World Ark Magazine - January/February 2008 - (Page 5) Urban Poor More Vulnerable to Disasters With the increased concentration of urban poor comes increased risk of catastrophic disasters. The World Bank estimates that three-fourths of the world’s biggest cities will be located in the developing world by the year 2025. When disasters hit high-population, developing areas, they can take a far bigger toll than in the developed world. Take, for example, the 2003 earthquake in Iran, which killed 26,000 people instantly; a quake of similar magnitude in San Francisco in 1989 resulted in only 63 deaths. The issue is far more complicated than this simple comparison. To learn more, read “Global: Drowning in Urban Disaster” at www.irinnews.org. Child Mortality on the Decline Child mortality was at a record low in 2006, reports UNICEF. Worldwide, the number of children who died before their fifth birthdays was 9.7 million, down from nearly 13 million in 1990. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the rate of child mortality is on track to meet the U.N. Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality by two-thirds by the year 2015. In those countries, child mortality today is 27 deaths per 1,000 live births, and in 1990, it was 55 per 1,000. Keep track of the progress to achieve all eight Millennium Development Goals at www.mdgmonitor.org. The Camel In the driest, most barren terrains in the world, the camel has been a desert-dweller’s best friend for more than 10,000 years. Part of a class of mammals called ungulates—a class of hoofed animals that includes cows—camels seem to have been engineered specifically for the punishing environs of the desert. Their feet have broad, soft pads; a thick skin between their two toes allows the camel to move easily through sand, the way a snowshoe helps people navigate snow. The iconic hump doesn’t store water, but is made up of connective tissue and fat—as much as 80 pounds’ worth—which can sustain a camel for more than a week in the absence of food. A camel can survive on the sparse leaves and seeds of the desert. Its thick coat insulates the animal from the temperature extremes of the desert, scalding hot by day and nearly freezing by night. To shield it from sandstorms, a camel’s nostrils can close, and a thin, extra eyelid protects the eyes. Nomads and other denizens of the world’s arid regions first trained camels to work as pack animals. A camel has a rolling gait, moving both legs on one side of its body, then the other, which makes for a queasy but efficient ride. A camel can cover up to 100 miles in a day. Camels are also sometimes used to plow fields. Their milk can be drunk and made into cheese, and their dung burned for fuel. They shed regularly, and camel hair produces a warm, soft weave that can be used for clothes, shelters and rugs. When camels are agitated, they sputter and fuss, emitting a distinctive bellow and frothing at the mouth. But the people who depend on them find ways to keep the peace. According to David Taylor, author of Zoo Vet, camel drivers in Asia will offer their coats to a camel that is becoming irritable; the camel tears the coat to shreds and then calms down. GET T YIMAGES www.heifer.org January/February 2008 | WORLD ARK 5 http://www.irinnews.org http://www.mdgmonitor.org http://www.heifer.org
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.