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From farm to fork, the global food industry needs to start aligning their operations with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. Pictured here, a farmer tends to vegetables in a greenhouse in Antigua, where a climate-smart agricultural initiative seeks to improve farm productivity. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS

By Samira Sadeque
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 25 2019 (IPS)

With up to one billion undernourished people around the world, and agriculture and land use systems increasingly vulnerable to climate change and land degradation, more companies within the global food industry need to start aligning their operations with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs.

As climate action remained a heightened focus at this year’s U.N. General Assembly, the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition held an event in New York where different parties came together to discuss how to fix food security and get different stakeholders from governments to private sector to come together to make an impact.

Guido Barilla, President of the Barilla Foundation, announced the launch of the report “Fixing the Business of Food, the Food Industry and the SDG challenges” at the event held on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

The report noted that the food industry is a key sector in achieving sustainable food, land, water, and oceans. But current agriculture and food systems “lead to widespread hunger, malnutrition, and obesity”, accounting for almost a “quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, over 90 percent of scarcity-weighted water use, most losses of biodiversity, overexploitation of fisheries, eutrophication through nutrient overload, and considerable pollution of water and air, for example through the burning of crop residues”.

The report found that while food industry leaders have already taken steps towards aligning with the SDGs, “more work is needed in terms of business action towards sustainable development, as well as to make sustainability reporting more systematic, detailed, and useful for all parties”.

“Our planet is crying out for us to make these changes,” said Barilla during his remarks. “Together with our partners we set ourselves the challenge of assessing the food industry progress…in aligning the sustainable development goals.”

Columbia University professor and Sustainable Development Solutions Network Director, Jeffrey Sachs, and Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Qu Dongyu, shared their thoughts among others at the event.

Qu called on the food industry to do more to support healthy foods and reduce food loss and waste.

“Nutrition is just the approach, not the end goal. The goal is a happy and healthy life.” Director-General @FAODG of @FAO discusses why fixing the business of food is a priority. #foodsustainability #fixingfood

— BCFN Foundation (@BarillaCFN) September 24, 2019

“We know that agriculture is pushing against ecosystems all over the world to an absolutely shocking extent,” Sachs said at the workshop. “We’re losing the ecosystem…of course it’s complex, it requires good science to understand what are the drivers but agriculture is certainly the lead driver.”

Scarlett Benson, Associate at SYSTEMIQ Ltd, presented the report “Growing Better: Ten Critical Transitions to Transform Food and Land Use”.

“If we continue as we’re going, we’re going to deforest 400 million more hectares of natural ecosystem for agricultural land,” Benson said. “But if we can implement this reform agenda, we’ll actually save 1.2 billion hectares of land that is currently used for agriculture and that land will be available for return to nature so that will allow us to…achieve all biodiversity agenda.”

She mentioned the part of the research that often garners a lot of attention is about freeing up land.

“Because freeing up land, by changing our diets, by reducing food loss and weight and including agriculture productivity through better use of technology, actually enables us to use land more efficiently,” Benson said.

“Land has an opportunity cost and it is an asset for us,” she said. 

When asked how many companies are actually adapting sustainable development practices with high priority, Charlotte Ersboll, U.N. Global Compact Senior Advisor, said “too few,” citing a recent study by the organisation.

“It’s very clear that despite all the excitement around SDGs it’s really very superficial what companies are doing,” she said.

During the event she said that only 27 percent of companies where carrying sustainability through their supply chain.

Charlotte Ersboll @C_Ersboll of @globalcompact says only 27% of companies are carrying sustainability through their supply chain. “We want to see sustainability achored with every member of [an organization’s] senior management team.” #foodsustainability #fixingfood

— BCFN Foundation (@BarillaCFN) September 24, 2019

“We can see that companies are certainly trying to embed sustainability in their strategy, they’re embedding policies,” she added, “but when we look at what kind of impact they are having on the ground, it’s far from what we need to see.”

“We found that companies look at health as mainly a responsibility for their workplace health departments but they don’t think about the potential negative impacts they can have in the production, supply, market chain and so we really want to see is they view health as a leading indicator for their activities.”

Accountability a key

A key highlight of the workshop was the lack of accountability and the need for each sector to hold other sectors accountable.

Sachs shed light on the importance of the different sectors coming together.

“We will not get sustainability on the planet, unless there’s co-responsibility,” he said. “We’re going to lose the resilience of the food sector itself if climate change, loss of biodiversity, destruction of land, scarcity of water continues the direction we’re going.”

In terms of achieving the SDGs, while there’s an obvious role for governments to play, Gerbrand Haverkamp, executive director of World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), says they stay focused on the private sector.

“That means we want to make sure that business is conducted – so the way that coffee is sourced, the way that we grow bananas…that is done in a way that it doesn’t undermine progress and also starts to contribute towards progress on the SDG,” Haverkamp told IPS in an exclusive interview.

“But to make sure companies do that, we need to make sure that we are able to articulate what that means [so] that we can measure how good they are doing, and then we make those results publicly available,” he said, adding that this allows both the consumers and investors a way to tell the company how they’re performing and what risks their under-performance can pose. 

Haverkamp added that while companies tend to be generally interested to engage in these practices, a bigger challenge remains the data collection.

“Companies do not adequately collect a lot of data or they fail to disclose it, so that’s a technical issue,” he added. “And to be able to hold someone accountable, you need to understand the issue.”

Others who spoke at the workshop include Emanuela Claudia Del Re, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Representative of the European Commission; Angelo Riccaboni, Full Professor Of Business Administration, University of Siena as well as Chair of the Prima Foundation; and Diane Holdorf, Managing Director of Food and Nature at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), based in Geneva, Switzerland.

 

 

Related Articles

• Egypt’s Food Challenge: a Good Effort but Not Enough
• U.S. Needs to Shift to More Sustainable Agriculture—As Do All Countries

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By Esther Ngumbi
ILLINOIS, United States, Sep 25 2019 (IPS)

Around the world, citizens took to the streets to demand their governments address climate change. In the U.S., this widespread activism illustrates the findings of a newly released report by the Chicago Council on Global affairs which found for the first time that the majority of Americans consider climate change a threat and the most critical foreign policy issue facing the country.

It is crucial to address climate change. Around the world, it is causing repetitive droughts, flooding events, deadly storms, sweltering temperatures, and crop failures. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, climate change and climate-related events are driving mass migration around the globe.

Furthermore, climate-related events can spur crises, and amplify conflict or accelerate terrorism in countries or regions already dealing with fragility and instability.

Affected too by climate change are our ecosystems and the organisms who are depended on these ecosystems, including birds, wildlife, insects, and soils dwelling organisms.  A recent study published in Science reported that the number of birds in North America has declined since 1970. Earlier this year, another study suggested that 40 percent of insect species are in decline.

What can we do? One way to tackle climate change is to start at the soil level. This is why.

First, globally, soils already hold three times as much carbon as exists in the atmosphere, and there is room for much more. According to a study in Nature, enhanced carbon storage in the world’s soils could reduce greenhouse gas concentrations by  50 and 80 percent.

Second, soil as an ecosystem is the home to billions of several microorganisms that are essential for fighting climate change and achieving an environmentally sustainable future. Unseen to the naked eye, these microorganisms that include bacteria, fungi are hard at work,  playing many critical roles in carbon and nutrient cycling and agriculture.

Thirdly, these microorganisms aid in keeping soil healthy. Healthy soils are essential in agriculture.  Globally, one-third of our soils are degraded and unhealthy.

According to research, soil-dwelling microorganisms can help restore degraded soils, increase agricultural productivity, and help revolutionize agriculture.

Revolutionizing agriculture and restoring the health of the soils is also crucial, especially in many developing countries, including African countries that are dependent on agriculture as a source of livelihood.

Increased agricultural productivity and income would power a virtuous cycle, enabling poor farmers to invest even more in the sustainability and productivity of their farms. These would also cut down on the number of migrants, since; many people migrate because the land in which they live can no longer support agriculture.

What is more, is that the use of soil microbes to improve soil health and mitigate climate change would be invaluable in parts of the developing world hardest hit by drought and rising temperatures.

Of course, taking it to the soil will not address all the climate change issues.

Accompanying efforts that focus on soils would be individual actions by everyday Americans. The truth is any action matters. If every person takes individual action, we can collectively make a difference. We all must take action. BIG or SMALL.

These actions must be aligned with the contributors to climate change. According to research, there are several key drivers to climate change, including fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes, land-use changes, agriculture, deforestation, and food waste.

Equally important is continuous activism to ensure that everyone has a chance to know the current realities of climate change. Climate Strikes last week is an excellent form of activism.

Climate activists must continuously seek creative ways to disseminate recent news about climate change, including sharing innovative approaches that stand to make a difference in the fight against climate change.

Fighting climate change is the most urgent and critical issue of our time. We must take every possible action. Lives and our ecosystems are at stake.

 

Esther Ngumbi is an Assistant Professor, Entomology Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Illinois,  Aspen Institute New Voices Senior Food Security Fellow, Clinton Global University Initiative Agriculture Commitments Mentor and Ambassador

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Climate Action Summit 2019. Credit: AfDB Group.

By African Development Bank
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 25 2019 (IPS-Partners)

African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina on Tuesday unveiled ambitious plans to scrap coal power stations across the continent and switch to renewable energy at United Nations climate talks on Monday.

Addressing a gathering of leaders and officials from almost 200 countries in New York, Adesina outlined efforts to shutter coal-fired power plants and build the “largest solar zone in the world” in the arid Sahel belt.

“Coal is the past, and renewable energy is the future. For us at the African Development Bank, we’re getting out of coal,” Adesina told delegates to the Climate Action Summit in Manhattan this week.

The Bank’s $500 million green baseload scheme will be rolled out in 2020 and is set to yield $5 billion of investment that will help African countries transition from coal and fossil fuel to renewable energy, said Adesina.

Adesina also talked about plans for $20 billion of investments in solar and clean energy that would provide the region’s 250 million people with 10,000 MW of electricity.

“There’s a reason God gave Africa sunlight,” said Adesina.

Presidents, princes and government ministers from around the world attended the UN’s climate summit, as they faced mounting pressure to reduce heat-trapping gas emissions and slow the global rise in temperatures.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres also took a swipe at the “dying fossil fuel industry” and said it was still not too late to keep the global rise in temperatures below the benchmark figure of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“But it will require fundamental transformations in all aspects of society — how we grow food, use land, fuel our transport and power our economies,” said Guterres.

“We need to link climate change to a new model of development — fair globalisation — with less suffering, more justice, and harmony between people and the planet.”

The UN says mankind must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to about 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures to stave off the worst-case predictions of scientists.

The meeting was part of the run-up to the international climate talks in 2020, which is the next deadline for countries to make significant emissions reduction pledges under the 2015 global warming deal.

Contact: Alkassoum AOUDI DIALLO – Media Relations – Communication & External Relations,  a.a.diallo@afdb.org  –  +225 20263721

 

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US President Donald Trump addressing the General Assembly 24 September 2019. Courtesy: United Nations

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 25 2019 (IPS)

The United Nations is an institution which promotes multilateralism and preaches some of the basic tenets of multiparty democracy and liberalism, including the rule of law, universal human rights, free speech, civil liberties, the rights of refugees and freedom of the press.

But, paradoxically, the first four speakers during the opening day, September 24, of the 74th session of the U.N. General Assembly—Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, U.S. president Donald Trump, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan —represented the very anti-thesis of what the world body stands for.

They have been best described either as rightwing nationalists, populist strongmen or authoritarian leaders—who, like Al-Sisi, presides over a repressive regime.

Martin S. Edwards, Associate Professor and Chair, School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University, told IPS, “I watched these speeches with students from several of these countries.  To be sure, the rhetoric can scare you.”

But these students were not scared, because of two things, he pointed out.

First, they know history. Just as President Trump spoke of national renewal, there is also a reformist tradition in the US as in other countries that practices a politics based on inclusion and not fear. These traditions haven’t gone away, and they will return, he said.

Second, they know facts.

“The U.N. is tremendously popular across the globe, and they know that we can no more deny the necessity for international cooperation than we can deny the existence of gravity,” said Edwards, who is also director of the Center for U.N. and Global Governance Studies.

So, many called today—the opening day of the General Assembly sessions–“the day of populist strong men”. But their time won’t last, he predicted.

And it’s interesting to juxtapose their speeches with student activist Greta Thurnberg’s on the climate change crisis on Monday.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is banking on the optimists, and the rest of the week will be about their loud reply to today’s early speeches, Edwards said.

State Luncheon for world leaders hosted by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Courtesy: Kim Haughton/United Nations

Abby Maxman, President of Oxfam America, was quick to point out that President Trump, once again, led with a tired, nationalistic foreign policy of fear and blame, “seeking to discredit and undermine the multilateral institutions and the international cooperation that is so critical to promoting our shared prosperity and security”.

She said that Trump restated his foreign policy’s central false premise: that necessary efforts to build a better, safer world are somehow a threat to Americans.

He pointed fingers at others for some of the biggest challenges, like the crises in Yemen and Syria, but took no responsibility for his administration’s role in fuelling them, and failed to commit to do his part to stop the violence and save lives.

“The challenges we are all facing – growing inequality, influx of forced migration, the climate crisis — are the same for families and countries around the world. At a time when all of us are worried about the future, we must work together to build and renew international cooperation – not tear it down.

“But as usual, President Trump’s rhetoric falsely pits Americans’ love of country and passion for our planet and all its people against our interests. It’s not a choice we have to make. We can, and must, choose both.”

Amnesty International came down heavily both on Bolsonaro and Al-Sisi, singling out Bolsonaro’s dangerous rhetoric at the General Assembly as a “blow to human rights”.

Jurema Werneck, executive director of Amnesty International Brazil, expressed concern over Bolsonaro’s statement about confronting the media and the work of the national and international press.

She said these are fundamental to the right to freedom of expression, due to their role in denouncing human rights violations and addressing other political, environmental, social and economic problems.

“Without freedom of expression, the promotion and protection of human rights would be in grave danger. The government must also respect the right of civil society to monitor, demand accountability and take action to promote and protect the rights of all people,” Werneck added.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International also called on world leaders to confront Egypt’s Al- Sisi and “utterly condemn the crackdown he has waged to counter the outbreak of protests in recent days”.

Amnesty said it has documented how the Egyptian security forces have carried out sweeping arrests of protesters, rounded up journalists, human rights lawyers, activists, protesters and political figures in a bid to silence critics and deter further protests from taking place.

The government has also added the BBC and Alhurra news to the list of 513 other websites already blocked in Egypt and disrupted online messaging applications to thwart further protests.

“The government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is clearly shaken to its core by the outbreak of protests and has launched a full-throttle clampdown to crush demonstrations and intimidate activists, journalists and others into silence,” said Najia Bounaim, North Africa Campaigns Director at Amnesty International.

“The world must not stand silently by as President al-Sisi tramples all over Egyptians’ rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression. Instead of escalating this repressive backlash, the Egyptian authorities must immediately release all those detained for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly and allow further protests on Friday to go ahead.”

Amnesty International said it has documented the arrests of at least 59 people from five cities across Egypt during protests that took place on the nights of Sept. 20 and 21.

Local human rights organisations have reported hundreds of arrests all over Egypt. The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights reported that 964 individuals have been arrested in relation to the protests between September 19 and 24.

In New York, President Al-Sisi responded to questions from the media claiming that the protests were instigated by “political Islam.” 

However, Amnesty International said it found that, in fact, the protesters came from an extremely diverse range of age, socioeconomic, gender and religious backgrounds, including non-political backgrounds. All those detained faced the same “terrorism”- related charges.

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@ips.org

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By African Development Bank
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 24 2019 (IPS-Partners)

With an estimated 390 million people living in extreme poverty, hunger and food insecurity, Africa is in a race against time to deliver on its regional and global development goals. On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Sunday, African heads of states and governments met to emphasize urgent collective action and the need for greater collaboration between the United Nations and the African Development Bank to fast-track Africa’s development.

The meeting, convened by the African Development and the United Nations, is “the first of its kind” between the two institutions taking place at the UN Headquarters, UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed said.

Underscoring the strong convergence between the continent’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and the African Development Bank’s High 5s, Mohammed said it was time to join forces to deliver.

“We are entering into the decade of action to deliver the SDG’s…The investment requirements are vast,” Mohammed said. “The role of the African Development  Bank is crucial…to help de-risk investments and attract investment flows……..Africa’s premier institution needs much more support” she added.

The leaders called for additional resources to drive the urgent task of Africa’s development.

Speaking at the meeting, the President of the African Development Bank said, “The clock is ticking, the seconds are passing very fast, yet we still have time left on the clock. We can still close the gap. I am fully convinced that with a change of pace, driven by a greater sense of urgency, and global collective responsibility, Africa can still achieve the SDGs”.

The two-hour meeting, moderated by the African Development Bank, was attended by seven African presidents – from Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Ethiopia and Lesotho, in addition to  representatives of some 30 governments.

The leaders spoke of what had worked in their countries – including mainstreaming development goals into national plans, scaling up initiatives, and the implications of harmonizing policies and strategic entry points for the implementation of development goals at national, regional and global levels.

Ambitious development initiatives undertaken by the Bank with regional collaboration are already showing success, such as Desert to Power, which aims to provide access to electricity for 250 million people across the 11 countries of the Sahel, 90 million of them through off-grid systems.

Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa called the SDGs Africa’s “highest challenge.”

Stemming the tide of illicit financial flows, public debt and tax evasion would be urgent measures to be taken by leaders if they meant to stay on track, she said.

Areas for potential collaboration include climate change in Africa, gender mainstreaming, promoting private sector investment, measures to utilize risk insurance to mitigate impact of natural disasters in Africa and appropriate security arrangements to support the Bank’s operations in fragile states in on the continent.

The African Continental Free Trade Area, which came into force this year and creates the world’s largest free trade zone, will be another major area for collaboration under the partnership.

An assessment by the United Nations Development Program has clearly shown that achieving the Bank’s High 5s will allow Africa to achieve about 90% of the SDGs.  “So, the faster we deliver on the High 5s, the faster we will reach our goal and desired destination,” Adesina said.

Contact: Amba Mpoke-Bigg, Communication and External Relations Department, African Development Bank, email: a.mpoke-bigg@afdb.org

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By Sarah Wolverton
WALLINGFORD, CT, US, Sep 24 2019 (IPS)

Last year, the United States introduced a new asbestos rule that was received both positively and negatively and Canada banned the mineral altogether. Countries like the U.K. and Australia continue to struggle with the health implications of historic asbestos use, despite both having bans for several years. In contrast, nations like Russia and Vietnam continue to manufacture and use the mineral frequently. 

Asbestos is a substance that was used throughout history as an additive in many products to provide heat and fire resistance. It fell out of favor around the world starting in the 1970s when US court documents showed that companies knew asbestos could lead to disease and cancer and still willingly exposed their employees to the mineral.

 

North American Updates

In 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States proposed a Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) on several chemicals and minerals, including asbestos. This rule means that the EPA has found historic uses of asbestos to no longer be ongoing, and allows the proposal of new uses on a case-by-case review basis.

Critics of the rule worry that this will result in more exposure to the deadly fiber, which causes mesothelioma cancer in the lungs, heart, or abdomen. Even small levels of exposure to asbestos can be deadly, so worries of contact with it extend to those that manufacture the products, install them, and are around them daily.

While the United States waffles around with asbestos regulations, Canada enacted a ban that went into effect on January 1, 2019. The law, called the Prohibition of Asbestos and Products Containing Asbestos Regulation, prevents and acknowledges the dangers of asbestos to human health.

While the United States waffles around with asbestos regulations, Canada enacted a ban that went into effect on January 1, 2019. The law, called the Prohibition of Asbestos and Products Containing Asbestos Regulation, prevents and acknowledges the dangers of asbestos to human health

It does, however, have certain exceptions that are covered in an extended timeline of the regulation’s requirements. Asbestos usage to service nuclear or military equipment is allowed until December 31, 2022, after which it will require a special permit. By the end of 2029, the use of asbestos will be outlawed in all facilities, even those dealing in chlor-alkali processes.

 

Where Asbestos is Legal

Some countries still allow asbestos manufacturing and use of all kinds, sans regulation. Russia’s Ural Mountains are full of the natural mineral, and a mining company called Uralasbest continues to produce and export it to this day. A New York Times article on asbestos mining in Russia reported an uptick of 11% in Uralasbest’s production last year, with expectations for more in 2019.

The fact of the matter is, asbestos is cheap, strong, and great for resistance to fire and electrical damage. Uralasbests’ biggest customers are located in Asia and Africa, where it’s still used mostly in construction. These regions are seeing quick growth in infrastructure and have less history when it comes to the health effects of asbestos.

A 2013 study found that the top consumers of asbestos that year worldwide were Russia, China, Brazil and Kazakhstan. These countries have large natural asbestos deposits and each of their production volumes over the past 20 years has been either steady or increasing. The report remarked that similar trends occurred in other countries that historically used the mineral.

However, in these cases, a steady decline followed peak production, perhaps due to the beginnings of mesothelioma and asbestosis diagnoses. If the rest of the world is any indication, hopefully, the current top producers will follow the same trend.

 

A Dangerous Legacy

Even with bans in place, many countries still have problems with asbestos exposure. In Canada, the asbestos prohibition does not extend to any of the mineral present in infrastructure before January 1, 2019. It also does not cover health costs for exposed citizens or require remediation of the mineral from standing structures.

Exposure to existing asbestos is of the most worry today since over 60 countries have some form of regulation surrounding the use of the material. A country like Australia, which has had a complete ban for 16 years, is susceptible to this kind of second-hand exposure.

The unfortunate reality of asbestos is that even once banned, it affects human health for years to come for two main reasons. First, second-hand exposure to asbestos in older products is difficult and costly to mitigate. Second, it’s hard to gauge exactly how widespread exposure and resulting disease are because symptoms, particularly of mesothelioma cancer, can take anywhere from 10 to 50 years to appear.

In the case of Australia, the current ban will ensure that a drop off in diagnoses come around 2050, about 40 years from now. But even then cases will pop up in the years after. This is the sad legacy of asbestos – even the best efforts to address the issue don’t solve it completely.

 

How to Combat These Issues

Perhaps countries could follow in the footsteps of South Korea. There, all types of asbestos have been banned for 10 years and in 2011 the Asbestos Injury Relief Act was put into place. This act offers medical relief and compensation for victims of asbestos-containing materials. By having a government-funded route to aid for these people, asbestos relief is possible and accessible for all communities.

Comprehensive bans are not in the works for many of the countries that still lack them, so awareness and education are essential pillars of the movement. In the United States, September 26th is Mesothelioma Awareness Day, which is dedicated to advocacy and spreading information about the disease and asbestos.

Pushing the needle on the issue of asbestos usage and health issues will only occur if more attention is called to the problem.

 

The post How Slow Moving Asbestos Regulations Compromise Health appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Credit: Paul Nevin.

By External Source
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 24 2019 (IPS)

Describing it as an “important landmark” on our “journey to health for all”, Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday welcomed the UN Political Declaration on universal health coverage, or UHC, which commits countries to advance towards full coverage for their citizens in four major areas around primary care.

During a meeting of heads of State, ministers, health leaders, policy-makers, and universal health coverage champions, the UN chief called UHC “the most comprehensive agreement ever reached on global health – a vision for Universal Health Coverage by 2030”.

World leaders made the public commitment during the meeting at the beginning of the high level week of the UN General Assembly, themed “Universal Health Coverage: Moving Together to Build a Healthier World”.

He maintained that this “significant achievement” will drive progress over the next decade on tackling communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, while addressing non-communicable disease and the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance through robust and resilient primary healthcare systems.

“The Political Declaration also states the need to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services and reproductive rights”, he continued. “It is essential to protect the wellbeing and dignity of women and girls”.

The UN chief pushed for an urgent “change the financing paradigm” to “step up the pace of investment” towards UHC.

Stressing the importance of “bold national leadership”, the Secretary-General underscored: “Let us all be champions of health for all”.

 

Universal right, not a privilege

General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande opened the meeting by underscoring that access to critical health services “must be a universal right and not a privilege”.

“We must ensure that nations around the world can benefit from each other in medical training, provision of medical infrastructure, among others, if we are to achieve our agreed  SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)”, he stated.

Mr. Muhammad-Bande said the objective of UHC is to “strengthen our health systems” to guarantee a “healthier life for everyone” by ensuring that people have access to “affordable, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health services”.

According to the General Assembly President, to obtain quality health services, Member States must support each other, including with “integrated, efficient, safe and people-centred care” and continue to invest in research “to better equip us in preventing diseases, among other benefits”.

In conclusion, he pointed to the “profound” challenges we face, saying: “I am confident that if we continue and strengthen international co-operation and seize the opportunities already available, while creating even more opportunities, we can overcome them – together”.

 

‘A political choice’

Universal health coverage means all people regardless of their ability to pay, having access to the health care they need, when and where they need it, without facing financial hardship.

Congratulating world leaders, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General at the World Health Organization (WHO) told the historic meeting that UHC was “a political choice: today world leaders have signaled their readiness to make that choice.”

The declaration comes the day after WHO and partners flagged the need to double health coverage between now and 2030, or leave up to five billion people unable to access sufficient services.

In adopting the declaration, Member States have committed to investing in policies which would prevent financial hardship from out-of-pocket healthcare payments. It also aims to implement high-impact health interventions to combat diseases and protect women’s and children’s health.

 

General Assembly Seventy-fourth session High-level meeting on universal health coverage. Credit: UN Photo/Kim Haughton

 

Human development outcome

At the same time, David R. Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, informed the meeting that “with the changing nature of work”, the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) are “supporting the roll-out of mobile health insurance platforms” to extend finance protection to tens of millions of people across 22 countries.

“To improve health outcomes, we must go beyond health”, he flagged. “That means supporting communities by improving education, broadening social services and creating jobs”.

According to Mr. Malpass, investments in health facilities, vaccines and health technology “will be wasted”, if issues like “childhood stunting, girls education and weak social safety nets that leave families vulnerable” are not addressed.

For her part, Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation asserted that it was now time “to get down to the hard work” of turning “commitments into results”.

“We all have a role to play”, she said. “Donors and country Governments need to move beyond business as usual to bolster the primary health care systems that address the vast majority of people’s needs over their lifetimes”.

This story was originally published by UN News

 

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By GGGI
SEOUL, Republic of Korea, Sep 24 2019 (IPS-Partners)

The Coalition for Urban Transitions recently released a report titled Climate Emergency, Urban Opportunity: How national governments can secure economic prosperity and avert climate catastrophe by transforming cities. The report indicates the numerous benefits of prioritizing zero-carbon cities and provides national governments with six key priorities for actions to take to achieve a successful urban transition.

The key findings by the report indicated that zero carbon cities can bring significant economic advantages, indicating that “investments in low-carbon measures in cities would provide a return of at least US$23.9 trillion by 2050”.

Climate Emergency, Urban Opportunity quantifies the social, environmental, and economic benefits that are available to national governments who invest in zero-carbon cities. Under the overarching message that “National governments that prioritize zero-carbon cities today will secure economic prosperity and better living standards tomorrow,” the report provides original data analysis and case studies of successful national and local collaborations to improve the quality of urban life and features how a rapid urban transition is possible with engagement from national governments.

The report suggests six key priorities on which national governments should act:

 

• Develop an overarching strategy to deliver shared prosperity while reaching net-zero emissions – and place cities at its heart.

• Align national policies behind compact, connected, clean cities.

• Fund and finance sustainable urban infrastructure.

• Coordinate and support local climate action in cities.

• Build a multilateral system that fosters inclusive, zero-carbon cities.

• Proactively plan for a just urban transition.

 

Beyond its messages to national governments of the benefits the transition brings, the report also depicts the price of inaction; as the global temperature increases, so does the threat it poses to both countries and cities. A key message of the report states that “the battle for our future will be won or lost in cities. Cities are home to more than half the world’s population and are responsible for 80% of global GDP – and three quarters of energy-related carbon emissions”.

Today, only a handful of countries have a national strategy for cities. Therefore, the report seeks to elicit action from national governments to change this, for countries to create resilient, prosperous cities, further economic development, and effectively respond to the climate emergency.

GGGI’s Head of Green Cities, Donovan Storey, and Green Cities Officer, Aarsi Sagar, contributed to the newly released Climate Emergency, Urban Opportunity report by the Coalition for Urban Transitions, which is the leading global initiative dedicated to supporting national governments unlock the economic power of inclusive, zero-carbon cities. GGGI was one of 50 leading international organizations that collaborated on the report ahead of the Climate Action Summit and Sustainable Development Goals Summit in New York.

To read the entire report, key messages, priorities for national governments, and more information, visit here: https://urbantransitions.global/en/publication/climate-emergency-urban-opportunity/

 

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By Ralph Chami, Sena Oztosun, Thomas Cosimano, and Connel Fullenkamp
WASHINGTON DC, Sep 24 2019 (IPS)

When it comes to saving the planet, one whale is worth thousands of trees.

Scientific research now indicates more clearly than ever that our carbon footprint—the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere where it contributes to global warming through the so-called greenhouse effect—now threatens our ecosystems and our way of life.  But efforts to mitigate climate change face two significant challenges. 

The first is to find effective ways to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere or its impact on average global temperature.  The second is to raise sufficient funds to put these technologies into practice.

Many proposed solutions to global warming, such as capturing carbon directly from the air and burying it deep in the earth, are complex, untested, and expensive. What if there were a low-tech solution to this problem that not only is effective and economical, but also has a successful funding model?

An example of such an opportunity comes from a surprisingly simple and essentially “no-tech” strategy to capture more carbon from the atmosphere: increase global whale populations.

Marine biologists have recently discovered that whales—especially the great whales—play a significant role in capturing carbon from the atmosphere (Roman and others 2014).  And international organisations have implemented programs such as Reducing Emissions from Degradation and Deforestation (REDD) that fund the preservation of carbon-capturing ecosystems.

Adapting these initiatives to support international efforts to restore whale populations could lead to a breakthrough in the fight against climate change.

The carbon capture potential of whales is truly startling.  Whales accumulate carbon in their bodies during their long lives. When they die, they sink to the bottom of the ocean; each great whale sequesters 33 tons of CO2 on average, taking that carbon out of the atmosphere for centuries. A tree, meanwhile, absorbs only up to 48 pounds of CO2 a year.

Protecting whales could add significantly to carbon capture because the current population of the largest great whales is only a small fraction of what it once was.

Sadly, after decades of industrialised whaling, biologists estimate that overall whale populations are now to less than one fourth what they once were. Some species, like the blue whales, have been reduced to only 3 percent of their previous abundance.

Thus, the benefits from whales’ ecosystem services to us and to our survival are much less than they could be. But this is only the beginning of the story.

The whale pump

Wherever whales, the largest living things on earth, are found, so are populations of some of the smallest, phytoplankton. These microscopic creatures not only contribute at least 50 percent of all oxygen to our atmosphere, they do so by capturing about 37 billion metric tons of CO2, an estimated 40 percent of all CO2 produced.

To put things in perspective, we calculate that this is equivalent to the amount of CO2 captured by 1.70 trillion trees—four Amazon forests’ worth—or 70 times the amount absorbed by all the trees in the US Redwood National and State Parks each year. More phytoplankton means more carbon capture.

In recent years, scientists have discovered that whales have a multiplier effect of increasing phytoplankton production wherever they go. How? It turns out that whales’ waste products contain exactly the substances—notably iron and nitrogen—phytoplankton need to grow.

Whales bring minerals up to the ocean surface through their vertical movement, called the “whale pump,” and through their migration across oceans, called the “whale conveyor belt.” Preliminary modelling and estimates indicate that this fertilising activity adds significantly to phytoplankton growth in the areas whales frequent.

Despite the fact that nutrients are carried into the ocean through dust storms, river sediments, and upwelling from wind and waves, nitrogen and phosphorus remain scarce and limit the amount of phytoplankton that can bloom in warmer parts of the oceans.

In colder regions, such as in the Southern Ocean, the limiting mineral tends to be iron. If more of these missing minerals became available in parts of the ocean where they are scarce, more phytoplankton could grow, potentially absorbing much more carbon than otherwise possible.

Letting whales live

This is where the whales come in. If whales were allowed to return to their pre-whaling number of 4 to 5 million—from slightly more than 1.3 million today—it could add significantly to the amount of phytoplankton in the oceans and to the carbon they capture each year.

At a minimum, even a 1 percent increase in phytoplankton productivity thanks to whale activity would capture hundreds of millions of tons of additional CO2 a year, equivalent to the sudden appearance of 2 billion mature trees. Imagine the impact over the average lifespan of a whale, more than 60 years.

Despite the drastic reduction in commercial whaling, whales still face significant life-threatening hazards, including ship strikes, entanglement in fishing nets, waterborne plastic waste, and noise pollution. While some species of whales are recovering—slowly—many are not.

Enhancing protection of whales from human-made dangers would deliver benefits to ourselves, the planet, and of course, the whales themselves. This “earth-tech” approach to carbon sequestration also avoids the risk of unanticipated harm from suggested untested high-tech fixes.

Nature has had millions of years to perfect her whale-based carbon sink technology. All we need to do is let the whales live. 

Now we turn to the economic side of the solution. Protecting whales has a cost. Mitigating the many threats to whales involves compensating those causing the threats, a group that includes countries, businesses, and individuals. Ensuring that this approach is practical involves determining whales’ monetary value.

International public good

Whales produce climate benefits that are dispersed all over the globe. And because people’s benefits from the existence of whales do not diminish the benefits that others receive from them, they are a textbook public good.

This means that whales are affected by the classic “tragedy of the commons” that afflicts public goods: no individual who benefits from them is sufficiently motivated to pay their fair share to support them.

Just think of the importance of earth’s atmosphere to our survival. Even though all nations acknowledge that everyone has an interest in preserving this common resource for the future, global coordination remains a problem.

To solve this international public goods problem, we must first ask, What is the monetary value of a whale? Proper valuation is warranted if we are to galvanise businesses and other stakeholders to save the whales by showing that the benefits of protecting them far exceed the cost.

We estimate the value of an average great whale by determining today’s value of the carbon sequestered by a whale over its lifetime, using scientific estimates of the amount whales contribute to carbon sequestration, the market price of carbon dioxide, and the financial technique of discounting.

To this, we also add today’s value of the whale’s other economic contributions, such as fishery enhancement and ecotourism, over its lifetime.  Our conservative estimates put the value of the average great whale, based on its various activities, at more than $2 million, and easily over $1 trillion for the current stock of great whales.     

But there is still the question of how to reduce the myriad dangers to whales, such as ship strikes and other hazards. Luckily, economists know how these types of problems can be solved. In fact, a potential model for such solutions is the United Nations (UN) REDD program.

Recognising that deforestation accounts for 17 percent of carbon emissions, REDD provides incentives for countries to preserve their forests as a means of keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere.

In a similar way, we can create financial mechanisms to promote the restoration of the world’s whale populations. Incentives in the form of subsidies or other compensation could help those who incur significant costs as a result of whale protection. For example, shipping companies could be compensated for the cost of altered shipping routes to reduce the risk of collisions.

This solution, however, raises questions that are tricky to answer. To begin with, a financial facility for protecting whales and other natural assets must be set up and funded.  Exactly how much should we be willing to spend on protecting the whales?

We estimate that, if whales were allowed to return to their pre-whaling numbers—capturing 1.7 billion tons of CO2 annually—it would be worth about $13 per person a year to subsidise these whales’ CO2 sequestration efforts.

If we agree to pay this cost, how should it be allocated across countries, individuals, and businesses?  How much should each individual, company, and country that must bear some of the cost of protecting whales be compensated? And who will oversee the compensation, and monitor compliance with the new rules?

International financial institutions, in partnership with other UN and multilateral organisations, are ideally suited to advise, monitor, and coordinate the actions of countries in protecting whales.

Whales are commonly found in the waters around low-income and fragile states, countries that may be unable to deal with the needed mitigation measures. Support for these countries could come, for example, from the Global Environment Facility, which typically provides support to such countries to meet international environmental agreements.

The IMF is also well placed to help governments integrate the macroeconomic benefit that whales provide in mitigating climate change, as well as the cost of measures to protect the whales, into their macro-fiscal frameworks. 

The World Bank has the expertise to design and implement specific programs to compensate private sector actors for their efforts to protect whales.  Other UN and multilateral organisations can oversee compliance and collect data to measure the progress of these efforts.

A new mindset

Coordinating the economics of whale protection must rise to the top of the global community’s climate agenda. Since the role of whales is irreplaceable in mitigating and building resilience to climate change, their survival should be integrated into the objectives of the 190 countries that in 2015 signed the Paris Agreement for combating climate risk.

International institutions and governments, however, must also exert their influence to bring about a new mindset—an approach that recognises and implements a holistic approach toward our own survival, which involves living within the bounds of the natural world.

Whales are not a human solution—these great creatures having inherent value of their own and the right to live—but this new mindset recognises and values their integral place in a sustainable ocean and planet.

Healthy whale populations imply healthy marine life including fish, seabirds, and an overall vibrant system that recycles nutrients between oceans and land, improving life in both places.

The “earth-tech” strategy of supporting whales’ return to their previous abundance in the oceans would significantly benefit not only life in the oceans but also life on land, including our own.

With the consequences of climate change here and now, there is no time to lose in identifying and implementing new methods to prevent or reverse harm to the global ecosystem.  This is especially true when it comes to improving the protection of whales so that their populations can grow more quickly.

Unless new steps are taken, we estimate it would take over 30 years just to double the number of current whales, and several generations to return them to their pre-whaling numbers. Society and our own survival can’t afford to wait this long.

The post Nature’s Solution to Climate Change appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Ralph Chami is an assistant director and Sena Oztosun is a research analyst in the IMF’s Institute for Capacity Development, Thomas Cosimano is professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, and Connel Fullenkamp is professor of the practice of economics and director at Duke University’s Economics Center for Teaching.

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Anti-US demonstrations in Iran

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 24 2019 (IPS)

Jim Mattis a former United States Defense Secretary in the Trump administration quotes a Marine Corps dictum in a recently released book titled “Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead”.

“When you’re going to a gun fight” he says, “bring all your friends with guns”—a piece of advice obviously directed at the Trump administration which remains increasingly isolated in the international community.

“Having fought many times in (international) coalitions, I believe that we need every ally we can bring to the fight – from imaginative military solutions to their country’s vote in the [United Nations], the more allies the better,” says the retired U.S. Marine Corps General, who recently quit the Trump administration in not-so-happy circumstances.

But how many of the U.N.’s big powers armed with big guns—and nuclear weapons– including UK, France, Russia and China, are willing to join the U.S. as it contemplates an attack on Iran?

Or even give its blessings to a Trump administration which has treated the U.N. with contempt by abandoning multilateralism, withdrawing from international treaties and drastically reducing funds to U.N. agencies?

And now, in an irony of ironies, Trump is turning to the U.N. for help– as it plans to lobby U.N. member states whose leaders will be attending a slew of high-level summit meetings in New York through Sept. 27. The lobbying is euphemistically described as “a diplomatic outreach campaign”.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo set the stage for a confrontation when he accused Iran last week of carrying out an “act of war”—the strongest condemnation so far from any American official on Iran.

At the same time, he has sent mixed signals, like Trump, because he told reporters during a two-day trip to the Gulf: “We’re still striving to build out a coalition.”

The Iranian have denied responsibility for the recent drone and missile strikes on Saudi oil installations which have been claimed by the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javid Zarif

Asked for a response, visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Javid Zarif said in New York: “Had Iran been involved in this attack, there would have been nothing left of that refinery.”

In a front-page story Sept. 19 headlined “White House seeks allies at U.N. to press Iran on Saudi oil attack,” the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) says the British U.N. ambassador Karen Pierce has already said responsibility hadn’t been determined as to who was behind the attacks on the Saudi oil fields while Japan and France have also signalled they aren’t convinced that Iran was behind the attacks.

The newspaper quotes Trump as telling the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in a bygone era: “the U.N. is not a friend of democracy, not a friend of freedom and not even a friend of the United States”

Meanwhile, Russia and China, two veto-wielding members of the Security Council who are close allies of Iran, are unlikely to support any UN resolution authorising an attack on Iran.

But the Trump administration is apparently trying raise a “coalition of the willing” – as did the administration of President George W. Bush when it invaded Iraq in March 2003.

Ian Williams, UN correspondent for the Tribune and Senior Analyst, Foreign Policy in Focus

Ian Williams, U.N. correspondent for the Tribune and Senior Analyst, Foreign Policy in Focus, told IPS Trump has not pulled out of the U.N. precisely in anticipation of contingencies like this where the U.S. can abuse what Annan called the unique legitimising power of the U.N.

However, the case the U.S. brings to the U.N. members is even weaker than when it had to resort to the “Coalition of the Coerced,” to back the U.S. assault on Iraq.

After decades, Williams pointed out, U.N. members reluctantly accepted Israel is a de facto exception because the U.S. veto protects it from any practical consequences for its breaches of international law and the U.N. Charter. Saudi Arabia has tried hard to use similar leverage. 

Iran is not the most popular country in the 193-member General Assembly, but the hard evidence of its involvement in the attack on the Saudi refineries is yet to pin down and the entire international community except for the U.S.-Israel- Saudi Arabian axis knows that it was the U.S. that unilaterally broke the JCPOA and is waging economic war on Iran while Israel and the Gulf monarchies have been trying to incite U.S. military strikes against Teheran.

They also know that the UAE and Saudis have been dropping American and British bombs on Yemen, including on hospitals, so the oil refinery attack is, on the face of it, a very proportionate response from the Houthis, said Williams, author of “UNtold: The Real Story of the UN in Peace and War,” released by Just World Books..

Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, who has written extensively on the politics of the U.N. Security Council,  told IPS the U.S., as with the invasion of Iraq, might be able to assemble a “coalition of the willing,” this time consisting of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other right-wing allies from the region and launch an illegal war without U.N. authorisation.”

He pointed out it will be no easier for the U.S. to garner allies at the U.N. for an attack on Iran based on false claims than it was to garner allies for an attack on Iraq based on false claims.

“This is particularly true given that both the Trump administration, like the Bush administration, has repeatedly attacked the United Nations and longtime U.S. allies for not supporting their unilateralist agenda and Washington’s willingness to violate the U.N. Charter and other international legal principles,” said Zunes who also serves as a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus project at the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies.

Emeritus Professor Ramesh Thakur, Crawford School of Public Policy, at the Australian National University in Canberra, told IPS: “Like many Americans, most countries and people believe the cause of the surge in tensions in the Persian Gulf is the foolish decision by the Trump administration to pull out of the multilaterally negotiated and U.N. Security Council endorsed nuclear deal with which Iran was fully compliant.”

This will make it very challenging for the US to garner much support in the UN for any anti-Iran military action, he declared.

Asked about UN support for US, Williams told IPS it seems that four out of five Security Council members are unlikely to countenance any substantial action against Iran, leading to instant humiliation for the Trump administration when it deplores its patently mediocre diplomatic team to the UN that it has, almost actively and ostentatiously neglected for Trump’s term so far.

Raising the issue could allow embarrassing questions in the Council about US and UK complicity in manifest Saudi war crimes in Yemen, he noted. 

On a larger scale, Williams argued, Iran and the Houthis have shown that they can cause quick economic harm to the Saudis and that there are few effective defenses.

Ironically, since the US won’t let the Iranians sell their oil on the world markets anyway, any counterstrike on Iranian refineries will be far less effective, declared Williams, a former President of the UN Correspondents’ Association (UNCA).

When the US invaded Iraq in 2003, then Secretary-General Kofi Annan described the invasion as “illegal” because it did not have the blessings of the 15-member UN Security Council (UNSC), the only institution in the world body with the power to declare war and peace.

But the administration of President George W. Bush went after Annan for challenging the decision to unilaterally declare war against Iraq: an attack by one member state against another for no legally-justifiable reason.

The weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), reportedly in Iraq’s military arsenal, which was one of the primary reasons for the invasion, were never found.

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@ips.org

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Nobel Peace Laureate and Former President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos, opens the summit with other Laureates onstage (David Dickstein/Prose & Comms Inc.)

By Anna Shen
MERIDA, Mexico, Sep 23 2019 (IPS)

In a world of increasing fragility and declining resources, can the world foster peace? With a looming climate crisis, is war inevitable? Will nuclear war be the final result? Are women the ultimate peace builders? How do we train and engage youth to promote peace?

These are some of the questions posed during last week’s three-day World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Merida, Mexico which brought together 1,200 youth and 30 Nobel Peace Laureates — individual and organizations — Juan Manuel Santos, Former President of Colombia; F.W. De Klerk, former President of South Africa; Lord David Trimble, Northern Ireland; and Lech Walesa, former President of Poland.

Women continue to claim a larger seat at the Nobel Peace table. In attendance were Rigoberta Menchu Tum for her work promoting the rights of indigenous peoples; Jody Williams, awarded for her work to eradicate landmines; Shirin Ebadi, for the struggle for women and children’s rights; Tawakkol Karman of Yemen; and Leymah Gbowee of Liberia.

A few key takeaways:
Former President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for work with FARC to negotiate peace and end a brutal civil war, noted positive developments at home, but said some segments are taking steps backwards.

However, he remained steadfast in his commitment to peace: “For each terrorist blinded by hate, there are millions of youth that wish to preserve it. We are not here to say everything is fine, but we are here to leave our mark for peace.”

Discussing the social and economic dimensions of peace, Nobel Laureate Jody Williams railed on the world’s grotesque amounts of income disparity, and called for a total restructuring of the world’s socioeconomic systems.

While many citizens move to massive cities — megalopolises — to access employment, education and health care, they end up encountering racism. “How do we move forward on the common good?” she asked, noting that in America alone, 57 percent of the US disposable budget is spent on the military and weapons, while only 6 percent goes to health and education.

Nobel Laureate Lord David Trimble of Northern Ireland expressed concern over several regions in the world where conflicts continue, such as the Mideast, where there are proxy wars, as well as Iran’s moves to become a hegemonic state.

Photographic reproduction of the Nobel Peace Medal. Credit: UN Photo/John Isaac

There are dangers in the South China sea, and threats of a US-China trade war – all of it having a ripple effect, with a potential to greatly impact business and other activities.

Things are getting worse on the democracy front, according to Trimble. “It is not going as well as we would like,” he said, referring to the elections last week in Russia, where the state coerced and manufactured results, producing outcomes that were presented as democratic, but were far from it.

Highlighting the danger of technology controlled in the hands of a few mega corporations, Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarti called for democratization of tech, and added that, the world has globalized everything, but that it needed to “globalize the compassion that exists in all of us.”

Bernice King, CEO of the King Center, and the youngest daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, challenged all those who came to the summit. “ All of you have a passion to see positive change in our world. We all want peace but it has to be intentional on a daily basis,” she said. Her practical advice? Peace builders need to find an accountability partner to support them when frustrated or depressed.

King offered a message of hope: just like her father: “The only way our world is going to change, is that we have it in our hearts to be love, compassion, strength, nurturing and kindness,” she said, adding that Martin Luther King said that the children of darkness were much more determined than the children of light.

In a panel on nuclear disarmament, Jonathan Granoff, President of the Global Security Institute, and UN Representative of the Permanent Secretariat of the World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates, posed the question: “Is it legal to annihilate the future?” Because with the power of today’s nuclear weapons, they are a quick end,” he said.

Humanity has come very close to another nuclear war but has been unbelievably lucky, according to Dr. Ira Helfand, co-chair of the Physician’s for Social Responsibility’s nuclear weapons abolition committee.

“Sooner or later our luck will run out. It is no longer a question of when there will be a nuclear war, not if there will be one,” he said, adding that youth today did not understand the enormity of the threat – greater in power and numbers. Put simply, today’s nuclear weapons can annihilate the planet in short order.

In a nod to youth’s achievements, Mohamad Al Jounde was awarded the Turner Social Change Prize, and local student Saskia Niño de Rivera was given the Leave Your Mark for Peace Award.

During closing ceremonies, delegates stated that human rights are non-negotiable. The final document, the Merida Declaration states that: “As long as basic freedoms are violated and gross corruption, violence, extreme poverty, inequality, racism, modern-day slavery and trafficking of persons, discrimination, and discrimination phobias exist, there can be no true peace. We proclaim that true peace is inseparable from the achievement of true justice.”

To learn more and watch archived panel discussions, please visit the Facebook group at World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. Also, The World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.

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By Jan Lundius
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Sep 23 2019 (IPS)

A month ago I visited Jersey, one of the few European territories still welcoming refugees, though in the case of Jersey they have to be wealthy and are generally fleeing not from war and misery, but from taxes. Once Jersey and the nearby island of Guernsey harbored one of Europe´s most famous political refugees – Victor Hugo (1802-1885), who after he had been too outspoken in his criticism of the autocrat Louis Napoleon found it more convenient to live on the Channel Islands than in France. In spite of being very close to France and with a population that at the time was mainly French-speaking, these islands were nevertheless British territory.

During the 18 years Hugo spent on the islands he wrote masterpieces like The Miserables, The Man Who Laughs and Toilers of the Sea, the last novel offered captivating visions of the life and landscape of Guernsey. Hugo´s novels were the main reason to why I wanted to visit the Channel Islands, another was that these islands had been part of the British territory occupied by the German army during World War II. Several islanders had been deported to concentration camps and all along the coastline are remains of bunkers and other fortifications built by slave labour, mainly brought from Eastern Europe.

What intrigued me while we drove around Jersey was a wealth of life-seize replicas of gaudily painted statues of gorillas. Why gorillas on this windswept and far from tropical island? It was not until we passed the Jersey Zoo, or as it is officially called – Durrell Wildlife Park, that a distant memory occurred to me. In 1986, Jambo, a silverbacked gorilla male, rescued a five-year-old boy who had fallen into the gorilla enclosure. To keep his conspecifics away Jambo placed himself in a protective posture in front of the boy, while he repeatedly stroked the unconscious child in an attempt to soothe him until human rescuers arrived. The act was caught on video and Jambo became a renown hero, changing a common idea about gorillas as being fierce and aggressive beasts. A bronze statue was eventually erected in Jambo´s honour and it became the prototype for the thirty gorilla effigies that now have been placed along the Jersey coast.

However, I still did not understand the meaning of the gorilla effigies, though on our way back to the french mainland I found at the ferry terminal brochures advertising “gorilla hunting”, apparently meaning that you could visit all sites where a representation of a gorilla could be found and register your visit on your mobile phone. The “hunt” was connected with fundraising to support the gorilla compound at the Jersey Zoo. The quest for gorillas included the downloading of an app and being almost illiterate about such matters that detail would have abstained me from the search. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the fact that the Jersey Zoo had been founded by Gerald Durrell (1925-1995).

As a teenager, I had become an admirer not only of Gerald´s Durrell´s writing but also his brother Lawrence´s Alexandria Quartet. Both authors evoked exotic worlds that I in spite of their great differences found alluring. Lawrence Durrell wrote about intriguing human relations within a sophisticated sphere of a bygone, cosmopolitan metropolis by the Nile delta, while his brother was catching exotic animals in Cameroon and several other fascinating places. What triggered Durrell to trap animals was an urge to save species threatened by extinction, an idea that made him establish the Jersey Zoo.

When we came back from our trip to Normandie and the Channel Islands I reread Durrell´s charming books about Cameroon; The Overloaded Ark from 1953 and The Bafut Beagles from 1954. To my delight, they had lost nothing of their original freshness. Even if Gerald Durell often declared that his only reason for writing was to raise money for his Jersey Zoo he was neverthelss a skillful writer. With ease, an amazing capacity of observation and a cordial wit he described the lush landscape of Cameroon and its inhabitants in such a manner that they became almost tangible.

Furthermore, Durrell´s writing was free from the strains of jingoism that is common to several dated travel books. His books transmit a feel-good atmosphere while he observes both human and animal behaviour with empathetic indulgence. Durrell admits that he is a stranger in an unknown territory but he is nevertheless at perfect ease, particularly since he is protected by relative wealth and British colonial power. However, Durrell is in his writing not at all boastful, but kind, open-minded and enthusiastic.

When I now recall Jambo, the compassionate gorilla, and Durrell´s cheerful descriptions of the harmonious communities and nice people he encountered in western Cameroon it is with a shudder of horror I read about what is actually happening in the area Durell more than sixty years ago described as an earthly Paradise.

Gerald Durrell found the town of Bafut and its surroundings to be a bucolic realm under the benevolent rule of the Fon (local chief/king) Achirimbi II. In Durrell´s Bafut Beagles, Achirimbi II, who counted his lineage of powerful kings back to the beginning of the 16th century, appears as an excentric and nice, though slightly alcoholic autocrat, loved and respected by his dependents. However, we do not learn that Achirimbi´s father, Abumbi I, fought an invading German colonial army, which during the so-called Bafut Wars in 1907 burned Bafut to the ground, and that he thus considered the British Empire to be the only power strong enough to protect his son and people from local usurpers and other colonial powers. When western Cameroon in 1961 had to choose between joining the recently independent Cameroon and the likewise recently independent Nigeria, Durrell´s friend Achirimbi II declared it was a choice ”between the fire and the deep sea” and that a new era would eventually destroy his fiefdom.

When Durrell made amusing use of the expressive pidgin-English spoken by his Cameroon hosts he could not have imagined that this means of communication would become part of a colonial heritage causing havoc to an age-old culture. Since September 2017 the so-called Ambazonian War has turned the once tranquil South-Western Cameroon into a battlefield where at least 650 civilians have been killed, 30,000 have been internally displaced and 40,000 have fled into neighbouring Nigeria.

The name Ambazonia is taken from Ambas, the local name of the mouth of the Wouri River, where the English missionary Alfred Saker in 1858 established a settlement of freed slaves, making it a bridgehead for British colonization of Western Cameroon. Eventually, the Germans conquered the territory that now constitutes the Republic of Cameroon, but when they lost World War I they had to cede their colony to England and France.

In 1960, the French-administered part of Cameroon became the independent République du Cameroun and in 1961 the formerly British Cameroons (sic) federated with this newly founded republic. The majority of the population in the former British part of the nation remained English speaking and fiercely opposed to any attempt to turn them into French speakers. In 1972, the federation was abandoned and the English speaking parts of Cameroon were forced to become francophone. People protested against the appointment of francophone judges in anglophone regions and the teaching of French in schools and universities, claiming that Anglophones were marginalized and demanded a return of the former federal-state system that allowed a high degree of independence for the anglophone parts of the nation. Of course, the issue is not limitied to languages but also concerns natural resources of a fertile land, of interest not only to the central government of Cameroon, but of oil-rich Nigeria as well.

In September 2017, separatists in the anglophone territories declared their independence from the Republic of Cameroon, naming their new nation Ambazonia. In November 2017, the central Cameroonian Government violently cracked down on manifestations supporting the foundation of Ambazonia, while strikes paralyzed the southwestern areas of the country. The Liberators of the Southern Cameroon People, a previously unknown group, killed twenty-one Cameroonian soldiers and an unquenchable spiral of ever-increasing violence began, schools were shut down, villages were burned to the ground. As in most civil wars, a plethora of armed groups emerged, more or less official ”freedom fighters”, common bandits and soldiers of fortune, some of them entering from neighbouring Nigeria. The fighting has become endemic and stalemate, so far no peaceful solution is in sight. Like in all guerilla warfare civilians suffer. A Cameroonian general complained:

They know the terrain. These are youths from local villages. We try to seek them out but we can’t find them. Our men aren’t familiar with the forest. 1

Since it is hard to find an enemy hiding among villagers the Army tend to harass, empty out and destroy entire hamlets. At the same time, guerilla fighters punish negotiations between village elders and the Cameroonian Government, interpreting them as a collaboration with the enemy. Accordingly, are desperate and peace-seeking locals ending up between two fires.

My youthful belief in a utopia, an unsoiled exotic realm inhabited by trustful, nice people, has revealed itself as an enchanted fantasy. What I found in Gerald Durrell´s books does not exist anymore, or maybe it did not even exist seventy years ago. Colonialism had already then laid its serpent´s egg in Durrell´s paradise and we are now witnessing how chauvinist poison is destroying yet another nation. The trustful people who helped Durrell to build his protective zoo in Jersey are now living in fear and misery, while gorillas in small pockets of forests close to the Nigerian border are threatened by extinction. Once again the human species is proving that it is far more fierce and dangerous than gorillas and other members of the animal kingdom who have proved to be protective even of members of other species than their own.

 
1 L’ Agence France-Presse (2018) Dirty war ravages Cameroon’s anglophone region. 5 May.
https://www.france24.com/en/20180505-dirty-war-ravages-cameroons-anglophone-region

Jan Lundius holds a PhD. on History of Religion from Lund University and has served as a development expert, researcher and advisor at SIDA, UNESCO, FAO and other international organisations.

The post Jersey, a Gorilla and the Civil War in Cameroon appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A boy pedals his bike along the desolated street of old city, which has been epicentre of protests and demonstrations. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

By Umar Manzoor Shah and Umer Asif
SRINAGAR, Kashmir, Sep 23 2019 (IPS)

It is 50 days into the lockdown in Kashmir since roads were blocked off, schools shut, and internet and communication services stopped.

On Aug. 5, India’s federal government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a curfew in the Muslim-majority area after amending the law to revoke the partial autonomy and statehood of Jammu and Kashmir. Restrictions on movement were immediately placed through a curfew as internet and telecommunications were cut.

The government also decreed that people from other Indian states could buy land in the region and become permanent citizens here.

Local Muslims, who form 80 percent of Kashmir’s 8 million people, feared that through such a move, the Indian government was trying to change the demography of the region.

More than 4,000 people, including politicians of opposition groups, human rights activists and separatists have since been detained by the government.  

Though the government claimed that it is making attempts to restore normalcy and open schools, the efforts elicited no positive response from people as parents refuse to send their children to school for fear of violence. In a tweet the YFK-International Kashmir Lobby Group, a non-governmental human rights organisation, stated that the region’s economy had been devastated because of the clampdown.

Tourism in the region has been badly hit ever since the imposition of curfew by the Indian government. Hotels have zero occupancy and tourist resorts are deserted.

 

 

49 days of curfew#Jammu & #Kashmir‘s economy in tailspin pic.twitter.com/WdwogaHrRb

— Kashmir Lobby Group (@KashmirLobby) September 22, 2019

 

The Indian-administered part of Kashmir has experienced increased violence since 1989 when militants stepped up armed resistance here.

Rights groups estimate that 100,000 people have since been killed, but Indian official records put the number at 47,000. 

 

Kashmiri has seen 50 days of imposed restrictions by the Indian government since it imposed a curfew in the Muslim-majority area after amending the law to revoke the partial autonomy and statehood of Jammu and Kashmir. The area also saw an increased military presence. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

A boy pedals his bike along the desolated street of old city, which has been epicentre of protests and demonstrations. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

An Indian paramilitary officer instructs his sub-ordinates about how to implement law and order in Kashmir’s capital Srinagar, as a curfew was imposed in the region. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

As schools continue to remain shut in the region since Aug. 5, amounting to 50 days tomorrow, kids are being taught in make shift schools, established by local citizens in several areas of Kashmir. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

A fleet of school busses parked in a garage in Srinagar outskirts as parents are reluctant to send their children to school due to the wave of uncertainty in Kashmir. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

View of a desolated classroom of one of the schools in Kashmir. Schools, universities, colleges and government offices are all shut in the region. The government’s attempts to reopen schools have failed as parents are reluctant to send their children to school due to the wave of uncertainty. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

The family of Asrar Ahmad, a 16-year-old boy who was killed during protests in the Illahi Bagh area of Srinagar. Ahmad succumbed to his injuries in hospital a month after being injured during protests. According to the family, Ahmad was hit by pellet guns fired by police, a claim vehemently rejected by the government. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

A para-military trooper guarding the main door of Kashmir’s largest mosque, Jamia Masjid. No prayers have been allowed inside the mosque since Aug. 5. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

Army men patrol one of the busiest markets of Srinagar, Kashmir’s capital, known popularly as Lal Chowk. Even as the government eased restrictions, locals continue to observe the strike against scraping of Kashmir’s autonomy. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

A protester who was shot at with a pellet gun displays the X ray film showing the pellets that penetrated his body. He was protesting against the curfew the Indian government placed on Kashmir. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

In the aftermath of protests. A road in Kashmir’s Anchaar area in the capital Srinagar. It’s the scene of pitched battles youth have had with the police on Aug. 5. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

The Indian government put an end to large scale protests by revoking the autonomy of Indian-administered Kashmir – a status provided for under the Indian Constitution. Thousands of troops were deployed and the valley region faced unprecedented lockdown. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

Amid the communication gag which includes an internet blockade, Kashmir’s journalistic fraternity were provided with a limited internet facility at a basement of a private hotel in Srinagar. It is from this place that IPS correspondents were able to file their reports and use the internet. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

Shikaras — special boats used to take tourists to explore Kashmir’s mesmerising lakes — parked near on the bank of the world-famous Dal Lake. Tourism in the region has been badly hit ever since the imposition of curfew by the Indian government. Hotels have zero occupancy and tourist resorts too are deserted. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

 

 

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Credit: UNIDO

By Li Yong
VIENNA, Sep 23 2019 (IPS)

When world leaders gathered in New York for the 70th session of the General Assembly back in 2016, and proclaimed the period 2016-2025 as the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA III), it reaffirmed the importance of industrialization in supporting Africa’s own efforts towards sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and accelerated development.

Since the launch of this Decade, and the call for the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), to develop, operationalize and lead the implementation of IDDA III together with our partners, the African Union Commission, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the Economic Commission for Africa, much has evolved in the region.

The continent’s collective GDP is expected to stand at $2.6 trillion, and consumer spending estimated at $1.4 trillion in 2020, with 50 per cent of Africans living in cities by 2030. These figures show the astounding prospects for a continent that is the most youthful.

Digital transformation is also growing – the World Bank has estimated that digital transformation will increase growth in Africa by nearly 2 percentage points per year and reduce poverty by nearly one percentage point in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The potential of digital technologies for socio-economic development is being taken up and has led to many technology-based start-ups and tech hubs in Africa. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the largest free trade area in terms of participating countries, is expected to lead to greater exports, higher value-addition in manufacturing and services, and to bring about a more diversified intra-African trade opportunity for the continent with benefits spilling over to small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa.

Despite growth rates in Africa still not having reached the 7.0 per cent that would be required to pull the continent’s populations out of poverty, optimism for Africa has not diminished. Extreme poverty in Africa has started to decline, and it is anticipated that if the trend continues, the number of Africans living in extreme poverty will reduce by 45 million by 2030.

The rapid deployment of advanced technologies through the Fourth Industrial Revolution provides a window of opportunity to help transform the landscape of manufacturing in Africa.

LI Yong. Credit: UNIDO

At UNIDO, we believe that it is crucial for Africa to be prepared to address its digitalization challenges and to seize the opportunities brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution in pursuing inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) to attain the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The UNIDO Industrial Development Report 2020, a forthcoming flagship publication on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, to be launched in November this year will show that advanced digital production technologies applied to manufacturing production offer huge potential to advance economic growth and human well-being whilst safeguarding the environment.

This study taps into existing knowledge on the priorities for digitalization for Africa and highlights a two-pronged approach for manufacturing to remain a valid and feasible development path: one of which refers to the need for Africa to enhance readiness for the more digital future, whilst building industrial capabilities, through improved access to broadband and developing technical skills and technology hubs.

The limitation in basic infrastructure, including access to clean, reliable and affordable energy, human capacities and skills, will need to be addressed. Autonomous systems in manufacturing are likely to bring about higher demand for human capital qualified in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Such growing demand polarizes the labour force by increasing the share of employment in high-wage jobs and decreasing the share of employment in middle-or-low wage jobs. It can deprive Africa of job opportunities, where low-paid jobs are concentrated and human capital with strong digital skills is in shortage.

Due to the lack of access to new technologies, knowledge, information, and infrastructure, the technology and skill gaps between Africa and developed countries could be widened with the rapid onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, potentially implicating local small and medium-sized enterprises that will also require more support in technological training and enterprise innovation to be competitive in the global market.

UNIDO will aim to support its Member States in Africa to transform into “more diversified knowledge-based economies” through cooperation in technology transfer, innovation, and infrastructure development. We will further leverage on our ongoing Programme for Country Partnership (PCP) to mobilize resources for inclusive and sustainable industrial development.

This includes supporting the development of necessary physical information and communications technology infrastructure, which is pivotal for the digitalization requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

As we support the development of Africa’s industrial base, working in collaboration with our partners in the UN development system, such as FAO, ILO, ITC, UNCTAD and UNEP, we will continue to support the creation of green and decent jobs through initiatives such as the Green Job Programme. Drawing on our knowledge base and expertise in industrial development, there is scope to further explore the application of digital technology and mini-grids to support clean, reliable and affordable electricity access in Africa, which will not only serve electricity demand for households as well as for productive use.

We will also learn from our experiences in digital learning platforms to support human capital development. In Southern Africa, UNIDO and the Government of Finland have piloted programmes in virtual reality training, which are being replicated in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

By using mobile 3D teaching platforms, virtual reality is helping forestry students learn to operate chainsaws in a safe environment. In Liberia, UNIDO, with the support of the Government of Japan and in partnership with the Japanese company Komatsu, has deployed connected technology and innovation in its production facilities, which has enabled labour market-oriented training programmes in excavator operation and basic service training to be provided, particularly for youth and women.

As world leaders gather in New York again for the General Debate of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 23-27, alongside the historic SDG Summit, to take stock of where we are and what we need to do to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UNIDO together with its key development partners, the African Union Commission, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank, the Afro Champions Initiative, the African Export-Import Bank and the International Telecommunications Union will leverage its partnership to support innovation and infrastructure development in Africa.

*LI Yong, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), has had an extensive career as a senior economic and financial policy-maker. As Vice-Minister of Finance of the People’s Republic of China and member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank for a decade, Mr. Li was involved in setting and harmonizing fiscal, monetary and industrial policies, and in supporting sound economic growth in China.

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LI Yong is Director General, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

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Credit: Manipadma Jena / IPS

By Vandana Shiva
NEW DELHI, Sep 23 2019 (IPS)

The Earth is living, and also creates life. Over 4 billion years the Earth has evolved a rich biodiversity — an abundance of different living organisms and ecosystems — that can meet all our needs and sustain life.

Through biodiversity and the living functions of the biosphere, the Earth regulates temperature and climate, and has created the conditions for our species to evolve. This is what NASA scientist James Lovelock found in working with Lynn Margulis, who was studying the processes by which living organisms produce and remove gases from the atmosphere. The Earth is a self-regulating living organism, and life on Earth creates conditions for life to be maintained and evolve.

The Gaia Hypothesis, born in the 1970s, was a scientific reawakening to the Living Earth. The Earth fossilized some living carbon, and transformed it into dead carbon, storing it underground. That is where we should have left it.

All the coal, petroleum and natural gas we are burning and extracting to run our contemporary oil-based economy was formed over 600 million years. We are burning up millions of years of nature’s work annually. This is why the carbon cycle is broken.

A few centuries of fossil fuel-based civilization have brought our very survival under threat by rupturing the Earth’s carbon cycle, disrupting key climate systems and self-regulatory capacity, and pushing diverse species to extinction at 1000 times the normal rate. The connection between biodiversity and climate change is intimate.

While using 75 percent of the total land that is being used for agriculture, industrial agriculture based on fossil fuel-intensive, chemical-intensive monocultures produce only 30 percent of the food we eat, while small, biodiverse farms using 25 percent of the land provide 70 percent of the food

Extinction is a certainty if we continue a little longer on the fossil fuel path. A shift to a biodiversity-based civilization is now a survival imperative.

Take the example of food and agriculture systems. The Earth has roughly 300,000 edible plant species, but the contemporary global human community eats only 200 of them. And, according to the New Scientist, “half our plant-sourced protein and calories come from just three: maize, rice and wheat.” Meanwhile, only 10 percent of the soy that is grown is used as food for humans. The rest goes to produce biofuels and animal feed.

Our agriculture system is not primarily a food system, it is an industrial system, and it is not sustainable.

The Amazon rainforests are home to 10 percent of the Earth’s biodiversity. Now, the rich forests are being burned for the expansion of GMO soy crops.

The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on land and climate highlights how the climate problem begins with what we do on land.

We have been repeatedly told that monocultures of crops with intensive chemical inputs of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides are necessary for feeding the world.

While using 75 percent of the total land that is being used for agriculture, industrial agriculture based on fossil fuel-intensive, chemical-intensive monocultures produce only 30 percent of the food we eat, while small, biodiverse farms using 25 percent of the land provide 70 percent of the food. Industrial agriculture is responsible for 75 percent of the destruction of soil, water and biodiversity of the planet. At this rate, if the share of fossil fuel-based industrial agriculture and industrial food in our diet is increased to 40 percent, we will have a dead planet. There will be no life, no food, on a dead planet.

Besides the carbon dioxide directly emitted from fossil fuel agriculture, nitrous oxide is emitted from nitrogen fertilizers based on fossil fuels, and methane is emitted from factory farms and food waste.

The manufacture of synthetic fertilizer is highly energy-intensive. One kilogram of nitrogen fertilizer requires the energy equivalent of 2 liters of diesel. Energy used during fertilizer manufacture was equivalent to 191 billion liters of diesel in 2000 and is projected to rise to 277 billion in 2030. This is a major contributor to climate change, yet largely ignored. One kilogram of phosphate fertilizer requires half a liter of diesel.

Nitrous oxide is 300 times more disruptive for the climate than carbon dioxide. Nitrogen fertilizers are destabilizing the climate, creating dead zones in the oceans and desertifying the soils. In the planetary context, the erosion of biodiversity and the transgression of the nitrogen boundary are serious, though often-overlooked, crises.

Thus, regenerating the planet through biodiversity-based ecological processes has become a survival imperative for the human species and all beings. Central to the transition is a shift from fossil fuels and dead carbon, to living processes based on growing and recycling living carbon renewed and grown as biodiversity.

 

Smallholder farmers in Isiolo, Kenya sorting beans before sending them to the market in Nairobi. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPS

 

Organic farming — working with nature — takes excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, where it doesn’t belong, and puts it back in the soil where it belongs, through photosynthesis. It also increases the water-holding capacity of soil, contributing to resilience in times of more frequent droughts, floods and other climate extremes. Organic farming has the potential of sequestering 52 gigatons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the amount needed to be removed from the atmosphere to keep atmospheric carbon below 350 parts per million, and the average temperature increase of 2 degrees centigrade. We can bridge the emissions gap through ecological biodiversity-intensive agriculture, working with nature.

And the more biodiversity and biomass we grow, the more the plants sequester atmospheric carbon and nitrogen, and reduce both emissions and the stocks of pollutants in the air. Carbon is returned to the soil through plants.

The more we grow biodiversity and biomass on forests and farms, the more organic matter is available to return to the soil, thus reversing the trends toward desertification, which is already a major reason for the displacement and uprooting of people and the creation of refugees in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

Biodiversity-based agriculture is not just a climate solution, it is also a solution to hunger. Approximately 1 billion people are permanently hungry. Biodiversity-intensive, fossil-fuel-free, chemical-free systems produce more nutrition per acre and can feed more people using less land.

To repair the broken carbon cycle, we need to turn to seeds, to the soil and to the sun to increase the living carbon in the plants and in the soil. We need to remember that living carbon gives life, and dead fossil carbon is disrupting living processes. With our care and consciousness we can increase living carbon on the planet, and increase the well-being of all. On the other hand, the more we exploit and use dead carbon, and the more pollution we create, the less we have for the future. Dead carbon must be left underground. This is an ethical obligation and ecological imperative.

This is why the term “decarbonization,” which fails to make a distinction between living and dead carbon, is scientifically and ecologically inappropriate. If we decarbonized the economy, we would have no plants, which are living carbon. We would have no life on earth, which creates and is sustained by living carbon. A decarbonized planet would be a dead planet.

We need to recarbonize the world with biodiversity and living carbon. We need to leave dead carbon in the ground. We need to move from oil to soil. We need to urgently move from a fossil fuel-based system to a biodiversity-based ecological civilization. We can plant the seeds of hope, the seeds of the future.

 

Dr. Vandana Shiva is a philosopher, environmental activist and eco feminist. She has fought for changes in the practice and paradigms of agriculture and food, and assisted grassroots organizations of the Green movement in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Ireland, Switzerland, and Austria with campaigns against genetic engineering. In 1982, she founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, which led to the creation of Navdanya in 1991, a national movement to protect the diversity and integrity of living resources, especially native seed, the promotion of organic farming and fair trade. She is author of numerous books including,Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis; Stolen Harvest: The hijacking of the Global food supply; Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace; and Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development. Shiva has also served as an adviser to governments in India and abroad as well as NGOs, including the International Forum on Globalization, the Women’s Environment and Development Organization and the Third World Network. She has received numerous awards, including 1993 Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize) and the 2010 Sydney Peace Prize.

 

This story originally appeared in Truthout . It is republished here as part of IPS Inter Press Service’s partnership with Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

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Dr. Vandana Shiva is a philosopher, environmental activist and eco feminist

The post We Need Biodiversity-Based Agriculture to Solve the Climate Crisis appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Inequality out in the open. Credit: A.D. McKenzie/IPS

By Blerim Mustafa
GENEVA, Sep 23 2019 (IPS)

Increasing economic inequality is a defining challenge of our time. In recent years, it has triggered analysis and reflection by many scholars, politicians and others on its causes and consequences on economic growth and efficiency, politics and democracy, human rights, individual behaviors, access to health, social cohesion and environmental degradation. The perception that the top 1% of income earners are gaining at the expense of the other 99% has resulted in widespread public debates in many countries on the social and political repercussions of inequality.

Inequalities in income and wealth are often blamed for the deepening anxieties of the middle class in many developed economies. Market power among business elites and multinational companies – in pursuit of higher profits – are one of the key drivers to inequality as access to resources remain in the hands of powerful business groups, and not in the hands of the people and their elected representatives. Serious doubts are therefore raised on the claims that globalization, technological developments and the “invisible hand” of capitalism and economic liberalism have liberated humans from disease, poverty and inequality.

It has long been assumed that GDP growth would address income inequality and lift people out of poverty. But economic growth can often be disproportionate and unequal, adversely affecting marginalized and disadvantaged groups in society. If economic growth does not lead to an equitable spread of its benefits, most citizens specifically the collar workers, the hard-working middle class and rural dwellers will not enjoy commensurate improvements of their living standards. In many countries, this has contributed to the rise of a crisis of legitimacy of governments and a crisis of democracy that has facilitated the surge of populism as well as the return of exclusionary forms of nationalism.

However, with the global financial and economic crisis that swept the world in 2007-2008, inequality has risen in all world regions. 1 In response to the adverse impact of the crisis, governments worldwide introduced fiscal austerity programs to reduce public at the expense of ballooning levels of sovereign debt that strangle economic growth. As highlighted in the latest report of the UN’s “World Social Situation” 2, popular dissent is increasing while trust in governments is plummeting “as people believe they are bearing the brunt of crises for which they have no responsibility and feel increasingly disenfranchised.” It is estimated that national governments have spent an astonishing USD 117 trillion to save the financial system and to bail out banks that were on the brink of bankruptcy but precious little to support the youth. No surprise that people took to the streets in Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Greece and Cyprus to protest against draconian austerity measures imposed by governments to cover up for the failures of the banks and the financial system.

In this regard, it is foreseen that the adverse impact of austerity measures could further impact socio-economic living conditions in Europe; Oxfam estimates that an additional 15-25 million people in Europe could live in poverty by 2025. Professor Stiglitz has likewise suggested that “austerity has only crippled Europe’s growth, with improvements in fiscal positions that are always disappointing. Worse, it is contributing to inequality that will make economic weakness longer-lived, and needlessly contributes to the suffering of the jobless and the poor for many years.”

It is evident that economic inequality has had adverse economic, social and political impacts for social stability and cohesion, political participation, poverty reduction, as well as the enjoyment of human rights. In addition, economic inequalities impede the enjoyment of social, cultural and economic rights, thus contributing to persistent socio-economic disadvantages among social groups. As states are in need of fiscal stability to secure the provision of welfare benefits and redistributive fiscal policies to maintain social security, the dwindling of public resources impedes their ability to deliver basic public services. For instance, in the case of Greece, more than two million people – equivalent to 20% of the population – did not have access to adequate health insurance as underlined by former UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order Professor Alfred de Zayas. Tackling global income and wealth inequality therefore requires important shifts in addressing its root causes

In the outcome document of the 2012 Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development entitled “The Future We Want,” decision-makers committed themselves to achieve sustainable development by promoting “sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth”, creating greater opportunities for all social segments of society so as to reduce inequalities. Social inclusion was likewise a key outcome. In this connection, it was emphasized that “sustainable development must be inclusive and people-centred and recognized that broad public participation was essential to promoting sustainable development goals.” Appropriate measures to address the rise of economic inequality could include resource mobilization for social investment, distribution of income and wealth through targeted social transfers, progressive income taxation as well as the extension of social protection and decent work standards.

Governments are therefore required to address income and wealth inequality, and to prevent its further deterioration. They must build on a human rights and a people-centered approach that enables states to ensure the full enjoyment of human rights on a non-discriminatory and equal basis – among its citizens – in line with the provisions set forth in the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Agenda.

Blerim Mustafa, Project and communications officer, the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue. Postgraduate researcher (Ph.D. candidate) at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Leicester (UK).

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The backlash against globalization can no longer be ignored

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Airton Kunz, head of Research at Embrapa Pigs and Poultry, explains to visitors the Effluent Treatment System of the São Roque Pig Farm, part of which can be seen behind him, in Videira, in the southern state of Santa Catarina, Brazil's largest producer and exporter of pork. Biogas, bioelectricity and biomethane are by-products arising from the need to dispose of pork manure in an environmentally friendly manner. Credit: Mario Osava/IPS

By Mario Osava
CHAPECÓ/CONCORDIA, Brazil, Sep 23 2019 (IPS)

The state of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil is the largest national producer and exporter of pork and this year it also leads in exports of chicken, of which it is the second-biggest producer in the country.

Economic and productive success, as is often the case, brought serious environmental impacts, with manure polluting water and soil. In the beginning, pigsties were installed on the banks of rivers to dispose of waste effortlessly, the old pig farmers recall.

The expansion of the sector later led to the need for strict sanitary and environmental measures, such as manure storage areas, after the adoption of a ban on dumping it into rivers. But even when the manure is kept in covered storage areas, it continues to emit greenhouse gases.

Biogas production then emerged as an alternative, but it doesn’t completely solve the problem, said Rodrigo Nicoloso, an agronomist and researcher with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) Pigs and Fowl, based in Concordia, a municipality of 74,000 people that is a leader in pig farming.

Embrapa is a state entity linked to the Agriculture Ministry, made up of 43 specialised centres that have promoted agricultural development and know-how in Brazil since its foundation in 1973.

“The production of biogas requires only the carbon in the organic material,” which is why biodigestion leaves a large volume of waste known as digestate, Nicoloso told IPS, which he said is a semi-liquid by-product, rich in organic and mineral matter but difficult to manage.

This waste product, which no longer stinks, is a biofertiliser that contains the nutrients most used in agriculture: phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. But in general pig and poultry farmers do not have enough land to absorb so much fertiliser.

The west of Santa Catarina is a mountainous area populated by small farmers and ranchers, and many farmers don’t even have land on which to use the byproduct of the biodigesters, said the researcher.

Selling it is not viable because of the cost of transporting the biofertiliser, because it is semi-liquid sludge, he said.

A truck, part of the fleet of vehicles that use biogas and biomethane as fuel in Chapecó, the western capital of the state of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, where there are a large number of pig and poultry farms and slaughterhouses. The meat industry has boosted the prosperity of the region, which will benefit further from energy by-products derived from pig and poultry farming. Credit: Mario Osava/IPS

On the large farms which are numerous in west-central Brazil, this is not a problem because in general the fertiliser derived from biodigestion is used directly on the farm’s crops.

But in Santa Catarina disposing of the waste is becoming increasingly difficult as the excess waste is growing due to the steady concentration of pig farming – and, as a result, biogas production – on larger farms.

There are currently about 5,500 pig farms in Santa Catarina, half of what there were some 15 years ago, and just 2.2 percent have biodigesters, according to the survey presented by Nicoloso. There are now 135 farms with more than 5,000 pigs, compared to 50 before.

The Master Group, with seven farms and 1,000 employees, is an example of a large pig farming company. It also has an animal feed factory, a slaughterhouse and plants to produce everything from pig embryos to the final product.

Its São Roque Farm, in Videira, a municipality of 53,000 people, has 10,000 pigs, which made possible a biogas and electricity generation project with good returns, local manager Moisés Schlosser told IPS.

A group of speakers, researchers, businessmen and university professors who participated in the Southern Brazil Forum on Biogas and Biomethane. The challenges and potential of the sector were the themes of the three-day meeting in Chapecó, the main city in the west of Santa Catarina, where pig farming and the meat industry dominate the local economy. Credit: Mario Osava/IPS

Embrapa Pigs and Birds provides orientation for the Swine Effluent Treatment System on the São Roque Farm, which serves the farm and at the same time the development of techniques for the entire sector.

A novel experience is that it will use the bodies of pigs that die natural deaths in the biodigesters, rather than incinerate or bury them. They will be crushed and added to the solidified manure in a special biodigester, suitable for processing coarser waste. This will increase the production of biogas and reduce health risks.

“Animal health is the greatest asset of animal husbandry. But it can also be a guillotine, leading to the closure of a farm or a slaughterhouse,” Airton Kunz, head of Embrapa Pigs and Poultry research, told IPS.

Inserting biogas into the production chain, from the nursery to the slaughterhouse, energy, equipment industry, logistics and services such as technical assistance, it is necessary to avoid the mistakes made in the past.

Many producers still suffer from a bad experience with biodigestors donated by agribusiness companies interested in obtaining credits from the Clean Development Mechanism, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and created with funds from multilateral climate agencies.

A miniplant for refining biogas to supply vehicles with biomethane, designed for pig and poultry farms and ranches, which can become autonomous in terms of fuel, producing biogas for their fleet and for other energy needs. Credit: Mario Osava/IPS

The farmers did not know how to use the equipment and could derive no benefits from it. “They saw the biogas burning, while they had to use firewood in their stoves,” recalled Paulo Oliveira, another Embrapa researcher.

Now there is a lot of know-how, “and universities, other research centres and associations participate, and there is a culture of innovation and cooperation” to guide the projects, said Kunz.

But each plant is a new challenge, it has its peculiarities and risks, he said. And there are a variety of biological inputs.

In any case, biogas is beginning to stand out as a new agricultural product, especially for the generation of electricity, in addition to the traditional use as a source of thermal energy in kitchens and in factories, in the west of Santa Catarina, where pig farming has been concentrated.

Between 2015 and 2018, the number of biogas plants in Brazil climbed from 127 to 276, almost half of which are in southern Brazil. Production rose 130 percent, from 1.3 million cubic metres per day to 3.1 million cubic metres, destined for electric, thermal or mechanical energy generation.

Several initiatives already produce biomethane, purified biogas, which replaces natural gas and oil derivatives as fuel for trucks and other vehicles.

The potential and challenges of these products were the themes of the Southern Brazil Biogas and Biomethane Forum, which gathered around 250 participants in Chapecó, a city of 220,000 inhabitants which is the capital of Santa Catarina’s western region, Sept. 4-6.

One way to make the digestate trade viable is to remove the liquid part and enrich it with chemical elements to turn it into organo-mineral fertiliser, said Vinicius Benites, head of research at Embrapa Soils, based in Rio de Janeiro.

This would make it easier to transport and better prices could be fetched by adding other nutrients to the usual nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) formula, he said. This enriched fertiliser provides greater productivity, Benites told IPS.

Composting and drying, reducing the volume by extracting water, also cut the cost of the logistics required to make commercialising the product viable, Nicoloso added.

He said that a scale of production of at least 5,000 pigs is essential to undertaking the risk of investing in generating electricity.

Technologies and solutions must be developed to incorporate small breeders into the biogas economy, said Clovis Reichert, coordinator of the Forum.

But the consensus is that the potential of biogas, whether from livestock, agricultural waste, garbage or urban sanitation, is immense.

Hydrogen production, already being researched in other countries, is part of its future, said Suelen Paesi, a professor at the University of Caxias do Sul, a city in the neighboring state of Rio Grande do Sul, which together with Santa Catarina and Paraná make up Brazil’s southern region, where livestock biogas is most advanced.

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By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 23 2019 (IPS)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres describes the ongoing crisis as a “climate emergency”– as the world continues its hard fought battle against devastating droughts, floods, hurricanes and rising sea levels that threaten the very existence of small island developing states located in low-lying areas.

The heat wave in Europe last summer was a scorcher – one of the worst ever, according to reports from several European nations.

According to Cable News Network (CNN), that heatwave also threatened Greenland, home to the world’s second largest ice sheet. And in a single month, Greenland’s ice sheet lost 160 billion tons of ice, the equivalent of 64 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Addressing an economic conference in Riyadh years ago, the former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde warned that if the international community does not seriously address the dangers of climate change, “we will be toasted, roasted and grilled.”

But the worst affected by climate change are the world’s poorer nations where droughts and hurricanes have devastated agricultural land triggering an increase in both poverty and hunger.

Conscious of the growing hazards of global warming, the UN’s climate action summit got off the ground on September 23 against the backdrop of a landmark Global Assessment (GA) report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), released last May, which concluded that around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction while three-quarters of the land-based environment and about 66% of the marine environment have been significantly altered by human actions.

“Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history – and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world.”

Addressing the international day of peace September 20, Guterres said even if governments are still lacking “political will” to make full peace with nature, there is a huge hope in what the youth is doing, as millions of students took to the streets worldwide to demand action against climate change.

Asked whether the current state affairs was due to lack of political will or decline in development aid, Dr. Pamela McElwee, Associate Professor, Department of Human Ecology School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University, told IPS the Global Assessment points out that political will for biodiversity is needed at multiple scales.

“Certainly, international meetings and conventions are important, but so too are the local everyday actions of millions of consumers, voters and citizens.”

She said international aid is part of the answer, “as we know that our biodiversity agreements and policies are constantly underfunded as compared to other economic development investments, but aid alone will not solve the problem.”

All too often, there are insufficient incentives for people to do the right thing with regard to biodiversity. “This applies to politicians too; we have seen countries make great progress on issues like slowing deforestation, only to backtrack when a new political party or leader comes into office”.

What is going on with Brazil right now, and the fires in the Amazon, is an example of that need for political will and leadership, as is the Trump administration’s decision to try to gut the US Endangered Species Act. Those are steps backwards.

Ensuring that nature is considered in every political decision, not just the ones explicitly labelled as ‘environmental,’ is needed to move forward, said Dr McElwee, a former consultant for the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program and other agencies.

Excerpts from the interview:

IPS: How would you respond to the landmark IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which has been described as the most comprehensive study on the current state of nature —“declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history”? Is this a wake-up call to the international community? And what next?

Dr McElwee: The Global Assessment (GA) is really the first global report since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in 2005 to try to identify trends in nature and ecosystems, so in terms of content it is a much-needed update, and certainly a wake-up call as you put it.

In terms of process, the IPBES report is also the first *intergovernmental* report on biodiversity, meaning that it was jointly produced between scientists and governments to lend an added weight to the findings.

Each of the 130-plus governments who are members of IPBES were able to assess, review and weigh in on the summary for policymakers that was eventually adopted. I’m hopeful that this buy-in, as well as the seriousness and urgency of the actual report findings, together will move the international community to use the GA to make important changes in how we manage the Earth.

Certainly, the amount of media, government and citizen attention the report has gotten since it was released in May gives me a lot of optimism. President Macron for example highlighted the GA findings at the G7 meeting he recently hosted in France, and has been pushing governments to commit to a charter on biodiversity.

IPS: One of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 15) is devoted to “protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”. Is this goal achievable by the 2030 deadline? If not, what are the roadblocks to its implementation?30adline? If not, what are the roadblocks to its implementation?

Dr. McElwee: One of the specific chapters of the GA (Chapter 3) tackles precisely this question: how are we doing on global targets and goals, specifically on the SDGs and on the Aichi Targets of the Convention for Biological Diversity? This answer is: not well.

We are going to miss most of the targets for SDG 15. We are making progress towards achieving the Aichi target 11 to ensure 17% coverage of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in protected areas, which will help us meet some of the SDG 15 targets.

However, coverage of key biodiversity hotspots and some ecologically representative zones are missing in that overall protected figure, and connectivity between protected areas is generally insufficient.

Outside of these protected areas, we continue to lose forests and wetlands in particular, and the GA report notes that of the 18 different types of Nature’s Contributions to People assessed, ranging from water provisioning to habitat creation, all but four are in decline.

Continued roadblocks to better ecosystem management and protection include vested interests who want to continue to exploit our lands and seas for their own economic self-interest; a number of environmentally harmful subsidies that countries have used to prop up domestic constituencies from fishing fleets to energy extraction; overconsumption by many developed countries leading to unsustainable harvesting and land conversion; and underfunded international biodiversity conventions, which all contribute to the problem.

IPS: How devastating is the impact of climate change, including extreme weather, melting ice and sea level rise, on all regions of the world, particularly developing nations. Are the world’s small island developing states (SIDS) really in danger of being wiped off the face of the earth as a result of climate change?

Dr. McElwee : One of the tasks of the GA was to identify the main drivers of biodiversity decline and ecosystem loss. Evaluating the evidence, the report concluded that climate change is the third most important driver of ecosystem change, behind land use change and direct exploitation of nature (e.g. fishing or wildlife hunting).

It’s mostly the job of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to assess the climate impacts on development, and last fall’s IPCC report focused on how to keep climate change to 1.5 degrees C indicated there are significant risks to SIDS states if we fail to meet that goal.

Our GA report complemented the 1.5 report by identifying what the losses to biodiversity specifically would be, but also pointed out that some climate mitigation solutions to keep us to 1.5 degrees, such as biofuels, can have very negative impacts on biodiversity because they may entail land use change (conversion of biodiverse forests to monocrop biomass plantations).

Therefore, we need to make smart and urgent choices now about reducing emissions to avoid those tradeoffs with biodiversity later, and to minimize the serious consequences of failing to tackle climate change for SIDS and other poorer countries.

IPS: And what impact does climate change have on the world’s indigenous communities? The UN says indigenous peoples are among the first to face the direct consequences of climate change, due to their dependence upon, and close relationship, with the environment and its resources. But their role in combating climate change is rarely considered in public discourses on climate change. Is this a fair assessment?

Dr. McElwee: Again, the IPCC reports are really the gold standard for climate impacts, and the next special report of the IPCC will be due next week looking at Oceans and the Cryosphere.

Many indigenous peoples live in or use these areas, and will be increasingly and disproportionately impacted by forced relocations caused by melting permafrost or rising sea levels, so I urge people to look out for that report’s release soon.

Certainly the GA specifically looked at the impact of *biodiversity loss* on indigenous peoples, and our message was that both the quantity and quality of nature’s supply for food, health, spiritual wellbeing, and other traditional practices are in decline, caused by extractive industries, intensive agriculture, unsustainable fishing, environmental pollution, the spread of invasive species, and other environmental harms.

But indigenous peoples can play a huge role in the solutions to these problems; in fact, biodiversity is generally declining more slowly on lands that are managed by indigenous and local communities, indicating that their involvement in biodiversity management is crucial, and that they have solutions the rest of us can learn from.

IPS: Projecting into the future, what are your expectations of the 2020 Biodiversity Conference which is expected to adopt a new global framework to safeguard nature and its contributions to human well-being.? What is the current status of the negotiations which are expected to be continued in China in February 2020 and in Colombia in July 2020? Are you hopeful of a positive outcome?

Dr. McElwee: The post-2020 negotiations are ongoing, and several important meetings have just been held recently to start the ball rolling to ensure a positive outcome at the Kunming meeting in late fall 2020.

China’s leadership here will be important, and they are rightly proud of some of what they have been able to achieve nationally, and are hoping to push the international community to follow their lead in terms of protected areas coverage, payments for ecological services, and other policies.

For me, one of the most important outcomes will be to take an honest and hard look at why we failed to meet so many of the Aichi Targets that were set out in in the strategic plan for biodiversity from 2011-2020. It’s not enough to just set new, high achieving targets.

We need to get serious about why we didn’t meet the previous ones and go about fixing those impediments as best we can, while still being ambitious in new pledges. I also think we will see a better integration of climate and biodiversity in the post-2020 agenda, as there is a lot of current talk and research about ideas like nature-based climate solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation that can drive new targets and goals.

I think there is attention to these issues at never-before seen levels, driven in part by youth and indigenous peoples’ movements to raise awareness of them, so that makes me optimistic for a positive outcome.

*Dr. Pamela McElwee is affiliated to the graduate faculty: Department of Anthropology, Department of Geography, Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Before arriving at Rutgers in 2011, Dr McElwee spent 5 years at Arizona State University as an Assistant Professor of Global Studies. She was trained as an environmental scientist, anthropologist and geographer at Yale University (Ph.D. in Forestry & Environmental Studies and Anthropology), Oxford University (M.Sc. in Forestry) and the University of Kansas (B.A. in Political Science). Before becoming an academic, she worked at the US Senate for Al Gore, in the Clinton White House on environmental policy, and at the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Persian Gulf Task Force. She is also one of the IPCC’s Lead Authors on Climate Change and Land.

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@ips.org

The post World’s Hard Fought Battle Against Climate Change appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Kaveh Zahedi
BANGKOK, Thailand, Sep 23 2019 (IPS)

In less than ten days world leaders will be gathering at the United Nations in New York for the Climate Action Summit. Their goal is simple; to increase ambition and accelerate action in the face of a mounting climate emergency.

For many this means ambition and action that enables countries to decarbonize their economies by the middle of the century. But that is only half the equation. Equally ambitious plans are also needed to build the resilience of vulnerable sectors and communities being battered by climate related disasters of increasing frequency, intensity and unpredictability.

Kaveh Zahedi

Nowhere is this reality starker than in the Asia Pacific region which has suffered another punishing year of devastation due to extreme events linked to climate change. Last year Kerala state in India had its worst floods in a century. The floods in Iran in April this year were unprecedented. Floods and heatwaves in quick succession in Japan caused widespread destruction and loss of life. In several South Asian countries, immediately following a period of drought, weeks of heavy monsoon rains this month unleashed floods and landslides. Across North-east and South Asia, record high temperatures have been set.

The latest research from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific has shown that intense heatwaves and drought are becoming more frequent; unusual tropical cyclones originate from beyond the traditional risk zones and follow tracks that have not been seen before; and unprecedented floods and occurring throughout the region. The science tells us that the impacts are only going to increase in severity and frequency as greenhouse gas emissions concentrations in the atmosphere continue to rise.

The poor and vulnerable are taking the biggest hit. Disasters cost lives and damage livelihood and assets. Increases in disaster exposure are increasing child malnutrition and mortality and forcing poor families to take children out of school – entrenching inter-generational poverty. And they perpetuate inequalities within and between countries. A person in the Pacific small island developing states is 3 to 5 times more at risk of disasters than a person elsewhere in our disaster-prone region. Vanuatu has faced annual losses of over 20% of its GDP. In Southeast Asia, Lao, Cambodia and Viet Nam have all faced losses of more than 5% of their GDP. In short, disasters are slowing down and often reversing poverty reduction and widening inequality.

But amidst this cycle of disaster and vulnerability lies a golden opportunity for careful and forward-looking investment. The Global Commission on Adaptation recently found that there would be over $7 trillion in total net benefits between now and 2030 from investing in early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, improved dryland agriculture, mangrove protection, and in making water resources more resilient could generate.

So where could countries in the Asia Pacific region make a start? First, by providing people with the means to overcome shocks. Increasing social protection is a good start. Currently developing countries in Asia and the Pacific only spend about 3.7 per cent of GDP on social protection, compared to the world average of 11.2 per cent, leaving people vulnerable in case they get sick, lose their jobs, become old or are hit by a disaster. In the aftermath of Typhoon Hyan in the Philippines we saw effectiveness of social protection, especially cash transfers, but these were only possible because the government could use the conditional cash transfer system and mechanism already in place for poor and vulnerable people.

Second by lifting the financial burden off the poor. Disaster risk finance and insurance can cover poor and vulnerable people from climate shocks and help them recover from disaster, such as Mongolia’s index-based insurance scheme to deal with the increased frequency of “dzuds” where combination of droughts and shortage of pasture lead to massive livestock deaths. Disaster risk finance can also help countries pool the risks as is happening through the emerging ASEAN Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance programme.

Third by increasing investment in new technologies and big data. Artificial Intelligence driven risk analytics as well as fast combination of sensor and geospatial data, can strengthen early warning systems. Big data, including from mobile phones, can help identify and locate vulnerable populations in risk hotspots who have been the hardest to reach so far, ensuring faster more targeted help after disasters. Experience around the region has already shown the potential. In India, a combination of automated risk analytics, geospatial data and the digital identity system (the so called AADHARR system) have helped to identify and deliver assistance to millions of drought-affected subsistence farmers. But much more investment in needed to make technology an integral part of disaster risk response and resilience building.

Climate related disasters are likely to increase in Asia Pacific. This is our new climate reality. The Summit provides the perfect platform to make the commitments needed for helping communities and people to adapt to this reality before decades of hard-won development gains are washed away.

Kaveh Zahedi is Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

The post Confronting the New Climate Reality in Asia and the Pacific appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Standing left to Right are: 1. Siddharth Chatterjee UN Resident Coordinator Kenya. 2. Ms Christine Heenan, Senior VP Rockerfellar Foundation. 3. Cabinet Secretary Joseph Mucheru EGH, Ministry of Information and Communications, Kenya. 4. Ms Carson Christiano, Executive Director, CEGA, UC Berkley. At the signing of the joint communique on 21 September 2019. Photo Credit: Rockerfellar Foundation.

By PRESS RELEASE
NEW YORK, Sep 21 2019 (IPS-Partners)

The Government of Kenya today signed a Communique with the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) at the University of California, Berkeley, along with The Rockefeller Foundation, and the United Nations to inspire future action and support for the delivery of Kenya’s Big Four agenda. The agreement brings together strategic partnerships work with the Government of Kenya to build SDG focused partnerships to drive financing and innovations that help tackle complex development goals.

The Government of Kenya also announced the launch of a co-created SDG Accelerator Lab, that will leverage on the recently initiated UNDP Accelerator Lab Network, as a strategic development platform for Kenya that will bring together the government, private sector, civil society, philanthropy, academia, and young people to reimagine development for the 21st century.

Speaking during the signing event, Hon. Joseph Mucheru, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of ICT, Kenya stated that “As a government, we recognize that innovation and technology will be at the heart of job creation, the manufacturing industry, guaranteeing food security for the country and ensuring universal healthcare. As a country, we have always taken pride in the space that we have provided to tech start-up communities, who have gone ahead to build some of the most amazing apps and systems. The partnerships signed today will harness the ongoing initiatives in our tech community to accelerate the actualization of our National Development goals. We are thankful for our partnerships with the UN SDG Partnership Platform, UNDP Accelerator Labs Network, Berkeley University CEGA, and the Rockefeller Foundation. We call upon all our partners to join efforts in making the SDG Accelerator Lab a ground-breaking success for leapfrogging the attainment of Kenya’s development priorities”.

At the heart of the Lab is to re-imagine how development work is done, promoting a culture of innovation and experimentation. The capacity to adapt in a rapidly changing environment will become key for the UN to stay relevant and provide effective support to Kenya to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The Rockefeller Foundation has a long history of working with the Government of Kenya to improve the lives and prospects of its citizens. Today we reaffirm our continued commitment and partnership with this communique. We are excited to be part of this journey, and look forward to advancing Kenya’s strategies and partnerships to achieve the Kenya Big Four Agenda,” said Christine Heenan, Senior Vice President for Global Policy and Advocacy, The Rockefeller Foundation.

Tapping into the UNDP Accelerator Labs network, the Kenya SDGs Accelerator Lab aims to leverage and advance knowledge and learning from others through the global network and enrich developmental thinking and implementation through exploration and experimentation of multiple possible ideas and find contextualised solutions that can be deployed rapidly and sustainably.

“Today’s development challenges are complex, and the speed at which they evolve requires agility, innovation, creativity and urgency. How development actors respond to the fast-changing realities of the 21 Century will be based on the ability to harness homegrown solutions and formation of strategic partnerships from global to grassroots levels, that guarantee endless possibilities of ideas and multiplicity of solutions. UNDP Accelerator Labs initiative is one such vehicle that can potentially help to align strategic partnerships with emerging innovations.” Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Africa

In collaboration with local actors including the Private Sector and the Academia, the SDGs Accelerator Lab will endeavour in identifying and harnessing homegrown solutions that have proof of concept, with the aim of bringing them to scale, while creating an enabling environment for young innovators to conceptualise, test and deliver interventions that best work for their communities .

“We are delighted by this opportunity to inspire positive social change in Kenya by supporting the Lab with rigorous research and connecting partners to our Silicon Valley enterprise ecosystem,” said Carson Christiano, Executive Director, Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA), University of California, Berkeley

Together with the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of ICT, the SDGs Accelerator will build on and complement government led initiatives such as the Ajira Program, Digitalent Innovation Program, the Whitebox Platform and harness the power of tech-innovation to empower youth in becoming solution oriented and employment creators; focusing on women, youth, vulnerable and marginalized groups, underpinning the ambition of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda.

UN Resident Coordinator to Kenya Siddharth Chatterjee noted “as the UN in Kenya we strongly believe in the power of partnerships and stand ready to deliver as one our finest support to making the SDG Accelerator Lab a ground-breaking success.”

###

For more information contact:
Bernard Muthaka bernard.muthaka@one.un.org
Media and Communications Specialist, United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office

Notes for the editors:

Kenyan Government Focus on Innovation
Kenya’s Vision 2030, Kenya’s Long-Term Development Blueprint aims to create a globally competitive and prosperous nation, transforming Kenya into a newly industrialising, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030 in a clean and secure environment. ICT is identified as enabler or foundation for socio economic transformation. The Vision recognises the role of Science, Technology and Innovation in modern economy in which new knowledge plays a central role in boosting wealth creation, social welfare and international competitiveness. Kenya’s National ICT policy commits to create incentives, provide funding support for research and innovation.

The Government has created a number of frameworks to drive innovation, such as the recently launched Digital Economy blueprint for Africa and Emerging Digital Technologies for Kenya Report. In developing the frameworks, Kenya recognizes that technologies and innovations are rapidly changing and need supportive ecosystem. Kenya Ministry of ICT has developed a multi-tiered innovation agenda including various strategic initiatives for example: the Ajira program, The Digitalent Innovation Program, The Whitebox platform (which targets innovation on Kenya’s Big Four Agenda), and The Konza Technopolis and Konza Innovation Ecosystem Initiative. All these initiatives support job creation and transformation of Kenya to become an industrialised information society and knowledge economy.

For more information contact: Manwa Magoma manwa.magoma@ict.go.ke,
Media and Communications Advisor, Ministry of ICT, Kenya

About the Kenya SDG Partnership Platform
Under the leadership of the Government of Kenya, the UN System helped to spearhead in 2017 the SDG Partnership Platform in collaboration with development partners, private sector, philanthropy, academia and civil society. The Platform has become a flagship initiative under Kenya’s new UN Development Assistance Framework 2018-2022 for the optimization of SDG Partnerships, Financing and Innovations in support of Government Development Priorities as framed within Kenya’s Big Four Agenda. For more information: www.ke.one.un.org/content/unct/kenya/en/home/publications.html

About the Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation advances new frontiers of science, data, policy, and innovation to solve global challenges related to health, food, power and the expansion of US economic opportunities. As a science-driven philanthropy focused on building collaborative relationships with partners and grantees, the Foundation seeks to inspire and foster large-scale human impact that promotes the well-being of humanity throughout the world by identifying and accelerating breakthrough solutions, ideas and conversations. For more information: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org

About the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA), University of California, Berkley
Headquartered at the University of California, Berkeley, CEGA’s large, interdisciplinary network–including a growing number of scholars from low- and middle-income countries–identifies and tests innovations designed to reduce poverty and promote development. Our researchers use rigorous methods as well as novel measurement tools–including wireless sensors, mobile data, and analytics–to evaluate complex programs, even when randomization is not feasible. Through careful matchmaking, competitive grantmaking, and research dissemination activities, CEGA ensures that the research we produce is relevant, timely, and actionable to policymakers. For more information: www.cega.berkeley.edu

About the UNDP Accelerator Lab
The Accelerator Labs are UNDP’s new way of working in development. Together with our core partners, the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Germany, 60 labs serving 78 countries will work together with national and global partners to find radically new approaches that fit the complexity of current development challenges. The labs will transform our collective approach by introducing new services, backed by evidence and practice, and by accelerating the testing and dissemination of solutions within and across countries. Sense-making, collective intelligence, solutions mapping and experimentation will be part of the new offer from UNDP to governments. The Labs will identify grassroots solutions together with local actors and validate their potential to accelerate development. Solutions can come in many different forms, from a farmer discovering a new way to prevent floods to a nonprofit that is especially impactful. The labs will also harness the potential of real time data and people’s energy to respond to rapidly evolving challenges that impact development. Building on these locally-sourced solutions, the labs will rapid test and iterate new ideas to learn which ones work, which ones can grow, and which ones don’t, bringing experimentation to the core of our work. For more information: https://acceleratorlabs.undp.org

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