Bradley Brouwer sa tourism country manager for Japan

G8 endorses halving global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
By Bathandwa Mbola

Japan - World leaders attending the Group of Eight (G8) Summit have agreed to back a plan for long-term reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, although the deal fell short of establishing targets.

"Climate change is one of the great global challenges of our time," the leaders said in a statement issued on Wednesday. Negotiators discussed the issue late into the night in the mountainous resort of Toyako at the summit of the G8 major industrial powers, with host Japan pressing for progress on the summit's most contentious issue. The leaders of the G8, which are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States, together with leaders of the fastest developing countries agreed that the world should at least halve the emissions blamed for climate change by 2050. "We, the leaders of the world's major economies, both developed and developing, commit to combat climate change in accordance with our common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities," representatives said. Climate change has been one of the stickiest issues tackled at the summit with divisions over what targets should be set and what would be expected of developing countries. To achieve absolute emissions reductions, the G8 will implement "ambitious economy-wide mid-term goals". In addition, they pointed to new multilateral climate investment funds that have been set up to assist the efforts of developing countries. As part of the agreement, the G8 will set up a new international initiative for the research and development of innovative technologies to contribute to the realisation of a low-carbon society.

The leaders agreed to establish and hold an energy forum to focus on energy efficiency and new technologies. However the G8 did not set any firm targets for the nearer term as the leaders pressed for developing countries to make their own commitments to cut carbon emissions. This caused some environmental advocates to be critical of the G8 declaration. The target of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 was described as "pathetic" and "dangerously short of what is needed" by Kim Carstensen, Director of WWF's Global Climate Initiative. In a statement, WWF accused G8 leaders of failing to boost international climate negotiations and criticised what they termed the "lack of commitment to mid-term targets". South African and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk has also raised concerns. He said: "As it is expressed in the G8 statement, the long-term goal is an empty slogan without substance." The goal fell short of what was required, according to scientific near-consensus, "to stabilise the atmosphere at a relatively stable level" The showdown between the world's richest nations and the fastest-growing economies which are South Africa, China, India, Brazil and Mexico went beyond climate change to cover disputes over how to cope with record oil and food prices. They expressed serious concerns at the threat posed to the global economy by soaring oil prices. The price of crude oil has doubled since the last G8 summit, with highs of more than $146 (£72) a barrel.

However they remained positive about the long-term resilience of their economies, so long as countries resisted the introduction of trade barriers. The leaders also discussed various issues such as improvement of energy efficiency, greater use of clean energy, adaptation, technology, finance, market-based mechanisms and tariff reduction. On energy efficiency, they welcomed the recent decision to establish the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation. With renewables, they underscored the importance of sustainable biofuel production and use including science-based benchmarks and indicators and are committed to continuing research and development of second generation biofuel technologies.

BuaNews

Bradley Brouwer, Is a firm believer in “Responsible Behavior”

Over 1000 trees planted in Balfour Mpumalanga !!!
By Sydney Masinga

Balfour - More than 1 000 trees have been planted at a township outside of Balfour as part of the Greening Mpumalanga project in January 2008 which aims to make the province more environmentally conscious. Department of Agriculture and Land Administration MEC Dina Pule and the Mayor of the Dipaleseng Local Municipality Piet Tsotetsi participated in the planting ceremony in Siyathemba township outside Balfour on Tuesday.This has resulted in the department surpassing its set target of planting 100 000 trees by February. Spokesperson, Aaron Madonsela said: "We have passed our target of 100 000 trees, by 600 extra trees." Trees for Africa donated the 1000 fruit trees, while the Gold Basin waste management project donated tins and papers for community groups in Balfour to recycle. "Gold Basin trains communities to recycle papers and tins by turning them into crafts and other goods that they can sell," Mr Madonsela explained. He said the NGO also donated refuse bags to the school children who were involved in the clean-up campaign. The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in Mpumalanga used the planting ceremony as an opportunity to launch its "Green Revolution" campaign. This campaign, which is part of the SABC's national Vuka Sizwe (Stand up and do it for yourself) campaign, aims to empower South Africans by encouraging them to open their own businesses. The Heritage, Greening Mpumalanga and Tourism flagship project is one of the five adopted by the provincial government. "The Greening Mpumalanga component focuses on environmental management and remediation with the aim to raise the profile of environmental issues in Mpumalanga. "It also positions the province as the [most] environmentally conscious province of South Africa," Madonsela said. MEC (Local Minister) Pule said the Greening Mpumalanga initiative would have a significant impact on environmental sustainability in the province. "The greening component identifies institutional mechanisms, environmental interventions, and roles and responsibilities for provincial government departments and municipalities towards achieving environmental sustainability," she said. Ms Pule said funding for Greening Mpumalanga would come from the provincial and municipal budgets, as well as donors. - BuaNews

I believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure that not only good Tourism practices are followed, but that everyone has a responsibility to save our planet from the destruction being caused by irresponsible and negligent behavior.

The following simple steps are at everyone’s disposal and yet it is ignored by many:

Power Save Globes – Not only will this help alleviate power shortages, but will reduce unnecessary emissions, Normal globes should be banned World Wide!!
Refuse separation – This is critical as waste products are just disposed of in the easiest way “all together” this can cause illness and unnecessary landfills that will haunt us all later on.
Solar Panels – All new homes should be forced to have their roofs covered by solar panels when built that charge batteries as back up. This would reduce the demand on Coal power plants and would have a long term effect on saving our planet.
Recycled Paper – It is important that offices and Big Corporate’s use recycled paper many of our plantations around the world are burning daily, The demand is just too high.

These are just a few examples that can be followed and will go a very long way in saving the Earth. Every day that we ignore this, is a day lost Forever.

Bradley Brouwer, previously sales, marketing and communications director for Forever Resorts, has been named the new SA Tourism country manager for Japan which includes Korea. He has taken over the role, based in Tokyo, on March 15 2007.

Bradley Brouwer has been very involved in Tourism over the years and has resigned from the nine boards he served on, to avoid conflict of interests, and to focus on Japan.

During his term in Tokyo, Bradley Brouwer plans to open the channels of communication between the Japanese market and South African product owners. “I will attend many conferences in Japan in order to keep abreast of the market’s requirements and trends”. Bradley Brouwer also encourages product owners to send him their brochures from the end of March.
Bradley Brouwer has identified the long haul flight as one of the main challenges in terms of attracting the Japanese market to SA. “This can be overcome by increasing the average stay to seven days, and by providing authentic experiences,” he says.

Another challenge is the perception of crime in SA, but Bradley Brouwer believes that if South African ground handlers are educated on how to instil a sense of security in Japanese tourists, we can overcome this obstacle. “The Japanese market do not like to be left alone, so staff should be available and visible at all times,” he adds.