Latin America to Take the Temperature of Paris Agreement at Climate Summit

With the ratification and entry into effect of the Paris Agreement still fresh, the countries of Latin America are heading to the climate summit in Marrakesh in search of clear rules that will enable them to decarbonise their economies to help mitigate global warming.

Dying to Get to Europe

They are not just data or numbers for statistical calculations. They are desperate human beings fleeing wars, violence, abuse, slavery and death. They hear and believe the bombastic speeches about democracy and human rights and watch the many images of welfare and good life in Europe.

Cities Address a Key Challenge: Infrastructure Needs

“We as mayors have to govern midsize cities as if they were capital cities,” said Héctor Mantilla, city councilor of Floridablanca, the third-largest city in the northern Colombian department of Santander.

Cuba’s Fish Farming Industry Seeks to Double Output by 2030

Protected from the sun by broad-brimmed hats and long- sleeved shirts, workers at the La Juventud fish farm throw fish feed into the tanks for the tilapias, a fish that is scarce and in high demand in the Cuban markets.

Learning from Past Mistakes: Rebuilding Haiti After Hurricane Matthew

As Haiti reels from another disaster once again, many are questioning the humanitarian system and looking for long-term solutions with Haitians at the heart of response.

Freedom of the Press Faces Judicial Harassment in Brazil

The same justice that exists to ensure rights can become a tool to violate them and restrict freedom of the press, as seen with the recent wave of lawsuits against journalists and the media in Brazil.

U.N. Urban Summit Gives Rise to a Mixture of Optimism and Criticism

Experts and activists greeted with a mixture of hope and skepticism the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), which opened Monday Oct. 17 in the capital of Ecuador, and which seeks to produce a new urban agenda for cities and their inhabitants.

Private Interests Valued over Human Lives in Flint, Michigan

When the water in Flint, Michigan was found to be corroding cars at a General Motors’ (GM) factory, government officials agreed to change the factory's water source, yet the same water source continued to poison the residents of Flint for another year.

Cultivating a Different Future for Rural Women in Argentina

Her seven children have grown up, but she now takes care of a young grandson while working in her organic vegetable garden in El Pato, south of the city of Buenos Aires. Olga Campos wants for them what she wasn’t able to achieve: an education to forge a different future.

What Happens When a Small Farmer Migrates?

Now that world attention is focused on the fast growing process of urbanisation, with 2 in 3 people estimated to be living in towns and cities by the year 2030, an old “equation” jumps rapidly to mind: each time a small farmer migrates to an urban area, equals to one food producer less, and one food consumer more.

Climate Change Adaptation – Key to Reaching Zero Hunger in Latin America

Climate change is leading to major modifications in agricultural production in Latin America and the Caribbean, and if mitigation and adaptation measures of the productive system are not urgently adopted, threats to food security will be exacerbated.

Report Details UN Failings in Juba, South Sudan Violence

UN peacekeepers were reportedly unable and, at times, unwilling to respond effectively to violent clashes in Juba, South Sudan in July 2016 according to a new report by the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC).

Resisting the Dakota Access Pipeline: “This Is Not The End”  

Resistance towards the controversial Dakota Access pipeline continues after a federal court rejected requests to halt construction on Monday.

Few Families Overcome Forced Displacement by Hydropower Plants in Brazil

The construction of mega-hydropower plants in Brazil has been a tragedy for thousands of families that have been displaced, and a nightmare for the companies that have to relocate them as required by local law.

Low Food Prices: Good for Your Pocket, Bad for Small Farmers

What would be your reaction if you were told that food prices are steadily declining worldwide? Good, very good news, you may say. But do the 600 million small, family farmers, those who produce up to 80 per cent of food in some regions, think the same way? Definitely not at all.

Gang Violence Drives Internal Displacement in El Salvador

A basketball court in this small town in western El Salvador was turned overnight into a shelter for some two dozen families forced to flee their homes after a recent escalation of gang violence.

Coffee Producers in Costa Rica Use Science to Tackle Climate Change

“Our coffee production per hectare has dropped due to early ripening of the fruit and diseases,” Maritza Cal[related_articles][related_articles] coffee farmer in the mountains in southern Costa Rica, told IPS.

Making the Goals: Why Sustainable Development Must Be Integrated Development

By recognising how closely connected the different aspects of sustainable development are, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) create an important opportunity - and challenge - for a more coordinated approach to implementing development policies.

Uncertainty Mars Potential for Peace in South Sudan

Nearly one month after UN Security Council members visited troubled South Sudan, disagreement reigns over even the limited outside measures proposed to try to bring the security situation in the world's newest country under control.

Colombia Referendum – First Acid Test for Peace

It was like a huge party in Colombia. “Congratulations!” people said to each other, before hugging. “Only 20 minutes to go!” one office worker said, hurrying on her way to Bolívar square, in the heart of Bogotá. And everyone knew what she was talking about, and hurried along too. Complete strangers exchanged winks of complicity.

Two years on, Peña Nieto cannot brush off Ayotzinapa stain

There are certain events that mark a turning point in a country. The way a government decides to handle them defines the way they will go down in the history books.