Archive for ‘Latin America & Caribbean’

14/05/2021

Over 67% of Mangroves Have Been Lost or Degraded to Date

Human Wrongs Watch

Pakistan restores mangroves for economy and ecosystem benefits

photo-1591805732786-6812e547aef1

Dan Maisey/Unsplash / 14 May 2021

14 May 2021 (UNEP)* — As Pakistan prepares to host World Environment Day on June 5, ecosystem restoration, which includes critical ecosystems like mangrove forests, will be the focus.

Mr Quershi, who sadly passed away in December 2020,  played a key role in the development of mangrove restoration in Pakistan and will be fondly remembered at the event.“He was a magnificent man.

read more »

12/05/2021

Vaccine Inequity Posing ‘Significant Risk’ to Global Economic Recovery

Human Wrongs Watch 

(UN News)* — Although the outlook for global growth has improved, the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as inadequate progress on vaccination in poorer countries, are putting recovery at risk, according to the latest UN economic forecast, published on Tuesday [11 May 2021]. 

UNDP | A woman in Guinea turns her sewing skills into mask-making during the COVID-19 crisis.
.
The World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) mid-year report warned widening inequality is threatening global growth, projected at 5.4 per cent this year. 
 
12/05/2021

‘COVID-19 Pandemic Has Exacerbated Impacts of Extreme Weather and Climate Change in Vulnerable Countries’

Human Wrongs Watch 

Early warning initiative advances in a pandemic

Geneva, 11 May 2021 (WMO)*The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated impacts of extreme weather and climate change in vulnerable countries but also highlighted the need to build resilience against a multitude of hazards through better early warnings and risk information.

This is one of the key messages of the 2020 Annual Report of the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems Initiative (CREWS), a unique climate action programme that helps saves lives, livelihoods and assets in the world’s most vulnerable countries.

read more »

12/05/2021

Our Oceans Are Haunted


Human Wrongs Watch 

How “ghost fishing” is devastating our marine environments

.

Unknown

“Ghost fishing” happens when lost or abandoned fishing gear stays in the ocean and traps fish or other marine life. © World Animal Protection

11 May 2021 (FAO)*Ghost fishing. Sounds eerie, right? Unfortunately, it is indeed as eerie as it sounds. Ghost fishing occurs when lost or abandoned fishing gear stays in the ocean and traps fish or other marine life, indiscriminately killing whatever it catches.
11/05/2021

Usury as an Economic System in Brazil

Human Wrongs Watch 

By Ladislau Dowbor*

Nowadays, Brazil is not only facing inequality brought by the pandemic

Usury is certainly nothing new
Usury is certainly nothing new | Image from Wall Street International.

10 May 2021 (Wall Street International)* —  Usury is certainly nothing new, from the medieval Venice through Shylock and the dramas of Balzac —who spent his life writing books to pay off his debts— it consists mainly in making money out of money, even if you do not have it.

read more »

11/05/2021

Can Forest Restoration Reduce the Threat of Megafires?

World Environment Day, which falls on 5 June, marks the official launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global push to revive natural spaces lost to development. In the lead-up to the Decade’s launch, UNEP is looking back on some of our most popular restoration-related stories, including this piece originally published in December 2020. 

2020-09-29T060432Z_1000509411_RC258J9P75HU_RTRMADP_3_USA-WILDFIRES

Reuters / Andrees Latif / 01 Dec 2020

11 May 2021 (UNEP)* — The record-breaking wildfires that engulfed the western United States in 2020  show the danger from global heating and ecosystem decline, but also highlight how forest and landscape restoration can reduce the threat of catastrophic fires.

read more »

11/05/2021

5 Things You Should Know about the State of the Global Economy

10 May 2021 (UN News)*Is this the year we overcome the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic? Are our jobs in danger? Who has lost the most in the crisis and what can be done to recover?
.
 
IMF/Ernesto Benavides | Goods are transported by hands in Lima, Peru.

As the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs (DESA) prepares to launch the mid-year update of the 2021 World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report, here are five things you need to know about the state of the global economy.

read more »

10/05/2021

This Secretive Industry Is Putting Sea Creatures at Risk

Image from Greenpeace International.

The deep sea mining industry is planning to send monster machines to plunder the seabed and extract polymetallic nodules – potato-sized lumps of rocks loaded with metals and minerals. Deep sea mining isn’t happening yet, but the kinds of metals this industry is targeting are used in phones, laptops and batteries.

read more »

10/05/2021

From the Non-Aligned Movement to Active Non-Alignment

Human Wrongs Watch

By Roberto Savio*

8 May 2021 (Wall Street International)* — This paper is not going to be academic or conceptual, but a long article. I thought that my best contribution would be to give a testimony I have lived through of the triple process of decolonisation, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77, in which I actively participated.
Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., was the location of the conference in 1944
Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., was the location of the conference in 1944 | Image from Wall Street International.

I believe that I am one of the few survivors left from the Bandung Conference (1955) and that communicating my experience of the process of the creation and development of the Third World, its vision and values, may be the most useful thing I can do.

read more »

09/05/2021

Many Stateless in UK Face a Tortuous Road to Recognition

Human Wrongs Watch

By Matthew Saltmarsh*

UNHCR study shines light on a hidden national issue that, despite recent progress, still affects millions of people around the world.  Español   |  Français   |  عربيUnited Kingdom. StatelessnessA recognised stateless person in the UK sits on a park bench in east London.  © UNHCR/Katie Barlow

.

LONDON, UK (UNHCR)* – For more than seven decades, Benjamin has lacked something that most people take for granted: a nationality.

Born in Namibia, then part of South Africa, he did not acquire nationality at birth because at the time neither of his parents had citizenship or permanent residency in the country.

read more »