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Sunday, November 8, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Biodiversity
U.N. Chief Recounts Poverty and Plenty in South Korea
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former foreign minister of South Korea, is visibly emotional whenever he speaks about the striking political and economic achievements in his home country.
Voracious Lionfish on Caribbean’s Menu
In a case of "if you can’t beat them, eat them," Caribbean countries have embarked on a new strategy to deal with the invasive lionfish, whose voracious appetite is wiping out fish stocks from Bermuda to Barbados in what scientists believe to be the worst marine invasion in history.
Sea Turtles Trapped by Sudden Drop in Temperature in Uruguay
A record number of sea turtles are turning up on Uruguayan beaches along the Atlantic Ocean and Río de la Plata this Southern hemisphere winter, suffering from cold shock and hypothermia.
Scientists Discover New Threats to Corals
Most corals thrive only in shallow waters, where there is enough light for them to grow. But the rapid rise in sea level, due to the melting of polar ice, is making these conditions increasingly scarce.
Expo 2012 Moves from World’s Oceans to Law of the Sea
As part of its overall theme to educate the public about the state of the world's oceans, the international exhibition Expo 2012 will shift its focus next month to what has been described as "possibly the most significant legal instrument" of the 21st century: the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).Guyana’s Gold Boom Brings Pollution and Conflict
Pedro Melville, 62, a father of nine from Guyana's northwestern gold and manganese mining district of Matthew’s Ridge, sees the impacts of unchecked prospecting on the local environment every day.
South Korea Offers Marine Technology to Developing Nations
When South Korea inaugurated a U.N. Office for Sustainable Development last October, the new research and training facility was designed to help the world's poorer nations "accelerate economic growth, improve quality of life and protect the environment".
Great Barrier Reef at a Crossroads
The world's largest and best protected coral reef will be doomed by Australia's unprecedented scale of planned coal and gas development, experts say.
Shipping Canal Threatens Culture, Ecology, Livelihoods
One hundred and fifty years ago, the British colonial administration in India proposed a shipping canal project that would allow cargo vessels, commercial liners and large ships to cut through the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park in the Palk Straits between India and Sri Lanka, thereby slashing 424 nautical miles (about 780 kilometres) off the traditional shipping route around Sri Lanka to the Far East.
After Turtle Hatchlings Destroyed, Trinidad Govt Defends Its Actions
Ordinarily they live for at least half a century. But at least 20,000 leatherback sea turtle hatchlings never made it past their nesting ground at Grand Riviere, a stretch of shoreline along Trinidad's north coast, in what's been described as "an engineering disaster" last weekend.
Local Control Revives Depleted Fisheries
It takes a village to protect a reef and sustain a local fishery, more than two decades of experience now shows.
Asian Mussel Invasion Largely Ignored by Southern Cone Governments
The governments of most of the countries that share the Río de la Plata basin are doing little or nothing to halt the golden mussel invasion, despite the serious damages and losses it is causing.
Scientists Declare State of Emergency for World’s Coral Reefs
Coral reef scientists urged local and national governments to take action to save the world's coral reefs and said they'd be "on call 24/7" to assist politicians and officials.
Thai Farmers Fight ‘Global Warming Fines’
Small farmers in the Baan Pra village of Thailand's southern Trang province have been living in anxiety ever since they were slapped with stiff fines by the government in 2006 and ordered to vacate their ancestral lands for ‘contributing to global warming’.
OP-ED: World’s Ailing Oceans Find a New Dawn at Expo 2012
Gazing over the ocean somehow puts a human being at peace with the world. To build a home with a view of the sea is the dream of many. The expanse of water, the beach, and tide magically draw us to them.
Coral Triangle Fights to Save Reefs from Extinction
The planet's richest region of coral and marine life, which feeds 130 million people, is in trouble.
Biodiversity Without Borders
The protection and conservation of biodiversity figure among the most daunting challenges posed by climate change in the Caribbean islands, home to a wealth of endemic species of flora and fauna.
Aquaculture Boosts Papua New Guinea’s Food Security
The vast Sirinumu Reservoir in Central Province which supplies water and electricity to Papua New Guinea (PNG)’s capital, is home to a co-operative of 60 fish farmers who are successfully employing aquaculture to improve local incomes and food security.
Corporations See Green in Biodiversity
The gentle hills on the edge of this remote town are lush with tropical fruit trees that yield fine wines for the Broadchem Corporation and also give the agro company a green label.BOLIVIA: From Police Mutiny to Indigenous Vigil
After a 62-day march from Bolivia’s tropical lowlands, over 1,000 indigenous protesters opposed to the construction of a road through a pristine rainforest reserve reached the seat of government Wednesday, just a few hours after the police called off a six-day national strike.
Depleted Chilean Fish Need “A Real Chance of Recovery”
The model of exploiting fisheries that has prevailed in the last decade has driven fish stocks to critically low levels in Chile, which has a 6,435 km Pacific coastline and a wide diversity of marine resources.« Previous Page — Next Page »
The world's diverse flora and fauna are facing urgent threats due to pollution, climate change, commercialization of nature and other forms of harmful human intervention. The widespread loss of biodiversity is worrying not simply because of the disappearance of exotic species which deserve saving, but because tampering with nature's equilibrium means that the loss of one form of life is a threat to another. IPS taps into its own diverse network of correspondents around the world to report on continuing and emerging dangers to nature's riches - and the struggle to protect them.
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