Environment

Pacific Islanders Call for U.S. Solidarity on Climate Change

By Catherine Wilson
The new political power of business magnate Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated Jan. 20 as the 45th President of the United States, will have ramifications for every global region, including the Pacific Islands.

Ordinary Citizens Help Drive Spread of Solar Power in Chile

By Orlando Milesi
Chile, Latin America’s leader in solar energy, is starting the new year with an innovative step: the development of the country´s first citizens solar power plant.

Oceans, Tuberculosis and Killer Robots – the UN’s Diverse Agenda in 2017

By Lyndal Rowlands
UN member states hope to reach agreement on a diverse range of global issues in 2017, from managing the world’s oceans to banning killer robots to stopping tuberculosis, one of the world’s deadliest diseases.

Native Seeds Sustain Brazil’s Semi-Arid Northeast

By Mario Osava
In his 76 years of life, Raimundo Pinheiro de Melo has endured a number of droughts in Brazil’s semi-arid Northeast region. And he remembers every one of them since 1958. “The worst one was in 1982 and 1983, the only time that the river dried up,” said Pinheiro do Melo, who has lived near the river since 1962. “The one in 1993 was also very bad,” he told IPS, because neither Bolsa Familia nor Networking in Brazil’s Semi-Arid Region (ASA) existed yet, which contribute to a less traumatic coexistence with droughts like the current one, which has dragged on for five years.

Anti-Fracking Movement Alarmed at Trump’s Focus on Fossil Fuels

By Emilio Godoy
Earl Hatley, a descendant of the Cherokee/Delaware tribe, has witnessed the consequences of using hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” on his native land to produce shale gas.

No More Mass Deaths from Drought in Northeast Brazil

By Mario Osava
The drought that has plagued Brazil’s semiarid Northeast region since 2012 is already more severe than the 1979-1983 drought, the longest in the 20th century. But prolonged dry spells no longer cause the tragedies of the past.

Battle Lines Drawn Over Indian Mega Mine

By Stephen de Tarczynski
Among those leading the fight against the massive Indian-owned Carmichael coal project in Australia’s Queensland state is 21-year-old Murrawah Johnson of the Wangan and Jagalingou aboriginal people, the traditional owners of the land where the proposed mine is to be located.

Managing Bangladesh’s Dwindling Water Resources

By Mahfuzur Rahman
Experts at Bangladesh’s National Water Convention 2016 in Dhaka urged the sustainable management and conservation of water as the country braces for a water crisis due to wastage, river pollution, declining groundwater tables and intrusion of salinity.

Quality Water for All a Life and Death Issue in Bangladesh

By Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad
There is no exaggerating how crucial water is for human survival, particularly in countries like Bangladesh, which is crisscrossed by rivers. The level of water in a river here directly affects the lifestyles and livelihoods of the people living on its two sides, so much so that rivers and water bodies of varied sizes are an inseparable part of Bengali culture and heritage.

Agroecology Booming in Argentina

By Fabiana Frayssinet
Organic agriculture is rapidly expanding in Argentina, the leading agroecological producer in Latin America and second in the world after Australia, as part of a backlash against a model that has disappointed producers and is starting to worry consumers.

Climate Change Needn’t Spell Doom for Uganda’s Coffee Farmers

By Sally Nyakanyanga
Coffee production provides a quarter of Uganda’s foreign exchange earnings and supports some 1.7 million smallholder farmers, but crop yields are being undermined by disease, pests and inadequate services from agricultural extension officers, as well as climatic changes in the East African country.

Beyond Standing Rock: Extraction Harms Indigenous Water Sources

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Since the decision by the U.S. army to suspend the Dakota Access pipeline on 4 December, many are still unsure of the controversial pipeline's future or its implications for other mega infrastructure projects affecting indigenous communities across North America.

‘Complex’ Climate Fund Procedures Hindering Development

By Mahfuzur Rahman
Though highly hopeful about achieving the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) well ahead of the 2030 deadline, Bangladesh is upset over the procedures to access the Green Climate Fund, calling them ‘ridiculously complex’ and warning that they may slow down its drive to achieve the SDGs.

Feminism Helps Villagers Coexist with Drought in Northeast Brazil

By Mario Osava
“The vegetable garden changed my life,” said Rita Alexandre da Silva, in the village of Primeiro do Maio where 65 families have obtained land to grow crops since 1999, in this municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in Northeast Brazil.

Carbon Tax Could Boost Green Energy in Bangladesh

By Farid Ahmed
Bangladesh is weighing a World Bank proposal to introduce a carbon tax, the first of its kind in the South Asian nation, amid fears of a backlash from consumers.

New Technologies in Debate in Biodiversity Conference

By Emilio Godoy
Synthetic biology, geoengineering and the recognition of ancestral knowledge are the issues that have generated the most heated debate in the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity, which ends in this Mexican resort city on Friday Dec. 17.

For South Asian Policy-Makers, Climate Migrants Still Invisible

By Manipadma Jena
Tasura Begum straightens up from picking a bushel of green chilis and looks at the mighty Padma River flowing by, wondering whose life it ruined today.

Developmentalism and Conservation Clash Out at Sea

By Emilio Godoy
“We don’t have access to marine areas, because most are protected areas or are in private hands. We indigenous people have been losing access to our territories, as this decision became a privilege of the state,” complained Donald Rojas, a member of the Brunka indigenous community in Costa Rica.

Climate-Resistant Beans Could Save Millions

By Ida Karlsson
A global food watchdog works around the clock to preserve crop biodiversity, with a seed bank deep in the Colombian countryside holding the largest collection of beans and cassava in the world and storing crops that could avert devastating problems.

Europe to Decide on Use of Mercury in Dentistry

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Europe will soon decide the future of a common but controversial dental practice: mercury in tooth fillings. Three major European institutions, namely the European Commission, Parliament and Council, are due to meet on 6 December to discuss regulations on mercury, particularly its use in dentistry.

Nicaraguan Women Push for Access to Land, Not Just on Paper

By José Adán Silva
A group of women farmers who organised to fight a centuries-old monopoly over land ownership by men are seeking plots of land to farm in order to contribute to the food security of their families and of the population at large.
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