countries may have a better chance to access limited financial facilities for environmental conservation because two
global organisations are collaborating.
List of Certified Fisheries Out in April. 1min. 15secs. 4 Twenty out of 100 fisheries world wide have been shortlisted

for certification next April by the Marine Stewardship Council.
Luxemburg Completes EU Group in Wetlands Convention. 53secs.
5 All member nations of the European Union have now joined the

Convention on Wetlands.
Ramsar Membership Climbs to 110. 55secs 15 Four more nations joined the Convention on Wetlands of International

Importance this year, bringing membership figures to 110.
Conservation and Natural Disasters 34secs.
11 Man has interfered so much with nature that "natural disasters"

are actually "man-made" disasters.
Conservation and War 15secs. ; 21secs. 11 If the preservation of a nation's natural environment is not worth

fighting for, then perhaps nothing-else is worth a war.
BOOKS
The First Red List Book for Threatened Plants. 55secs.
4 A reference publication for the world's threatened plants.

Commercial Use of Wild Species is Good for Conservation 55secs.
5 A new book seeks to resolve the conflict between protecting the

environment and meeting human needs.
SUSTAINABLE USE
New Wooden House Sets Trend for the Future 2mins 15secs. 9 Construction and interior decoration companies use nine species of Brazilian

hardwood to change the attitude of Brazilian wood consumers.
Nearly 2 000 Whales Killed Yearly 21secs.
14 Three key whaling nations remain a threat to the survival of whales on earth.

WILDLIFE 2
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Africa's Largest Reserve Loses 75% of its Elephants. 1min. 7secs 5 Africa's largest Game Reserve loses nearly all of its
elephants and rhinos to poachers in the last 10 years.
A Native of Liberia Found Dead in Cote d'Ivoire 40secs. 14 Liberia's mongoose Liberiictis kuhni may be migrating.

CHILDREN'S SECTION
Hare Proves His Superiority 1min. 49secs 12 If you are desperate enough to want to gate-crash a meeting,

Hare can teach you how. But we'd rather you didn't.
The Day Baboon Outwitted Leopard 3mins. 55secs. 12 The leopard has not forgotten how the baboon deprived him

of his meal and made a fool of him publicly, and baboon knows that leopard will never forgive him.

GLOSSARY 16

ACRONYMS 17

News From El Nino to La Nina: The Eratic Weather is not Over. 1min. 1sec.
Just as the world bids good riddance to El Nino [" the child" in Spanish], the climatic phenomenon which
tormented most of the world with severe dry spells, heat-waves and hurricanes, a second calamity follows
fast on its heels. This one is called La Nina [little girl], and scientists have forecasted that it will make El
Nino look like child's play.

El Nino was caused by warm ocean currents heading towards South America. La Nina on the other hand is
caused by the rapid cooling of the Eastern Pacific. This is expected to lead to above average rainfalls in
areas which were hit by droughts caused by El Nino. 3
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The La Nina phenomenon has started already and could last up to 18 months, causing widespread flooding,
landslides, erosion and damage to crops.
Our Living World.

The First Red List Book for Threatened Plants. 55secs.
After 20 years of research by botanists and conservatonists around the world, the "1997 IUCN Red List of
Threatened Plants," edited by Kerry S. Walter and Harriet J. Gillet paints a grim picture of the status of the
world's plant life. It is the first ever comprehensive global listing of threatened plants.

Over 34 000 plants in 200 countries are threatened with extinction. This means that about 13 per cent of the
world's plants are threatened with extinction, compared with 25 per cent of the world's bird population and
10 per cent of its mammals.
The IUCN Red List publications document the status of threatened species of life. They are handy
references for field work in conservation. Our Living World.

List of Certified Fisheries Out in April. 1min. 15secs.
The Marine Stewardship Council [MSC], set up in 1996 to help preserve the world's fish resources, will
soon announce its first list of fisheries that are certified to be managed in a sustainable manner.

Twenty out of 100 fisheries world wide have been selected by MSC -accredited certifiers as the best initial
candidates for the first list of approved fisheries. These include Alaska Salmon, Icelandic cod, skipjack tuna
in the Maldives, Dutch herring, and Western Australian rock lobster. The final list would be announced
formally on April 1, 1999 by the MSC.

Following the accreditation of well-managed fisheries, the MSC plans to launch the first certified fish
product into the market. And Unilever, the world's largest marketer of fish and fish products has pledged to
sell only MSC -certifed fish and fish products by the year 2005.

The Marine Stewardship council started out as a collaborative effort between WWF -the World Wide
Fund for Nature and the MSC about three years ago. WWF

Africa's Largest Reserve Loses 75% of its Elephants. 1min. 7secs
A recent census of the animal population carried out in Tanzania's Selous Games Reserve -the largest in
Africa -showed that about three-quarters of the elephant population and nearly all rhinos have been lost to
mostly poaching since 1976.

There were over 100 000 African elephants, Loxodonta africana, in Selous Games Reserve in 1976.
Now there are just over 30 000 left. The rhino population has dropped from over 2 500 animals to less than
30.

Tanzania's anti-poaching activities were stepped up last year, after money was raised in March from the 4
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auction of ivory stocks impounded in Europe in the 1980s. This has enabled the Wildlife Division's Anti-Poaching
Unit to launch an operation to halt poaching and illegal trade of wild life products in several games
reserves.

The Tanzanian government is looking for more funding to continue this important programme. Africa Environment & Wildlife.

Man Dumps Refuse in Space 57secs.
It is no longer news that man has polluted the earth. But it may shock you to hear that human pollution may
make outer space uninhabitable before the technology to colonise it is perfected.

This is so because space is now littered with so much debris from rockets, re-usable space craft, including
active and disabled communication satelites, that we can expect collisions anytime. Such accidents would be
devastating because floating debris in space travel at the speed of 36 000km/ hour.

Scientists say that at such speed, even chips of paint from a space shuttle can severely damage a satelite.
Another problem is the hydrogen chloride fuel used to launch rockets. This fuel releases chlorine atoms
which combine with other chemicals in the atmosphere, known as "hydroxyl radicals," to destroy the ozone
layer. Our Living World.

Luxemburg Completes EU Group in Wetlands Convention. 53secs.
Luxemburg, a small European country of less than half a million people, has joined the Convention on
Wetlands of International Importance, becoming the last member of the European Union to sign on. Its
membership which took effect on August 15, 1998 also meant that all 15 member-nations of the European
Union have signed on and can now speak with one voice at the convention.

The Convention on Wetlands, also known as the Ramsar Convention, was established in the city of Ramsar,
Iran in 1971. The Convention works for the protection and conservation of global wetlands resources,
including the limited freshwater resources which people depend on for portable water for domestic and
industrial use. The Ramsar Newsletter.

Commercial Use of Wild Species is Good for Conservation 55secs.
A new publication, "Wild Species as Commodities" written by Curtis H. Freese, helps reduce the conflict
between protecting the environment, and man's dependence on nature for his daily needs.
Freese examines the management of global markets and ecosystems for sustainability from the point of view
of conservationists, policy-makers or governments and the indigenous people whose natural resources are
affected.

The approach to the conservation of plants and animals wildlife has varied over the last four decades.
His approach seeks to balance conservation goals with indigenous people's needs and a global demand for
commercially viable renewable natural resouces. How would this balance be achieved, what social, 5
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economic and ecological considerations are involved, and what are the ethical questions, are discussed in
the book. Obasi Ogbonnaya/ Wild Species as Commodity.

Features Scientists Study Nature -friendly Water Purifier 1min. 12secs.
An international team of scientists are studying the Moringa tree, found in parts of Africa which appears to
have anti-bacterial qualities. The crushed seeds of Moringa have been found to purify water.

Over the past three years, scientists from the Kenyan Forestry Research Institute and the Dundee University
in Scotland have been studying the little known qualities of the tree. Tests in the laboratory showed that the
crushed seeds of Moringa have anti-bacterial effect that purified a beaker of very murky water in about an
hour, without the use of environmentally damaging chemicals.

Kenyans are promoting large-scale farming of the fast-growing Moringa tree which is also drought resistant.
Geoffrey Muluvi of the Kenyan Forestry Research Institutes hopes that using the tree will replace the current
water purification method using aluminum salt that leaves toxic waste behind.

"Moringa seeds offer a much more environmentally friendly way of purifying water and leaving only a small
deposit of protein," he said. WWF/ AFP

Zambian School System Retools for Gender-Sensitive Education 3mins. 8secs.
Zambia's new school system is to train women to become bread-winners rather than dependent
housewives.

A new approach called "Programme for the Advancement of Girls' Education" [PAGE], that was
developed by teachers at the David Livingstone Teachers Training Collge [DLTTC], seeks to change
academic curricula in Zambian schools, re-write textbooks, change sitting arrangements and work on
teachers' attitudes in classrooms, to make them more sensitive to gender issues. 6
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According to the facilitators of the programme, Mr. Christopher Syamwenya and Mrs. Martha M'zumara,
both of whom are lecturers at DLTTC, "Pictures in textbooks will become gender-sensitive [and] books
will be re-written [so that for example] Home Economics and Industrial Arts books show boys and girls
cooking together." Up till now Home Economics books are written for girls and Industrial Arts books for
boys.

School books that depict boys as decision-makers in nation-building, and restrict girls to the roles of
drawing water, collecting firewood, cooking and baking will be discarded.

The current practice of giving girls a lower cut-off point in entrance examinations would also be scrapped so
as to allow boys and girls to compete on the basis of equality.

The proposed new system appears to have won the support of enlightened Zambians. Dr. Tukiya Mabula, a
director of the country's Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), welcomed the idea and deplored the
current practice of not giving a person a chance in life because she is a girl. She added that "there are some
women who are physically stronger than men, and if they want to do tougher jobs they should be allowed to
go ahead."
But Grace Kanyanga, the executive director of Zambia's non-governmental organizations coordinating
committee (NGOCC) disagreed with the plan to harmonise cut-off points for both sexes at exams.

"The girl is exposed to too much pressure because she has other responsibilities. She has to wash plates,
look after the little brother, and sell groundnut by the road side, while the boy is busy studying. This is why
the girl has a lower cut off point. Not because the boy is more intelligent," she said.

Although the blue-print for the new programme on education is being drafted, Mr. Syamwenya and Mrs.
M'zumara have been touring teachers training colleges to explain it. Trainee teachers would henceforth take
an additional course on gender education, and it is hoped that the programme would help to reduce gender
disparities which are said to be acute in Zambia. Zamnet

South Africa Improves Communication to Enhance Air Safety. 1min. 23secs.
The safety of a nation's air traffic endears it to the world's business community. And South Africa has taken
steps to make herself one of the safest airspaces to fly in Africa, by embarking on an extensive re-development
of its air traffic control [ATC] communications facilities.

The project is code-named 'Speakeasy. ' The country's Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company is
installing several high-and medium-power VHF [very high frequency] transmitters with associated
receivers at 64 locations covering all the Flight Information Regions of the nation. Satisfactory reception of
signals from aircraft would be ensured by the use of powerful VHF signal channel receivers and transmitters
installed throughout the country.

The effectiveness of these VHF radio communication equipment will be enhanced by installing a control and 7
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monitoring system called MARC or Multi-Access Remote Control. This would ensure that the new
communications system remains effective round the clock.

The redevelopment programme will take four years to complete. It was started last year in anticipation of
rapid expansion in air traffic in and out of South Africa in the post-apartheid era. Communications Africa.

Conservation Groups Combine for Greater Effectiveness. 1min. 58secs.
A common concern for the preservation of the world's biological diversity has brought together two global
conservation organisations to make the best use of scarce resources so that developing countries benefit
more. This is coming four years after the idea was first suggested.

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, which works for the conservation of wetlands
world wide, and the international Convention on Biological Diversity [CBD] which emphasizes conservation
of global biological diversity have agreed to cooperate in protecting wetlands.

Both organisations have identified 20 areas of joint activity, including training and capacity-building, and
financial support to member-nations. This is relevant to developing countries looking for conservation
funding.

Developing member-nations are being urged to seek funding from the Global Environmental Facility [GEF],
which supports the identification and appropriate management of freshwater and saline wetlands as sites of
global importance for biodiversity conservation.

Nigeria which joined the CBD in 1996 should ratify the Convention on Wetlands in order to have easier
access to the GEF facility.

The organisations will support local and international training programmes. The Ramsar Newsletter

Wood and Plant Fibre May be Needed Answer to Oil Spills 2mins. 29secs.
Wood and plant fibre farming is set to become a commercial success. Scientists recently discovered that
treated wood fibre is highly absorbent, and oil companies are beginning to demand it for cleaning up major
oil spills at sea.

Plant fibres tested better than any synthetic fibre or bacteria in absorbing oil spills at sea. And the best news
for a country like Nigeria with vast expanses of fallow land in the arid north is that kenaf, a well-known
fibre-producing plant, grows very well in the desert.
Mr. Gadi Golan, the former Ambassador of Isreal to Nigeria campaigned vigorously to get Nigerian
farmers to grow kenaf , because of its future value to the crude oil industry. Recent research done in the
United Kingdom, has proved him right.

The University of Wales' Bio-Composite Centre [BCC] has recently shown in laboratory tests that treated 8
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wood fibre absorbs more than 25 times its own weight in oil. The fibre was treated to make it selective and
absorb oil only. In its natural state, the wood fibre would absorb both water and oil indiscriminately.

The research also found that softwood fibres are such efficient absorbers because they can detect small
traces of oil in large volumes of water and pick them up.

"Tests have shown that the new material cleans up sea water so well that no trace of the oil spill is left
afterwards," an official of the Centre said. Other benefits of wood fibre are that it costs less than its synthetic
alternative and does not sink into water as untreated fibre does. The Trade/ Obasi Ogbonnaya.

New Wooden House Sets Trend for the Future 2mins 15secs.
On November 26, Brazil presented to the public the world's first prefabricated house, built entirely of wood
from sustainably-managed forests.

The building is fondly called the Z House. It was designed and constructed by Brazillian architect Joao Bird.
Wood used for the 64 square meter one-bedroom house was supplied by Precious Wood, a Swiss
consortium approved for sustainable logging by the Forest Stewardship Council [FSC], the world's leading
certifier of timber. Over eight cubic metres of nine species of commercial hardwood of various native
species from the Brazilian Amazon tropical rain forest were used. And the house which has a living room,
bathroom, and kitchen is on sale for about =N= 2million.

The development and construction of the Z House was the joint effort of several companies that specialise
in various aspects of home-building, including interior and exterior design, fencing, charcoal producers for
weekend barbecues, energy-saving light bulbs and computer systems, roof tiles and windows.

The House is currently on display for six months near Rio de Janeiro. It is expected to help raise public
awareness of the benefits of timber certification. According to Walter Suiter, secretary of the Brazilian FSC
working group, the Z House event will "give local consumers a concrete idea of what FSC certification
means and create a new interest for certified products among potential wood users." WWF. 9
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Special Features All You Need Now is a Finger Not a Password. 1min. 26secs.
The beauty of modern technology is that it makes things easier. That is the feeling one gets from the new
invention of fingerprint identification technology by computer maker, Compaq. What the company has done
is to make it easier to access one's computer without compromising security. Many computer companies
have been working on this fingerprint identification technology, which is also called 'blometrics'.

Research shows that anybody who has a personal computer at home and at work, would have to remember
a minimum of three passwords. The new invention frees him from that trouble. His password is now at his
finger-tip. This new technology also means that companies and schools would no longer give passwords to
their staff and students who often forget or lose them.

"The introduction of fingerprint identification offers new advanced levels of network security for all PC
users," said James Griffiths, senior desktop product manager at Compaq. But the beauty of this
breakthrough invention is that it is available for the equivalent of about =N= 10,000 and is simply attached
to a port at the back of a PC or laptop. The TRADE.

Conservation and Natural Disasters 34secs.
"The common view of natural disasters is due for a radical change. Floods, droughts, earthquakes,
volcanoes and other geological events are killing more people every year. Yet there is no evidence that
either the climate or these kinds of geological events are changing. Instead, people are changing their
environment to make themselves more vulnerable. Today, humans are playing too large a role in natural
disasters for us to go on calling them 'natural'." Anders Wijkman, fmr. Secretary of Swedish Red Cross

Conservation and War 15secs.
"I think the environment should be put in the same category of our national security. Defense of our
resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend?" Robert Redford, actor

21secs.
"Environmental degradation, and conflicts over shared renewable resources, have become an important
cause of violent conflict. These factors in the complex causality of wars, riots, refugees, guerillas and
revolutions have been neglected by politicians, diplomats and the military, as well as by journalists and
academics." Earthscan

Conservation and Economic Development. 26secs.
"[ Ecological] considerations have received inadequate attention in the strategies and plans of development 10
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and it is imperative that all the efforts to safeguard the environment, whether national or regional, be fully
integrated into our overall development efforts. Such an integration is essential to assure sustained
development which is dependent on the sustained availability of natural resources." Emil Salim, 1981

Children's Section

Hare Proves His Superiority 1min. 49secs
One day, Hare decided that the meeting of the big animals was the only meeting from which he would be
excluded. When he heard that a meeting had been called for the horned animals only, he was determined to
attend. So this was what he did. He killed one of farmer Akwasi's duikers and stuck the horns on his own
head with beeswax. Then he sauntered into the meeting and, although he received a few curious stares, and
one or two animals whispered, "what sort of creature is that?" no one could deny that he had horns. So, he
was allowed to stay.

When the discussions were completed, Hare got up and feeling quite comfortable among the horned animals
already, he stretched and said to whoever was listening, "I am not feeling too well this morning. I think I
should have a rest."

He settled down in a nice sunny spot and dozed off. After a while the sun melted the beeswax and the
duiker horns slipped off Hare's head.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Laughed the horned animals. Look how he has decieved us! It was Hare all the time!
Hare opened his eyes. "Yes it was," he grinned. "I attended your secret meeting and heard everything you
said. You had better remember that I am an important person around here."

Then he slipped away into the bush, chuckling to himself at his own cleverness. Shangani folk tales

The Day Baboon Outwitted Leopard 3mins. 55secs.
Long, long ago, Baboon and Leopard were friends. One day, Leopard had chased Hare (you know why
leopards chase hares now, don't you?), until Hare had taken refuge in an anthill. Leopard called her friend
Baboon, and asked him to stand guard over the anthill while she went down to the river for a drink.

Baboon agreed, and settled down with his back to the side of the anthill, next to the hole where the Hare
had disappeared. It was a warm day and fairly close to noon. After a while, Baboon started to doze off and
soon was snoring gently.
Hare heard the snores and crept quietly out. As he was leaping away to safety, Leopard came back. She
saw Hare disappearing over the hill and, in a rage, she charged at sleeping Baboon and slapped him awake.

"O worthless monkey!" she roared. (This was a terrible insult, as baboons just hate being called "monkey") 11
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"You have let that fine fat Hare escape. That's my lunch you have just lost, you foolish ape!" And her eyes
blazed in anger.

Now, an angry, hungry leopard is not a very reassuring sight, and Baboon started to back away in fear.
Leopard however, had not finished with him. She grabbed the frightened Baboon and was about to scold
him even harder when the feeling of warm flesh between her paws suddenly made her stop in mid-sentence.
Her eyes gleamed, and she licked her lips. "Hmm... as you have lost me my meal, I think you will do very
nicely instead!" And, forgetting their past friendship, she opened her jaws to take a bite.

"Eee!" screamed Baboon. "Wait, O beautiful one! Let me at least pay for my crime in a proper manner. Did
you not know, most lovely of beasts, that the best way to kill a baboon is to drop it from a height? We
break into many small pieces, making a tender meal for the hunter."

Leopard was amazed. She paused to think. But seeing her hesitate, Baboon chattered on, leaving her no
time to reflect. "Just throw me up into this tree!" he jabbered, "You'll see -I will fall and split open like a
ripe calabash melon!"

Leopard couldn't resist the thought, so he tossed Baboon high into the branches above.
Quick as a flash, Baboon climbed up into the safety of the thickest thorns at the top. He started to laugh. He
sat there, screaming loud and long abuses at Leopard, calling her every name he could think of, and at the
top of his voice. He even called her a mangy cat -and this made her yellow eyes blaze with rage. Other
animals were beginning to gather around, attracted by the commotion. Leopard's pride could not stand it,
and she bounded off, lashing her tail in fury.

But she never forgot the insults, and she never forgave them. To this day, the leopard hunts the baboon in
preference to all other food. And the baboon screams with fear at the very sight of his deadliest enemy. When Hippo Was Hairy.

Useful Quickfacts The Crab as Agent of Cleanliness. 55secs.
What have crabs got to do with cleanliness? Well, not a whole lot, but they do try. Crabs are certainly good
sources of food for predators like man, birds, fish and frogs. But they play another very important role that 12
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is not always acknowledged.
You would have noticed them feeding feverishly on tiny invisible organisms, or dragging larger ones down
their holes. In this manner, Crabs play their most important role as scavengers. They also keep their
habitats clean by assisting to break down dead organic matters.

And scientists are beginning to look at crabs differently because of this role. Their presence at the river bank
and other freshwater resources could be an indicator of the condition of that river. Our Living World.

A Native of Liberia Found Dead in Cote d'Ivoire 40secs.
The Liberian mongoose [an animal that kills and easts mostly snakes and rats] was recently found in the Tai
National Park of Cote d'Ivoire.

The mongoose, also known by the scientific name: Liberiictis kuhni was previously known to be found
only in seven localities in Liberia. Suspected sightings had been reported in Sierra Leone, southern Guinea
and western Cote d'Ivoire. But it was the chance find of a dead individual in the Tai National Park that
confirmed that the native of Liberia may be a migrant. Africa Environment & Wildlife.

Nearly 2 000 Whales Killed Yearly 21secs.
Over 18 000 Whales, the largest mammals alive today, have been slaughtered since the 1986 international
moratoriun on whaling came into effect. This is equivalent to the killing of 1500 whales each year by the
three nations still actively involved in commercial whaling -Russia, Norway and Japan. Our Living World.

Forest Fires of 1997: Indonesia Takes Stock 50secs.
Over 70 million people were severely affected, or killed by smog, while almost US$ 5 billion worth of
damages was caused by the forest fires and smoke that ravaged Indonesia last year. This report by the
Economy and Environment Programme for Southeast Asia and WWF -World Wide Fund for Nature,
updates the impact of the disaster, but does not reflect the loss of invaluable wildlife in the fires.

The vast forest fires raged for about eight months on the Indonesian islands of Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, Irian
Jaya and Sumatra. And the dense cloud of smog resulting from it spread for thousands of miles throughout
South-East Asia and covered Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Irian Jaya, Sri Lanka and northern
Australia. Obasi Ogbonnaya/ WWF

Where In the World is your Money Going ? 30secs.
The world's poorest countries remain very poor primarily because investors are not investing in them. The
low income countries which together account for 90 percent of the world's poorest people receive only 10 13
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per cent of the total foreign investment made in the developing world. Most of the foreign investments made
today go to the middle income developing countries and to China. the Courier

Ramsar Membership Climbs to 110. 55secs
Four more countries this year joined the Ramsar Convention, otherwise known as the Convention on
Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat. As of August 1998, Syria,
Luxemburg, Belize and Thailand increased membership to 110.

Members of the Convention are called Contracting Parties. They are countries who have decided to protect
pristine freshwater resources and to rehabilitate damaged ones. Nigeria has not yet joined the Convention
eventhough international attention is focused on the Niger Delta which is Nigeria's best known wetland. Obasi Ogbonnaya/ The Ramsar Newsletter.

Oil Tankers on Road are Worse Polluters Than Those on Sea. 34secs.
Did you know that the worst source of marine pollution is not on the sea but on land? More than 300 million
gallons of crude and refined oil are spilled worldwide every year. But this is just 5 percent of all marine
pollution. The greater part actually comes from spills on-shore. These are spills from oil tankers and petrol
stations and from the disposal of waste vegetable oil.
The Trade.

Glossary
ATOMS: A particle of matter or anything that is very small.
BLOMETRICS: Fingerprint identification in computer technology.
FRESHWATER: Any body of water that is not saline.
RAMSAR: A city in Iran where the Convention on Wetlands was signed in
1971.

SATELITE: A body revolving around a planet, especially now a man-made device 14
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used for communication.
TRANSMITTERS: An apparatus for sending forth anything, as signals, messages, etc.

Acronyms
ATC: Air Traffic Control.
BCC: Bio-Composite Centre of the University of Wales.
CBD: Convention on Biological Diversity.
DLTTC: David Livingstone Teachers Training College
EU: European Union.
FSC: Forest Stewardship Council
GEF: Global Environmental Facility.
I. U. C. N.: The World Conservation Union
MARC: Multi-Access Remote Control
MSC: Marine Stewardship Council
NGOCC: Non-Governmental Organizations Coordinating Committee

NOCHEM: National Oil and Chemical Marketing Plc. 15
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PAGE: Programme for the Advancement of Girls' Education
VHF: Very High Frequency. 16

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