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Sunday, November 8, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Biodiversity
RIO+20: A Stalemated U.N. in Do-or-Die Session on Action Plan
After weeklong negotiations, a meeting of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) to finalise a plan of action titled "The Future We Want" for next week's Rio+20 summit has failed to reach agreement - and deferred a decision to a final three-day session in Brazil.
24 Policies to End the Earth Emergency
Ecologically ignorant policies are largely responsible for the interlinked crises that are unraveling the planet's life support system.
U.S.: Law of the Sea Treaty Ratification Faces Unsettled Waters
Given the wide range of its supporters – everyone from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces to Greenpeace – one would think that Senate ratification of the 1982 Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) would be a slam dunk.
RIO+20: Earth Summit Negotiated the Size of the Zero
Amidst much political fanfare, the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro concluded with the adoption of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the landmark Agenda 21 blueprint for a sustainable future in the 21st century.
Biomass Plantations Can Power India
Valli, 50, and Sarasu, 60, have been working with Energy Plantation Projects India (EPPI) since inception in 2007, the income they earn forming an integral part of their household budgets. "We easily manage household work and a salary-paying job," they tell IPS.
Q&A: North-South Divide Looms Heavily Over Rio+20 Summit
The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro was to a large extent derailed by a North-South divide: a battle between a coalition of rich industrial nations versus the world's developing countries led by the Group of 77.
Rio+20 is Everyone’s Conference
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, otherwise known as Rio+20, is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Guatemala Halts Widely Praised Maya Biosphere Reserve Initiative
The ambitious Cuatro Balam project for the management and conservation of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in the northern department of Petén has been put on hold after the change of government in Guatemala, say environmental and other civil society organisations.
Ikea Products Made From 600-Year-Old Trees
The home furnishing giant Ikea, founded in Sweden in 1943, is facing heavy criticism for the logging and clear-cutting of old-growth forests in the north of Russian Karelia by its wholly owned subsidiary Swedwood.
‘Green Economy’ – New Disguise for Old Tricks?
Though the current global economic and financial crises are undoubtedly devastating much of the world, they present the perfect opportunity for remodeling our economic system, according to participants at the ninth annual Terra Futura (Future Earth) exhibition of ‘good practices’ in social, economic and environmental sustainability held here from May 25-27.
Peru – Megadiverse, and Biodiversity-Aware
One of every two Peruvians knows what "biodiversity" means, and most would stop buying products that are not socially or environmentally responsible, according to an international survey that for the first time included this megadiverse South American country.
ANTIGUA: Mysterious Pest Targets Valuable Palm Trees
Something is decimating the coconut and other palm trees here and no one seems to know exactly what it is.OP-ED: Mass Extinctions in the Cards Absent Urgent Action
This past Tuesday, May 22, marked World Biodiversity Day, but it came and went without too much public interest.
In Antigua, Fishing Brings Both Income and Ecological Destruction
Eli Fuller is a third-generation Antiguan who, for the past two decades, has been exploring the Antigua and Barbuda coastline. But he laments the fact that he can no longer see the coral that he recalls were somewhat of an underwater jungle when he was a young boy, akin to what you'd see in the Amazon rain forest.
Indonesia Is Wilting
Unless the rapid deforestation in one of the world’s most richly-forested countries is controlled, Indonesians may one day wonder, "where are all the flowers gone." To those lyrics by legendary U.S. singer Joan Baez they might also have to add, and where are all the tigers, elephants, orangutans, birds and ancient forest communities gone.
Mangroves Lead Battle Against Rising Seas
Sea level rise near Papua New Guinea, a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) in the southwest Pacific, is estimated at seven millimetres per year, double the global annual average of 2.8-3.6 mm.
Can ‘Blue Forests’ Mitigate Climate Change?
Fifty-five percent of global atmospheric carbon captured by living organisms happens in the ocean.
‘Leave Nothing But Footprints’ on Philippine Beaches
Seashells and corals are competing with styrofoam packs, food wrappers, cigarette butts, and plastic bottles for space on some of the Philippines’ most scenic beaches. Graffiti mars tourist spots like lighthouses and caves, proclaiming the names of recent visitors.
“We Are Living As If We Had One and a Half Planets”
The new WWF Living Planet Report warns of a significant decline in biodiversity, particularly in low-income countries, and a huge increase in the ecological footprint of high-income countries.Private Sector and Conservationists Meet on a Big Date
As schools of whales move to music undersea at image definitions of 6.54 million pixels on the giant ceiling mounted LED screen, 218 X 30 metres in length and width, expectations run high from the International Exposition Yeosu Korea 2012 at harbour town. The expo showcases 104 participating countries’ visions and achievements on the Expo theme: ‘The Living Ocean and Coast: Diversity of Resources and Sustainable Activities’.
Jamaica’s Rich Biodiversity Faces Multiple Threats
Jamaican authorities are going all out to achieve environmental sustainability as one way of minimising the expected impacts of climate change on the local biodiversity.« 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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