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Saturday, December 2, 2023
News and Views from the Global South
Environment
Indigenous Voices and Food Systems Lead the Way at COP28
In a groundbreaking development, indigenous farmer communities are poised to bring the spotlight onto food systems at the upcoming UN Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai.
A Sperm Whale Reserve for All of Us
In Dominica, we are privileged to have over 50 Sperm Whale families living in the calm waters off our western coast as fellow citizens. Living in matrilineal societies led by grandmothers and mothers, these enormous creatures spend time in our waters diving deep for squid, giving birth and raising their young.
Improving Livestock Health Is a Net Positive Move Towards Net Zero
The recent downturn in sales of alternative meat products is only the latest evidence that the world is unlikely to give up animal protein completely in the long run.
Australia: Reconciliation Back to Square One?
Australia had the chance to take a step forward in redressing the exclusion of its Indigenous people – and chose not to. In a referendum held in October, voters rejected a constitutional amendment to establish an institution for Indigenous people to have a say on matters that concern them.
Accelerating Change: Global Call to Action on World Toilet Day to Meet 2030 Sanitation Goals
Celebrated annually on the 19th of November, World Toilet Day aims to inspire concerted efforts in addressing the pressing global sanitation crisis, which currently leaves approximately 3.5 billion people without access to safely managed sanitation.
COP28: Climate Summit in Closed Civic Space
The need to act on the climate crisis has never been clearer. In 2023, heat records have been shattered around the world. Seemingly every day brings news of extreme weather, imperilling lives. In July, UN Secretary-General António Guterres grimly announced that ‘the era of global boiling has arrived’.
Good for Girls and Good for the Planet: Eco-Friendly Sanitary Towels
’Going Green’ seems to Dr Jacquline Kisato's favorite catchphrase as she passionately explains her eco-friendly sanitary towel, a product she expects will help empower women and young girls while also putting money into farmers’ pockets.
Smallholder Farmers Gain Least from International Climate Funding
Smallholder farmers from the Global South benefit from a grossly disproportionate 0.3% of international climate finance despite producing a third of the world's food and despite holding the key to climate-proofing food systems.
Time to Convert Climate Change Rhetoric into Action, Says WFP’s Gernot Laganda
It is crucial to narrow the gaps and ensure that climate finance goes to where people are most vulnerable, says Gernot Laganda, Director of Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction at the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)—especially as the most fragile states only receive USD 2.1 per capita while non-fragile states receive USD 161.
Carbon Market Greenwashing Systems Deepen Inequalities in Global South – Experts
Somalia, Syria, DRC Congo, Afghanistan, Yemen, Chad, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Nigeria, and Ethiopia are the 10 countries at greatest risk of climate disaster globally despite collectively contributing just 0.28 percent of global CO2 emissions. A climate-induced humanitarian crisis continues to unfold across these countries and many others in the global South, including Kenya, which declared drought a national disaster in September 2021.
Recognizing Food & Land-Use Systems as Contributors to Climate Change
For a long time, the agriculture sector has been heralded as a success story for India. Spurred by the Green Revolution, it provided a path-breaking solution to feed the country's burgeoning population starting in the 1960s.
Fast-Track Climate Resilience Building of Small and Vulnerable Nations Ahead of COP28
As the countdown to COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, continues, IPS caught up with Dr Oldman Koboto, Mauritius-based Manager for the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CCFAH).
PPPs Fiscal Hoax Is a Blank Financial Silver Bullet
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) for infrastructure and service provision are both costly and risky. Worse, PPPs typically fail to ensure universal, let alone fair access to public amenities.
Community Efforts Boost Wastewater Treatment in El Salvador – Video
Neither the central government nor most of El Salvador's 262 municipalities have had the capacity to install enough wastewater treatment plants to prevent it from being discharged directly into the environment. 
The Relentless Struggles of India’s Seawall Mammas
The sun is high in the noon sky—humidity unrelenting at 95 percent in this Indian sea-coast village. The monsoon has been deficient; rice paddies are yellowing on the edges from the salty surf misting in on them. Waves now break barely 200 metres from the farms and homes.
Deforestation, Encroachment Threaten West Africa’s One Health Plans
Thirty-three years ago, Bala Amerasekaran – a Sri Lankan by birth – visited Freetown, Sierra Leone. Since then, the West African nation has been his home, where Amerasekaran has dedicated his life to conserving the chimpanzee – Sierra Leone’s national animal.
Kashmir’s Apple Industry Faces Dire Threats as Climate Change Takes its Toll
Of Kashmir’s seven million inhabitants, a staggering one million rely directly on apple farming. The region is pivotal in India’s apple and horticulture production, contributing to over 70 percent of the country’s apple supply. This not only provides income to farmers but also sustains a vast network of laborers, traders, and transporters within the fruit economy.
Communities Taking a Sting Out of Poaching With Alternative Livelihoods
As we approach the forest in the village to appreciate Andrew Mbewe’s beekeeping enterprise, a bee from a hive close to the edge of the natural woodland stings him on the cheek.
Even Rich Nations Now Worried About ISDS
Governments the world over are worried about investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) rules. These allow foreign investors to sue them for billions over new laws or policies reducing their profits.
Women Correct Historical Injustices, Build Climate Resilience Through Cash Pooling
Although women account for more than three-quarters of the agricultural labour force and manage 40 percent of small-scale farms, historically, they neither owned nor controlled the land because land rights were passed down to male relatives. It is a historic gender injustice whereby women could only access land through close male relatives.
Innovative Financial Services Transform Agricultural Entrepreneurship in Africa
Smallholder agricultural enterprises in Africa face a lot of challenges getting loans from financial institutions like banks due to the stringent requirements they can hardly fulfil. Investor confidence is usually lacking, given the risks involved in this sector of the economy.« 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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Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
