UNB, Dhaka :
In the last 20 years since the first UN conference on climate change, weather-related disasters have claimed 606,000 human lives, damaged or destroyed 87 million homes, and injured, displaced or left helpless a total of 4.1 billion people.
The greatest loss of lives was in Asia, where 332,000 people died and 3.7 billion were affected. Cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar in 2008, claimed 138,000 lives, according to a message received here from Climate News Network on Friday.
A new study from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) demonstrates that 90 percent of all disasters are now weather-related. And the average of 335 weather-related disasters per year in the last 10 years is twice that recorded between 1985 and 1995.
The report, The Human Cost of Weather-Related Disasters 1995-2015, is intended to focus attention during the UN climate change conference – which opens in Paris on Monday – on the damage already inflicted by global warming as a consequence of rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, in turn as a consequence of the human combustion of fossil fuels and the destruction of the planet’s forests.
As world leaders head for the summit, referred to as COP21, the numbers alone tell the story. In the last 20 years, there have been 6,457 floods, storms, heat waves, droughts and other climatic events that meet the UN definition of a disaster – that is, they killed people, displaced communities, or caused damage calculated in millions.
every decision-making level,” says Nassima al-Sadah, a candidate in the Gulf coast city of Qatif for the December 12 vote.
Saudi Arabia, an Islamic absolute monarchy, has no female cabinet ministers and is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive.
They have to cover themselves in black from head-to-toe in public, and require permission from a man in their families to travel, work or marry. Restrictions remain in place despite a slow expansion of women’s rights under the late king Abdullah, who introduced municipal elections in 2005 and said women would participate this time around.
In 2013 he named women to the appointed Shura Council which advises the cabinet.
Abdullah died in January and was succeeded by King Salman, who has stuck to the election timetable.
Unlike other Gulf states, where women have had voting rights for several years, this will be the first time Saudi women have had a say in who gains office.
While al-Sadah expressed satisfaction at the number of female candidates, she said “very few” women have registered to vote. Data cited by the Saudi electoral commission show about 7,000 candidates are vying for seats on the 284 councils.
According to the intekhab.gov.sa elections website, just 130,600 women have signed up to vote, compared to around 10 times that number of male voters. Electoral democracy is still a novel concept in a country where tribal loyalties remain strong and things traditionally get done through “wasta”-knowing the right people.
Aside from transport problems, women say their voter registration was hindered by bureaucratic obstacles and a lack of awareness of the process and its significance.
“I myself had a very difficult time to register”, said Sahar Hassan Nasief, an activist in the Red Sea city of Jeddah who has many friends running as candidates. She had to go “back and forth and back and forth until I got my name down” but nonetheless encouraged others to make the effort.
“This is one of the first steps for women’s rights, a big step for us,” said the retired university teacher. “Even my mum who’s 95… she too went to register.”
There is also disappointment at the performance of the local councils and their limited powers restricted to streets, gardens and garbage. “I took part in the last round and didn’t see any benefit or results,” said Sultan al-Obthani, 35, of Riyadh, who will not vote this time. Although the voting age has been lowered to 18 from 21 and the proportion of elected council members has increased to two-thirds, winning a seat remains a challenge for women in electorates where male voters vastly outnumber females.
In the last 20 years since the first UN conference on climate change, weather-related disasters have claimed 606,000 human lives, damaged or destroyed 87 million homes, and injured, displaced or left helpless a total of 4.1 billion people.
The greatest loss of lives was in Asia, where 332,000 people died and 3.7 billion were affected. Cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar in 2008, claimed 138,000 lives, according to a message received here from Climate News Network on Friday.
A new study from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) demonstrates that 90 percent of all disasters are now weather-related. And the average of 335 weather-related disasters per year in the last 10 years is twice that recorded between 1985 and 1995.
The report, The Human Cost of Weather-Related Disasters 1995-2015, is intended to focus attention during the UN climate change conference – which opens in Paris on Monday – on the damage already inflicted by global warming as a consequence of rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, in turn as a consequence of the human combustion of fossil fuels and the destruction of the planet’s forests.
As world leaders head for the summit, referred to as COP21, the numbers alone tell the story. In the last 20 years, there have been 6,457 floods, storms, heat waves, droughts and other climatic events that meet the UN definition of a disaster – that is, they killed people, displaced communities, or caused damage calculated in millions.
every decision-making level,” says Nassima al-Sadah, a candidate in the Gulf coast city of Qatif for the December 12 vote.
Saudi Arabia, an Islamic absolute monarchy, has no female cabinet ministers and is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive.
They have to cover themselves in black from head-to-toe in public, and require permission from a man in their families to travel, work or marry. Restrictions remain in place despite a slow expansion of women’s rights under the late king Abdullah, who introduced municipal elections in 2005 and said women would participate this time around.
In 2013 he named women to the appointed Shura Council which advises the cabinet.
Abdullah died in January and was succeeded by King Salman, who has stuck to the election timetable.
Unlike other Gulf states, where women have had voting rights for several years, this will be the first time Saudi women have had a say in who gains office.
While al-Sadah expressed satisfaction at the number of female candidates, she said “very few” women have registered to vote. Data cited by the Saudi electoral commission show about 7,000 candidates are vying for seats on the 284 councils.
According to the intekhab.gov.sa elections website, just 130,600 women have signed up to vote, compared to around 10 times that number of male voters. Electoral democracy is still a novel concept in a country where tribal loyalties remain strong and things traditionally get done through “wasta”-knowing the right people.
Aside from transport problems, women say their voter registration was hindered by bureaucratic obstacles and a lack of awareness of the process and its significance.
“I myself had a very difficult time to register”, said Sahar Hassan Nasief, an activist in the Red Sea city of Jeddah who has many friends running as candidates. She had to go “back and forth and back and forth until I got my name down” but nonetheless encouraged others to make the effort.
“This is one of the first steps for women’s rights, a big step for us,” said the retired university teacher. “Even my mum who’s 95… she too went to register.”
There is also disappointment at the performance of the local councils and their limited powers restricted to streets, gardens and garbage. “I took part in the last round and didn’t see any benefit or results,” said Sultan al-Obthani, 35, of Riyadh, who will not vote this time. Although the voting age has been lowered to 18 from 21 and the proportion of elected council members has increased to two-thirds, winning a seat remains a challenge for women in electorates where male voters vastly outnumber females.
