Issue 16: May 2002

Websites launched for climate
and arsenic programmes

UN University's Environment and Sustainable Development Programme has launched new websites dedicated to the Climate Affairs Capacity Building Programme and a project to address arsenic contamination in the Asian Region.

The climate programme aims to promote awareness among educators in a variety of disciplines that climate affects all aspects of life in rich and poor countries and to foster the development of multi-disciplinary initiatives at colleges, universities, and other educational training institutes in developing countries to help them deal with climate issues. The programme will enable students and educators to focus on the climate system and climate-related issues such as energy production and consumption, food production and availability, and water resource management.

The UNU arsenic initiative began in 1999 with a project to develop household technologies in partnership with researchers from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). After successful completion of laboratory work, UNU and BUET were able to install a number of household water treatment units in two villages.

UNU and BUET are now investigating how much arsenic is taken up by plants and into the food chain once it is withdrawn from the aquifer and used  for irrigation.

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