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Sunday, November 8, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Environment
The Harsh Plight of 152 Million Child Labourers
While trillions of dollars are being spent on exploring remote galaxies, Planet Earth is still home to harsh realities that could be easily –and much less expensively—resolved. One of them is that worldwide 152 million children are currently victims of child labour.
Are Prospects of Rural Youth Employment in Africa a Mirage?
Many recent accounts tend to dismiss productive employment of youth in rural areas in Africa as a mirage largely because they exhibit strong resistance to eking out a bare subsistence in dismal working and living conditions. We argue below on recent evidence of agricultural transformation that this view is overly pessimistic, if not largely mistaken.
How US Is Taking Climate Action Without Trump
Even after President Trump announced his intention to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, much of the country is moving forward with climate action anyway. According to new analysis, more than 2,500 non-federal actors representing more than half the U.S. economy—including cities, counties, states, businesses and more—have pledged their support for the Paris Agreement goals. If these actors were their own country, they’d be the world’s third-largest economy.
Global Campaign for Mercury-Free Dentistry Targets Africa
A vibrant global campaign to ban the use of mercury in dentistry is shifting direction: moving from Europe to the developing world.
Aid Groups Sound Alarm on DRC Crisis
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis and the international community must step in before it worsens, humanitarian agencies warn.
Economic Development vs. Climate Action: Rebutting Deniers and Wafflers
As negotiators meet in Bonn to put together a deal to implement the Paris Agreement, John Holdren, a professor of environmental policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, stressed that economic development and climate change mitigation and adaptation are not ‘either-or’ but must be pursued together.
Climate Change Poses Alarming Threat to Food Security in Pacific Islands
A high-level meeting of political leaders -– hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) -– sounded an ominous warning: that climate change poses an “alarming threat to food systems and food security in the Pacific islands.”
SLIDESHOW: Two Models of Development in Struggle Coexist in Brazil’s Semi-arid Region
Irrigated green fields of vineyards and monoculture crops coexist in Brazil’s semiarid Northeast with dry plains dotted with flowering cacti and native crops traditionally planted by the locals. Two models of development in struggle, with very different fruits.
Will Policymakers Listen to Climate Change Science This Time Around?
Climate change is altering the ecosystem of our oceans, a big carbon sink and prime source of protein from fish. This is old news.
Pacific Communities Building Resilience in the Face of Climate Change
In the Pacific, climate change is an ever-present threat, undermining human rights, livelihoods, and security. Pacific Islanders are working with courage and resolve to build the resilience of their communities and to catalyse international actions towards ending global carbon pollution.
Fighting the Creeping Catastrophe of Climate Change
November 8 marks the fourth anniversary of Haiyan’s landfall in the Philippines. The super typhoon was the strongest ever to make landfall.
Conservation Agriculture: Zambia’s Double-edged Sword against Climate Change and Hunger
As governments gather in Bonn, Germany for the next two weeks to hammer out a blueprint for implementation of the global climate change treaty signed in Paris in 2015, a major focus will be on emissions reductions to keep the global average temperature increase to well below 2°C by 2020.
4 Reasons for Countries to Enhance Climate Commitments by 2020
The Paris Agreement was widely hailed for drawing all nations together to tackle climate change, based on bottom-up contributions that will be reviewed and strengthened over time. These contributions are aimed at achieving the ambitious but necessary long-term goals of limiting global temperature increase and building resilience to climate impacts.
Fourth Industrial Revolution & Its Dramatic Impact on Society
I am an engineer and, for the time being, I am also Secretary-General of the United Nations and we are all here because we believe in the force of Science, Innovation and Technology.
Protein Plants Bolster Animal Feed in Cuba
Based on protein plants, pasture and fodder, Orlando Corrales produces cow and goat milk on a farm located next to a major road in the Cuban capital. "We do not use any industrial feed here," he says proudly.
Climate Change Summit a Step Further, Yes… But Where To?
The UN Climate Change Summit in Bonn is a step further, most experts say. Fine, but towards what?
Why Water, Soap and Toilets are Keys to Ending Malnutrition
I started work this morning feeling disillusioned. A report had hit my desk that painted a very bleak picture of the state of the world’s health – and for a moment I was over-whelmed by just how much work there was left to do. Then I regrouped – and began making plans.
Argentina Aims to Be a Leader in Mining, But Obstacles Abound
Argentina does not have the mining tradition of other South American countries, but this could begin to change. The government wants to draw 30 billion dollars in foreign investment to tap the great mining potential along the eastern slope of the Andes mountain range, stretching from north to south.
My Vision for a Pollution-free Planet
For too long, the relationship between prosperity and environment has been seen as a trade-off. Tackling pollution was considered an unwelcome cost on industry and a handicap to economic growth.
Got Climate Questions? Climate Watch Has Answers
Negotiators and stakeholders headed to Bonn, Germany, for next week’s UN climate summit continue to confront a range of questions surrounding one essential query: How do we meet the imperative to lower greenhouse gas emissions now — quickly — to minimize the most severe impacts of climate change?
Locals Learn to Live in Harmony with Drought in Brazil’s Semi-arid Region
Irrigated green fields of vineyards and monoculture crops coexist in Brazil’s semiarid Northeast with dry plains dotted with flowering cacti and native crops traditionally planted by the locals. Two models of development in struggle, with very different fruits.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Through our global network of local writers, we are continuing our award-winning coverage of global and local environmental challenges, with a focus on the people for whom the ecosphere matters in a direct way: rural dwellers who have little means to protect themselves against adverse conditions; communities that need to switch to sustainable development in order to survive; poor women and children, who are the most vulnerable in natural disasters. Sponsored by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and The World Bank (WB), IPS also maintains the award-winning Tierramérica, a specialised information service on environment and development.
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Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
