Environment

Displaced by Gold Mining in Colombia

By Constanza Vieira
"I was displaced here by mining a month ago. Illegal miners forced me out of my municipality. No, don't write down where I'm from, let alone my name," said a 40-year-old black man frightened for his safety. IPS agreed to say only that he is from Colombia’s southern Pacific coast region.

Mexico – Ground Zero in the Fight for the Future of Maize

By Emilio Godoy
In the 2011 action-thriller "Unknown", scientists are persecuted by the biotech industry because they plan the open release of a drought- and pest-resistant strain of maize that could help eradicate world hunger.

Chile Looks to Volcanoes and Geysers for Energy

By Marianela Jarroud
Chile is one of the countries with the greatest potential for geothermal energy development in Latin America, but a lack of incentives for investment in the sector has kept it from moving past the exploratory phase. A strategic partnership with New Zealand aims to change that situation.

Climate Change Adaptation: A Race Against Time

By Naimul Haq
Adaptation and mitigation. Identified by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and by scientists as the two major responses to address the problem, these were also the twin preoccupations of a climate change conference held recently in Dhaka.

Critics Slam California “Forest Offset” Plan

By Katelyn Fossett
More than two dozen environmental organisations are urging California Governor Jerry Brown to disregard recommendations from a United Nations task force to include so-called forest “offsets” in the state’s new emissions-trading scheme.

Climate Change Makes Life Tougher for Solomon Island Farmers

By Catherine Wilson
Life is difficult enough for communities on the remote southern Weather Coast of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.  Sustaining a livelihood from the land is a daily struggle on the steep coastal mountain slopes that plunge to the sea, made worse by the absence of adequate roads, transport and government services. And now, climate change is taking its toll on the already precarious food situation here.

Rich Countries Drag Feet at Climate Talks

By Stephen Leahy
Another week of international climate negotiations ended in Bonn, Germany last Friday, but there was little mid-level bureaucrats could do when world leaders remain in thrall to the fossil fuel industry, say environmentalists.

‘Pirates’ Contest Icelandic Elections – And Win

By Lowana Veal
With an unprecedented number of political parties contesting Iceland's latest elections, Icelanders are discovering that if they are passionate about a particular issue, they need simply to find like-minded people and establish a political party.

Building an Agricultural Empire

By Michelle Tolson
Genghis Khan knew about hard times. The founder of the Mongol Empire, which spanned most of Eurasia until roughly 1227, Genghis and his clan had to survive on their wits and natural surroundings, often resorting to meals of “green leafy things” when food was scarce.

From Herders to Cultivators

By Michelle Tolson
When the food-strapped Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) appealed to the Mongolian government for food last month, it signaled a major turning point in the public image of this Central Asian country, which has long struggled to feed its own population of three million.

U.N. Finds “Little Appreciation” for Human Rights among U.S. Businesses

By Carey L. Biron
A United Nations expert group is warning that too many gaps remain in implementing new safeguards among businesses based in the United States, both in terms of their domestic and international operations, to ensure the protection of human rights of workers and communities affected by those operations.

Beefing Up Disaster Response in Nicaragua

By José Adán Silva
Nicaragua, which is prone to natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and flooding, is confronting them with prevention measures and community drills and training in high-risk areas.

Preserving the Soil and Reaping Greater Harvests

By Orton Kiishweko
Smallholder farmer Peter Mcharo, from Morogoro Region in eastern Tanzania, has a reason to smile. His fields are full of green, healthy maize plants, he has richer soil and he spends less time farming now than he did two years ago.

U.S. Links Pesticides to Honey Bee Deaths, but Resists Ban

By Carey L. Biron
A major study by the U.S. government’s environment and agriculture agencies has suggested a strong link between the use of certain pesticides and the widespread deaths that have afflicted honey bee populations around the world in recent years.

Ecuador’s Indigenous People Still Waiting to Be Consulted

By Ángela Meléndez
The Constitution of Ecuador adopted in 2008 establishes a broad range of rights for indigenous peoples and nationalities, including the right to prior consultation, which gives them the opportunity to influence decisions that affect their lives.

Aiming to Conserve Energy, Antigua Turns to Its Residents

By Desmond Brown
In drought-plagued Antigua, where water and energy top the list of most precious resources, one campaign is encouraging islanders to conserve both of these commodities.

Opinions Deeply Divided Over Fracking in Argentina

By Marcela Valente
The enthusiasm of the government and oil and gas companies over Argentina’s unconventional fuel potential has come up against fierce opposition from communities living near the country’s shale gas reserves and environmental organisations.

Monetising Human Waste and 101 (Slightly) Crazy Other Ideas

By Stephen Leahy
One, two or more of the 102 newly launched out-of-the box ideas to improve global health could be world-changing breakthroughs.

The Clock Is Ticking on Koala Conservation

By Neena Bhandari
Australia’s iconic marsupial is under threat. Formerly hunted almost to extinction for their woolly coats, koalas are now struggling to survive as habitat destruction caused by droughts and bushfires, land clearing for agriculture and logging, and mining and urban development conspire against this cuddly creature.

Where the Sea Has Risen Too High Already

By Catherine Wilson
The deceptively calm waters of Langa Langa Lagoon on the west coast of Malaita Island in the Solomon Islands is home to thousands of people who have lived on artificial islands for centuries. For generations the islanders in this south-west Pacific nation have employed tenacity and ingenuity to maintain their existence on these tiny low-lying man-made atolls, devoid of freshwater and arable land. But climate change is now the greatest threat to their survival.

U.N. Recognises Wildlife Trafficking as “Serious Crime”

By Carey L. Biron
Environment groups are applauding a new United Nations decision to officially characterise international wildlife and timber trafficking as a serious organised crime, in a move that advocates say will finally give international law enforcement officials the tools necessary to counter spiking rates of poaching.
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