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Sunday, November 15, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Environment
More Toilets in Zimbabwe, Better Livelihoods
Government and sanitation experts say Zimbabwe needs to increase efforts to promote good hygiene and invest in toilets and clean water provision, as the country grapples with a typhoid outbreak.
Ghanaian Fisherfolk Blasting Their Way to Finding Fish
Explosives, high-watt light bulbs, monofilament nets, and poison: these are a few methods fisherfolk are using to catch ever-dwindling fish stocks off Ghana’s shores.
Gulf of Mexico Seafood Deformities Alarm Scientists
"The fishermen have never seen anything like this," Jim Cowan told Al Jazeera. "And in my 20 years working on red snapper, looking at somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 fish, I've never seen anything like this either."
U.N. in Last Ditch Bid to Finalise Rio+20 Action Plan
The Rio+20 sustainable development summit, scheduled to take place in Brazil in June, is billed as a key meeting of world leaders who are expected to renew their political commitment and approve a wide-ranging plan for a greener future.
Listening to the Hum of Tilling Machinery in the Sierra Leone Countryside
In the eastern Sierra Leonean community of Lambayama, rice paddies are carved far into the landscape before being abruptly halted by distant hills. Aside from a paved road that draws a grey line through the green, swampy valley, it looks much as it did a century ago.
Caribbean to Take Strong Stance at Rio+20 Summit
The mandate will be very clear. Caribbean Community (CARICOM) delegates are going to Brazil in June for the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development determined to show that it will not be business as usual.
Western Ghana’s Fisherfolk Starve Amid Algae Infestation
Sam Kojo stands in a thigh-high pile of brown seaweed that blankets a beach in western Ghana. Behind him, a decomposing mound of Sargassum stretches down the shore past the fishing village of Beyin.Challenges for Future Nationalised Oil Co. in Argentina
One of the big challenges facing the Argentine government in its plans to regain state control of the country's biggest oil firm, YPF, is to make up for the time lost under private management, when production and exploration fell.
Guyana Strives to Protect Forests and Coast from Climate Change
Its accolades include being labelled the breadbasket of the Caribbean as well as the Amazon adventure. But the natural environment for which the South American country of Guyana is famous is also reeling from the effects of climate change.
Crocodiles Edged Out of Habitats in Sri Lanka
Reacting to a series of deadly crocodile attacks, the Sri Lankan government has drawn up plans to capture the free-ranging beasts and confine them to parks. Conservationists oppose this move.
Mexican Seeds, the New Spoils for Food Corporations
Biodiversity and small and medium farms are threatened in Mexico by the looming approval of a reform of the law on plant varieties that will extend patent rights over seeds, activists and experts warn.
Steady Water Supply for Zimbabwean City Still a Pipe Dream
Residents of Zimbabwe's water-scarce city, Bulawayo, are concerned about the government’s slow response to finding a permanent source of water to cover their needs.
Buenos Aires Unprepared for More Intense Storms**
The 18 deaths caused by a storm that hit Buenos Aires earlier this month tragically demonstrate the lack of preparedness for the ever more frequent and powerful weather events faced by the Argentine capital and its suburbs.Sea Level Rise Threatens Mekong Rice
With Vietnam’s fertile Mekong delta threatened by rising sea levels and salt water ingress, the country’s future as a major rice exporter depends critically on research underway in the Philippines.Green Nobel Highlights Water Crises
A Catholic priest from the Philippines, a mother of three from Argentina, and the founder of the NGO Friends of Lake Turkana in Kenya all have one thing in common: they have helped to motivate their respective local communities to protect the natural environment around them and to stand up for their rights.
Reaffirmation of Women’s Rights Key to Rio+20 Success
The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, unanimously adopted by 178 governments at the June 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil, specifically recognised that "women have a vital role in environmental management and development."
Indonesian Farmers Burned in Biofuel Drive
Dreams of sending his children to quality schools have vanished for 40-year-old farmer Muslikin, as the father of three now struggles to repay the bank loan he took out to finance his jatropha plantation in 2006.Gas Extraction Fuels Abuse in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea’s infamous track record on gender-based violence – with an estimated 75 percent of women and children experiencing some form of violence, primarily domestic abuse – is poised to worsen.World Bank Supports Harmful Water Corporations, Report Finds
Water privatisation has been proven not to help the poor, yet a quarter of all World Bank funding goes directly to corporations and the private sector, bypassing both governments and its own standards and transparency requirements in order to do so, says a new report released Monday.
Buenos Aires Unprepared for Normally Extraordinary Storms
In Buenos Aires, damage to real estate from flooding is projected to total 80 million dollars per year by 2030 and 300 million dollars per year by 2050.
Project to Regularize Rural Land Tenure in Northeast Brazilian State of Piauí
The Brazilian state of Piauí will receive a major injection of funds to regularize land titles for family farmers and promote sustainable agricultural growth.« 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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