Africa

By Jan Lundius
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Dec 6 2019 (IPS)

While opening a newspaper or watching a TV program we are every day made aware of the plights of irregular migrants. Some recent examples among many – on 24 October, 39 Chinese nationals were found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex. They had apparently frozen to death within a refrigerator container with temperatures as low as -25C (-13F). This while tragedies occur almost daily on the Mediterranean Sea. On 26 November, a rescue vessel found a boat almost completely sunken. It had three dead bodies aboard. Fifty-five migrants were saved. Three of them were in a critical condition, and one died after reaching Melilla in Spain, where the migrants were brought in. Three children were among the survivors, though a further ten individuals were reported missing. Nowadays, such news items pass by almost imperceptibly. Every day, thousands of unfortunate human beings are trafficked all over the world to suffer underpaid, hazardous work, or prostitution.

The general image of global migration tends to be gloomy. Populist parties convey the impression of an avalanche of unwanted foreigners inundating our beloved homelands. If I discuss policy issues with colleagues, friends, and relatives, negative perceptions of immigration tend to make their appearance. Polarized political and media debates on migration seldom allow much space for evidence, knowledge, strategic implications and historical insights.

It is easy to ignore that international migration is a complex phenomenon touching on a multiplicity of economic, social and security aspects. It is associated with geopolitics, trade and cultural exchange. Accordingly, migration provides opportunities for businesses and communities. In countries of origin and destination migration has improved people’s lives. However, acknowledging this does not imply that all migration takes place under positive circumstances. In recent years an increase in displacement has occurred, due to conflict, persecution, environmental degradation, and lack of human security and opportunity. The UN refugee agency UNHCR currently estimates that there are 25.9 million refugees worldwide, of which 80 percent live in places neigbouring their countries of origin.1

In 2019, the global number of international migrants reached an estimated 272 million, comprising 3.5 percent of the global population. 2 Actually a small minority since an overwhelming majority of people remain within their country of birth.

It cannot be denied that migration may generate benefits for migrants, their families, and countries of origin. Wages earned abroad tend to be considerably higher than those for similar jobs at home and migration tends to have a positive impact on human development, particularly in areas such as education and health. According to a World Bank report from 2016 migrants from the poorest countries, on average, experienced a 15-fold increase in income, a doubling of school enrolment rates, and a 16-fold reduction in child mortality after moving to a developed country.3

Globally, remittances are now more than three times the amount of official development assistance, at the same time as migration result in the transfer of skills, knowledge, and technology and thus foster economic and social development in origin countries.

Migration also generates economic and other benefits for destination countries. Among other results, immigration can have positive effects through an increased labour supply in sectors and occupations suffering from shortages of workers, not only evident in high-skilled sectors, but also in lower-skilled occupations. The immigration of young workers might also ease pressure on pension systems of high-income countries with rapidly aging populations.4 Contrary to popular perceptions, an OECD study found that the difference between the taxes migrants pay and the benefits and government services they receive generally is quite small and in most of the analyzed OECD countries immigrants paid more in taxes than they received through benefits.5

Accordingly, stories about hapless or deceitful migrants, ruthless human traffickers, and constant tragedies are not constituting the entire truth about international migration. Trafficking is a crime that has to be deterred and penalized. The United Nations defines human traficking as:

the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.6

I recently obtained an insight into immigration when I in Rome met a successful migrant who told me his life story. A tale of hard toil, stubborn determination and lifelong planning, with a happy ending.

Through a good friend of mine I had ended up as dinner guest with a man of a Bangladeshi origin and his family. He was proud owner of a car repair workshop. A steady income made it possible for him to support his family, invest in his business, afford a nice apartment and a car. He was even able to invest some of his income and support relatives back in Bangladesh. Over a sumptuous meal in a modern apartment, my generous host told me his life story.

He had been born to poor parents in Dhaka and orphaned already at the age of seven. His wife was also an orphan from a poor background. They married very early and had stayed true to one another ever since. Early on he judged that the only possible advance in life for a poor boy like him was to join the army. For twenty years he served in the armed forces and learned to be a driver and car mechanic. Experiences he later used after having been recruited as a migrant worker to the Gulf States, and most successfully in Singapore, where he finally had been able to save the money needed for realizing his ultimate goal – to migrate to Europe, make a living there and bring his family over for a better, more secure life.

In the neighbourhood of his home in Dhaka he had for many years been in contact with a ”travel- and job organizer” who had told him he would be able to bring him to Italy and that it would cost him approximately 30,000 euros. This became the driving force for all of my host´s endeavours. He experienced many setbacks, but never lost hope. Several years ago he was finally prepared to leave for Europe, putting all his trust in the men working for the ”travel organizer”. I asked him:

– How could you bring your entire life´s savings into the hands of this man? You could easily have been lost or killed along the perilous trail through Asia and Europe. What was the guarantee that you would be able to make a living in Europe? And … who was this guy? A human trafficker?

– No, he was not a Mafiosi. He was a businessman, well known by his clients. I knew he could not afford taking the risk of losing a client like me. If he had been a crook. If he had fooled his clients on their way to Europe and pocketed their money. If he had not planned and paid for every step of the journey and guaranteed the safe transfer of a client of his, he would have been lost. Everyone in my neighbourhood knew him and his business. He could neither overcharge me, nor lose me. It is an extremely risky business.

– Nevertheless, many are fooled, lost and killed.

– Quite true, but such unfortunate victims are generally desperate people. They have not planned and worked for the venture during so many years as I had. They had not inquired enough, neither about the risks involved, nor about the men they put their trust in.

It took more than half a year to reach Rome. We traveled by busses, lorries and on foot. Through India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, and Slovenia. It was worrisome and I was often scared, nervous and impatient. We were captured in Ukraine and it took almost three months to get us out of that country and we also encountered problems in Moldova. However, these mishaps had been taken into consideration beforehand and true to our original agreement the travel arranger succeeded in keeping his word.

I did not know anyone in Rome. The arrangement was that I began selling things in the street. Gradually, I advanced to selling fruits and finally found work in an auto repair shop. I am a skilled mechanic, my work was appreciated and words about my expertise spread among the customers. After some years I could open my own business. From then on life changed for the better. I could bring over my family. We found suitable husbands for my two daughters and finally a son was born to me. I´m a fortunate man.

It may be stated that my Bangladeshi acquaintance had been ”trafficked” since he migrated to Italy through irregular means provided by people who made a profit. However, he denied that he had been exploited. He assured me that he had made a carefully calculated business deal with people who guaranteed him passage to Italy and to a certain degree acclimatization to that country. It had been a win-win deal for the people who took him to Italy, for himself, his family, his country of origin and Italy as well.

1 https://www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-glance.html
2 https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/migrationreport/docs/MigrationStock2019_TenKeyFindings.pdf
3 Ratha, Dilip, Caglar Ozden and Sonia Plaza (2019) ”Migration and Development: A Role for the World Bank” https://blogs.worldbank.org/peoplemove/migration-and-development-role-world-bank-group
4 International Organization for Migration (IOM) (2017) World Migration Report 2018. Geneva: IOM, pp. 3-4.
5 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2013). “The fiscal impact of immigration in OECD countries,” in International Migration Outlook 2013. OECD: Paris.
6 https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html

 
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 Gains and Losses of Irregular Migration appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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By Yasmine Sherif
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 6 2019 (IPS)

Genesis smiles and holds her hand up proudly to answer questions in class. She claps her hands in support of her classmates when they answer the teachers’ questions correctly. “I miss my cousins and aunts in Venezuela, she says.” Her smile fades and her lips tighten. She struggles to hold back her tears. “I can’t return. I want to stay here in my school, with my new friends.” Her smile returns, as she resolutely states: “I want to become a lawyer, so I can help solve problems.”

Genesis is too serious for her 12 years of age. Like millions of displaced children, she suffers from being uprooted and she dreams of solving problems that no one that young should ever experience. Genesis is at a crossroads.

We can ensure she takes the road of a continued quality education that offers her a pathway towards achieving her dream. Without our support, she will be forced the other way, risking to succumb to the very problems she wants to resolve: conflict, violence and abject poverty.

Genesis is one of the millions of forcibly displaced children around the globe. She attends class at the ‘Centro Etnoeducativa Indigena’ school in Maicao, in northern Colombia. The school is supported by World Vision through Education Cannot Wait’s First Emergency Response investment implemented by Save the Children, PLAN, IRC and World Vision.

As we leave Genesis, we are acutely aware of the urgent need for funding to allow her to continue her education. Education Cannot Wait’s US$7 million emergency support to the region – without which Genesis would not have gone to school – will come to an end in June 2020.

The urgency for continued funding prompted ECW, UNICEF, Save the Children and INEE to conduct a joint mission to Colombia and Ecuador. These are two of the countries at the heart of the Venezuelan regional crisis, which is projected to be the world’s largest forced displacement crisis in 2020 – exceeding the Syrian crisis.

The mission concluded that Education Cannot Wait must seek to extend its support through a multi-year investment for quality education. Today, the ECW Executive Committee approved this recommendation. Now, ECW and partners have to mobilize the resources.

The Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan for 2020 calls for US$1.35 billion, of which US$57.1 million (4 per cent of the total appeal) is required to deliver quality education to 244,000 children, only 17 per cent of the actual number of children in need.

Yet, how do we mobilize this amount for one crisis for one year, alone? And how do we explain a failure to respond to those minimum requirements to Genesis?

Globally, a total of 68.5 million people are forcibly displaced, of whom over half are children in need of an adequate education. Of this number, 25.9 million are refugees, including some 13 million children.

The majority of refugee children struggle with disrupted or poor education, 75 per cent of adolescents do not attend secondary school and 3.7 million refugee children are completely out-of-school.

Beyond the Venezuelan regional crisis, forcible displacement continues to grow in the Sahel region of Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria and Ethiopia, just to mention a few.

In the Arab region, despite representing just 5 per cent of the global population, the Arab states account for 32 per cent of the global refugee population and 38 per cent of the internally displaced global population.

In the same vein, the number of people across the globe who need humanitarian assistance is rapidly escalating with a total of 168 million people (of whom over half are children). The total financial requirements for one year alone amount to nearly US$29 billion, according to the just launched Global Humanitarian Overview 2020.

168 million people on our globe are dependent on humanitarian aid! How is this possible in the 21st century? What have we done to our world? What are we leaving to the next generation as our legacy? It is time to act. If not now, when?

In two weeks, the world will gather in Geneva for the Global Refugee Forum. Will this be an opportunity to turn the tide, at least for the millions of refugee children and youth forced to flee, yet holding on to a dream?

Let us hope that the Global Refugee Forum becomes a turning point for action. That leaders see things from afar and within, and recognize the relation between themselves, those in need and universal values.

These are values grounded in international law and manifested in political will to action. Because in resolving problems of human suffering in the face of conflict and forced displacement one has to translate values into action. This means comprehensive action matched by financing to produce sustainable outcomes.

Together with our partners in the United Nations, host-governments, strategic donors, civil society and private sector, Education Cannot Wait has just reached close to 2 million girls and boys. Another 7 million children and youth must be reached by 2021.

In Uganda, the government just announced that the Education Cannot Wait investment in the Response Plan for Refugees and Host Communities for South Sudanese refugees is a success-story. Still, another $80 million will be required in 2020 for Uganda alone to prevent disruption of this positive model.

Indeed, much more needs to be done. To deliver on the Education Cannot Wait target of quality education to 9 million children and youth in forced displacement and protracted crisis by 2021, US$1.8 billion is required.

Is it possible? Yes, provided that we are driven by the same intense desire as Genesis: that all we want to do is to solve problems, alleviate human suffering and empower the next generation.

The Global Refugee Forum may be the test.

The post Forced to Flee. Displaced with a Dream. Time for Action. appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Yasmine Sherif is Director, Education Cannot Wait

The post Forced to Flee. Displaced with a Dream. Time for Action. appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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Dr Mithika Mwenda of PACJA (right) and Professor Seth Osafo (left), one of the negotiators at the climate talks currently being held in Spain. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPS

By Isaiah Esipisu
MADRID, Dec 6 2019 (IPS)

African legislators have been challenged to come up with legal frameworks for climate change to enable countries avoid catastrophes and reactionary emergencies that eat up their budgets.

“African countries are spending up to 3.9 percent of their GDPs on climate emergencies, which in many cases have not been budgeted for,” said Dr. James Murombedzi, the head of the Africa Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

During an event on the sidelines of the ongoing 25th Conference Of The Parties (COP25), the U.N. climate negotiations in Madrid, Spain, climate experts, civil society organisations and U.N. representatives observed that legislators in African countries should mainstream climate change in all their national development plans as a way of adapting to the phenomena.

This comes at a time when the East African region is experiencing unprecedented floods due to the 300 percent above average, heavy downpour that is occurring during what is supposed to be a short rainy season. Over the past two weeks, floods have killed more than 100 people in Kenya alone, displacing hundreds of households, breaking river banks, dams and even houses.

• According to meteorological scientists, this is due to the irregular oscillation or variation of Sea Surface Temperatures – a climate-related phenomenon known as Indian Ocean Dipole.
• The floods in East Africa are occurring just months after Cyclones Idai and Kenneth swept through the Southern Africa region affecting more than 2.2 million people in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
• In general, analysis from Save the Children show that in 2019 alone, over 1,200 people died as the result of cyclones, floods and landslides in Mozambique, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan and Malawi, leaving at least 33 million people at emergency levels of food insecurity or worse. This has had a huge financial implication on countries, humanitarian agencies and individual families running into millions of dollars.

“What are we going to tell our people?” asked Roger Nkodo Dang, the President for the Pan Africa Parliament during an event at COP25. “As African legislators, we need to play our role, and then speak with one voice to call for funding so as to develop resilience,” he said.

In Africa, climate change has caused drought, change in distribution of rainfall, the drying-up of rivers. Intense flooding causes landslides and in Kenya, residents of West Pokot County are currently grappling with with the deaths of 50 people who were last week buried alive by landslides following heavy rainfall that continues to pound the East African region. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPS

According to Gareth Phillips, the manager for Climate and Environmental Finance at the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), African politicians can take advantage of low-hanging fruit in terms of climate action, but only if there are sound legislative frameworks in place.

“We can start by enacting legislation that; encourages renewable energy targets and non-fossil fuel obligations, the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, while at the same time providing subsidies for renewable energy, and observes the energy efficiency standards, building standards and performance,” said Philips.

He urged them to focus on adaptation instead of mitigation, and take advantage of the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism – a new mechanism being developed by the AfDB that is designed to facilitate payments to project developers for the delivery of certified adaptation benefits.

The delegates were reviewing the role of African parliamentarians in implementing the Paris Agreement, with focus on challenges and prospects.

• Under the agreement, all parties were supposed to submit their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are a set of interventions prepared by countries to contribute to the reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

However, according to preliminary findings of an ongoing study commissioned by the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) in eight selected countries — Botswana, Ethiopia, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia — there is still a long way to go for African countries to implement their suggested NDCs.

“It is clear that many countries do not have legal frameworks on climate change, which should be the main vehicle for implementation of the Paris Agreement,” Dr Mithika Mwenda, the Executive Secretary at PACJA, told IPS.

Countries like Kenya, which has its National Climate Change Framework Policy in place, were seen to be progressing better than those without.

“With this policy, we have been able to mainstream climate change in all national development plans, and this makes it easy to allocate budgetary funds to specific activities directly related to climate change,” Dr Charles Mutai, the Director of Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in Kenya, told IPS.

Based on national legislation, county governments have followed suit, where six of them have already enacted county-specific climate change legislations, and this has enabled them to directly allocate funds to adaptation and related activities.

However, according to the new U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) report, unless GHG emissions fall by 7.6 percent each year between 2020 and 2030, the world will miss the opportunity to get on track towards the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, and this is a pointer to even more devastating climate related disasters that what is being experienced at the moment.

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By 2030, India would have 600 million vehicles on their roads, three times the current numbers leading to massive air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions unless it transitions rapidly to green vehicles. Credit: Manipadma Jena/IPS

By Manipadma Jena
NEW DELHI, Dec 6 2019 (IPS)

Dogged by intractable air pollution debilitating large northern swathes from mainly urban vehicle emissions, India earlier this year announced targets for a 40 percent non-fossil component in its fuel-mix by 2030 as part of its Nationally Determined Commitments (NDC) to the Paris accord on climate change. It aims for full electrification of public transit systems and of one-third private vehicles by 2030.

• The G20 nations are the biggest polluters collectively responsible for 78 percent of total global emissions, with the top four emitters China, United States, European Union and India contributing more than 55 percent, states United Nations Emissions Gap Report 2019 released in November.
• As the climate conference in Madrid negotiates greenhouse gas reductions, if countries expect to achieve the 1.5°C and 2°C temperature targets of the Paris Agreement, the large 7.6 percent annual emissions reduction from 2020 to 2030 would be mainly determined by these large emitters, the report has stipulated.

While the Indian government’s intent is firm and EVs multi-dimensional benefits for India widely acknowledged, its ambitious transition to clean transportation is proving far from smooth.

Why India needs Electric Vehicles

By 2030, India would have 600 million on-road vehicles three times the current numbers, dominated by two-wheelers, fuelled mainly by 40 percent population in urban centres. Road transport accounts for around 11percent of total carbon emissions from fuel combustion.

Green private and shared public transportation can ensure clean air and better health for citizens, lower greenhouse gas emission, less road congestion and importantly reduced India’s dependence on imported crude oil, currently 80 percent of total use.

India EV transition priority is on public transport buses, four and three-wheelers for commercial use and as front-runners that can create public awareness and inclination to adopt clean and cheaper-in-the-long-run electric vehicles. 

EV sector that had seen its firstborn in 2010 and then sporadic new introductions without catching the buyers’ imagination or wallet, has been revived by this year’s national budget when the government heavily incentivised its demand by a slew of subsidies.

Hustled into activity by a government that means business this time and pressurised by the climate emergency, technical experts find there are serious infrastructural and policy gaps which need bridging before EVs can come on the roads to stay.

Where is the EV infrastructure?

The first of major hurdles is a near absence of battery charging infrastructure. India plans setting up at least one electric charging station every 3 square kilometres in earmarked metropolitan, one-milion-population and smart cities in the next three years till 2022.

The proposed 2,700 charging stations have been allocated $139,000, a good chunk of the total $1.4 billion budget, which also includes subsidies in the next 3 years under the government’s major EV scheme ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric vehicles (FAME)’.

“But India is seeing the chicken and egg problem of which should come first – the charging facility or the EV,” said a study from Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, a Delhi-based clean energy policy non profit. “People will not buy an electric vehicle unless there are charging facilities. At the same time facilities do not make business sense unless there are vehicles to charge.”

EVs high acquisition price tag a deterrent

Notwithstanding government incentives, upfront costs of an EV four-wheeler is between 2-3 times higher compared to the same-segment internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle.

A basic EV hatchback model – the usual ICE entry level car for Indian families comes in the price range of an ICE mid-range sedan at rupees 10-12 lakhs ($13,900 – $16,700) that most middle-class Indians may never buy in their lifetime.

While the Indian buyer remains hesitant, there is an undeniable forward movement in the EV sector. Several Indian EVs have entered the market since last year. Already more international big names are readying to introduce their EVs into India – today potentially one of the world biggest markets globally, owing to its large population particularly in the 25 – 35 working age group.

Electric three-wheelers have begun plying Delhi and Bengaluru roads targeting micro-mobility or short distance needs such as 3 to 5 kilometre. An example are Delhi metro rail users commuting between the station and their homes. These 3-wheelers’ fares are low because the cost to them is much lower than diesel-run cabs and tuk-tuks.

“Though upfront cost of EVs are high they have a lower operating cost as against fossil fuel whose price have been going up. Also, EVs have only 25 to 30 moving parts as opposed to over 2000 moving parts in an ICE vehicle, thereby being more reliable, with fewer breakdowns,” argue World Resource Institute-India (WRI) researcher team of the Shakti study.

Electric vehicle batteries let down buyers, must evolve fast

A single battery charge in EVs has limited a range of less than 200 kilometres. Accustomed to long distances on a full-tank, the fear of being stranded halfway can be stressful. To compound this drawback, single recharging can take as much as 5 to 8 hours. Though fast charging in an hour is possible with another charging technique, it needs refining in India’s high ambient temperature and power grid voltage limitations.

“Increasing distance range per charge would need bigger sized batteries and end up increasing the car load, compromising its performance. A battery itself is 50 percent of the car’s weight in current Indian EV models. The lithium-ion batteries now being used has low energy density, requiring material bulk,” explain Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras researchers for the Shakti study.

The good news is battery technology is globally evolving fast.

“Car batteries will get much cheaper in 3 to 4 years as technology advances,” said Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog, India’s policy think tank for achieving the country’s sustainable development goals.

“This will bring the electric car’s cost at par with the combustion engine car,” he assured. Today a battery alone costs nearly half the price of an electric vehicle.

Currently Lithium-ion battery cost per kWh (kiloWatthour) is $276 (19,760 rupees) which within 4 years can fall to $76 (5440 rupees), according to Kant.

Sector experts are not as optimistic telling IPS that battery cost cuts would take no less than 5 to 7 years, before making financial sense for traditionally price-conscious Indians to buy them.

India imports Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese and Graphite, components needed for the car batteries. “Their prices will get pushed up as global manufacturing demands escalate in China, the U.S. and Europe,” they said.

However, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which originally used Lithium-ion batteries for its aero-space operations, is already working on making these affordable for car use and transferring manufacturing technology to eligible car makers.

Indian start-ups too are developing a scalable technology for recovering up to 90 percent of these materials from used batteries. Bulk retrieval can be successful only if disposal regulations of cell phones, laptops and vehicle batteries are strictly implemented.

EVs running on coal vs renewable power grid

If EVs run on predominantly coal powered grid, air pollution could be worse than petroleum-based transport, experts warned.

Unless renewable energy can be adequately utilised, fossil fuel only shifts the pollution from roads to coal plant regions.

Another big question being asked is, is India’s power grid ready for EVs to plug in?

With projections of EV increase, an impact assessment finds that high uptake of electricity during peak charging hours will cause a range of power network problems, including significant voltage drops or overload disruptions on distribution feeders.

The level of impact depends not only on EVs’ charging mode, but also on circuit-specific characteristics, researchers said. Location of especially the EV fast-charging stations should be carefully analysed before setting them up, they warned.

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The post India’s Electric Mobility Needs Enabling Infrastructure to Pick up Speed appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Rita Francke and another fisherwoman at the jetty, in front of the old crayfish factory at Witsands. A gendered perception of the fishing industry remains a challenge for key solutions. Many perceive fishing to be an industry for males, even though women make up almost 50% of the global fisheries labour market.Credit: Lee Middleton/IPS

By Samira Sadeque
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 6 2019 (IPS)

Experts gathered in November to discuss the importance of sustainable fisheries and its role in eradicating world hunger at a fisheries symposium in Rome.

At the International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), they held talks on strengthening policies, and understanding how to ensure that growing nutritional demands are being met while biodiversity is not being negatively impacted. 

The report noted that the demand for fish consumption has increased over the past decades — twice faster than the actual population growth, meaning that higher demands needed to be met. 

A September U.N. report stated that a bit more than 3 billion people rely on fish for their protein and nutrition — and the demand is only likely to increase with a growth in the world population. 

Fisheries and food insecurity

Sustainability of fisheries is intricately linked to food security and climate change, according to reports. More heated up oceans can negatively impact fisheries, and given that billions of people bank on fish for nutrition, especially in certain low-income areas of the world, this in turn affects their food resource. 

A September report by Inside Climate News, a non-profit climate change reporting platform, predicted that fish catch potential in some regions are expected to be affected by climate change that will “cause significant resource re-distribution, demanding adaptive management measures to minimise impacts and maximise opportunities.” 

“There are many local catastrophe scenarios that impede local fish production, especially in low-income communities that had been highly dependent on fish in their diets,” George Kent,  a researcher who in 1997 predicted how depleting fish sources could affect communities in poverty, told IPS. “That process is already underway. Stories can be found in India and all around the Bay of Bengal, and in African coastal fishing villages. In some cases the “catastrophe” results from outsiders catching fish in waters that had been the basis for local sustenance”.

In small island states, where fish can make up about 50% of animal protein consumed by humans, the results of depleting fisheries can be devastating and lead to malnutrition, experts say. 

Furthermore, food insecurity is intricately linked with poverty, and fisheries provide a “safety net” for fishers against poverty, with 97% of fishers living in developing countries, experts say.  

Women and fisheries 

But there is an overlooked part of the fisheries industry that can play a vital role in fisheries sustainability.

Meanwhile, a gendered perception of the fishing industry remains a challenge for key solutions. Many perceive fishing to be an industry for males, even though women make up almost 50% of the global fisheries labour market. Their stories — and challenges — often remain untold, and are not taken into consideration when addressing solutions and measures for the industry. 

A World Wide Fund for Nature report from 2012 detailed that the challenges of the fishing industry — such as “ lack of land ownership, high degrees of indebtedness, poor access to health, education and financial capital, and political and geographical marginalisation” often disproportionately affect women. 

Women tend to be more concerned about food security and sustainability, while male members are more focused on their market goals, experts say. As such, women tend to view their agricultural practices for long-term goals, thus garnering a plethora of knowledge in the field over time which experts say can be referred to for creating initiatives for sustainable agriculture practices.

Women’s reproductive health can also be shaped by their access to fish as a nutrition. Experts say pregnancy for women in some parts of the world can be improved with more fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Even though this link isn’t often discussed as a food security concern, experts say it should be. 

“Gendered social norms and male-dominated decision-making can lead to disparities in access to animal source foods (ASFs), often playing a role in household fish consumption patterns,” the report further points out.  

Furthermore, what often invisibilises women’s work in fisheries is the terminology — traditionally, fishing has been associated with the sole act of going into the sea and physically catching fish, while ignoring women’s preparation work or collecting small fish are not considered fishing, according to a Oceania report. 

The Oceania report points out that leaving women out of the conversation doesn’t only affect women’s inclusivity, but is further “critical to understanding the ecological impacts of fishing and developing responsible management plans for global fisheries.”

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The post Sustainable Fisheries are Key in Addressing Food Security — and Women can Play an Important Role appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent and beyond.

Djibril says soldiers in Burkina Faso targeted his family in their fight against Islamist militants.

Tropical storms are expected to hit East Africa late on Thursday and Friday, in areas which have already been affected by heavy rain.

Kristalina Georgieva. Credit: IMF

By Kristalina Georgieva
WASHINGTON DC, Dec 5 2019 (IPS)

When I think of the incredible challenges we must confront in the face of a changing climate, my mind focuses on young people. Eventually, they will be the ones either to enjoy the fruits or bear the burdens resulting from actions taken today.

I think of my 9-year-old granddaughter. By the time she turns 20, she may be witness to climate change so profound that it pushes an additional 100 million people into poverty.

By the time she turns 40, 140 million may become climate migrants—people forced to flee homes that are no longer safe or able to provide them with livelihoods. And if she lives to be 90, the planet may be 3–4° hotter and barely livable.

Unless we act.

We can avoid this bleak future, and we know what we have to do—reduce emissions, offset what cannot be reduced, and adapt to new climate realities. No individual or institution can stand on the sidelines.

Our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through various mitigation measures—phasing out fossil fuels, increasing energy efficiency, adopting renewable energy sources, improving land use and agricultural practices—continue to move forward, but the pace is too slow.

We have to scale up and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. At the same time, we must recognize that climate change is already happening and affecting the lives of millions of people. There are more frequent and more severe weather-related events—more droughts, more floods, more heat waves, more storms.

Ready or not, we are entering an age of adaptation. And we need to be smart about it. Adaptation is not a defeat, but rather a defense against what is already happening.

The right investments will deliver a “triple dividend” by averting future losses, spurring economic gains through innovation, and delivering social and environmental benefits to everyone, but particularly to those currently affected and most at risk.

Updated building codes can ensure infrastructure and buildings are better able to withstand extreme events. Making agriculture more climate resilient means investing more money in research and development, which in turn opens the door to innovation, growth, and healthier communities.

The IMF is stepping up its efforts to deal with climate risk. Our mission is to help our members build stronger economies and improve people’s lives through sound monetary, fiscal, and structural policies.

We consider climate change a systemic risk to the macroeconomy and one in which the IMF is deeply involved through its research and policy advice.

On the mitigation side of the equation, this means intensifying our work on carbon pricing and helping governments craft road maps as they navigate their way from brown economies dependent on carbon to green ones that strive to be carbon free.

Carbon taxes are one of the most powerful and efficient tools at their disposal—the latest IMF analysis finds that large emitting countries need to introduce a carbon tax that rises quickly to $75 a ton in 2030, consistent with limiting global warming to 2°C or less.

But carbon taxes must be implemented in a careful and growth-friendly fashion. The key is to retool the tax system in fair, creative, and efficient ways—not just add a new tax.

A good example is Sweden, where low- and middle-income households received higher transfers and tax cuts to help offset higher energy costs following the introduction of a carbon tax.

This is a path others can follow, strategically directing part of the revenues that carbon taxes generate back to low-income households that can least afford to pay. With the revenues estimated at 1–3 percent of GDP, a portion could also go to support firms and households that choose green pathways.

While we continue to work to reduce carbon emissions, the increasing frequency of more extreme weather like hurricanes, droughts, and floods is affecting people all across the world.

Countries already vulnerable to natural disasters suffer the most, not only in terms of immediate loss of life, but also in long-lasting economic effects. In some countries, total economic losses exceed 200 percent of GDP—as when Hurricane Maria struck Dominica in 2017.

Our emergency lending facilities are designed to provide speedy assistance to low-income countries hit by disasters. But the IMF also works across various fronts on the adaptation side to help countries address climate-related challenges and be able to price risk and provide incentives for investment, including in new technologies.

We support resilience-building strategies, particularly in highly vulnerable countries to help them prepare for and rebound from disasters. And we contribute to building capacity within governments through training and technical assistance to better manage disaster risks and responses.

We work with other organizations to increase the impact of our climate work. One of our most important partnerships is with the World Bank, in particular on Climate Change Policy Assessments.

Together, we take stock of countries’ mitigation and adaption plans, risk management strategies, and financing and point to gaps where those countries need investment, policy changes, or help in building up their capacity to take the necessary action.

Moving forward, we must also be open to stepping in where and when our expertise can help, and there are other areas where we will be gearing up our work. For example, we will be working more closely with central banks, which, as guardians of both financial and price stability, are now adapting regulatory frameworks and practices to address the multifaceted risks posed by climate change.

Many central banks and other regulators are seeking ways to improve climate risk disclosure and classification standards, which will help financial institutions and investors better assess their climate-related exposures—and help regulators better gauge system-wide risks.

The IMF is offering support by working with the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System and other standard-setting bodies.

Central banks and regulators should also help banks, insurers, and nonfinancial firms assess their own exposures to climate risk and develop climate-related “stress tests.” Such tests can help identify the likely impact of a severe adverse climate-driven shock on the solvency of financial institutions and the stability of the financial system.

The IMF will help push forward efforts around climate change stress testing, including through our own assessments of countries’ financial sectors and economies. Careful calibration of stress testing for climate change will be needed, because such testing requires assessing the effects of shocks or policy actions that may have little historical precedent.

All these efforts will help ensure that more money will flow into low-carbon, climate-resilient investments. The rapid increase of green bonds is a positive trend, but much more is required to secure our future. It is that simple: we all need to intensify our efforts to work together to exchange knowledge and ideas, to formulate and implement policies, and to finance the transition to the new climate economy. Our children and grandchildren are counting on us.

This article was first published in Finance & Development, the quarterly magazine published by the International Monetary Fund. Opinions expressed in articles and other materials are those of the authors; they do not necessarily reflect IMF policy

The post The Adaptive Age: No Institution or Individual can Stand on the Sidelines in the Fight Against Climate Change appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Kristalina Georgieva is managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The post The Adaptive Age: No Institution or Individual can Stand on the Sidelines in the Fight Against Climate Change appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Top-flight league football resumes in Sierra Leone with a full compliment of 14 teams and sanctioned by the football association.

Cozumel, Mexico, protected area along the Caribbean coast. Credit: Devin H/Unsplash

By Carolina Herrera
WASHINGTON DC, Dec 5 2019 (IPS)

Protecting and restoring natural areas in Latin America, home to fifty percent of the planet’s biodiversity and over a quarter of its forests, is critical if the world is to avert a biodiversity and climate disaster.

Scientific reports have confirmed that urgent action is required to turn back the tide on these twin crises. The best available science also confirms that, coupled with drastically cutting green-house gas emissions from fossil fuels, changing how we use land and ecosystems can help avoid a biodiversity freefall and prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

Latin America’s biodiversity has plummeted in the last forty years and the region is already experiencing the impacts of climate change first hand. Failure to protect and restore the region’s natural resources is not a viable option—for the region nor the world.

Fortunately, countries in the region are making progress on both counts and could help forge a path that supports human wellbeing by protecting natural systems.

COP25 is an opportunity for Latin American countries to demonstrate their commitment and ambition in this area.

Countries in Latin America have already shown important leadership in establishing protected areas and other conservation strategies.

Scientists recommend that we protect 30 percent of the earth’s lands and 30 percent of its oceans by 2030 (30×30) to put the world on track toward a climate resilient future and restore critical ecosystem services.

This is an ambitious, yet realistic and necessary path where Latin America can demonstrate its leadership. According to World Bank data, Latin America and the Caribbean already has a greater percentage of land (23.4 percent) under protected status than the world average (14.7 percent).

Several countries, including Ecuador, Panama, and Peru, have already met or surpassed the Convention of Biological Diversity’s (CBD) target of protecting 17 percent of terrestrial areas by 2020. Others, like Costa Rica, are very close to meeting the 30 percent goal scientists are calling for, or indeed have already met it.

 

Source: The World Bank

 

The World Bank’s data also shows that marine protected areas represent 17.5 percent of the region’s territorial waters. Several countries including Chile, Colombia, and Mexico have met or surpassed the CBD’s target of protecting 10 percent of coastal and marine areas by 2020.

However, there is still work left to do  to meet the scientific recommendation of protecting 30 percent of global marine areas. Among other things, it will be key to ensure ocean protections focus on the right places and provide the right safeguards.

 

Source: The World Bank

 

Countries in the region that already protect significant portions of their territory, or are working to expand protections, are well placed to help drive forward high ambition internationally.

At the third regional congress on protected areas held in October in Lima, Peru, participants from local governments, indigenous communities and civil society representing 33 countries issued a declaration committing to “improving the management of protected areas and other conservation strategies…to conserve what we have, and to recover what we have lost, in order to guarantee development, enhance wellbeing, health, cultural expressions and life in cities.”

The event generated inputs and recommendations for global climate and biodiversity discussions. A key contribution from the region is the experience of Indigenous Peoples who have been shown to be the best custodians of the region’s forests and biodiversity treasures.

The region has also seen a number of innovative approaches to conservation including payments for ecosystem services, agroforestry, community forestry concessions, and privately led protected areas.

The potential for nature-based solutions in Latin America is vast. The Special Report on Climate Change and Land, released by the IPCC  last August made it abundantly clear that sustainable land management is vital to limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Countries in the region can lead on identifying and implementing nature-based solutions that help combat climate change, preserve biodiversity stocks, and strengthen the resilience of communities. In turn, the international community should support these efforts by directing technical and financial resources toward these solutions.

Nature based solutions focus on protecting, managing and restoring natural areas to provide environmental and societal benefits. In Latin America, preventing the degradation, disturbance and deforestation of the region’s forests avoids climate-warming emissions from entering the atmosphere, while also protecting critical local water and species.

Similarly, protecting and restoring mangrove forests in northern South America, which harbor nearly as much “blue carbon” as mangroves in Asia, brings mitigation benefits while protecting communities from storms and flooding. And in places prone to drought and wildfire, well managed natural grasslands store carbon in their root mass while also replenishing water reserves.

Latin American cities can also apply nature-based solutions, for example green infrastructure like green roofs, bioswales and permeable pavements can help clean the air, reduce excessive heat, alleviate floods, and filter water.

Failing to act with urgency is not an option. The region has lost 89 percent of its vertebrate wildlife populations since 1970 (compared to the 60 percent for the entire planet). Conservative estimates from ECLAC put the economic cost of climate change for the region at between 1.5% and 5% of the region’s GDP by 2050.

Implementing nature-based climate solutions and equitably distributing their costs and benefits are one way that Latin American countries can ensure the well-being of citizens and build more just and equal societies.

An opportunity for renewed leadership at COP25. The nature and climate nexus is poised to be an important part of the conversations at COP25 in Madrid, Spain over the next two weeks.

The COP presents an ideal opportunity for countries from the region to establish themselves as leaders—or laggards—on nature-based climate solutions and the target of protecting 30 percent of nature that science recommends, and humanity’s well-being requires.

This story was originally published by NRDC

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Nigeria defender Leon Balogun insists the battle against racism is a collective responsibility and more 'extreme punishments' are needed.

Kenyan John Kieti campaigned to stop a factory belching out toxic fumes by sharing pollution data.

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa (fourth right) at an event organized by the WTTC at COP25. Credit: UNFCCC

By External Source
MADRID, Dec 4 2019 (IPS)

The travel and tourism sector, with its significant economic and social benefits, has no choice but to transform to survive and thrive in the face of climate change, said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa at COP25 to industry representatives.

In 2018, the industry generated 10.4 per cent of the global Gross Domestic Product—or more than USD 8.8 trillion—but climate change puts those  numbers, and more, at risk.

Whilst the travel and tourism industry generated 10.4% of global Gross Domestic Product in 2018, it also accounts for around 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to climate change.

Whilst the travel and tourism industry generated 10.4% of global Gross Domestic Product in 2018, it also accounts for around 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to climate change

“Thanks to this sector, millions of people have been able to explore new destinations, reunite with family and friends, and fulfill dreams of exploring the world,” said Ms. Espinosa at an event organized by the industry group World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). “As well, it has created jobs, most significantly in developing countries, offering people financial freedom. It is truly a global economic powerhouse.”

“With this sort of success, why should you change what you have been doing? Frankly, because you have no choice. None of us does,” said Ms. Espinosa.

“The ravages of climate change will soon require all of us, government and corporations especially, to do things differently,” said Ms. Espinosa, citing a recent open letter from heads of leading financial institutions: “If some companies and industries fail to adjust to this new world, they will fail to exist.”

In opening remarks at the event, WTTC President and Chief Executive Officer Gloria Guevara said the message is already clear to her organization’s members, and climate and environment are “top priority.”

WTTC has set as an ambition for the sector to be climate neutral by 2050, in collaboration with UN Climate Change, and many companies are already showing leadership in reducing their climate impact: “In order for us to grow, the growth has to be good for everyone; it has to be sustainable,” said Ms. Guevara.

The organization last year signed up to the United Nations Climate Neutral Now initiative with a pledge to measure its greenhouse gas emissions, reduce what it can and offset the rest, while promoting the same climate-friendly regimen to its 150 members worldwide.

And in New York in September of this year, WTTC launched a Sustainability Action Plan, meant to help the industry deliver on its climate ambition.

“We need to find a way to have climate-friendly travel [. . .] Saying simply ‘do not travel, it will help the environment’ would be very irresponsible” leading to increased poverty, increased unemployment and ultimately increased damage to the environment, said Ms. Guevara.

This story was originally published by UNFCCC

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The case in Senegal proved highly controversial, with opinion split in the majority Muslim country.

Dr. Hanan Morsy is Director, Macroeconomic Forecasting and Research at the African Development Bank Group

By Hanan Morsy
ABIDJAN, Dec 4 2019 (IPS)

“There is no greater asset to Africa than its youth,” a statement that has been repeatedly proclaimed, but the continent still has a long way to go. Despite robust economic growth over the past two decades, a 1 percent increase in growth between 2000–14 was associated with only 0.41 percent growth in employment. This figure suggests that employment stood at less than 1.8 percent a year, far below the nearly 3 percent annual growth in the labor force. If this trend continues, 100 million people will join the multitudes of the unemployed in Africa by 2030.

Hanan Morsy

With this in mind, researchers, youth representatives, business leaders, and policymakers have joined over 350 stakeholders in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to significantly move the needle on youth empowerment.

The annual African Economic Conference (AEC), is jointly organized by the African Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Development Programme, to discuss pertinent issues affecting the continent.

The 2019 AEC is held in Egypt and hosted by the Bank on the theme; “Jobs, entrepreneurship and capacity development for African youth” and runs from 2-4 December.

Turning the youth bulge into opportunities has been the focus of the African Development Bank’s game-changing approach to job creation, entrepreneurship, and capacity development. In recognition of the crucial role that entrepreneurship plays in the creation of high-quality jobs, the Bank developed its Jobs for Youth in Africa (JfYA) Strategy (2016-2025). The Strategy aims to create 25 million jobs for African youth over the next decade as well as equipping 50 million youth with a mix of hard and soft skills to increase their employability and their entrepreneurial success rate.

The impact is already being felt. Since its launch in 2016, over $20 billion has been invested by the Bank across 318 projects. These investments are directly making a difference in the African youth skills, entrepreneurship, business development, and job creation.

In parallel and working closely with its partners, the Bank is helping strengthen entrepreneurship ecosystems in Africa. The flagship Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund (YEI MDTF) program provides interventions that equip the African youth, women-led start-ups, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with skills and financial support to run bankable businesses.

The program also assists regional member countries (RMCs) in their implementation of economic and social reforms toward job creation.

In just one short year, the Trust Fund’s resources leapfrogged from USD4.4 million (in 2017) to almost USD40 million (in 2018). By providing technical assistance through enterprise support organizations and financial institutions, the Fund is anticipated to reach more than 480 youth-led startups in Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, and Zimbabwe.

The Bank has also been very active on the education front, supporting higher education institutions to deliver innovative training curricula that are adapted to the changing demand of the labor market and the private sector. Academic incubators—also known as innovation centers of excellence, have been established.

One great example of success is the African Institutions of Science and Technology (AIST) Program, whose mission is to deliver quality postgraduate education and build collaborative research capacity in various fields of Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI). With funding from the Bank, a total of 1,477 PhD and MSc students have graduated, out of which 676 are women. Additionally, a total of 35 partnerships have been brokered with the private sector to enhance the quality and relevance of research.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has also been acknowledged by the Bank as one of the main drivers of human capital development alongside enhanced basic education that generates knowledge and skills more broadly. As such, the Bank’s TVET project in Tanzania, has bolstered TVET and teacher education with an investment amounting to $52 million. The expected outputs include expanded infrastructure of 13 institutions targeting about 8,000 trainees, expanded and extensive use of ICT in instruction at 53 institutions, and increased capacity for teaching, policy formulation, planning, and quality assurance.

The insights and thoughts provided by other African stakeholders, youth representatives, and political leaders on the debate on youth jobs, skills, and entrepreneurship capacities during the AEC 2019 are immensely important in helping the continent move forward.

Now, more than ever, we must listen to the voices of the African youth.

The post Fostering Jobs, Entrepreneurship, and Capacity Development for African Youth: The Time for Disruption Is Now! appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Dr. Hanan Morsy is Director, Macroeconomic Forecasting and Research at the African Development Bank Group

The post Fostering Jobs, Entrepreneurship, and Capacity Development for African Youth: The Time for Disruption Is Now! appeared first on Inter Press Service.