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Monday, November 9, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Biodiversity
ALBANIA: Preserving a Beauty Called Biodiversity
It takes a short walk from the famous Velipoja beach in Shkodra town on the Adriatic coast to put behind the stresses of modern life, and the beach attractions themselves.
ECUADOR: Doubts Surround Carbon Absorption Project Near Galapagos
Later this month a U.S. company, Planktos Inc., plans to dump 100 tonnes of iron dust into the ocean near Ecuador's Galápagos Islands, despite opposition from environmental groups and marine scientists.ENVIRONMENT-MEXICO: Critics Sceptical of Gov’t Reforestation Statistics
Two hundred and fifty million trees are to be planted in Mexico from now until November, in a programme that will make the country the "world leader in reforestation," the government has announced. But independent observers warn that valuable native forests are still being destroyed.
CLIMATE CHANGE: Pop Stars Belt Out Global Wake-Up Call
One person may not be able to save the world, but former U.S. Vice President Al Gore won't give up his quest to do so without a fight - make that a green revolution.
ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Mangroves – Key to Coastal Protection
Against the deep grey monsoon clouds looming large over the sparkling greenery of northern Kerala, Kallan Pokkudan stood like a hero, bearing his canoe's oar, a pole and a water bottle. "I am going to inspect the mangrove,’’ said the stocky, middle-aged farmer.
SCIENCE: 350 Degrees Is Bathwater to These Animals
Marine scientists returned to the Galapagos Islands this week to celebrate a discovery that Charles Darwin never dreamt of: bizarre animals that live in total darkness around active deep-sea volcanoes.NICARAGUA: Plant Trees, Harvest Water
More than six years ago, the residents of the rural community of Lomas del Viento, on Nicaragua's Pacific coast, took up the task of recuperating the 10 flowing springs that were drying up as a result of logging in the surrounding forests. And they succeeded.
ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Tigers Not Safe in Own ‘Home’
The age-old conflict between man and tiger is, sadly, still manifest in this supposedly protected sanctuary for big cats.
GERMANY: Warming Climate Helps Some Species, Kills Others
The weather conditions in the heart of Europe were abnormal last year - the summer too hot, too dry, and too long, and the winter too warm. But they were excellent for some foreign species, which, benefiting from the changed weather, settled in Germany, and have become a headache - or worse - for farmers and just about everybody else.
COLOMBIA: Civil Resistance Aimed at Recuperating Biodiverse Lands
Indigenous and black communities of Colombia's north-western department of Chocó are trying to recover their lands and food sources, lost to the decades-long civil war that has taken its toll on this area of vast biological diversity.
ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Dwindling Fish Stocks Spell Trouble
Small waves gently lap at the 15 by 15 feet white platform here, which used to be the venue for happy occasions ranging from pleasant evening sit-outs, marriage functions and Independence Day celebrations for the 2,000 residents of this coastal village in India.ENVIRONMENT: Whaling in Iceland Faces Uncertain Future
No whales have been caught under Iceland's commercial whaling programme since October last year, when whaling stopped for the year. Over a two-week period beginning in late September, seven fin whales and two minke whales were hunted, out of a quota of nine fin whales and 30 minke whales for the period up to Sept. 1.ENVIRONMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Land Returned in St Lucia World Heritage Site
A section of the world heritage site the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, Africa's largest estuary, has been returned to its rightful owners, who have in turn undertaken to manage the land in accordance with the country's environmental laws.
ENVIRONMENT-MEXICO: Emigration a Blessing for Biosphere Reserve
Pressure on natural resources and biodiversity in Mexico's Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve has been reduced as a result of the emigration of half its human inhabitants - some 50,000 people - to the United States.
ENVIRONMENT: Audit Clears Once-Leaky Pipeline for Funding
A controversial gas pipeline in the pristine heart of the Amazon forest that has ruptured six times since its inception received a clean bill of health this week from the main financial backer, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), drawing scepticism from indigenous groups and international environmentalists.G8: U.S. Again the Odd Man Out on Climate
When leaders of the world's most advanced economies - also known as the Group of Eight (G8) - tried to set new targets to fight climate change at their summit in Britain in 2005, the United States balked.
CLIMATE CHANGE: From Big Melt to Big Swamp
The Earth is going dark. From the Arctic Ocean to the Himalayan mountains to the Russian tundra, ice and snow are in rapid and permanent retreat in response to global warming, a new U.N. report said Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Rising Seas Threaten Bengal’s Deltaic People
Just weeks ago Subodh Patra, a villager on the Indian Sunderbans, lost the crops on his one-acre farm to rising sea water. And now he and his family dare not sleep at night for fear that even their humble dwelling will be inundated.CLIMATE CHANGE-INDIA: Business as Usual on the Kerala Coast
Andrews Ambrose never misses a chance to share the wisdom he gained from 40 years of life as a fisherman on this coastal strip. He has to his credit two books and a map of the seabed.
ENVIRONMENT-KENYA: Will Good Fences Make for Good Neighbours?
To fence, or not to fence: this debate has been underway for a decade as concerns Kenya's oldest national park, located just 20 minutes from the centre of the capital - Nairobi. With urban development edging closer to the park, however, a decision one way or the other has become a matter of urgency.ENVIRONMENT: Toward a Green Economy
Humanity is facing historic and truly unprecedented challenges from climate change and the rapid decline of ecosystems that sustain life.« 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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