Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Q&A: What of the Carbon Neutral Countries? Desmond Brown As High Forest Cover and Low Deforestation (HFLD) nations meet in Suriname at a major conference, it is obvious that the decision made by these countries to preserve their forests has been a difficult but good one. “It is a choice that governments have to make to determine whether they want to ... MORE > >

The Role Technology Can Play in Fighting Climate Change and Deforestation Desmond Brown At 51, Roberto Wong Loi Sing has spent nearly half of his life working in the field of engineering. But as he spends his days designing more efficient stormwater management systems, or water purification systems, for instance, the child in him comes alive as he combines his skills to find “win-win” ... MORE > >

Rapa Nui’s Stone Statues and Marine Resources Face Threats from Climate Change Orlando Milesi Social activists and local authorities in Rapa Nui or Easter Island are calling for urgent action to address rising sea temperatures, declining rainfall, and rising tides that threaten their fishing resources and their Moais, the mysterious volcanic stone monoliths. On this island in the ... MORE > >

The Hidden Economic Costs of Displacement Tharanga Yakupitiyage While the impacts of displacement on wellbeing are well-known, one group has pointed to the equally burdensome economic costs for those displaced as well as host communities. In a new report, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) examines the financial costs of internal displacement ... MORE > >

How Devastating is Climate Change for World Peace & Security? Thalif Deen When the Security Council, the most powerful body at the United Nations, met last month to discuss the growing new threats to world peace and security, the discussion veered away from international terrorism, nuclear Armageddon and the rash of ongoing military conflicts in the Middle East, Asia and ... MORE > >

Q&A: We Are Helping the World Mitigate Climate Change, Now it’s Time to Help Us Desmond Brown The Caribbean nation of Suriname may be one of the most forested countries in the world, with some 93 percent of the country’s surface area being covered in forests, but it is also the most threatened as it struggles with the impacts of climate change. Suriname, which has a population of just ... MORE > >

Our Forests Provide the World With Oxygen But We Need More Climate Change Finance - HFLD Countries Desmond Brown Suriname, the most forested country in the world, is this week hosting a major international conference on climate financing for High Forest Cover and Low Deforestation (HFLD) countries. Among other things, the Feb. 12 to 14 conference aims to make the international community more aware of the ... MORE > >

Economic Crisis Can Trigger World War Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Vladimir Popov Economic recovery efforts since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis have mainly depended on unconventional monetary policies. As fears rise of yet another international financial crisis, there are growing concerns about the increased possibility of large-scale military conflict. Jomo Kwame ... MORE > >

Solar Energy Provides Hope for Poor Neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires Daniel Gutman Solar panels shine on the rooftop terraces of 10 neat buildings with perfectly straight lines and of uniform height, an image of modernity that contrasts with the precariously-built dwellings with unplastered concrete block walls just a few metres away, with rooms added in a disorderly manner, ... MORE > >

12 Years Behind a Stove—An Undocumented Immigrant in New York City Carmen Arroyo One chilly afternoon in November 2005, Hilarino came by Pedro’s house in Oaxaca, Mexico, driving a shiny red car. “Pedro!” he shouted, “We are leaving in March. There is a route North to the U.S. that passes along the sea.” Pedro was thrilled. “I saw him with that car and I thought ‘there’s ... MORE > >

Billions of Swedish Krona Supported the Struggle against Apartheid Ida Karlsson Between 1982 and 1988 Birgitta Karlström Dorph was on a secret mission in South Africa. "Why didn't they stop us? Probably they were not aware of the scope of the operation. The money was transferred through so many different channels. We were clever, " Karlström Dorph says. The work was ... MORE > >

Farmers Secure Land and Food Thanks to ‘Eyes in the Skies’ Busani Bafana Six years ago while wondering how best to use her engineering skills, Tanzanian ICT entrepreneur Rose Funja decided to enter an innovation competition. Years later she has turned a digital idea into a viable business that helps smallholder farmers across the East African nation access credit. ... MORE > >

Is UN Planning to Replace Humans with Machines & Robots? Thalif Deen The United Nations-- once facetiously described as an institution whose bloated bureaucracy moves at the leisured pace of a paralytic snail -- is steadily zooming into the field of fast-paced, cutting-edge digital technology where humans may one day be replaced with machines and robots. Is ... MORE > >

Canada Implements New Food Guidelines, But What About the Food Waste? Stephen Leahy Canada introduced a new healthy eating food guide January 2019 and, for the first time, the meat, dairy and processed food and beverage industries were not involved. Based on the recommendations of health and nutrition experts, the guide places a new emphasis on eating plants, drinking water and ... MORE > >

Deported Salvadoran Women Pin Their Hopes on Poultry Production Edgardo Ayala Salvadoran farmer Lorena Mejía opens an incubator and monitors the temperature of the eggs, which will soon provide her with more birds and eggs as the chickens hatch and grow up. Mejía is one of the beneficiaries of a project that seeks to offer productive ventures to women who, like her, have ... MORE > >

The Right to Life, Liberty, and Land Tharanga Yakupitiyage Sustainable land management is becoming more important than ever as rates of emissions, deforestation, and water scarcity continue to increase. But what if you don’t have rights to the land? While the impact of agriculture on land is well known, the relationship between land degradation and land ... MORE > >