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Saturday, November 14, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Environment
Weak Rio+20 Agreement Anticipates New Noah’s Ark
The downpour that fell Friday in this Brazilian city was nature’s warning to the heads of state meeting at the Rio+20 summit. The generation of Noe (Noah), an environmentalist’s son who will be born a month from now, will have to save biodiversity that is more complex than that of his Biblical namesake.
Amazon Countries Want Concrete Sustainable Development Goals*
The countries of the Amazon river basin are pursuing definite goals for the region, such as zero deforestation by 2020, even though the Rio+20 conference's outcome document does not include "sustainable development goals".
Climate Refugees – Today’s New Reality*
The continued exodus of Somalis to Kenya and Ethiopia has fuelled the debate on a new issue of global concern: climate refugees, driven from their homes and across borders by extreme weather events.
Increased Investment in Zambia’s Resources Means Displacement of Rural Poor
As social movements blasted the "new green economy" proposed at Rio+20 this week, environmental activists in Zambia worried about the role that poor people, especially those in rural areas, are going to play in it.
RIO+20: Promised Green Economy Was a Fake, Say Activists
When the Rio+20 summit on sustainable development ended Friday, there were winners and losers – mostly losers.
Bangladesh on the Green Brick Road
Bangladesh, a country highly vulnerable to climate change, is doing its bit to reduce greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions and glacier-melting soot by switching to ‘smokeless’ brick-making technology.
Biodiesel Brings Cleaner Air
For the past three months, a transport group in the Philippines has been making use of biodiesel processed from used cooking oil for their jeepneys.
Mauritian Farmers Hooked on Fair Trade
In finding a way to survive a 36 percent cut in sugar prices, Mauritian farmers are not only exporting a variety of fruit and vegetables to the European Union, but they have also begun farming in a more environmentally sustainable way.Market Gardens Key to Autonomy for Niger Women
Four figures bend intently over their work in one corner of the large vegetable garden near the western Niger village of Dioga. Months after the village's main harvest has been brought in – and eaten up – the irrigated green of the garden is welcome relief in a part of the country where hunger never seems far away.
‘It Should be Named Planet Ocean, Not Planet Earth’
Oceans, seas and coasts provide over 200 million jobs globally, while 4.3 billion people get 15 percent of their intake of animal protein from the seas. Travel and tourism, ports and energy production use oceans and seas to create jobs and economic and social benefits for millions of people.
Will the World Listen to Women?
What does birth control have to do with reducing global emissions?Ecobreves – CUBA: Promoting the Use of Solar Water Heaters
The production of solar water heaters will be stepped up in Cuba as part of efforts to promote the use of renewable energy sources.Ecobreves – CHILE: Community Demands Halt to Construction of Thermoelectric Plant
On behalf of a group of residents of the northern Chilean municipality of Huasco, the non-governmental organization Oceana has called on the Environmental Assessment Commission of the region of Atacama to deny authorization for the Punta Alcalde thermoelectric power plant to be built by Endesa-Enel.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: External Aid for Disasters and Security
The World Bank has announced the approval of 80 million dollars in new loans for Honduras, which will be primarily invested in natural disaster prevention and public security.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Bio-Detergent Cleans Up Oil Spills
Researchers at the Microbiology Institute of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro have developed a bio-detergent that eliminates oil residue resulting from spills.
Rio+20 and Beyond: Together for a Sustainable Future
We cannot call development sustainable while nearly one out of every seven men, women and children in the world are victims of undernourishment, says FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.
Why Inclusive Green Growth Can Sustain Recent Gains in Latin America
Latin America could become a victim of its own economic success, which is intimately tied to the generosity of nature, due to an increase in consumerism, says the World Bank vice president for the region, Hasan Tuluy.
Agroecology Proves Cheap and Efficient on Brazilian Farm*
An agroecological farm outside of Rio de Janeiro is a testing ground for scientists and agronomists in Brazil, who have worked there for two decades to show that it is possible to produce a wide range of natural agricultural products in a cheap, efficient way that harms neither the environment nor human health.
In One Haitian Camp, Life Offers Hardship and Little Hope
In the remote, dusty and barren area of northern Port-au-Prince, Cannon Camp houses nearly 6,000 displaced Haitians in tiny and cramped spaces. Nestled among the smattering of tents is the home of a 50-something-year-old mother of 12.
Disasters Hold Climate Change Lessons for Thais
The Kiriwong community in southern Thailand is confident of handling climate change, thanks to lessons learned from a natural disaster that hit its village 25 years ago.
Q&A: Involvement of Local Communities Key to Climate Change Adaptation
To preserve the environment and adapt to climate change, alliances must be made with communities of local people with a view to educating, rather than dictating to them. This is the maxim upheld by Ángel Quirós, a marine biologist and head of Los Caimanes National Park, a protected area that is economically and environmentally important for Cuba and the Caribbean.« 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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