Environment

Subsidies Play “Significant Role” in Climate Change, IMF Says

By Carey L. Biron
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is urging national governments around the world to roll back or eliminate subsidies on petroleum-based energy sources, estimating that this alone could result in a 13-percent decline in global carbon dioxide emissions.

Spain Leads EU in GM Crops, but No One Knows Where They Are

By Inés Benítez
Spain has more large-scale plantations of genetically modified seeds than any other country in the European Union (EU).

Nuclear Safety Plan Has Ukrainians Worried

By Pavol Stracansky
A 300 million euro loan to improve nuclear safety in the Ukraine has been attacked by environmental groups who say it will instead be used to keep ageing reactors working well beyond their planned lifespans – increasing the risks of a nuclear accident - while doing nothing to address serious issues with the country’s energy intensity.

Small Miners – from Digging in Danger to Becoming Legal

By Issa Sikiti da Silva
Congolese small-scale miner Elizabeth Tshimanga has made a successful living from prospecting. But like many artisanal miners in Africa, hers has been a long and tough journey marred by harassment and disputes over her legal status as a miner.

Group Warns of “Natural Resources Giveaway” in Latin America

By Joe Hitchon
Researchers have unveiled new data warning that governments in Latin America are infringing on the rights of their indigenous populations in a bid to fuel development through the extraction of natural resources.

PERU: Stepping Up Protection for Native Groups in Voluntary Isolation

By Milagros Salazar
In the dense Amazon rainforest of Peru, there are five reserves inhabited by indigenous groups who have chosen to remain totally or partially isolated from the rest of society. But these areas are not officially demarcated as indigenous lands, and only one is protected with a control post.

Concerns Mount as U.S. Plans Major Natural Gas Exports

By Carey L. Biron
Environmentalists and others here are reacting with concern to a surprise announcement on Monday of a major deal that would see U.S. natural gas exported to the United Kingdom, marking the first time that such sales have been permitted.

Tug-of-War Over Nuclear Future

By Suvendrini Kakuchi
Pushed and pulled in opposite directions, the future of Japan’s energy plans in the wake of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant two years ago is emerging as a fight between national economic advancement and what anti-nuke activists call “the lives of the people”.

Electricity for All but Those the Kariba Dam Displaced

By Baboki Kayawe
Indigenous people who were displaced from the Zambezi Valley almost six decades ago for the construction of the Kariba Dam say they have not benefited from the development they made way for.

/UPDATE*/Boreholes, Boreholes Everywhere….And Not a Drop to Drink

By Mantoe Phakathi
Every day for the last four years, 52-year-old Tintfombi Msibi has had to walk past the borehole in her village of Ekuphakameni, one of the driest rural villages in southern Swaziland, to a dirty stream two kilometres away to collect drinking water.

India Playing Risky Games at Nuclear Parks

By Ranjit Devraj
Bhagwat Singh Gohil frets for the future of his bountiful orchards in Mithi Virdi village in western Gujarat state’s coastal district Bhavnagar. “After contending with droughts, rough seas and earthquakes we are staring at the possibility of a man-made disaster in the shape of a nuclear power park.”
Nanti women and children, members of an indigenous community in initial contact with Western culture in the Peruvian region of Madre de Dios. - INDEPA

PERU: Stepping Up Protection for Indigenous Groups in Voluntary Isolation

By Milagros Salazar and - -
In the dense Amazon rainforest of Peru, there are five reserves inhabited by indigenous groups who have chosen to remain totally or partially isolated from the rest of society. But these areas are not officially demarcated as indigenous lands, and only one is protected with a control post.

Net Tightens Around Fishing in Egypt

By Cam McGrath
For Egypt’s commercial marine fishermen, making a living has never been more dangerous. Egyptian crews driven further afield in search of fish have faced pirate attacks, spent months in dingy foreign prisons, and come under fire from coast guard vessels. Dozens of fishermen have been held for ransom, abused by authorities, or shot and killed.

Pope Francis Raises Hopes for an Ecological Church

By Marcela Valente
The new pope’s choice of the name Francis, to honour the Catholic Church’s patron saint of animals and the environment, has awakened the hopes of ecologists and others who are concerned about rampant consumerism and the deterioration of the planet.

Civil Society Seeks to Influence Mexican Mining Law Reform

By Emilio Godoy
Two separate bills to reform Mexico’s mining laws, one from the government and the other from academics and NGOs, agree on the urgent need for major changes in the rules governing the industry.

Water Crisis Hitting Food, Energy – And Everything Else

By Stephen Leahy
How much water does it take to turn on a light? It took 10,000 litres to make your jeans. Another three big bathtubs of water was needed for your two-eggs-toast-coffee breakfast this morning.

The World Flocks to its Forum

By Justin Hyatt
In the final countdown to this year's World Social Forum (WSF), Tunisian civil society and the country's capital, Tunis, prepares for an influx of over 50,000 visitors. With the dates of the forum set for Mar. 26-30, uncompleted tasks are being fast-tracked while the university campus that will host the forum is being given a security face-lift.

Climate Change Now Seen as Security Threat Worldwide

By Jim Lobe
Defence establishments around the world increasingly see climate change as posing potentially serious threats to national and international security, according to a review of high-level statements by the world’s governments released here Thursday.

Nuclear Medicine Heals but Could Harm, Too

By Malini Shankar
A state-of-the-art nuclear medicine hospital for cancer treatment in the heart of Bangalore goes well with the global image of this tech-savvy city.

Q&A: Master Reforestation Plan to Save Haiti

By Patricia Grogg
Droughts and floods, devastating hurricanes and soil erosion with a drastic impact on food security make Haiti extremely vulnerable to climate change and in need of enormous adaptation efforts.

U.S. Urged to Reject New World Bank Focus on Large Infrastructure

By Carey L. Biron
A group of environmentalists, gender activists and international finance watchdogs are calling on the U.S. government to support calls for the World Bank to step back from a new programmatic focus on large-scale infrastructure, which critics say does little to help alleviate poverty.
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