Honduras: Environmental Defenders Still under Siege

Juan López was gunned down on 14 September. An environmental activist, community leader and member of the Municipal Committee in Defence of the Commons and Public Goods of Tocoa, he was the latest victim of extractive greed in Honduras. Communities protecting the rivers that flow through the Bajo Aguán region have seen several of their leaders assassinated.

‘The new law’s purpose is to increase government control over civil society’

 
CIVICUS discusses a recently passed law regulating civil society organisations (CSOs) in Paraguay with Marta Ferrara and Olga Caballero, executive directors of Semillas para la Democracia (Seeds for Democracy) and Alma Cívica (Civic Soul), two of the organisations leading the civil society response to the closing of civic space.

Haitians Blame Government After Massacre in Pont-Sondé

Last week, on October 3, a violent gang attack on the residents in the central Haitian city Pont-Sondé resulted in 115 deaths and spread fear among communities. This attack was described as one of the deadliest massacres in recent history in Haiti. Pervasive gang violence threatens to destabilize Haiti as the environment grows more dangerous by the day.

Higher Education Course Rescues Indigenous Guarani Culture in Argentina

A few years ago, Bernardo Olivera moved to Posadas, the capital of the Argentinean province of Misiones, to study mathematics at the public university. Interested in numbers and keen to progress, he felt, however, that the education system put a barrier in his way because of his indigenous origin.

Amazonian Bioeconomy: An Essential Path for Sustainable Development

The Amazon is at a critical juncture. Despite its abundant biodiversity, cultural richness, and immeasurable environmental value, it faces serious threats that endanger its future and the communities that depend on it.

Biogas, a Circular Energy, Advances in Brazil Thanks to Local Arrangements

“I don't know of a more sustainable technology for the transformation of society than biogas,” said Professor Alex Enrich-Prast, an activist for this energy alternative with a highly diversified and decentralised expansion in Brazil.

Dominican Republic Orders the Expulsion of Thousands of Haitian Migrants

Over the past few months, the escalation of gang violence and mass displacement in Haiti have been of great concern for humanitarian organizations. Severe levels of armed violence have resulted in significant instability, with food insecurity, sexual violence, civilian casualities, and restricted freedom of movement plaguing the nation. Displacement cases have risen sharply, to the extent that the Dominican Republic has ordered the return of thousands of Haitian migrants.

Goodbye to Large Families in Latin America

Large families are already a relic of the past in Latin America and the Caribbean, as a result of modernisation and the growth of the economy and the labour force. Now, the region faces an ageing population and migratory movements.

Cuba’s Coastal Dwellers Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change

Every time a hurricane clouds the skies over the city of Manzanillo, in the eastern Cuban province of Granma, the sea pounds the Litoral neighbourhood, forcing many of the 200 families who live there to evacuate inland because of flooding. When the weather is calm, the sea penetrates subtly and constantly, salinizing the water table and eroding the coast, affecting the foundations of houses and artesian wells.

COP 29: High Stakes for Small Islands Fighting for Climate Finance

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are experiencing the most severe impacts of climate change. When leaders of those islands met in Antigua and Barbuda in May, they let the world know that achieving climate justice hinges on comprehensive climate finance.

Inequality in Access to Abortion Rights in Latin America

The struggle for women's right to decide in Latin America and the Caribbean, for their access to legal, safe and free abortion continues in the region, with some countries fully criminalising it, others with severe regulations, and a few guaranteeing better conditions, while threats of regression persist.

Solar Panels Aim to Protect Mexican Family Farming

Verónica Molina, an indigenous Comcaac woman, first came into contact with solar energy in 2016, when she travelled to India for training on communal photovoltaic facilities. This later enabled her to take part in the installation of the first solar systems and family vegetable gardens in her community, Desemboque del Seri, in northern Mexico.

Gang Violence and Mass Displacement Ravage Haiti

Amid the ongoing civil unrest in Haiti due to gang violence, levels of internal displacement have soared. Mass internal displacements in Haiti have led to a host of adverse consequences. This includes a disruption of schooling, increased levels of violence and exploitation, and limited access to essential services such as healthcare.

Forest Fires in the Amazon Threaten Earth’s Stability

This year has been the worst for the Amazon rainforest in almost two decades. Although there has been a measured decline in deforestation when compared to 2023, forest fires have ravaged acres of critical ecosystems. For the first eight months of this year, the Amazon has seen routine forest fires, totalling to over 53,000 recorded instances.

Mexican chinampas survive surrounded by threats

Mexican Crescencio Hernández orders radishes, herbs and lettuce for shipment to an alternative market in west-central Mexico City.

Explainer: Why Venezuela Needs To Reduce Its Gas Flaring

The most visible part of gas flaring in Venezuela is the so-called “Monagas illuminated nights.” These are red and orange skies, which are visible from the homes of the locals at night and which show the gas flaring in the oil fields of Monagas, a state located in the east of the Caribbean country and key in its oil production.

A Cuban Town Improves Water Quality Through Desalination

Overnight, hundreds of people in the rural community of Las Mangas, located in Granma province in eastern Cuba, realised something they had already suspected: that the water they had been drinking for decades was not exactly crystal clear, but rather “salty”, as they say.

Latin American Rulers Embrace Harsh Prisons

Invoking the fight against terrorists and sending those who can be charged with this crime to new maximum security prisons are increasingly emerging in the toolbox of Latin American leaders who want to show an iron fist against criminals and opponents.

Food Security in Latin America and the Caribbean: Progress, Challenges and the Commitment to Move Forward

The latest publication of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 (SOFI) report launched last July in the framework of the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro provides a detailed overview of progress and setbacks in the fight against hunger.

Climate Assemblies Seek Citizen Participation in Latin American Solutions

Danilo Barbosa had never taken part in political processes until his name was drawn in a lottery to join the climate assembly of the municipality of Bujaru, in the Amazon region of Brazil.

Clean Energy Boosts Autonomy for Brazilian Women Farmers – VIDEO

A community bakery, family production of fruit pulp, and the recovery of water springs are some of the initiatives of the Energy of Women of the Earth, organised since 2017 in the state of Goiás, in central-western Brazil.