Africa

Inside the studio of Women’s Voice Radio in Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Credit: Learning Together.

By External Source
KABUL, Jun 13 2025 (IPS)

Mehrangiz is a sixteen-year-old girl from Badakhshan, a province in the northeastern Afghanistan famed for its rubies, jewels, and a land of love and beauty.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, strict restrictions have been imposed on women’s freedoms, driving women into a dead-end life of no prospects, resulting in a rise in mental health crisis and suicides amongst them.

Mehrangiz credits her recovery to Women’s Voice Radio. She narrates her life story as follows:

When I was in the 10th grade, I had dreams and aspirations. Every day, I worked harder than the day before to reach goals that I wished to achieve in the future. There was no electricity in my village, so I would study at night next to a kerosene lamp, clinging to the hope that one day my dreams would be fulfilled.

One day, as I sat in the garden writing, I heard the cries of one of my classmates that we could no longer go to school or study. It stunned me into silence.

Days passed. I thought the situation would be temporary, and I continued to study, hoping not to fall behind and achieve success in life like girls in other parts of the world.

But eventually I could no longer endure the suffocating silence. When would girls be allowed to go back to school? That question appeared to have no answer – indefinitely. I began to lose the fighting spirit to continue. Sleeplessness and loss of appetite overwhelmed me, and the world of my dreams had turned to only one color—black!

Life became increasingly difficult with each passing day, and I felt I could not stand it any longer. The despair was so overwhelming that one day, at the height of my anger and frustration, I burnt all my textbooks.

The darkness of life numbed me and I decided never to try to study any more. I kept myself busy with household chores and physical activities at home, trying to avoid thinking about the future.

However, a ray of light illuminated my path one day when I went out shopping with my mother. The change began as a small event but carried a very big outcome.

When we became tired after shopping around, we decided to take a rest at Kedbanu – a women’s-only restaurant – for lunch. A doctor was on air at Sadee Banowan radio, one of the most popular radio stations in Badakhshan. She was talking about depression.

I became captivated by the doctor’s inspiring and soothing words, I even had to slow down my eating to listen properly.

When my mother glanced at me, I gestured to her about what was coming over the radio and she, too, began to listen. Our ears remained pricked up to the radio to the very end.

The doctor’s words were captivating, equally so was the talent of the radio host, who asked questions as if he was deeply familiar with the deep problems facing countless Afghan girls.

The situation of women and girls in Afghanistan went into rapid decline after the Taliban regained power four years ago. Under strict Islamist laws, they were barred from further education, forced out of paid unemployment and largely confined to the home. They were not allowed to sit in parks or even raise their voices when talking. Forced marriages became their lot.

The severe restrictions took a heavy mental toll on women, many of who committed suicide because of depression and other mental illnesses.

At the end of the doctor’s broadcast, I made a telephone call to the radio for further information and to my delight, was informed that I could also discuss my personal problems with the doctor.

 

Counseling and a New Outlook on Life

The following day I was at the gates of the radio station with a mix feeling of enthusiasm and trepidation.

I was not certain I would actually be able to share my problems with them, since in light of the situation of Afghanistan in the past four years, everyone appeared focused on finding solutions to their individual problems with no time for others.

But eventually, when I sat before the very same doctor whose words had held me captive on the radio the previous day, I could not even describe anything comparably more uplifting.

The doctor provided me with useful guidelines about how to cope in life. “Let us try to find an alternative way to life rather than ruining our souls and tormenting our families. Let us trust in God”, she advised.

It motivated me to live better and fight against difficulties that pressed me, giving me the strength to grow and become stronger.

She advised me to go out occasionally and enjoy myself, meet friends, wear bright colors such as orange, red, and yellow, and focus on being happy.

I have had four free psychotherapy sessions and about 30 percent of my problems have been resolved. My mental state has improved. Life is smiling upon me once again. I now see life as beautiful, full of only vibrant colors without any hint of black, unlike previously.

 

Women’s Voice Radio: A Beacon Amidst Restriction

Women’s Voice Radio has been on air since 2010. It is one of the most popular and cherished radio stations among women in Badakhshan. In the course of its existence, its popularity has soared so much that it broadcasts 24 hours a day, attracting both men and women to its informative programs.

However, Women’s Voice Radio station, which is dedicated specifically to women, has faced increasing restrictions following the rise of the new regime in Afghanistan in 2021. In the early days of the Taliban regime, the radio station was shut down for 23 days for merely broadcasting a few seconds of music included in a commercial advertisement. It has since resumed broadcasting.

Since then, Women’s Voice Radio has developed several new programs, such as the “Maktab” (School) program, dedicated to girls in grades seven to twelve. The programme provides curriculum materials by teachers and other professionals via radio to girls who are not allowed to go to school.

“Psychotherapy” is another program that supports women confined to their homes, a high percentage of whom experience depression and stress. The program is hosted by a psychotherapist who provides effective advice and guidance to women and girls, introducing them to various healthy activities and ways to cope with life’s challenges. Indeed, officials of the radio plan to establish a large psychotherapy center in Badakhshan to meet the increasing demand for psychotherapy by vulnerable women and girls.

“Art in the Embrace of Women” is another inspirational program for women that highlights innovative and creative women who have demonstrated initiatives across various fields, particularly in business, entrepreneurship, and investment, serving as models to other women to look up to.

 

A New Chapter

To cap it all, I have had good luck and have been offered a job at the radio station, where I have been working for the past three months. I have had the pleasure of working alongside wonderful and friendly women, those who greeted me with smiles and warm hugs on my first visit to the radio station.

I am learning valuable life lessons—the lessons of overcoming challenges and helping others to the same. To everyone else, Women’s Voice Radio may be a broadcasting station but to me, I consider it a university of life where I learn lessons in how to lead a good life.

I am now a member of a small but powerful family.

Excerpt:

The author is an Afghanistan-based female journalist, trained with Finnish support before the Taliban take-over. Her identity is withheld for security reasons

A recycling, biodigestion and composting complex is being installed next to the landfill of the Intermunicipal Consortium of the Middle Valley of the Itajaí River (Cimvi), to take advantage of all the solid waste from 19 municipalities in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. Credit: Mario Osava / IPS

By Mario Osava
TIMBO / FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil , Jun 13 2025 (IPS)

In 2014, Santa Catarina became the first and only state free of open-air garbage dumps in Brazil. Now, 14 of its municipalities are seeking to also free themselves from landfills and make use of nearly all urban solid waste.

The Intermunicipal Consortium of the Middle Itajaí Valley (Cimvi) expects to process in recycling, biodigestion and composting more than 90% of the garbage, surpassing the 65% benchmark reached by the Nordic countries of Europe, emphasized its executive director, Fernando Tomaselli.“We have 36 landfills in the state, only three public, the rest are private and there is little interest in changing the system, because whoever dominates the landfill also dominates the garbage collection service”: Fernando Tomaselli.

“It is a utopia,” said the executive president of the Brazilian Association of Energy from Waste (Abren), Yuri Schmitke.

“The unrealistic goal compromises the project,” he warned. Several European countries, Japan and South Korea have already eliminated sanitary landfills – the areas for the final disposal of solid waste – but resort to incineration to generate energy with non-recyclable garbage, he added.

Cimvi rules out that alternative. Its goal is to expand recycling and the circular economy of waste to an unprecedented proportion. “Our obsession is to take advantage of everything, to prove that garbage does not exist,” said Tomaselli.

But recycling has limits. Europe, after many attempts and advances, covers 25 % of waste on average and 32 % in the exceptional case of Germany. In addition, 19% of the waste still goes to landfills, according to data from Abren, which had its sixth annual congress in Florianopolis, capital of Santa Catarina, on June 5 and 6.

Cimvi was created in 1998, with only five participating municipalities, to jointly manage several issues, but not yet garbage. It reached its current composition of 14 municipalities in 2017 after taking over the management of the sanitary landfill in 2016, previously in charge of the water and sewage authorities.

Its headquarters was installed in Timbo, a town of 46 099 people, according to the 2022 national census. The 14 municipalities had 283 594 residents that year, the most populous being Indaial, with 71 549.

Fernando Tomaselli, director of Cimvi, an intermunicipal initiative that promotes circular waste management in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. Credit: Mario Osava / IPS

Landfill and recycling

The landfill receives garbage from five other “partner” cities, in addition to the 14 in the consortium, with a total of between 5,000 and 7,000 tons per month. Environmental education campaigns in schools, businesses and the streets have gradually expanded selective waste collection.

Yellow sacks were popularized and disseminated where the population put recyclable waste which, collected by the municipalities, are taken to the Waste Assessment Center (CVR I) at the Cimvi headquarters, on the outskirts of Timbo.

“Today we recover 20 to 22% of recyclable waste, against a Brazilian average of 2%. We want to reach 27%,” Tomaselli told IPS.

“We receive an average of 60 tons a day, 24 hours a day, in three shifts, Monday to Monday,” said Rosane Valério, president of the Medio Vale Cooperative, hired to separate and send the waste to purchasing companies, at CVR I, where 87 recyclers are employed.

The cooperative has another unit to process waste from two other nearby cities, Ituporanga and Aurora, with a total of 33 300 people.

“Of the material received, we still discard 30% that comes mixed or dirty with food remains, sometimes blood that attracts mosquitoes, glass and other dangerous objects such as syringes and medicines, which generate major difficulties for recycling,” explained Valério.

A bench at the entrance of Cimvi’s headquarters, made of thermoplastic produced from waste that was previously considered non-recyclable and destined for landfills. Credit: Mario Osava / IPS

Thermoplastic

She regretted that “we do not know the origin, there is a lack of awareness of the population in the correct disposal”. In any case, half of that 30% of discarded waste can be used for the production of thermoplastic, a hard material like concrete, which is used to make benches for squares, sidewalks, pavements and walls.

The cooperative already operates a pilot plant, with experimental production that has not yet been sold externally. “The municipalities are the initial market for the thermoplastic plates, as well as for the compost from the composting,” says Tomaselli.

Abren’s president, Schmitke, is skeptical. The consortium municipalities have a limited, insufficient demand, and the population does not trust products made from garbage, he argued.

Jaqueline Wagenknetht and Maria Eduarda Pegoretti, Cimvi’s environmental education and communication advisors, promote environmental education in the so-called European Valley to improve selective garbage collection and promote tourism and sustainable living. Credit: Mario Osava / IPS

But thermoplastic has been around for four decades and now there is equipment that facilitates its production at a high temperature, 160 degrees Celsius, and as an input, half of the plastic that is added to other waste, such as textiles, is enough, countered the director of Cimvi.

The use of local waste will take a leap forward with the inauguration of CVR II, which is expected in early 2026 and will use a large part of the organic waste for the production of biogas and biofertilizers. Another part will go to composting.

“The goal is to take advantage of 100% or 98%,” for which alternatives must be sought for waste, the “common garbage” for which there are still no ways to recycle, he said.

Cimvi headquarters, in the Sunflower Park, which combines ecotourism, sanitary landfill and urban waste utilization plants for biogas generation, recycling and composting. Credit: Mario Osava / IPS

Bottlenecks

One stumbling block is selective collection, which needs to be perfected. “In Milan, Italy, five types of garbage are separated at the source, be it food, plastics, paper, metals or glass. Here, it’s harder because everything is mixed together,” said Tomaselli.

That is why Cimvi gives priority to environmental education, through several campaigns such as “Vale reciclar”, and sustainable tourism, which highlights the beauties of the so-called European Valley, which includes other municipalities in addition to the 14 consortium members.

The Girasol Park was also created for this purpose, a tourist complex that includes the landfill, the Cimvi facilities and the surrounding forest, with trails for walks, said Jaqueline Wagenknetht, environmental education advisor.

Design and poetry contests among local students seek to promote the valley, which is called European because its population includes many immigrants, especially Germans, Italians and Poles.

The name Sunflower was chosen for the park because, in addition to its beauty, the flower symbolizes sustainability, as a source of oil and biofuel, the advisor explained.

Design of the future Sunflower Park, in which the green buildings, in the center, are intended for recycling and energy biodigestion. In the background on the left is the landfill already covered, able to receive solar energy panels. Credit: Courtesy of Cimvi

Cimvi benefits from the experiences of São Bento do Sul, a municipality of 83 277 people, 120 kilometers north of Timbo, which has a similar program that seeks to use up to 100% of the waste.

A process of dehydration of the organic part allows a better use of the waste, explained Jacó Phoren, consultant of the company 100lixo, which is involved in the project, during his speech at the Abren congress on June 6.

Fostering new companies that generate solutions for the waste industry is another focus of Cimvi, said Tomaselli.

In Curitibanos, a city 185 kilometers southwest of Timbo, with 40 045 people, the company Inventus Ambiental claims to have invented equipment that will facilitate the separation of garbage for better energy recovery or recycling, reducing the waste that makes landfills bigger.

Its pilot project will be inaugurated in a few months and is based on the use of 90-degree heat to treat organic material, informed Dirnei Ferri, director of the company.

Santa Catarina has already eliminated open dumps, although it is ignored if all of them have been cleaned up. Now it is a matter of “breaking the landfill trench”, said Tomaselli.

“We have 36 landfills in the state, only three public, the rest are private and there is little interest in changing the system, because whoever dominates the landfill also dominates the garbage collection service,” he concluded.

An investigation in under way into what really happened to Albert Ojwang in a police cell.

Li Junhua, Conference Secretary-General, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Arnoldo Andre Tinoco, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Costa Rica and Olivier Poivre D'Arvor, Special Envoy of the French Republic for UN Ocean Conference address the final press briefing of UNOC3. Credit: Kizito Makoye/IPS

By Kizito Makoye
NICE, France, Jun 13 2025 (IPS)

With the future of the world’s oceans hanging in the balance, global leaders, scientists, and activists gathered in the French Riviera city of Nice this week for the historic UN Ocean Conference, where France declared a new era of high seas governance and marine protection.

At a press briefing on Thursday, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, France’s Special Envoy for the UN Ocean Conference, said the global gathering marks a turning point for ocean conservation, with 174 delegations and 64 heads of state rallying behind a common goal—to transform the world’s oceans from a lawless expanse into a protected global commons governed by science, cooperation, and binding treaties.

“The high seas are no longer a playground. They are now a protected space,” d’Arvor told reporters, announcing that the UN’s landmark treaty on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) will officially enter into force by early January 2026.

Dubbed the “Treaty of Nice,” the pact seeks to place nearly two-thirds of the world’s ocean under international governance, a move hailed by conservationists as the biggest step forward for marine protection in decades. With 56 countries having ratified the treaty and 14 more expected to follow before the ceremonial launch in New York on September 23, the agreement meets the 60-country threshold required for it to become law.

“This is a foundational moment,” said d’Arvor. “Nice could become for ocean governance what Rio was for climate and biodiversity.”

The treaty, negotiated over 15 years, aims to regulate the high seas—areas beyond national jurisdiction that have long been vulnerable to overfishing, pollution, and unregulated extraction. It also lays the groundwork for the first-ever Ocean COP, expected by the end of 2026, where signatory countries will finalize implementation protocols, establish a permanent secretariat, and begin real enforcement through satellites, naval fleets, and drones.

Despite tensions in multilateral diplomacy, France—with co-host Costa Rica and the UN—has managed to galvanize widespread support. In a strong show of unity, even geopolitical rivals such as China, India, and the European Union endorsed the treaty, while Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Indonesia ratified it during the summit.

D’Arvor also used the occasion to caution against a renewed push for deep-sea mining, particularly in light of a recent U.S. executive order authorizing a preliminary exploration mission. “The deep sea is not for sale—no more than Antarctica or Greenland,” he warned, pledging that a coalition of 40 countries would continue to block any attempt to adopt a mining code without consensus under the International Seabed Authority (ISA).

“Those who hoped the code would be adopted at Kingston this July have lost the battle. I hope they’ve lost the war,” he added.

In parallel with the treaty’s legal strides, the conference saw the launch of the European Ocean Pact, a collaborative ocean exploration initiative unveiled by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The pact, backed by countries including India and China, aims to correct the stark imbalance in research funding—currently, ocean exploration receives 250 times less funding than space programs.

By bringing together oceanographic institutes, space agencies, and private sector players, the initiative promises to generate a shared global database to help map and understand the ocean in unprecedented detail. “In 15 years, we aim to fully understand the ocean—or at least enough to truly protect it,” said d’Arvor.

He stressed that science—not political posturing—will be the new compass for ocean policy. “This is the victory of science. The ocean has long been a victim of exploitation and ignorance. But now, it can become a platform for cooperation and peace.”

Yet challenges remain. While Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) are relatively well managed, questions linger about compliance and enforcement. The true test, observers say, will be translating high-level pledges into measurable progress.

Still, the momentum in Nice has brought renewed hope for ocean defenders around the globe. “We are not there yet,” said d’Arvor. “But for the first time, we are truly moving forward—and there is no turning back.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Greenpeace banner sign against deep sea mining at UNOC3 in Nice on June 11, 2025. Credit: Greenpeace

By Kizito Makoye
NICE, France, Jun 13 2025 (IPS)

The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) concluded today in Nice with an urgent call for governments to translate bold words into concrete action to protect the world’s oceans. Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, the summit brought together more than 15,000 participants, including 50 heads of state and government, civil society leaders, scientists, youth, and Indigenous communities in an 11-day event hailed as both a milestone for ocean diplomacy and a test of global resolve.

“This conference has been a resounding success,” said Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, France’s Special Envoy for the Ocean. “We close not just with hope, but with concrete commitments, clear direction, and undeniable momentum.”

Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Tinoco emphasized the breadth of participation and the centrality of science in shaping decisions. “Together with France, we worked toward an action-oriented conference where all actors are represented and where finance and science go hand in hand,” he said.

Under-Secretary-General Li Chunhua, the Secretary-General of the conference, stressed the need for implementation: “The real test is not what we said here but what we do next. The wave of change has formed. Now, it is our collective responsibility to propel it forward.”

Key Outcomes and Announcements

One of the most anticipated achievements of the conference was progress on the High Seas Treaty—officially known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement. With 51 ratifications confirmed and 60 needed for entry into force, the treaty promises to enable the creation of marine protected areas in international waters, a crucial tool to achieving the goal of protecting 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.

Additionally, 800 new voluntary commitments were registered across the 10 multi-stakeholder Ocean Action Panels, addressing issues from marine pollution and deep-sea ecosystems to ocean finance and the role of Indigenous peoples.

New and strengthened initiatives launched at UNOC3 include:

The One Ocean Finance Facility is aimed at closing the multi-billion-dollar funding gap for ocean conservation.

The European Ocean Pact, which reinforces regional cooperation for sustainable ocean management.

The Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience Coalition, supporting vulnerable communities on the frontlines of sea-level rise.

The conference also saw mounting support for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, with four more nations joining the call, bringing the total to 37. “More and more countries are listening to science and the demands of youth for their common heritage over commercial interests,” Tinoco noted.

Civil Society: ‘Fine Words Must Now Translate into Action’

Despite these commitments, environmental groups expressed frustration that the conference stopped short of stronger legally binding decisions, especially on deep-sea mining.

“We’ve heard lots of fine words here in Nice, but these need to turn into tangible action,” said Megan Randles, head of Greenpeace’s delegation. “Countries must be brave and make history by committing to a moratorium on deep-sea mining at next month’s International Seabed Authority (ISA) meeting.”

Randles welcomed the ratification progress of the High Seas Treaty but said governments “missed the moment” to take firmer steps against industries threatening marine ecosystems. “The deep sea should not become the wild west,” she added, referencing UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ recent remarks.

Activists also stressed the importance of upcoming negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty, resuming in Geneva this August. Ninety-five governments signed the “Nice Call for an Ambitious Plastics Treaty,” but concerns remain that lobbying from oil and petrochemical interests could water down the deal.

“The world cannot afford a weak treaty dictated by oil-soaked obstructionists,” said John Hocevar, Oceans Campaign Director at Greenpeace USA. “Governments need to show that multilateralism still works for people and the planet, not the profits of a greedy few.”

Indigenous Voices and Ocean Justice

Coastal and Indigenous communities were visibly present throughout the conference, particularly in the “Green Zone” in La Valette, which welcomed more than 100,000 visitors and hosted grassroots events, youth forums, and artistic exhibitions.

Nichanan Thantanwit, Project Leader at the Ocean Justice Project, highlighted the continued marginalization of traditional ocean custodians: “There is no ocean protection without the people who have protected it all along. Governments must recognize small-scale fishers and Indigenous peoples as rights-holders and secure their role in ocean governance.”

She also called for an end to destructive industrial practices like bottom trawling and harmful aquaculture, which she said “drive ecological collapse and human rights violations.”

Mixed Reviews for France’s Leadership

While French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his call for a deep-sea mining moratorium—calling it “an international necessity”—some ”conservationists argued that France failed to fully lead by example.

“This was France’s moment, but instead of making a splash, its impact was more of a ripple,” said Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer in Residence and founder of Pristine Seas. “We heard many policymakers speak about what needs to be done—yet few took the bold steps necessary to protect the ocean.”

Sala did praise governments that announced new fully protected marine areas but said the conference was “heavy on rhetoric, light on resolve.”

What to expect

The anticipated “Nice Ocean Action Plan,” a political declaration accompanied by voluntary commitments, will be released later today. Although non-binding, it is expected to influence key decisions at the ISA meeting in July and the Global Plastics Treaty talks in August.

Chunhua announced that South Korea and Chile have expressed readiness to host the next UN Ocean Conference. “We want the positive momentum generated in Nice to amplify even further in UNOC4,” he said.

As UNOC3 closes, the spirit of the event remains optimistic—but its legacy will depend on what happens next.

As Greenpeace’s Randles put it, “This must not be where it ends. It must be where it truly begins.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Related Articles

• Reviving Mangroves at the Edge of Mozambique Channel
• Ocean Action Boosted in Africa as Biodiversity Leaders Call for Urgent Synergy, Funding Reform

Amina Langa planting mangrove seedling on the Indian Ocean's coast. Credit: WWF

By Kizito Makoye
NICE, France, Jun 13 2025 (IPS)

Just before dawn, a flotilla of wooden canoes drifts silently  through mangrove-tangled channels where roots sprout from the black mud of the lagoon. Here, at the edge between sea and forest, lies a story of restoration.

The Northern Mozambique Channel (NMC) is a stretch of water and a rich biological hotspot. Stretching along the coasts of Mozambique, Comoros, Tanzania, Madagascar, and the Seychelles, the channel holds 35 percent of the Indian Ocean’s coral reefs, tracts of mangroves, seagrass meadows, and deep-sea habitats. It is home to over 10 million coastal people whose livelihoods rely on the ecosystems.

Yet, this marvel is under siege. Climate change, land-based runoff, overfishing, coastal development, offshore drilling, and shipping traffic have degraded its vital systems. In response, the UN designated 2021–2030 as the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, launching the World Restoration Flagships—large-scale restoration efforts that follow a shared global framework. In early June 2025, the NMC joined two other sites as a flagship region in this global initiative—a recognition of the deep, sustained conservation effort led by WWF, UNEP, FAO, governments, and local communities.

‘Such a Special Place’

On a recent call, Dr. Samantha Petersen, WWF’s leader for the Southwest Indian Ocean regional program, said, “It’s really such a special place. Highly, highly, highly connected… incredible biodiversity hotspot, with massive… human dependency from the coastal communities.”

Petersen said any restoration plan “needs to be balanced in an integrated way to deliver outcomes for people, nature, and climate.” In practice, that means blending scientific rigor with traditional knowledge—a partnership where nurseries, seedling cultivation, and local stewardship are as essential as policy frameworks and funding streams.

Mangroves at the Core

Among the most urgent work is bringing back the mangroves. These coastal forests are nursery grounds for fish that small-scale fishers depend on.

Petersen explained, “By restoring and securing those nursery grounds… we are securing food security… and livelihoods of small-scale fishers in the region.”

WWF is partnering with community organizations to actively restore approximately 15,000 hectares of mangroves, about 25–30 percent of the restorable area in the NMC—primarily through coastal community-led initiatives. Another 180,000 hectares fall under community-based stewardship, a proof of scale and ambition.

Communities dig planting holes, tend seedlings in nurseries, and monitor growth. WWF provides support: site selection guidance, technical training, materials, and help tracking success over long periods. With coherent management and investment, the project aims to restore 4.85 million hectares of paired land and seascapes by 2030 across participating nations, bringing environmental and social returns in equal measure.

Impressive Story

In ankle-deep water, where the Indian Ocean laps gently at the crumbling edge of Mozambique’s northern coast, 38-year-old Amina Langa bends low in the warm, silty water, pressing red mangrove saplings into the earth like offerings, her hands caked in mud, her expression calm but focused. The tide was creeping in, but she barely noticed. The sun was already sharp, casting long shadows on the salt-bleached sand, yet she moved with the quiet persistence of someone who has learned to listen to the rhythms of the sea.

Langa’s memories are vivid. She speaks of a childhood where the ocean sparkled with promise.

“Back then,” she says, “the nets came back heavy every time.” Her eyes drift out toward the horizon. “The water was alive.”

But that was before the years of cut mangroves, the rise of commercial shrimp farms, the oil stains, and the plastic waste that drifted in with the waves. The forest that once anchored this coastline had thinned to almost nothing, and with it, the fish.

She looked down at the rows of saplings poking from the tidal muck. “These,” she said, her voice soft but certain, “these are hope.” Last year, her nursery nursed 10,000 mangrove seedlings to life. This year, she’s on pace for triple that. What began as one woman’s stubborn vision has now spread—30 fishers from neighboring villages have joined her, their own hands learning the rituals of restoration. In just six months, they built four community nurseries that now supply reforestation efforts up and down the coast.

There’s pride in her every word, but no boast. “I tell them,” she said, “just sit by the water tomorrow morning. Watch. It’s already changing.” She describes schools of tiny fish flickering through the roots, crabs clicking back into burrows, and the way the mud, once dry and cracked, now rests beneath a canopy of green. “I am part of the change,” she says, almost to herself, like a quiet promise whispered to the sea.

A Regional Movement

Langa’s story is repeated across the NMC. In Comoros and Madagascar, similar efforts are under way. In Tanzania, coastal stewardship committees manage restoration areas. In the Seychelles, nurseries trained in grafting speculative coral strains grow fragile fragments for reef rehabilitation.

This  community‑led network stems from regional cooperation. Over two years, WWF and the Nairobi Convention helped frame a roadmap for the region: marine spatial planning, integrated ocean management, poverty alleviation, and capacity building for community entrepreneurs.

A recent Natural Capital Assessment estimated that the region’s natural assets—goods and services from fisheries, tourism, shoreline protection, and carbon sequestration—are valued at USD 160 billion, generating USD 5.5 billion annually, nearly half of GDP. A staggering figure: the informal sector—unmonitored coastal fisheries, wood collection—contributes around USD 5 billion uncounted in national accounts.

World Restoration Flagship Honour

On the announcement, delegates from five nations gathered online. The NMC’s inclusion as a World Restoration Flagship was proof that community-led initiatives can scale to regional impact. It locks in transparency through monitoring, aligns the region with global standards, and increases its appeal to investors.

Petersen reflected afterwards, “This honor can largely be accredited to the extraordinary collaborative work done… to safeguard marine biodiversity and support coastal communities.”

An Unexpected Return

Standing again among the mangroves, Langa watched the early morning mist lift. Fish darted in the submerged root zone. A small boat, headed out to the reef, cut through calm water. The mangroves absorbed the wake and stirred the sediment but firmed the mud, holding it in place.

A tiny crab, bright blue, scuttled across a root. It stopped. Then, like an outtake from a nature film, a juvenile fish fled into the maze of roots. Life was returning—subtle, tenacious, and profound.

Scaling Green Finance

The NMC roadmap estimates a need for USD 18 million per year to implement restoration and institutional strengthening—USD 5 million for in-country governance and USD 13 million to fund a Blue Economy Technical & Investment Hub for the region. The call goes out for public and private investors.

Already, several domestic banks and philanthropic funds are evaluating climate-smart financing. Impact investors are drawn by the anticipated 30 percent rise in household incomes, 2,000 new jobs, and 12 community-based enterprises forecasted by 2030. Carbon finance is another frontier—Madagascar’s mangroves already sequester more than 300 million tons of CO₂ equivalent, comparable to U.S. household electricity.

Under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, led by UNEP and FAO, countries worldwide aim to restore over a billion hectares, aligning with the commitments of the Paris Agreement, Bonn Challenge, and Kunming-Montreal framework.

The World Restoration Flagships are a cornerstone: scaled, monitored, integrated efforts that follow ten restoration principles—community inclusion, equity, sustainability, evidence, resilience, biodiversity, and more.

In the villages lining the Channel, the visible signs of this transformation—seedlings sprouting, fisheries rebounding—are met with pride. But as Petersen stresses, “The work in this region is only just beginning.” Over the next five years, the challenge will be to keep the momentum flowing, secure consistent funding, and build regional coordination so the restored mangroves don’t merely survive but thrive.

Why This Matters

The NMC story speaks directly to that mission: vibrant, coastal communities working in tandem with nature to heal the world. It embodies a simple but profound truth: restoration is not only about trees, fish, or reefs—it’s about people, too.

Several days later, Langa joined the community for a morning ritual on the beach: a small blessing ceremony for the restored trees. She stood barefoot, clutching a bundle of saplings. Villagers circled. A fisherman recited a soulful song; others placed handfuls of sand at the roots.

As the sun peeked over the horizon, a breeze carried the scent of salt and new life. Langa looked down at the young mangroves and whispered, “For my daughter—and for this Channel—we’re bringing back what we lost.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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At the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Credit: Maximilian Malawista

By Maximilian Malawista
NEW YORK, Jun 13 2025 (IPS)

Victims of Japan’s costly Eugenic Protection Law took to the stage sharing their life stories, offering their tragedies of sterilization and mutilation, in return for the hopes of “a society without discrimination”. At a side event on International Sharing of the Experiences and Lessons of Japan’s Former Eugenic Protection Law held on June 10th, The Conference of Parties on the Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities Discussed the struggle for Anti eugenic ideology. Hosted by the Japan Disability Forum along with several legal defence teams for the victims, an outline of ideology, policy, and retribution was displayed, in an attempt to fight against “eugenics-based discrimination”.

Japan’s Eugenic Protection Law was enacted in 1948, 3 years after the surrender of the Japanese axis forces to the American allies during WWII. While repealed in 1996, the damage was already done, and no one knew the true cost.

Twenty five thousand people, either having a disability or thought to have a disability were forcefully sterilized, without an apology or compensation.

The side event discussion was opened by Hiroshi Tamon, a lawyer part of the defence team for Eugenic Protection Law. Tamon, who is fully deaf, conveyed his message through sign language, explaining that the side event is to “share the experience of Japanese victims with disabilities and disability organizations who have fought a long and difficult struggle to change Japanese society by eliminating eugenic ideology in Japan”.

Tamon concluded with a wish to “inspire and lead a global action to eliminate eugenics ideology and forced sterilization worldwide” making it clear that he envisions the actions of the Tokyo defence team to carry on to the world stage.

In 2018, one single victim Kita Saburo stood up. Defended by Naoto Sekiya, Kita was awarded 15 million yen (103K$). This led to a string of lawsuits in 2019, leading to the supreme court of Japan ruling the Eugenics Protection Law to be unconstitutional along with a compensation for all the victims marked at 3.2 million yen (22K$).

The new law was soon criticized, due to the low amount and reach, leading to another lawsuit in 2024. An apology from the Prime Minister of Japan followed, with a promise to “work towards doing away with all these discriminations and strengthen educational efforts to create a new structure”.

Two days later, an order for “no discrimination in society” was established, with the creation of the Headquarters for the Promotion of Measures toward the Realization of a Coexisting Society Free from Prejudice and Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities. This was followed by an action plan to “promote an inclusive society free from prejudice, discrimination” and ensure compensation for “all victims as well as their spouses”.

In January this year, anyone who went through forced sterilization was paid 15 million yen (103K$ USD). BY THE end of April, only 1,325 of the victims filed for their compensation, accounting for 1.5% of the total people affected.

To combat the law’s limited reach, under a report issued, the government and disability groups would work together to provide alternative communications methods in order to access more information.

The story of Kita Saburo

Kita reading his message at the side event at the UN. Credit: Maximilian Malawista

At the age of 14, while in a juvenile detention facility, Kita was subject to an unknown surgery carried out on him without his consent. Kita was only offered an explanation of “we will remove the bad part”. He did not have any clue what that meant. A month later a senior staff at the facility told him the surgery would prevent him from having children.

According to Kita , the Juvenile detention facility determined that his bad behavior was due to a mental disability, resulting in the decision.

Kita’s sister was aware of the surgery but was strictly ordered to remain quiet by their grandmother. Kita believed “ it was the facility and my parents who made me undergo the surgery”, resulting in resentment toward his parents. He went on to marry later but was unable to tell her of his surgery. The couple often had to hear “Still no children?” bringing immense pain to both Kita and his wife. Kita finally told his wife about the surgery when she was on her deathbed.

In 2018, Kita filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government, realizing that he was not the only victim and that his parents were not responsible. His sister finally told him the details of the surgery, testifying in court just before she passed away during the trial.

Even though justice was done, Kitas says “no matter what verdict is handed down, it does not mean we can start our lives over. Eugenic surgery is a tragedy that cannot be undone.”

Kita stated “I want to reduce the number of people who suffered the way I did, even if it’s just by one. That’s why I have chosen to speak out today and share my story and feelings with the world. That’s why I stand here today to talk to you. I sincerely hope that Japan and the entire world will become a society where everyone can make decisions for themselves.”

Kitas story expands on the broad range of the Eugenic Protection Law, whereby the definition of not an intellectually disabled person was still subjected to the surgery.

Following Kita’s message, a couple Keiko Onoue and Takashi Onoue and Yumi Suzuki appeared through video letters to also narrate their stories.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

The deaths of the environmentalist and eight other campaigners sparked an global outcry in 1995.

Credit: United Nations
 
The 51st G7 summit is scheduled to take place 15-17 June 2025 in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada. The G7 consists of seven of the world's largest developed economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States plus the European Union (EU), a non-enumerated member.

By Oxfam
ALBERTA, Canada, Jun 13 2025 (IPS)

Aid cuts could cost millions of lives and leave girls, boys, women and men without access to enough food, water, education, health treatment.

G7 countries are making deliberate and deadly choices by cutting life-saving aid, enabling atrocities, and reneging on their international commitments

Low and middle-income countries face reduced aid, rising debt, and trade barriers — a perfect storm that threatens development and recovery.

The Group of Seven (G7) countries, which together account for around three-quarters of all official development assistance, are set to slash their aid spending by 28 percent for 2026 compared to 2024 levels.

It would be the biggest cut in aid since the G7 was established in 1975, and indeed in aid records going back to 1960, reveals a new analysis by Oxfam ahead of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada.

“The G7’s retreat from the world is unprecedented and couldn’t come at a worse time, with hunger, poverty, and climate harm intensifying. The G7 cannot claim to build bridges on one hand while tearing them down with the other. It sends a shameful message to the Global South, that G7 ideals of collaboration mean nothing,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar.

2026 will mark the third consecutive year of decline in G7 aid spending – a trend not seen since the 1990s. If these cuts go ahead, G7 aid levels in 2026 will crash by $44 billion to just $112 billion. The cuts are being driven primarily by the US (down $33 billion), Germany (down $3.5 billion), the UK (down $5 billion) and France (down $3 billion).

“Rather than breaking from the Trump administration’s cruel dismantling of USAID and other US foreign assistance, G7 countries like the UK, Germany, and France are instead following the same path, slashing aid with brutal measures that will cost millions of lives,” said Behar.

“These cuts will starve the hungry, deny medicine to the sick, and block education for a generation of girls and boys. This is a catastrophic betrayal of the world’s most vulnerable and crippling to the G7’s credibility,” said Behar.

Economic projections show that aid cuts will mean 5.7 million more people across Africa will fall below extreme poverty levels in the coming year, a number expected to rocket to 19 million by 2030.

Cuts to aid are putting vital public services at risk in some of the world’s poorest countries. In countries like Liberia, Haiti, Malawi, and South Sudan, US aid had made up over 40 percent of health and education budgets, leaving them especially exposed. Combined with a growing debt crisis, this is undermining governments’ ability to care for their people.

Global aid for nutrition will fall by 44 percent in 2025 compared to 2022:
The end of just $128 million worth of US-funded child nutrition programs for a million children will result in an extra 163,500 child deaths a year.

At the same time, 2.3 million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition – the most lethal form of undernutrition – are now at risk of losing their life-saving treatments.

One in five dollars of aid to poor countries’ health budgets are cut or under threat:
WHO reports that in almost three-quarters of its country offices are seeing serious disruptions to health services, and in about a quarter of the countries where it operates some health facilities have already been forced to shut down completely.

US aid cuts could lead to up to 3 million preventable deaths every year, with 95 million people losing access to healthcare. This includes children dying from vaccine-preventable diseases, pregnant women losing access to care, and rising deaths from malaria, TB, and HIV.

G7 countries are not just reneging on commitments to global aid and solidarity, they are fuelling conflicts by allowing grave violations of international law, like in Gaza where people are facing starvation.

Whether in Ukraine, the occupied Palestinian territory, the Democratic Republic of the Congo or elsewhere, civilians must always be protected, and aid is often the first line of protection they get. G7 countries are illuminating a double standard that risks more global instability, conflict and atrocities.

While G7 countries cut aid, their citizen billionaires continue to see their wealth surge. Since the beginning of 2025, the G7 ultra-rich have made $126 billion, almost the same amount as the group’s 2025 aid commitment of $132 billion.

At this pace, it would take the world’s billionaires less than a month to generate the equivalent of the G7’s 2025 aid budget.

By taxing the super-rich, the G7 could easily meet their financial commitments to end poverty and climate breakdown, whilst also having billions in new revenue to fight inequality in their own countries.

“The world is not short of money. The problem is that it is in the hands of the super-rich instead of the public. Rather than fairly taxing billionaires to feed the hungry, we see billionaires joining government to slash aid to the poorest in order to fund tax cuts for themselves,” said Behar.

Oxfam is calling on the G7 to urgently reverse aid cuts and restore funding to address today’s global challenges. More than 50 years after the United Nations set the target of 0.7 percent for aid spending, most G7 countries remain well below this.

Oxfam is also urging the G7 to support global efforts led by Brazil and Spain to raise taxes on the super-rich, and to back the call from the African Union and The Vatican for a new UN body to help manage countries’ debt problems.

According to OECD Data Explorer, the combined annual aid expenditure of the G7 in 2024 was $156.694 billion. Canada spent $7.323 billion, the United States $61.821 billion, Japan $17.583 billion, France $15.047 billion, Germany $31.382 billion, Italy $6.534 billion, and the United Kingdom $17.005 billion.

Donor Tracker estimates that the decline in combined annual aid spending of the G7 countries for the period 2024 to 2026 will be -$44,488 billion.

In 2024, aid from G7 countries declined by 8 percent, and projections for 2025 point to a sharper drop of 19 percent.

Modelling using finds that 5.7 million more Africans would fall below the US$2.15 extreme poverty income level in the next year if Trump’s administration succeeds in its aid-reduction ambition. This assumes a 20 percent reduction of aid to Africa, considering that some US aid would be maintained as the US alone accounted for 26 percent of aid to Africa before the cuts.

The dismantling of USAID and major aid reductions announced by Western donors threaten to undo decades of progress on malnutrition. A 44 percent drop in funding from 2022 levels could lead to widespread hardship and death.

Up to 2.3 million children with severe acute malnutrition risk losing life-saving treatment, warns the Standing Together for Nutrition Consortium.

There are 2,968 billionaires in the world, and 1,346 live in G7 countries (45 percent).

IPS UN Bureau

 

Four-month-old albatross at its colony at Campo Bosque, Punta Sur on Guadalupe Island. Credit: UNEP/Todd Brown

By Naureen Hossain
NICE, Jun 13 2025 (IPS)

At the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recognized three countries and regions for their large-scale programs to restore their native ecosystems.

Mexico, Spain, and East Africa are the first three regions named as World Restoration Flagships. They have been recognized for their work tackling invasive species, pollution, and unsustainable exploitation. Altogether, these initiatives are restoring nearly five million hectares of marine ecosystems, which is nearly the size of Costa Rica, the co-host of UNOC3 along with France. They received the award on Thursday at a private event.

The World Restoration Flagships recognize national and regional ecosystem restoration efforts. This is part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration set for 2021-2030, co-led by UNEP and FAO. This programme aims to halt and reverse the degradation of global ecosystems. It is in line with the global commitment under the Paris Agreement to restore one billion hectares of ecosystems. Those recognized under this initiative receive additional UN support.

“After decades of taking the ocean for granted, we are witnessing a great shift towards restoration. But the challenge ahead of us is significant and we need everyone to play their part,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “These World Restoration Flagships show how biodiversity protection, climate action, and economic development are deeply interconnected. To deliver our restoration goals, our ambition must be as big as the ocean we must protect.”

Mafia Island, Tanzania. Sea turtle conservation with Sea Sense. Credit: UNEP / Duncan Moore

“The climate crisis, unsustainable exploitation practices, and nature resources shrinking are affecting our blue ecosystems, harming marine life and threatening the livelihoods of dependent communities,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. “These new World Restoration Flagships show that halting and reversing degradation is not only possible, but also beneficial to planet and people.”

In the Northern Mozambique Channel by East Africa, climate change and overfishing are threatening their coral reef systems, which account for 35 percent of the coral reefs in the Indian Ocean. At present, Comoros, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania are working together to manage, protect, and restore over 87,000 hectares of interconnected land and seascapes.

Actions undertaken today to maintain it include restoration of blue and green forests through creating interconnected restoration corridors, mangroves, and coral reef ecosystems, and improving fisheries management. The mangroves in Madagascar store more than 300 million tons of carbon dioxide, which is comparable to the annual electricity use in over 62 million households in the United States. This restoration is expected to increase the capacity of the four countries involved to absorb carbon dioxide and help tackle climate change.

With enough funding, 4.85 million hectares could be restored by 2030, which would likely improve socio-economic development and community well-being by creating over 2000 jobs and 12 community-based enterprises that also integrate indigenous practices.

The Mexican islands have been contending with invasive species that threaten the region’s biodiversity, particularly the seabird populations. Restoration efforts led by government agencies and civil society groups have seen the removal of over 60 populations of invasive species and the return of at least 85 percent of the seabird populations. Continuing efforts would see over 100,000 hectares restored by 2030, encompassing over 100 islands and securing the populations of 300 endemic mammals, birds, and reptiles in the islands. The continued programme also provides support to local island communities, without whom the restoration efforts would be more challenging. Based on this success, Mexico plans to go forward with a national environmental restoration program aimed at revitalizing the country’s ecosystems.

Isabel Rubio (activist) and Ramon (activist) monitoring pollution of runoff water near the Mar Menor, Spain. Credit: UNEP/Todd Brown

“Across Mexico’s precious islands, tangible restoration actions and results are breathing new life into vital ecosystems, directly bolstering rich insular and marine biodiversity of global relevance, saving species, and weaving firm threads into the livelihoods of local communities,” said Dr. Marina Robles García, Undersecretary of Biodiversity and Environmental Restoration, Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT).

The Mar Menor lagoon in the southwest of Spain is Europe’s largest saltwater lagoon, and its unique characteristics contribute to local tourism and a unique biodiversity. This has been threatened by nitrous discharge from agricultural activity, and other polluting land and marine activities, leading to the lagoon’s rapid degradation and significant losses in the fish population.

Through a citizen-led initiative, in 2022 Spain’s courts granted legal personhood to Mar Menor, the first ecosystem in Europe to be granted that status. A group of activists, scientists, and legal officials now represents the lagoon. Other actions include a government-led initiative to restore and recover Mar Menor through cleaning up abandoned and polluted mining sites, improving flood risk management and supporting sustainable agriculture, among other measures. This also includes a proposed green belt around the lagoon that is predicted to absorb more than 82,256 tons of CO₂ by 2040. Over 8700 hectares may be restored by 2030.

“Our work is grounded in listening, commitment, and innovation. We have listened to the Mar Menor and its people; participation drives the entire process, with a firm commitment to restoring this exceptional ecosystem and its values, with no possibility of turning back,” said Third Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen Muñoz. “We knew that our credibility as a society and the future of new generations were at stake. We could not let them down.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Fishers in Tanzania's Lake Victoria drag seized fishing nets to deter overfishing of dwindling nile perch stocks. Credit: Kizito Makoye/IPS

By Kizito Makoye
NICE, France, Jun 13 2025 (IPS)

As the curtains draw on the UN Ocean Conference, a flurry of voluntary commitments and political declarations has injected fresh impetus into global efforts to conserve marine biodiversity. With the world’s oceans facing unprecedented threats, high-level biodiversity officials and negotiators are sounding the alarm and calling for renewed momentum—and funding—to deliver on long-standing promises.

At a press briefing today, conservation leaders stressed that integrating marine biodiversity into broader biodiversity frameworks and aligning funding strategies with climate goals will be essential for African governments to turn the tide.

“It is a moment of reckoning,” declared Astrid Schomacher, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). “We are not on track to meet our 2030 biodiversity targets. Yet, the political energy here reminds us that progress is still possible—if we move together and fast.”

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework sets out 23 urgent action targets to be achieved by 2030, aiming to halt biodiversity loss and safeguard nature’s contributions to people. These goals call for the protection and restoration of ecosystems, with at least 30 percent of land and sea areas conserved and degraded habitats restored. The framework urges halting species extinction, curbing pollution and invasive species, and mitigating climate impacts on biodiversity.

It also emphasizes sustainable use of wild species, greener urban spaces, and benefit-sharing from genetic resources. Crucially, it calls for integrating biodiversity into policies and business practices, redirecting harmful subsidies, boosting global finance for biodiversity to USD 200 billion annually, and strengthening capacity and cooperation, especially for developing nations. The roadmap recognizes the vital role of Indigenous peoples, equity, and inclusive governance in reversing nature loss, in line with the vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050.

African governments are lagging behind in meeting global biodiversity and sustainability targets, currently spending just 0.43 percent of their GDP on research and development—less than half the global average. With only five years left to meet key conservation goals, a new study by researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Johannesburg urges African policymakers to strengthen collaboration with biodiversity experts.

Schomacher drew attention to the pivotal role of the upcoming COP17 summit, to be hosted by Armenia in 2026, as a “global stocktaking moment” to assess progress halfway through the eight-year timeline for implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in 2022.

“Every single target in our framework is ocean-related,” she said. “From coastal habitats to deep-sea ecosystems, the ocean is the heartbeat of biodiversity—and it must be protected as such.”

The Yerevan COP, Schomacher added, will also serve to reinforce linkages with the new High Seas Treaty, formally known as the BBNJ agreement (Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction), which many see as a game-changing tool to protect vast, under-governed marine areas.

“CBD processes can kickstart BBNJ implementation,” she explained. “We’re talking about identifying ecologically significant areas, harmonizing spatial planning, and aligning national biodiversity strategies with climate and ocean action. The pieces are there—we just need to connect them.”

Funding Gaps and Harmful Subsidies

But ambition alone won’t be enough, speakers warned. The persistent lack of financial resources—especially for civil society, Indigenous groups, and developing countries—is threatening to unravel hard-won gains.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Robert Abhisohromonyan, was rather emphatic in his assertions: “Military expenditures reached USD 2.7 trillion last year. That’s a 9.4 percent increase—and money that could have gone toward the Sustainable Development Goals, climate resilience, or biodiversity protection.”

He also called for an inclusive COP17 that “puts transparency and participation at the center,” with Indigenous peoples, youth, and local communities having a seat at the decision-making table.

Echoing this, Schomacher warned that harmful subsidies—those that damage ecosystems or encourage overexploitation of natural resources—also account for USD 2.7 trillion annually, a figure matching global defense spending.

“This is why, under the global biodiversity framework, parties committed to identifying and eliminating USD 500 billion in harmful subsidies by 2030,” she said. “If we succeed, we not only close the funding gap—we make real gains for nature.”

Private Sector: From Philanthropy to Investment

In a candid exchange with journalists, speakers also grappled with how to better engage the private sector.

“We have to move beyond viewing biodiversity as a philanthropic cause,” Schomacher said. “Nature-based solutions are investable. But the knowledge and confidence to invest in biodiversity are still low compared to renewable energy or infrastructure.”

She cited the Cardi Fund, a new financing mechanism supporting fair benefit-sharing from digital genetic resources, as one example of innovation. The fund seeks contributions from companies using DNA sequence data to build commercial products—reversing the traditional imbalance between biotech profits and Indigenous stewardship.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s a start,” she noted.

Ocean at the Center of Solutions

For Armenia, a landlocked country, hosting COP17 may seem an unlikely choice. Yet Abhisohromonyan made clear that Armenia sees the ocean as central to its environmental agenda.

“We are proof that ocean conservation is not the sole responsibility of coastal states,” he said. “By protecting inland ecosystems and water sources, we support the health of rivers that feed into the seas. It’s all connected.”

Armenia has signed the BBNJ agreement and is developing its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) to reflect integrated ecosystem management.

But globally, uptake remains sluggish. Of 196 parties to the CBD, only 52 have submitted revised NBSAPs, with just 132 countries submitting national targets so far. Officials say this inertia could jeopardize the global review scheduled for Yerevan.

“We are urging all parties to submit their updated plans and reports by February 2026,” Abhisohromonyan said. “The clock is ticking, and our window for course correction is narrow.”

A Crisis—But Also a Chance

Wrapping up the discussion, Schomacher reflected on the legacy of previous ocean conferences and the urgency of acting on momentum now.

“UN Ocean Conference Two in Portugal gave us the energy to adopt the global biodiversity framework. UNOC3 must now galvanize the political will to implement it,” she said.

“We’re at a crisis point. But if we treat this as an opportunity—not just to protect what remains, but to restore what we’ve lost—we may just chart a new course for our ocean and for all life on Earth.”

As global leaders head into the final plenary, where a political declaration is expected to be adopted, conservationists are watching closely—hoping that the pledges made this week will translate into lasting action for the planet’s blue heart.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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By CIVICUS
Jun 13 2025 (IPS)

 
CIVICUS discusses struggles for historical justice with Graciela Montes de Oca, a member of Mothers and Relatives of Detained and Disappeared Uruguayans, a Uruguayan civil society organisation that seeks truth, justice and prevention of future crimes like those committed under dictatorship.

Graciela Montes de Oca

Since 1996, Uruguayan civil society has mobilised in a March of Silence every 20 May. This year, thousands of people took part in the march’s 30th edition along the main avenue of the capital, Montevideo, and other Uruguayan cities. They demanded truth, memory and justice for people detained and disappeared under dictatorship between 1973 and 1985. Organised by human rights groups and relatives of victims, this demonstration has become a powerful symbol of collective memory.

What’s commemorated on 20 May?

On 20 May 1976, one of the most brutal episodes of state terrorism in the Southern Cone took place. At that time, Uruguay was living under a civil-military dictatorship that participated in Operation Condor, a regional agreement between several countries ruled by dictatorships that coordinated the kidnapping, torture and murder of political opponents.

Four Uruguayans were murdered in Buenos Aires, Argentina that day: Congressman Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz, Senator Zelmar Michelini and two leftist activists, Rosario Barredo and William Whitelaw. Doctor Manuel Liberoff was also kidnapped at the same time and has been missing ever since.

The impact was devastating. Michelini and Gutiérrez Ruiz were prominent political figures and defenders of democracy who had sought asylum in Argentina after denouncing the crimes of the Uruguayan dictatorship. Their murder was an attempt to silence their critical voices forever.

How did the March of Silence come about?

The first March of Silence took place in 1996, on the 20th anniversary of the murders. Initially conceived as a one-off tribute, its profound impact meant the Mothers of the Disappeared decided to turn it into an annual event.

The march has unique characteristics that distinguish it from other demonstrations: it is completely silent, open to all citizens regardless of political affiliation and maintains a peaceful nature that enhances its symbolic power. Its persistence over three decades has made it much more than a protest: it’s a collective ritual of memory that keeps the demand for truth and justice alive.

Our demands remain unchanged: we want to know what happened to our missing relatives. We are not seeking revenge, but rather to prevent these crimes going unpunished and being repeated. The Uruguayan state must investigate and respond because these crimes were committed in its name. Justice is not only our right; it is the state’s obligation under international law.

How do civil society groups support this struggle?

Civil society groups have played a key role in keeping this cause alive. Through talks, artistic interventions, exhibitions, sporting events and other activities, they constantly reinforce collective memory. Civil society also promotes the restoration of historical sites and memorials and highlights cases that remain unresolved.

All of these efforts converge towards a shared goal: ensuring there will never again be state terrorism in Uruguay.

What obstacles remain to uncovering the truth?

The main obstacle is the pact of silence maintained by the military and civilians responsible for the crimes. This mafia code keeps the truth hidden.

The consequences are tangible and painful: without information on the location of the remains of those allegedly murdered, forensic teams are working in the dark. We know there are files containing vital information that are either hidden or inaccessible. That is why we demand the state actively searches for these files, locates them and hands them over.

The international community also has responsibilities. It must pressure the Uruguayan state to fulfil its obligations under international human rights law, including full compliance with existing international rulings.

In 2011, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the Uruguayan state was responsible for the enforced disappearance of two activists – María Claudia García Iruretagoyena de Gelman and her husband, Marcelo Ariel Gelman Schubaroff – and for appropriating and removing the identity of their daughter, who was born in captivity. This judgment has been the subject of multiple resolutions, most recently in 2020, which continue to monitor compliance with the reparations ordered.

Meanwhile, after examining Uruguay in 2013 and 2022, the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances issued binding concluding observations expressing concern about the slow pace of investigations and calling for judicial processes to be accelerated. These two international pronouncements clearly establish the state’s obligation to guarantee truth, justice and reparation for victims. Truth and justice have no statute of limitations.

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SEE ALSO
Uruguay: Concerns over anti-union allegations; Suspension of Media Decree signals positive development CIVICUS Monitor 22.Apr.2025
Uruguay: ‘The far right is still marginal; there’s a majority commitment to democracy’ CIVICUS Lens | Interview with Alicia Lissidini 09.Jan.2025
Uruguay: ‘We don’t need a new media law, but proper implementation of the existing one’ CIVICUS Lens | Interview with Fabián Werner 04.Jun.2024

 

Delegates discuss preparations for the high-level conference at UN Headquarters in New York. May 2025. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 13 2025 (IPS)

The United States, a longstanding and unyielding Israeli ally, is threatening UN member states urging them to keep off an upcoming high-level meeting aimed at recognizing a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

The meeting, to be co-chaired by France, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and Saudi Arabia, a strong political ally of the US, is scheduled to take place June 17-20.

According to the London Guardian, the Trump administration is discouraging governments around the world from attending the conference.

The diplomatic demarche, sent out last week, says countries that take “anti-Israel actions” following the conference will be viewed as acting in opposition to US foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences from Washington.

“The United States opposes the implied support of the conference for potential actions including boycotts and sanctions on Israel as well as other punitive measures,” the cable read.

The United States also opposes “any steps that would unilaterally recognise a conjectural Palestinian state, which adds significant legal and political obstacles to the eventual resolution of the conflict and could coerce Israel during a war, thereby supporting its enemies,” according to the cable cited by the Jerusalem Post.

Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) and former director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, told IPS
the international community should reject the Trump administration’s naked bullying to stop them from attending a conference on Palestinian statehood.

She said the international community has a legal and moral duty to help end Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid rule.

“The United States finds itself more and more isolated from the rest of the world because of its destructive obeisance to Israeli diktat,” Whitson declared.

“It is absolutely essential to keep alive the two-State solution perspective with all the terrible things we are witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters last week.

“And for those that doubt about the two-State solution, I ask: What is the alternative? Is it a one-state solution in which either the Palestinians are expelled or forced to live in their land without rights?”

Meanwhile, the longtime pro-Israeli Western alliance seems to be on the verge of gradually crumbling?

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) last week warmly welcomed the decision jointly made by five Western nations – the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Norway–in imposing sanctions on two extremist ministers in the Israeli government.

The move was considered “an important step toward upholding justice and accountability and ending impunity enjoyed by the Israeli officials involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity, incitement to violence, organized terrorism, and genocide. “

The OIC said it “strongly condemned National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s storming, once again, of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces”.

It cited it as a further provocation to the feelings of all Muslims and a dangerous escalation of the Israeli occupation’s plots aiming to change the historical and legal situation of the holy sites in Jerusalem, especially the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

As outlined in General Assembly resolution 79/81, next week’s Conference will produce an action-oriented outcome document entitled “Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and implementation of the two-State solution”.

Meanwhile, two European countries –Spain and Ireland– have recognized Palestine as a sovereign nation state.

Dr. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, and coordinator of the program in Middle Eastern Studies, told IPS rather than recognizing how Israeli security and Palestinian rights are mutually dependent on each other, the Trump administration, echoing the far right in Israel, is insisting that it is a zero-sum game.

In their view, he pointed out, any talk of a two-state solution—even a mini-state on just 22% of historic Palestine—is “anti-Israel.”

“The fact that, rather than simply boycotting the conference, the administration is threatening diplomatic consequences towards nations that attend in indicative of the extreme measures they are willing to take in support of Israeli expansionism,” he said.

Democratic foreign policy has not been much different, however.

While claiming to support a two-state solution, Dr Zunes pointed out, successive Democratic administrations and Congressional leaders have refused to recognize the State of Palestine.

Along with Israel, they have vetoed UN resolutions allowing Palestine to join as a member, have even withdrawn from UN entities which include Palestine, and have opposed pressuring Israel to allow for the emergence of a Palestinian state while categorically ruled out supporting Palestinian statehood outside of Israeli terms—even as the Israeli government has categorically ruled it out.

In practice, then, little has changed in regard to U.S. policy, declared Dr Zunes.

Asked for a UN response to the US warning against participation in next week’s conference, UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters Wednesday: “I believe that all the Member States of the system will make their own decisions, according to what their own interests are”

“But we expect that there will be widespread attendance at this meeting. And the Secretary-General in his stakeout appearance last week explained exactly the importance of keeping the two-state solution alive.

With the lack of support from United States, how much of the possibility is still there for a two-state solution?

“I think the Secretary-General has been very clear and very straightforward about what the challenges are that the two-state solution faces. And he’s also been clear, as he told you last Friday, what are the alternatives to it?

“We need to have a solution where the people of Israel and the people of Palestine can live side by side in peace and security. This is the one solution that the international community has embraced and has been able to try to push forward over the years.”

“Obviously, there are challenges facing it, and they’re extremely clear at this moment. But this is the way forward that we have, and we have to embrace it”, said Haq.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

By Yasmine Sherif
NEW YORK, Jun 12 2025 (IPS-Partners)

As we mark today’s World Day Against Child Labour, we must confront an urgent global truth: over 160 million children around the world are engaged in child labour – many of them in the most dangerous, degrading and life-limiting conditions imaginable. These are children forced to work in fields, factories and conflict zones – deprived of their right to safety, to dignity and, above all, to an education.

At Education Cannot Wait (ECW), we know that education is the single most powerful tool we have to break this cycle of poverty, exploitation and lost potential. Education offers children worldwide a pathway to a better life: a life where their dreams, not their circumstances, define their future.

In crisis-affected contexts, where children are most at risk, access to quality education is truly a lifeline – shielding girls and boys from violence, forced labour, child marriage, trafficking and other atrocities.

Together, we are doing something about it. Delivered with our strategic donor partners, ECW’s investments have already reached over 11 million children and adolescents in crisis settings. This is an investment in an end to child labour, an end to unfair working conditions, an end to cycles of poverty, displacement, violence and chaos.

This global crisis demands global action. We must increase financing for education in emergencies and protracted crises, strengthen child protection systems, and empower communities to keep children – especially girls and boys living on the frontlines of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises – safe and in school.

ECW calls on world leaders, donors, civil society and the private sector to unite in solidarity and take bold, collective action. Every dollar invested in education is an investment in sustainable economic development, global security and resilient societies. Every dollar invested in education is an investment to end child labour – now and forever.

Let us act with urgency. Let us act with compassion. And let us act with the unwavering belief that every child – regardless of who they are or where they live – has the right to a quality education and the freedom to learn, grow and thrive.

 

Excerpt:

World Day Against Child Labour Statement by Education Cannot Wait Executive Director Yasmine Sherif

The boy travelled to Ghana from London in March 2024 after being told a relative was ill.

'Aulani Wilhelm (left) and Lysa Win (right) of Nia Tero in UNOC3. Credit: Naureen Hossain/IPS

By Naureen Hossain
NICE, France, Jun 12 2025 (IPS)

The 2025 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) has seen a significant presence from Indigenous peoples, who insist that their perspective and guidance be taken into account in the global efforts for sustainable ocean use and conservation. The sense of responsibility to the ocean and recognition of its history is an example that the international community can learn from.

What seems to be distinguishing UNOC3 from the previous ocean conferences is a greater motivation and recognition from world governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to work alongside Indigenous groups and local communities to reach global targets. As ‘Aulani Wilhelm, CEO of Nia Tero, told IPS, there has been a shift in the language from leaders calling for equity, justice, and the recognition of indigenous peoples in the ocean community.

“I think that there is increasing, kind of shared sentiment not only about what the threats are… but why we have to come together and not let the specific ideas and different segments of the ocean space hold us back and keep the arguments inside,” Wilhelm said at the conference. Nia Tero is an NGO dedicated to promoting the role and influence of Indigenous people as stewards and guardians of the natural world in protecting planetary life.

Some of the initiatives introduced during UNOC3 showcase the important role Indigenous peoples play in the agenda. There is the recently announced Melanesian Ocean Reserve, the first Indigenous-led, multinational ocean reserve, which will encompass the combined national waters of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea, accounting for over 6 million square kilometers. Wilhelm also noted the formation of an indigenous ocean alliance, which organically took shape during the conference.

Some government leaders have stated that they will work with Indigenous peoples and local communities, which Wilhelm remarked was an important change in both language and intention.

“We’re no longer having the conversation of ‘let us do something for you, but let us look to indigenous leaders to lead and how can we work alongside them?’ That is it. That is a sea change—pun intended—of where the ocean community is going… We have a long way to go, but these are signals […], embers that are igniting, that are enabling this to happen. So let’s find those leaders and let’s back them up.”

“The only time-tested approach to really having healthy ecosystems and people is indigenous guardianship, so let’s invest there.”

What indigenous guardianship means to Wilhelm is the collective, intergenerational connection to the wider natural world, or a sense of place. “These places are their relations—they are kin. They are home. They are not separate,” she said. “Indigenous guardianship isn’t something we have to create. It is already there.”

“With indigenous guardianship, it is also about responsibility. It is a responsibility to take care of home and life around them,” said Lysa Win, Nia Tero’s Pasifik Director. “It is about people who have lived for centuries with place and have that deep connection and have built knowledge and systems.”

Win pointed to the example back in her home, the Solomon Islands, where Indigenous peoples still live in their territories, which they have sovereignty over and can apply their knowledge. Even when there are different knowledge systems, there can be a balance in employing that information without insisting that one is better than the other. “There’s different knowledge around, but to help complement it with what we have.”

There can be challenges in conveying the principles behind indigenous guardianship to people outside those communities, especially within the context of a climate forum. According to Wilhelm, there is the risk of presenting their worldview in a “reductionist” language for the sake of having to validate it, and that can be frustrating. Win told IPS that she is conscious of the language she uses when sharing her perspective as an indigenous woman because it can seem deceptively simple by comparison.

Both she and Wilhelm noted that in the global climate discussions, indigenous people’s engagement was just as important, if not more so, than the knowledge they brought to the table, and that they had to establish that they were not attending on behalf of their communities and did not speak for them entirely.

Indigenous guardianship is rooted in communities feeling an intrinsic connection to the natural world, and the knowledge and kinship that come from that connection are shared across generations. To Wilhelm, this is a mindset for how people have a relationship with place and recognize the value of the ocean.

“Helping other people see the importance of the ‘how’ and the time and the values that you would put into it, that is going to guide better decision-making,” she said. “People want to understand, ‘what is the magic of ‘indigenous guardianship?’ It’s really simple: it’s relationship-based. It’s really being values-led, values of continuing care, not exploitation and extraction… Being able to have enough and making sure we can thrive and that our ancestral components of nature can thrive.”

Win added that indigenous guardianship comes from a place of strength where the people adapt to the change and transformation happening to the ocean. “With these changes, we have created knowledge and transformed our knowledge over time as well, and that is what we’re bringing, sharing our stories here so that there is that place of hope. How can we [work] together to deal with this crisis?”

UNOC3 has provided the opportunity for the exchange of knowledge. It has also brought the opportunity to bring a perspective that prioritizes care for the ocean through the lens of knowledge from the past and consideration for the future, rather than to externalize the issue. It has brought generations together with vastly different perspectives on climate action. Win noted that the sense of responsibility to place and future generations is relevant for women community leaders.

This can be illustrated through the example seen in a panel event held at the sidelines of UNOC3, which included a screening for the documentary ‘Remathu: People of the Ocean,’ about Nicole Yamase, the first Micronesian woman to dive into the deepest parts of the ocean. Wilhelm described how Sylvia Earle, CEO of Mission Blue and a celebrated marine biologist, was in attendance, where she and other panelists were “really raw and really honest” about their experiences in the field and what that meant as a “show of support to younger women.”

“They came to make sure that Nicole Yamase didn’t face the same kind of challenges that they did when they were the pioneers in the field… that is the human experience about what does it feel like to not be enough when you are doing extraordinary things for the ocean, as examples for other women,” she said. “Women are not… just that sense of ‘not enough,’ and how do you break through it and how do you bring your community along? That story [film] wasn’t about Nicole; it was about her as a member of her community and what it means to be able to give back.”

Win said, “The indigenous voice that we’re bringing, it should not just be in text. It should not stop there. It should be global lessons and continually looking at each other, with us learning from them and them learning from us. Putting that into solutions and into texts at these global forums.”

“Our voices have not been heard, listened to, or included. I don’t say that as a victim; I say that as, ‘If we want to get on with this, we better get serious!’,” said Wilhelm. “These are the voices and knowledge-holders that will bring a different sense of what the problem is and the solutions that we need to fix it.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Josephine Latu-Sanft, media and communications officer with the International Maritime Organization, poses with experts from the maritime industry during a panel discussion at UNOC3. Credit: Kizito Makoye/IPS

By Kizito Makoye
NICE, France, Jun 12 2025 (IPS)

Once cast as a culprit of ocean degradation, the global shipping industry is quietly reshaping its image—with experts now betting on it as a key ally in saving our seas.

Transporting more than 80 percent of global trade and generating over USD 930 billion annually, shipping is often perceived as an invisible force behind the products we use daily. But at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, industry leaders and scientists gathered to ask a provocative question: Can shipping be part of the solution to the ocean’s mounting crises?

For Dr. Wendy Watson-Wright, Chair of the UN Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), the answer is nuanced.

“If I could start with my usual rant—just a reminder that there is only one global ocean. Just as there’s no Planet B, there is no spare ocean,” she said, stressing that climate change, marine pollution, and invasive species are the most urgent threats facing ocean health today.

From her perspective, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the broader shipping sector are not standing still. “The IMO and maritime sector have been working to address many of these issues,” she explained, citing actions against marine plastic litter, biofouling, and greenhouse gas emissions. “GESAMP provides authoritative, independent scientific advice to support the protection of the marine environment. Our strength is our independence—and that we bring emerging issues to the table before they hit the headlines.”

Indeed, one of shipping’s major breakthroughs, the IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention, was born out of scientific assessments provided by GESAMP. The convention aims to stem the tide of invasive aquatic species transferred between ecosystems via ships’ ballast tanks—waters that are taken on in one port to stabilize ships and released in another, often with unintended ecological consequences.

“Invasive species can devastate marine ecosystems when they’re introduced into environments without natural predators,” said Watson-Wright. “Once they’re established, you can’t get rid of them.”

A Friend, Not a Foe

Simon Doran, Chair of the Global Industry Alliance for Marine Biosafety, admitted that shipping has not always been viewed kindly in environmental circles—but he believes the tides are turning.

“The perception out there was that the maritime industry was the villain. But today, shipping has the opportunity to be the good guy,” said Doran. “Shipping contributes only 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions—and we are on track to reduce that further. With IMO incentives and decarbonization goals, shipping will become net-zero. It would be good if other industries followed our lead.”

Doran pointed to the Ballast Water Convention as a success story, explaining how it compelled shipping companies to invest in new technologies that reduce the risk of alien species wreaking havoc on local ecosystems. “That was the first step. The next will be stronger policies and broader adoption of sustainable practices.”

Yet, the road to transformation is not without hurdles.

“The two biggest barriers are regulatory uncertainty and high commercial costs,” said Doran. “That’s where partnerships like the Global Industry Alliance come in—we bring together businesses, from coating firms to shipping operators, to share solutions and push for standards that make sustainability feasible.”

Bringing Developing Nations Onboard

Gyorgyi Gurban, Head of Project Implementation at the IMO, emphasized that while regulations are essential, the organization is equally focused on ensuring these policies are implemented—especially in developing countries.

“We are not just regulators; we are partners in implementation,” said Gurban. “We have growing portfolios of ocean-related projects in areas like ship recycling, greenhouse gas emissions, and marine litter.”

Gurban rejected the notion that shipping is a niche sector. “Shipping has always been central to global trade and sustainable development. While most of the companies may be headquartered in developed countries, the biggest ports and trade routes run through the Global South,” she said. “Developing countries have much to gain from shipping’s green transition—they could become providers of alternative fuels or hubs for sustainable port services.”

To that end, the IMO is working closely with governments and communities in developing nations to build capacity, transfer technology, and support local infrastructure.

“Our approach is twofold,” she explained. “International regulations apply to all ships, regardless of the flag they fly. But we also back this up with technical cooperation projects so that developing countries can effectively implement these rules.”

The Science-Policy Nexus

For Watson-Wright, the key to unlocking shipping’s potential lies in science-led policymaking.

“Everywhere you turn at this conference, people are talking about the importance of evidence-based decision-making,” she noted. “That’s music to my ears.”

Founded in 1969, GESAMP has long been the scientific conscience of the marine world, producing independent assessments that feed into UN policy debates. Its members, chosen for their expertise and not their nationality, provide unvarnished scientific input to nine UN agencies, including the IMO.

“Our advice must be authoritative and independent,” said Watson-Wright. “That’s what gives it strength.”

A Sector at a Crossroads

Despite the momentum, shipping’s journey toward sustainability is far from over. From decarbonization to digitalization and waste management, the sector must navigate a complex web of challenges.

But for Gurban, that’s precisely what makes the moment ripe for action.

“Shipping isn’t just about moving goods—it’s about enabling livelihoods, supporting economies, and now, safeguarding the ocean,” she said. “By linking robust regulation, cutting-edge science, and inclusive implementation, we can turn this global industry into a global solution.”

Backed by science and bolstered by international cooperation, shipping may not just carry goods across the seas—it could also help carry the world toward a more sustainable blue future.

“Shipping is no longer the villain,” said Doran. “We’re ready to be the hero the ocean needs.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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