Tuesday, October 3, 2023
News and Views from the Global South
Headlines
Growing Appetite for Nutrient-Rich Native Indigenous Australian Foods
Growing up in Sydney, Kalkani Choolburra, a Girramay, Kuku Yalanji, Kalkadoon and Pitta Pitta woman from Far North Queensland, would frequently travel with her family up and down Australia’s eastern seaboard. Her grandfathers and uncles would bring fresh catch of dugong, her favourite bush food, and she would go hunting for the short-necked turtle with her aunties and female cousins.
Record-Breaking Global Migration
On 14 June, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued his flagship annual report, Global Trends: Forced Displacement 2022. It states that by the end of 2022, the number of people displaced by war, persecution, violence and human rights abuse had dramatically increased by 19.1 million — the biggest increase on record — reaching a total of 108.4 million.
Peacekeeper Cecilia Erzuah Promotes Gender Equality by Example
Cecilia Erzuah was torn between two opposite career paths at the end of university. The week she was supposed to begin military training, her professor offered her a position as a lecturer.
Small Islands with Big Aspirations
Everyone knows that small island states are on the frontline of global warming. Rising sea levels, acidification destroying fisheries and coral reefs, and changing patterns of rainfall are just some of the challenges. Some low-lying islands have already been lost to the ocean.
Informal Workers Key to Successful Waste Management in Africa
With the African continent recycling less than 11 percent of its waste, COP28 provided leaders on the African continent to consider integrated waste systems that include informal waste workers.
Innovative Family Farm in Cuba Uses Mix of Clean Energies
Combining technologies and innovations to take advantage of solar, wind, hydro and biomass potential has made the Finca del Medio farm an example in Cuba in the use of clean energies, which are the basis of its agroecological and environmental sanitation practices.
The Human Cost of a Green Energy Transition Without Safeguards
The world is moving away from fossil fuels towards so-called “green” energies as a solution to the climate crisis, which has increased the demand for strategic minerals such as cobalt, copper and lithium.
Food Loss and Waste: An Unacceptable Reality
In recent years, the population of Latin America and the Caribbean has seen a worrying increase in hunger figures, especially among the poorest in the region.
Innovative Business Models, Critical for African Governments to Unlock Carbon Markets
With current efforts to boost Africa's carbon credit production by 2030, experts believe the commitments will require Governments to switch from a voluntary to a compliance market by generating renewable energy for a portion of national and regional electricity supplies.
Wrecked by Climate Change, Farmers in Kashmir Shift to Lavender Cultivation
Mohammad Subhan Dar diligently tends to some bright purple plants on a four-acre farm in Bijbehara, a hamlet south of Kashmir’s capital, Srinagar. As you draw nearer, you’ll be mesmerized by the sight of sprawling lavender fields, where about 10 to 15 farmers, including Dar, prepare for a promising harvest.
Traffic on the Paraná Waterway Triggers Friction between Argentina and Paraguay
In addition to being a majestic river - the second longest in South America after the Amazon - the Paraná River is the waterway through which a large part of the area's primary goods are exported. Today, its economic importance has sparked an unexpected diplomatic conflict between Argentina and the countries with which it shares the basin.
Wanted: A New Local Oversight Structure to Achieve SDGS, Climate Action & Biodiversity Preservation
The links between Agenda 2030 and SDGs, including climate action and biodiversity preservation are clear and straightforward. Yet, leveraging them, and bringing them to together in a unified framework, remains extremely challenging.
Peru Faces Challenge of Climate Change-Driven Internal Migration
Nearly 700,000 people have migrated internally in Peru due to the effects of climate change. This mass displacement is a clear problem in this South American country, one of the most vulnerable to the global climate crisis due to its biodiversity, geography and 28 different types of climates.
Nigerian Women Challenge ‘Colonialist’ Patriarchy
Bukes Saliu wakes up very early every workday to beat the gruesome Lagos traffic to head to a job quite unusual for a woman to engage in Nigeria. She is a forklift operator in one of the busy depots in the coastal city, a task traditionally meant for men in the West African country.
Global Leaders Plead for Peace in Ukraine at UN
As it did last year, the 2023 United Nations General Assembly has been debating what role the United Nations and its members should play in the crisis in Ukraine.
Nature Doesn’t Know Borders: Collaboration for Conservation in Cyprus
Along the 180-kilometer-long buffer zone separating the north and south of Cyprus, there is a surprising sign of unity: recycled ammunition boxes no longer hold bullets. They are home to baby birds.
Zimbabwe’s Food Security Ambitions in El Niño’s Crosshairs
Zimbabwe is riding a wave of food security assurances after what officials said was last year’s bumper grain harvest, but recent El Niño forecasts could test the country’s agriculture production ambitions.
Navigating Challenges of New City Development for Nusantara, Indonesia’s Future Capital
Many nations are engaged in ambitious urban planning endeavors and the creation of new capital cities. Nusantara, Indonesia, is the latest in a series of modern cities that have sprung up across Asia.
Don’t Count on PPP Solutions
In recent years, public-private partnerships (PPPs) have spread rapidly. While usually profitable for the private partners, PPPs have generally not served the longer-term public interest.
Pemex Exploits Fossil Fuels with Money from International Banks
At the entrance to the municipality of Paraíso, in the southeastern Mexican state of Tabasco, there is a traffic circle that displays three things that are emblematic of the area: crabs, pelicans and mangroves.
Skyrocketing Inflation Puts Food Security in Pakistan at Risk
“We are under extreme stress about skyrocketing prices of essential edible commodities and the cost of gas and electricity. The situation is becoming worse because every day. We must pay more for wheat flour, sugar, tea, milk, oil, etc.,” Azizullah Khan, a civil servant, says.Next Page »
