Africa

Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim

By Sania Farooqui
NEW DELHI, India, Jun 7 2021 (IPS)

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you read the words, women and power? The accepted wisdom is that women can be powerful, but not without the constant reference to their gender – which is often based on a set of unconscious biases towards them. Is she competent enough, effective, articulate without being too assertive or too aggressive. Is she a straightjacket, is she too emotional, will her family life impact her work or vice versa. Is she smart enough to camouflage her intelligence, is she ready for a key position, is it worth making her powerful?

Across the world we do see powerful women, but ‘women in power’, remain significantly underrepresented across a variety of professional fields, in business, academic, politics and media. The goal is to challenge the perception of fixed gender roles, which is often internalized.

“We need more women in power,” says Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, 6th and First Female President of Mauritius and Biodiversity Scientist in an interview given to me.

“We need women in political positions because when an important decision is taken it is usually bent towards better equity in the family and society. This can happen when women are there and that’s why we make a case for women to be in that position of power,” says Dr. Gurib-Fakim.

During the recent Covid-19 crisis, multiple reports and studies stated that women were doing a better job in running their country through the crisis, including the number of cases and deaths, which were systematically better in countries led by women.

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) calls for women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life which it states as an essential to achieving the SDG goals by 2030.

However, according to this report by UN Women, women serve as Heads of State or Government in only 22 countries, and 119 countries have never had a woman leader. Just 10 countries have a woman Head of State, and 13 countries have a woman Head of Government. Data from 133 countries shows that women constitute 2.18 million (36 percent) of elected members in local deliberative bodies. “At the current rate of progress, gender parity in national legislative bodies will not be achieved before 2063,” the report states.

It has been 26 years since the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, called the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. 189 governments committed to the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights, including women in power and decision-making, women and the economy and women and poverty.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “Progress towards equal power and equal rights for women remains elusive.” Women need to have a more prominent role, in power and decision-making, states this report by the United Nations.

In one of my earlier pieces for IPS News, I wrote, power is the ability to influence the behaviour of others to get what you want. Power distribution is usually visible in most societies when there is a clear and obvious division between the roles of the men and expectations from women.

The power construct is often created keeping the roles of the men in mind, and not women. Studies have shown and proven the potential of women and their leadership style, yet despite that women are still minority groups when it comes to holding powerful positions. Men are often hired or placed in top positions based on their potential, and women based on a check list. Constituents don’t trust female politicians that are too “ambitious,” and powerful women are “unlikeable,” a few explanations for the astounding gender gap we see in politics.

This study by the Council on Foreign Relations states that “holding political office is just the first step to wielding political power, in many countries, institutional structures and political systems still limit women’s ability to influence policy. Being the first woman elected to a leadership position often means navigating previously male-dominated structures, which can translate into political caution rather than policy change. Regardless of outcome, as the number of women leaders increases, more women will likely be inspired to become politically engaged.”

Looking into women’s participation in political and public life – there are multiple barriers that hold them back, including cultural biases and traditional gender stereotypes. Gender inequality lives and breathes in the 21st century, and needs to be addressed in order to get more women in politics or in positions of power.

“The political arena is very brutal and women, very often, don’t have self-confidence. Society puts a lot of pressure on women and they tend to conform. By conforming, they do themselves a very big injustice and do not take the risk,” says Dr. Gurib-Fakim.

Dr. Gurib-Fakim has been amongst the few Muslim women who shattered multiple glass ceilings and challenged stereotypes by becoming the first woman to serve as president of Mauritius and one of only four women presidents in Africa. Along with this, Dr. Ameenah is also a scientist who has been a dedicated advocate for engaging women and girls in STEM innovation.

Nothing is more powerful than your influence when it is led by purpose. As seen in the case of Dr. Ameenah, it takes a lot of grit, resilience, courage and responsibility to be a ‘woman in power’. “We don’t provide sufficient role models for women who have made it as an entrepreneur, scientist, even as a Nobel prize winner. There are a lot of stereotypes that need to be addressed.”

“For me, the journey all the way through the Statehouse was a message to that girl growing up in my village. That she can wake up one day and say I too can make it because someone else has done it through hard work and through taking risks. Women have to dream big and they have to sustain the vision, goal and passion,” said Dr. Gurib-Fakim.

The author is a journalist and filmmaker based out of New Delhi. She hosts a weekly online show called The Sania Farooqui Show where Muslim women from around the world are invited to share their views.

 

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Botswana's Isaac Makwala says delays to the African Athletics Championships will leave many athletes struggling to qualify for the Olympics.

The UN commemorates World Oceans Day on Tuesday June 8. And on June 5, the UN commemorated the International Day for the “Fight Against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing”. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities represent up to 26 million tonnes of fish caught annually. Credit: Creative Common License C00

By Coty Perry
SCRANTON, USA, Jun 7 2021 (IPS)

You don’t have to look too hard to find some news network or media outlet talking about water pollution, plastic waste, CO2 emissions, and climate change.

Yes, of course, our plastic bottles are blowing into the ocean and it’s all our fault. We need to start using paper straws and paper cups because we’re to blame for our polluted and uninhabitable waters.

The reason you see and hear about these factors all the time is because it puts it on your back. Media tells you, it’s your fault, you need to do better, you need to make a change.

While I sit here casting my ultralight spinning reel, they’re pumping billions of dollars down the throats of commercial fishermen all over the world.

The biggest threat to our oceans is the very people put in place to protect them. It’s believed that globally, more than $30 billion goes to the commercial fishing industry per year.

This money is intended to offset the costs of operating their megaships and paying their deckhands in an industry that has been hit hard by climate change and regulation.

But, what does that money actually do? It supports overfishing by giving the large ships the ability to outfish the little guy. The offshore communities that rely on fish for commerce and food can’t keep up with the mega ships that have advanced technology, massive trawling nets, and a team of 25 people aboard.

Some might say that this is just a natural reaction to the need for more fish. We’re consuming nearly twice as many fish as we were 50 years ago, so it’s classic supply and demand paired with the dog eat dog nature of commercial fishing.

I say that it’s not all about the fishing and even the communities that rely on it, it’s about the quality of our oceans and the impact overfishing has on them. The reason you don’t hear about these types of things is because it’s the governments of the world fanning the flames behind the scenes.

More than 60% of the world’s fish stocks are fished out of existence. That’s 60% of our fish population, completely gone, never to return. How can you recover from something like that? Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

That said, while I have spoken primarily of the United States as the main offender, they pale in comparison to the People’s Republic of China. China is above and beyond the biggest culprit of overfishing in the East and the West.

Many times, overfishing, water pollution, and plastic waste are all seen as a lapse of judgment or a “miscalculation.”

This isn’t the case with China. They’re not simply failing to control their fishermen, they’re promoting overfishing and spending an astronomical sum of money to make it happen. In fact, in 2018, they spent $7.2 billion to support the crime of overfishing. This country alone makes up 21% of the entire world’s subsidies.

This country and many others are fishing at biologically unsustainable levels. Take the Pacific bluefin tuna for example. This species alone has seen a 97% drop in population. You’re probably thinking, “who cares if that tuna population dies off, what’s the big deal”?

It’s not just about the fish population, it’s about the landscape of the sea as a whole. Overfishing causes a ripple effect that impacts not only the water but everyone who feeds off the water.

China has as many as 800,000 fishing vessels fishing illegally all over the world. Who is likely fishing on these ships? I doubt they’re paying living wages and providing comfortable conditions and accommodations for the people onboard.

They’re likely living in extremely cramped quarters, being fed the bare minimum, and forced to work around the clock for next to no money.

But I digress, it’s not all about China and it’s not all about the United States either. It’s not all about politics and not everyone is out to fish the waters into extinction. In many cases, it’s policy and procedure. There are additional specific reasons behind overfishing:

Regulation – Many countries including the United States have regulations in place to prevent overfishing. The problem is, these regulations are loosely put together and don’t apply across international borders so other countries can come into our water and fish however they please. Even with the regulations, the agencies put in place to enforce them don’t have the time, money, or resources to do so.

Unreported Fishing – Fishing is not an easy industry and it gets more and more difficult for commercial fishermen to make a living. As a result, they do what I would probably do as well. They fudge the numbers and cook the books to turn a profit. This happens most frequently in developing nations and among small fishing communities.

Mobile Processing – A large portion of fish go in a can to be preserved and shelved for years. This process actually happens at sea which means that the fish will never even see land. It’s difficult for enforcement agencies to identify the amount of fish caught because of this process.

So, what are the solutions or alternatives? What can be done to stop overfishing so we can save marine life from extinction? Awareness comes at a premium when the media controls everything you see and hear.

The good news is that there are plenty of organizations out there putting technology in place to help combat overfishing. Fishtek Marine is a great example of this. Bycatch is a huge issue as well which happens when fish and sea mammals are caught in giant mile long trawling nets that commercial fishermen use to save time and money.

Dolphins, seals, and other creatures get caught in the net and many of them will die trying to get out.

Fishtek created a small device that is placed in fishing nets. The device emits a sound that only larger sea mammals can hear so it deters them from swimming near the nets. This is such a simple concept with the potential to make a tremendous difference.

Shared catch is a strategy with potential. The way fishing seasons are structured now promotes rushing and corruption because it’s like an all you can eat buffet for a certain amount of months.

Instead, putting catch limits in place and sharing the water based on seasonal fishing will provide more structure while limiting the need to chase as many fish as possible in a short amount of time.

An American/British Columbian study focused on this and noted that shared catch actually increased the total catch while reducing bycatch by 66%. This will reduce the amount of waste and even though fishermen are catching more fish, it won’t have an adverse effect on the ocean.

There are many opinions in the overfishing debate and with more than three billion people relying on fish as their primary protein source, it’s a discussion we need to have. No one country is to blame and no specific agency is to blame but awareness is key. We need to do something before it’s too late.

The best way to solve the problem is by getting as many people as possible talking about it.

Coty Perry is Editor-In-Chief of YourBassGuy.com. As a third-generation angler, he has a plethora of knowledge and experience on the water, and loves sharing what he knows.
https://yourbassguy.com/author/coty/

 

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An SOP to vaccinate vulnerable groups without access to any kind of ID card is a much needed step, and one in the right direction. | Picture courtesy: Flickr

By External Source
MUMBAI, India, Jun 7 2021 (IPS)

In May, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) uploaded a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) related to ‘COVID-19 Vaccination of Persons without prescribed Identity Cards through CoWIN’ on its website.

The SOP reiterates that the recipient of the vaccine must register on the Co-WIN portal and that the vaccinator must verify the recipient with one of seven prescribed photo identity cards:

• Aadhaar card
• Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC)–Voter ID
• Passport
• Driving License
• PAN Card
• National Population Register (NPR) Smart Card
• Pension document with photograph

This article aims to unpack the SOP, and argues how the government’s efforts, though a step in the right direction, are grossly inadequate to help the most vulnerable.

Key issues with the clauses outlined in the document:

 

Vulnerable populations seem to be an afterthought, at best

The system of vaccination assumes universal access to the internet, smartphones, Aadhaar, OTP, English, and digital literacy. The reality is that in 2020, smartphone penetration rate in India was only around 42 percent, while the internet was accessible to 45 percent

According to the 2011 Census, India has 400,000 houseless families, and 17,73,040 homeless people. Civil society estimates that this number could be much higher, as high as 3,000,000. While the SOP does identify certain vulnerable groups such as ‘nomads, prison inmates, inmates in mental health institutions, citizens in old age homes, roadside beggars, people residing in rehabilitation centres, or camps’ (sic), it does not set any date or timeline for its operations to help these populations, which is intriguing, given the current threat of the pandemic and the extent of vulnerability of the identified groups.1

Doing so sets the narrative that these groups are often an afterthought, which was evident even earlier when 16 states that account for 40 percent of the total homeless, did not feature that in their relief circulars last year during the lockdown.

While the SOP acknowledges that it received several representations from various state and governments and organisations, the timing of the release of the SOP leaves much to be desired. As of May 25th, 2021, there are more than 2,500,000 active cases in the country.

 

The scale of exclusion must not be ignored

Even going by the 2011 Census figures, which are a decade old and have a net omission rate of 2.3 percent, 0.15 percent of the country’s population are categorised as homeless. In addition, it is estimated that there are more than 11 million street children and about half a million transpeople in India. In all, considering the estimated population growth trajectory, today we could be talking about people in excess of 31 million,2 if not more, who do not exist in the government registers.

Just to get a sense of that number, let’s consider this: One hundred and forty-nine countries in the world have a population which is less than 31 million. That is the size of the population missing from our radar today, and this includes semi-nomadic tribes, de-notified groups, transpersons, and migrants, among others. Imagine the significance of this omission in the context of COVID-19.

There is little clarity on the ID cards too. Of the seven photo IDs prescribed for the Co-WIN registration and vaccination, Aadhaar is comfortably the most ubiquitous. As of February 2020, the government said that more than 90.1 percent of the country had been issued Aadhaar cards. However, the State of Aadhaar 2019 report said that among the homeless, the percentage of people not having Aadhaar is as high as 30 percent. There is no clarity as to how the rest are supposed to access vaccines.

 

No clear budgetary allocations

While there are some provisions in the SOP for people without the prescribed ID cards, the document falls short on many levels; importantly, there are no budgetary allocations for the tasks outlined. For instance, according to the SOP, a District Task Force should identify vulnerable groups locally, so they may be vaccinated even without having any of the seven prescribed cards. However, there are no mentions of any budgetary allocation for this process.

This leads to questions such as: Who will take up the task of identifying these groups? How and when will this be done? How will the exercise of identifying, mobilising, and ensuring vaccination for people without ID cards, be carried out without the allocation of any monetary resources? Where will this sit among the priorities of state governments needing to carry out vaccinations for all their people?

Perhaps most strangely, the SOP is completely silent on follow-ups that need to be done with the ‘cohort’—a term used in the SOP but not defined—that are essential to ensure both rounds of the vaccination process are conducted. Given the risk of forced displacement due to their homelessness, how will the District Task Force ensure full vaccination for all people without ID cards?

 

The Co-WIN System

The decision of the government to centralise vaccine registration on a single portal has received enough criticism already. The process of booking a vaccine slot has become as difficult as winning a lottery; the Ministry should be taking all efforts to simplify this process.

The details about the creation of additional features on Co-WIN is shrouded in technical legalese (‘subject to the limit of session capacity’) and makes no commitments on timeline of delivery.

The system of vaccination assumes universal access to the internet, smartphones, Aadhaar, OTP, English, and digital literacy. The reality is that in 2020, smartphone penetration rate in India was only around 42 percent, while the internet was accessible to 45 percent.

The Co-WIN portal was launched in January 2021, to coincide with the rollout of the vaccine. However, it is only now in May, that the Ministry seems to have woken up to the idea of making the portal accessible in other Indian languages.

The last bullet point of this section of the SOP reads like a cruel joke. It says digital vaccination certificates will be provided to recipients, preferably at the vaccination centre itself. The Ministry might do well to recognise that if people had the capacity to receive digital certificates on smartphones, they probably wouldn’t need to be beneficiaries of this SOP in the first place.

An SOP to vaccinate vulnerable groups without access to any kind of ID cards is a much-needed step, and one in the right direction. However, the manner in which it has been conceptualised makes it seem more like a half-step than a full one. It attempts to locate the recipients but not the context in which they live in society; it urges them to get vaccinated but does not make any firm commitments; it delegates responsibility but does not accept any accountability. The social sector also seems to be completely consumed by the prevailing medical narratives, ie, lack of oxygen, ventilators, plasma, and so on. It is sadly yet to articulate the concerns of those on the margins. ­­

Footnotes:

1. In West Bengal, the government has decided to vaccinate groups that are “forcibly exposed to public mingling” on a priority basis. This includes transgender people and sex workers. While this a welcome move, it still leaves a significant proportion of the homeless and the vulnerable out of this exercise.
2. In 2011, 2.3 percent was the net omission rate of the Census. Assuming the same omission rate if Census happened in 2021, the number of unenumerated people would amount to at least 31 million.

 

 

Raghunandan Hegde works with Apnalaya as the director of impact. With more than a decade and a half of experience across programme strategy, operations, and monitoring and evaluation, Raghu’s current interest lies at the intersection of technology and social justice, and it’s potential to challenge structural inequity.

Arun Kumar has worked with social purpose organisations for more than two decades. Through the lens of social justice and non-violence, Arun has engaged with issues of marginalisation, both, in urban and rural spaces. He develops programmes and strengthens organisations invested in holistic development of communities on the margins. A student of Historical-Sociology, Arun obtained his doctorate from Binghamton University, USA; has authored three books and several articles. He writes stories for children and poems for adults, and makes documentary films.

 

This story was originally published by India Development Review (IDR)

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Brazil's infrastructure minister, Tarcísio de Freitas, speaks during a videoconference with foreign correspondents, co-organised by IPS, during which he detailed plans to improve roads, ports and airports, build new railways and interconnect them, using private investors in the face of domestic fiscal constraints. CREDIT: Mario Osava/IPS

By Mario Osava
RÍO DE JANEIRO, Jun 4 2021 (IPS)

Health, fiscal, environmental and political crises have not prevented Brazil from attracting private capital to expand infrastructure, according to the sector’s minister, Tarcísio de Freitas.

Concessions for airports, highways, railways and port terminals, auctioned in the last two years, total 14 billion dollars in investments, the infrastructure minister announced at a press conference with some twenty foreign correspondents, in which other leaders from the areas of trade and transport also took part.

Accelerating this process from July will allow the country to raise the total investment to 200 billion dollars over the next five years, if resources and services under the management of other ministries, such as power plants and sanitation, are included, he projected.

“It is the largest infrastructure concession programme in our history,” Freitas said in a Jun. 2 video conference with foreign correspondents.

The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to Brazil’s success in drawing international capital, contrary to what might have been expected.

“We forged ahead when many countries pulled back and stopped offering their assets due to the uncertainties of the economic situation,” said Freitas. “We decided to bet on investors’ long-term vision and seek out the excess capital available in the world, as unique sellers.”

The operation of 22 airports was privatised on Apr. 7 for a sum equivalent to 17 times the minimum price set, despite the air transport crisis caused by the pandemic. A French company acquired the 30-year concession for a block of seven airports in northern Brazil. The others are now in the hands of a Brazilian consortium.

The success was due to “Brazil’s tradition of respecting contracts,” the large portfolio of projects and their excellent profitability, said the minister at the virtual press conference, promoted by IPS in partnership with the Association of Foreign Media Correspondents, the National Confederation of Commerce and the Federation of Chambers of Foreign Trade.

Attracting national and international private capital is the way to cover the infrastructure deficit in Brazil, given the “delicate fiscal situation” that limits public investment, the infrastructure minister said.

A passenger train meets a freight train on the Carajás Railway, built for the export of iron ore in northern Brazil. Railways in Brazil are mainly used to transport grains and minerals, accentuating the weight of commodities in the economy. CREDIT: Mario Osava/IPS

“The Ministry of Transport had 20 billion reais (about 7.5 billion dollars at the time) for investments in 2014 when it was only in charge of land transport; today the Ministry of Infrastructure has six billion reais (1.2 billion dollars) and oversees ports, airports, roads and railways,” he pointed out, to underscore the need for private capital.

Brazil invested 2.2 percent of its GDP in infrastructure from 2001 to 2014 and “should invest four to five percent to overcome its historical deficiencies,” said José Tadros, president of the National Confederation of Commerce.

That is much less than neighbouring countries such as Chile and Peru invest in infrastructure, and the consequence is high costs, “bad roads and ports, and lack of railways and intermodal connections,” he lamented.

But “it’s a virtuous moment” in the railway sector, with a strong rise in investments expected after the renewal of existing concessions and the future construction of two new major lines, said Fernando Paes, executive director of the National Railway Transport Agency.

The Ministry of Infrastructure’s National Logistics Plan sets a target for railways to carry 36 percent of national freight by 2035, an increase of 70 percent from the current share.

Ferrogrão (part of the plan) is the “most important project in Brazil,” according to Freitas. The 933-kilometre route will mainly serve the export of soy and maize from the mid-north of the state of Mato Grosso, the country’s largest producer of these exports, accounting for 27 percent of the total. The northern Amazonian route will be used instead of the more distant southern ports.

A view of the Brazilian BR-163 highway before its final northern section was paved in 2020. It is mainly used to export soy from the state of Mato Grosso. Now the plan is to build a railway next to it in order to make grain transport cheaper. CREDIT: Fabiana Frayssinet/IPS

Exports are currently transported via the BR-163 highway, the paving of which was only completed in February 2020, after decades of soybean-laden trucks getting stuck in the mud while crossing more than 900 kilometres of Amazon rainforest to reach the port of Miritituba on the Tapajós River, before the soy is carried over 1,100 kilometres down the river to the Atlantic ports.

The railway serves the interests of the multinational corporations that dominate these Brazilian exports and the global agricultural trade, such as the U.S. companies ADM, Bunge Limited and Cargill.

But Ferrogrão will make transporting these exports cheaper and will help reduce freight costs across the country, by expanding the scale of agricultural exports throughout northern Brazil and establishing a logistical hub between the heart of the Amazon and central Brazil, the infrastructure minister hopes.

Products from the Manaus Free Trade Zone, an industrial park in the capital of the state of Amazonas, will reach major national markets via waterways and the railway, he predicted.

He also said its construction will have beneficial environmental effects by cutting greenhouse gas emissions by trucks and curbing the more intense deforestation provoked by roads.

But environmentalists and indigenous rights advocates disagree.

“It will stimulate the expansion of the agricultural frontier in the Amazon rainforest, where there is a lack of governance, which results in deforestation,” said Sergio Guimarães, executive secretary of the Infrastructure Working Group, in an interview with IPS by telephone from Brasilia after the press conference.

The environmental assessment does not include the indirect impacts of the project over an area wider than the railway route and its margins, he said. Cheaper, largescale transport tends to expand the area of production in a region already affected by huge monocultures on the edges of the Amazon rainforest.

A road in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, with an endless line of trucks transporting soy beans and maize for export. The plan is that by 2035 at least 36 percent of freight transport in this continental-sized country will be by rail. CREDIT: Mario Osava/IPS

In addition, more supply and demand studies and comparative analyses of alternatives are needed, the activist said.

Three railway projects have been presented to transport exports of soy and maize from the mid-north of Mato Grosso, which currently stand at 70 million tons per year and will increase to 120 million tons in the near future, according to Freitas.

In addition to Ferrogrão, an isolated line to the north, the Central-West Integration Railway (Fico) will run from the east, connecting to the North-South Railway which is already in operation and has access to ports in the Northeast and Southeast of Brazil.

The third alternative is a proposal by the Rumo company to extend its Northern Network, which now reaches the south of Mato Grosso, to the centre of the soy-producing region. This network has the advantage of connecting to railways with access to Santos, Brazil’s main export port, and crossing the state of São Paulo, the most economically productive and populous state.

But “there is not enough freight to make the three railways viable,” said Guimarães, who is calling for comparative studies on the Ministry of Infrastructure’s Logistics Plan’s other projects and concessions.

Other risks identified by Guimarães regarding the Ferrogrão are the possibility of overloading and accidents on the Tapajós-Amazonas waterway, if most of Mato Grosso’s production is exported via this route, and variations in river flows due to climate change.

Another railway, the West-East Integration line (Fiol), which crosses the northeastern state of Bahia and had a 537-kilometre stretch granted to a mining company controlled by Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Resources Group, also faces environmental opposition for threatening local biodiversity, especially in the area where a port is to be built.

Ports, which were a “bottleneck” for exports, are also undergoing improvements and extensive privatisation, the minister announced.

And waterways, an undervalued resource in Brazil, are also included in the transformations his ministry intends to make. But this is where the effects of climate change are being felt most even now with a severe drought in midwestern and southeastern Brazil. Navigation on the Tietê river, which crosses the state of São Paulo in southeastern Brazil, is expected to be suspended.

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The following article is part of a series to commemorate World Environment Day June 5

By Heike Kuhn
BONN, Jun 4 2021 (IPS)

You want to breathe fresh air and have access to clean water? I guess you do, just like all of us. As populations in the so-called developed countries, we love to go for holidays in places where on high mountains you get to breathe deeply and enjoy the fresh air, where the oceans or lakes are clean and refreshing. And how do we arrive there? Mostly by airplanes or cars, polluting the air whilst travelling to the desired destinations, causing harm to people and the planet. Interestingly, many people today, calculate their flight’s CO2 footprint and pay a certain amount of money to invest in renewable energy projects, in order to feel better about their travelling and to receive tax deductibility (depending on regulations of their country).

Dr. Heike Kuhn

Why do I focus today on fresh air and clean water? It is the moment of the World Environment Day. Since 1974, once a year we commemorate this. This year, 2021, the United Nations General Assembly is proclaiming the UN Decade in Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), referring to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. The United Nations Environmental Programme proclaims: 10 years to heal the planet. But will this really happen? Will commemorating, talking, uttering concerns, meeting in conferences and setting deadlines be enough to ultimately restore the endangered ecosystem? Until today, I do not believe in it yet. Why? From my point of view, words will have to be transformed in actions in order to ignite change.

I am writing this short article on June 3rd 2021, just having studied the press release of the Court of Justice of the European Union on a judgment with respect to environmental questions, focussing on clean air. The Court ruled that “between 2010 and 2016, Germany systematically and persistently exceeded the limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2)”, infringing “its obligation to adopt appropriate measures in good time to ensure that the exceedance period is kept as short as possible in the 26 zones concerned”. The Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe Air has not been respected, providing in respect of nitrogen dioxide an annual average limit value of 40 µg/m3 and an hourly average limit value of 200 µg/m3 as from 1 January 2010, allowing the limit to be exceeded less than 18 times a calendar year.

What happened, where and why? The underlying basis of this European directive is the idea that air, being a natural resource, is a global common good. We share the air on this planet, every human being, living and breathing, every animal, every plant. Air, being easily available to all individuals, animals and plants, can and is being polluted by some individuals in an excessive manner, causing harm to others, be it mankind or species. Therefore, there is a common responsibility for all of us on how to use this natural resource. For Europe, the relevant institutions have acknowledged this fact and imposed on European member states the task to protect the air by means of a directive, giving space to implement the provisions in national law within a certain timeframe.

But what happened in Germany instead? Lawgiving had taken place on a high level, but the law was not respected, implementation (the task of the national government) did not occur on time. Especially car drivers using harmful diesel were still circulating in the cities and regions which should have been protected, e.g., Stuttgart, Berlin and Frankfurt. These few drivers did affect many pedestrians, which could have been elderly people, parents with little children, cyclists or simply me and you, walking around on the streets, not emitting any damaging gases. And these emissions were dangerous for animals and plants, too.

To put it clearly: I am not asking not to drive in a city. However, the well-being of those persons not emitting dangerous gases should be protected first, as these persons and their lives matter. The use of fossil fuels should come to an end if it threatens others so much and if new technologies such as green electricity or hydrogen could be used instead. It is the responsibility of leaders in our governments to offer the incentives to energy consumers, taking into account the consequences of using the global common resources that all species need for survival. Governments have acknowledged this responsibility many times: We have laws and resolutions, high-ranking individuals advocating for ecological correct behaviour, you name it. But, in reality, we do see that progress comes quite slowly.

The COVID 19-crisis, as bad as it is on a global scale with millions of victims, is asking us to change life-styles in a sustainable way. This could be a chance for global common resources, e.g., the air as the most prominent one. Less pollution by traffic, less flights, less travelling, investments in green technologies and using digitization in intelligent ways could help to “build back better”, respecting the needs of all people and the planet. And the principle that the polluter is liable for the damages must be respected, finally.

Leaders in governments, civil society and businesses are challenged now – less air pollution is a powerful start, because air is our basis for ecological restoration, needed every moment that humans or animals breathe or photosynthesis takes place. Let us all push to adopt a sustainable lifestyle to protect the needs of current and future generations. The momentum is there!

Dr Heike Kuhn is Head of Division 413 – Education
BMZ, Germany

 

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Excerpt:

The following article is part of a series to commemorate World Environment Day June 5

By Mario Arvelo
ROME, Jun 4 2021 (IPS)

Requiring in-person voting to elect the governing bodies of UN agencies may exclude the countries most affected by travel restrictions derived from the pandemic

The United Nations were conceived to correct the design and management mistakes of the League of Nations, which could not prevent the Second World War. This is how, in 1945, the UN was born with the purpose of preserving peace. It was no coincidence that the first institution of the new international architecture specialized in issues of food and agriculture. The then West German leader Willy Brandt would summarize that decision in a 1973 speech to the UN General Assembly: “Where there is hunger, there is no peace.”

Mario Arvelo

Hunger casts a shadow over the human condition. Consequently, the governments of the world decided to place the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, better known as FAO, at the forefront of global efforts towards the eradication of hunger.

As a knowledge and technical research entity, FAO reproduces the work areas that Ministries of Agriculture cover in each country, from identifying the fastest growing and most fertile seeds to reducing post-harvest losses, caring for the soil, water management, or the fight against pathogens that threaten plant, fishery, and livestock production.

It is at FAO where country delegates find a neutral platform to examine scientific studies on nutritious and healthy diets, protection of ecosystems and biodiversity, or the benefits of agroecology, among many other topics. The organization’s technical staff identifies good practices, provide advice, and create local capacities to increase productivity in sustainable ways, especially in the face of challenges brought by climate change, as I expressed at the VI World Rural Forum held in Bilbao in March 2019 as Chairman of the Committee on World Food Security.

In the halls of FAO, nowadays transferred to virtual media as a result of the pandemic, we debate, negotiate, and agree by consensus policy recommendations for implementing quality standards and promoting inclusive rural development, so that men, women, and young farmers may remain in their communities and achieve their financial aspirations there.

My country, the Dominican Republic, which shares a small Caribbean island with the Republic of Haiti, is a founding member of the UN, and was the third country to ratify its Charter. From Santo Domingo, where I was born in 1970, the government of President Luis Abinader prioritizes, together with the fight against the pandemic, all links of the agri-food chain.

In this context, my name arises along with other ambassadors as a possible successor to Pakistani Khalid Mehboob in the presidency of the FAO Council, the command post of the agency from which 49 countries from all continents debate, harmonize and drive the organization’s strategic course. Based on these agreements, the Director-General (Chinese Qu Dongyu, who in 2019 succeeded Brazilian José Graziano da Silva) is in charge of managing the organization.

The other two candidates to chair the Council are my old friends, Hungarian Zoltán Kálmán and Dutch Hans Hoogeveen. The European Union could not agree on presenting a single candidacy, and I am honored to be the only candidate from the developing world, with a platform of inclusion, transparency, and sensitivity to the political, social, and cultural differences of Member States. I aspire to seek consensus decisions that strengthen the institution for the benefit of all.

Those who follow the Latin American political scene might be surprised to learn that the Dominican candidacy draws support from a wide ideological range: from Havana to Brasilia, passing through Caracas, Buenos Aires, San Salvador, and Bogotá. Countries of the Sahel, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Oceania are joining our proposal.

But why should the reader be interested in the ins and outs of an internal election at a UN agency?

Going back to the beginning, and to the will of the United Nations to correct past mistakes: the “One country, one vote” method that governs the UN tempers the power dynamics that have characterized international relations. Therefore, the votes of Tuvalu, Nauru, and Palau, three Pacific island countries that add up to 40,000 citizens in an area equal to 70 football fields, are worth the same as those of China, India, and the United States, countries that host 40 per cent of humanity and whose combined territory is twice the size of Europe.

However, in this election, an obstacle could alter this egalitarian approach among countries which encourages negotiations and striving for consensus. At the biennial FAO Conference, to be held from 14 to 18 June, it will be decided whether or not to allow electronic voting. Some delegations demand that the vote can only be exercised in person in Rome, at the FAO headquarters, without considering the travel restrictions derived from the fight against covid-19 —which affect countries to a greater extent further afield— expressly rejecting delegates’ participation in decision-making from the relative safety of their capitals.

The presidency of the FAO Council provides an opportunity to build bridges, foster inclusive dialogue, and seek consensus on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development under the slogan “Leave no one behind”. That is why we ask that the countries most affected by the pandemic and those with the least options for traveling not be left without a voice. Strengthening FAO for the benefit of all —all— its members is the only way to eradicate hunger and all forms of malnutrition. It is one of the moral obligations of our time because, as long as hunger persists, there will be no peace.

Mario Arvelo, Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the Rome-based agencies of the United Nations, is a candidate for presiding the FAO Council.

 

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Nordic Talk moderator Katja Iversen shown here with Natasha Wang Mwansa, Emi Mahmoud, Dr Natalia Kanem and Flemming Møller Mortensen during a recent Nordic Talks webinar. Credit: Shuprova Tasneem

By Shuprova Tasneem and Nayema Nusrat
DHAKA and NEW YORK, Jun 4 2021 (IPS)

Every two minutes, a girl or woman dies from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications, including unsafe abortions. Every year, around 12 million girls are married while in their childhoods. An additional 10 million are now at risk of child marriage due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this context, the most recent Nordic Talk—a high-level debate on bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) as a cornerstone of gender equality, aptly titled “Let’s Talk About Sex” — could not have come at a better time.

Moderator Katja Iversen, Dane of the Year (2018) and former CEO of Women Deliver, kicked off the discussion by focusing on the close link between bodily autonomy, gender equality, economic growth, and a healthy planet.

In an exclusive interview with IPS, Iversen said it was clear that “bodily autonomy for girls and women—in all their rich diversity—is political, social, economic and health-related.”

Women needed to have power and agency over their “bodies, fertility, and future, living a life free of violence and coercion in both the private and public sphere. It ties into norms, structure, systems – and if we want equity and health for all, we need to address all of it.”

Emi Mahmoud, two-time World Champion Poet and Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR, set the tone for the Nordic Talk with her emotive poetry reflecting women’s experiences in patriarchal societies, asking: “What survivor hasn’t had her struggle made spectacle?”

The three other panellists agreed that the right to control their bodies was a fundamental aspect of women’s rights and that gender equality was an essential part of the sustainable development agenda.

As Dr Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the UNFPA, explained that “(women’s) freedom over her own body means freedom of choice”, and that all the data points towards how investment in SRHR could be the first step to empowering women to “ultimately contribute to sustainable development.”

It was critical that SRHR was adequately resourced – but warned these would be in short supply because of the COVID pandemic recovery plans.

“Part of the financing challenge is what we abbreviate as political will. It actually does not cost a lot for the agenda for SRHR to be a reality by 2030. It would take $26 billion a year to end the unmet need for contraception and to stop mothers dying at birth, many of whom were too young to be pregnant, but resources are going to be a challenge now with Covid having affected the world economies.”

While Flemming Møller Mortensen, Danish Minister for International and Nordic Development and Nordic Cooperation, expressed optimism regarding resources for SRHR now that “the US is back on track” and the global gag rule had been revoked. He was worried about a growing conservatism and pushback against women’s rights, particularly in the pandemic’s wake.

Iversen told IPS the cuts in various countries could be devastating.

“UNFPA estimates that with the $180 million the UK wants to withdraw from the Supplies Partnership, UNFPA could have helped prevent around 250,000 maternal and child deaths, 14.6 million unintended pregnancies and 4.3 million unsafe abortions. We will need foundations and other donor countries to step up, and we will need national government step up and step in and ensure that their national budgets reflect and fill the SRHR needs.”

She expressed concern that women on COVID-19 decision-making bodies were unrepresented.

“Less than 25% of national COVID-19 decision-making bodies have women included. It is too easy to cut resources from people who are not at the decision-making tables,” she said. “We urgently need to get a lot more women into leadership, including of the COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. All evidence shows that when more women are included in decision-making, there is a more holistic approach and both societies and people fare better.”

This call for inclusivity, not just for women but for the youth, was strongly echoed by adolescent sexual and reproductive health rights expert Natasha Wang Mwansa.

“So many commitments have been made by so many countries, yet there is no meaningful progress or accountability, and young people are not involved when making these decisions,” Mwansa said. “Young people are here as partners, but we are also here to take charge. From making choices over our own bodies to choices on our national budgets, we are ready to be part of these decisions.”

To deal with challenges in providing access to SRHR, Kanem stressed the importance of gender-disaggregated data for planning. She added that despite the hurdles, she was hopeful about the future because “young people and women are not waiting to make the case and show solidarity and understanding when it comes to racism or issues of discrimination and equity that divide us.”

Iversen echoed this optimism in her IPS interview.

“It gives me hope that comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services are included in the roadmap for Universal Health Coverage, in the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being, and latest in the Generation Equality Forum blueprint,” she said.

“Civil society has played a key role in ensuring this with good arguments, data and a lot of tenacity. But words in the big global documents about Health For All is one thing; gender equality and women’s rights, if it has to matter, it has to manifest in concrete action.”

The conversation rounded off with recommendations and commitments from the panellists: Mwansa stressed more investments in youth-run organisations and more social accountability from decision-makers; Mortensen asked for governments to be held accountable and for youth voices to be heard; and Kanem reaffirmed the UNFPA’s goal to put family planning in the hands of women as a means of empowerment, to end preventable deaths in pregnant women and girls, and change fundamental attitudes to end gender-based violence.

In her final comments to IPS, Iversen also stressed the importance of SRHR as a means of empowerment.

“Study after study shows that it pays to invest in girls, women and SRHR – socially, economically and health-wise. But we cannot look at SRHR alone; we need a full gender lens to the COVID response and recovery and development in general,” she said.

“And if we want to see positive change, we have to put girls and women front and centre of coronavirus response and recovery efforts, just as we, in general, need to see many more women in political and economic leadership.”

The Nordic Council of Ministers supports the Nordic Talks, and “Let’s Talk about Sex” was organised in partnership with UNFPA, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Generation Equality, the Danish Family Planning Association, and Mind your Business, as a lead up to the Paris Generation Equality Forum.

 

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