Languages
Friday, November 13, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Environment
Corporations See Green in Biodiversity
The gentle hills on the edge of this remote town are lush with tropical fruit trees that yield fine wines for the Broadchem Corporation and also give the agro company a green label.
‘Amazon of Europe’ Threatened by a Straightening
Wildlife is being increasingly threatened around the Danube river, the "Amazon of Europe". The need for profit is taking over from the need to protect natural resources along the river.
Mining Industry’s Attempts at Transparency Falling Short in Peru
Peru was certified as compliant with the global standard of the Extractive Industries Transparencies Initiative (EITI) earlier this year. However, its achievements have not satisfied the demands of the local population in mining and oil extraction zones.
Bolivia in Need of Coordinated Climate Change Policies*
The effects of climate change are causing hundreds of millions of dollars a year in losses of crops, livestock and housing in Bolivia. But the few climate change adaptation and prevention policies adopted by the authorities are piecemeal and fragmented, experts say.
CLIMATE CHANGE: Caribbean Women Caught in the Storm
Incorporating a gender focus in public policies for confronting and adapting to the impacts of climate change is still a pending task in the Caribbean, despite women’s proven skills in risk and disaster management.Melting Permafrost Threatens Swiss Villages
Melting glaciers are the most visible effect of global warming in the Swiss Alps. Meanwhile, permafrost is invisible and melting too, often causing rockfall and massive debris flows, ultimately threatening mountain villages.BOLIVIA: From Police Mutiny to Indigenous Vigil
After a 62-day march from Bolivia’s tropical lowlands, over 1,000 indigenous protesters opposed to the construction of a road through a pristine rainforest reserve reached the seat of government Wednesday, just a few hours after the police called off a six-day national strike.
Depleted Chilean Fish Need “A Real Chance of Recovery”
The model of exploiting fisheries that has prevailed in the last decade has driven fish stocks to critically low levels in Chile, which has a 6,435 km Pacific coastline and a wide diversity of marine resources.
Mapping out Climate Change Adaptation Plans on Kenya’s Airwaves
On a Wednesday morning in Mutitu-Andei township in Makueni County, one of Kenya’s driest areas, smallholder farmer Josephine Mutiso tunes into Radio Mang’elete 89.1 FM and listens as meteorological experts discuss the changes in rainfall patterns in the county.
Cameroon’s Baka Evicted from Forests Set Aside for Logging
As Lysette Mendum listens to the sound of bulldozers crashing through the forest clearing a road to a mining site near her small village of Assoumdele in the Ngoyla-Mintom forest block in Cameroon’s East Region, she has never been more fearful in her life.
OP-ED: Expanding Oil Production Poses Environmental Risks
With oil prices on the rise again and geopolitical upheaval in some major oil producing regions, many countries are turning to new and often environmentally damaging sources of oil, including oil sands, deepwater offshore oil, and heavy oil.
Micro Hydels Power Indonesia’s Green Energy Plans
The nighttime glitter of Indonesia’s cities and urban centres contrasts sharply with darkness of the hinterland where some 90 million people live without the benefit of electricity.
Cuba Develops Crops Adapted to Climate Change
Cabbage, broccoli, carrots, onions and other resistant vegetables are being grown by researchers in Cuba, who for decades have been working to design plants adapted to the tropical conditions in the Caribbean region.
Haiti’s “Gold Rush” Promises El Dorado – But for Whom?
Twenty billion dollars worth of gold, copper and silver hidden in the hills of the hemisphere's poorest country. Investors in North America so convinced of the buried treasure, they have already spent 30 million dollars collecting samples, digging, building mining roads and doing aerial surveys.No Strategy for Civilisation in Crisis
The Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul in 1996 was one of the international meetings most open to civil society participation.
Cuba Seeks to Guarantee Food Supplies in Changing Climate*
In the face of the challenge of producing more food in a changing climate, farmers in Cuba are coming up with alternatives like planting drought-resistant crops and digging ponds to guarantee water supplies, in order to keep food on the table during times of drought, heavy rains or hurricanes.Asia Sees Red Over ‘Green Economy’
The just-ended United Nations sustainable development summit in Rio de Janeiro has exposed the discomfort that many developing Asian countries have over buzz words like ‘green economy’ and ‘green growth’ in development diplomacy.
Native Protest March Approaches La Paz
Snow-capped mountains shrouded in clouds tower over the ninth gruelling march of indigenous people from Bolivia's eastern lowlands to the seat of government, to challenge the government's environment policy and protest the construction of a road through a protected area of rainforest and water reserves.
Climate Change: Waiting for a Catastrophic Wake-Up Call *
Disasters are the new midwives of history. But in order to play this role, they need to be catastrophic, like the accidents in Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011 that led governments to suspend and even abolish their nuclear energy programs.Biofuels and Hunger, Two Sides of the Same Coin
Despite growing evidence that biofuel production is causing food insecurity around the world, the new European Union policy blueprint on renewable energy ignores the social effects of biofuels. Last week, Guatemalan victims of the food crisis came to Brussels to make European policy makers aware of the problem.
Climate-Smart Agriculture to Reduce Vulnerability*
Agroforestry is gaining ground as a tool for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Central America, a region where global warming could generate losses equivalent to 19 percent of gross domestic product.« 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.
The Week with IPS
NEXT STOP - SDGs
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
