Sustainable Industrialialisation

Photo: Women planting an olive tree in the Marrakech-Safi region of Morocco (High Atlas Foundation, 2021)

Decentralisation Vital to Achieving the UN's Global Goals

Viewpoint by Yossef Ben-Meir

The writer is a former Peace Corps Volunteer and president of the High Atlas Foundation.

MARRAKECH (IDN) — The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are aspirationally universal, addressing globally relevant issues with earnest objectives. Despite the profound good that they represent, fundamental problems exist with the Goals. They lack prescriptiveness, even to the extent of not explicitly aligning with what we know is indelible to sustainability: local people’s participation.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 14 June 2021

Photo. Colombo Port City (land reclamation) seen from Galle road. CC BY-SA 4.0

New Commission to Govern Colombo Port City Soon

Sri Lanka Embarks on Ambitious Project to Create Another Asian Financial Hub

By Sugeeswara Senadhira

COLOMBO (IDN) — The Sri Lankan Supreme Court’s determination on the proposed Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill will be placed before the parliament on May 18, paving way for the legal act to establish the Commission, with an amendment in accordance with the judiciary's verdict. The Supreme Court conveyed its decision to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, who will discuss with party leaders on May 18 on fixing a date to debate the Bill.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 08 May 2021

Photo: As our population grows, water accounting in agriculture is critical to increasing efficient use of water, growing more food per drop. ©FAO/Manan Vatsyayana

What Water Means to Human Life and Biological Resources

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

COPENHAGEN (IDN) — I have attempted to explain the vital relationship between water and life in my new freely downloadable book, which can be circulated, from the link: http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Water-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf

Also, on its home page for World Water Day, commemorated on March 22 this year, the United Nations explains what water means to people, its true value and how we can better protect this vital resource.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Clean Water & Sanitation; 02 May 2021

Photo: Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed. Source: International Centre for Investigative Reporting.

Foreign Investors Shun Nigeria, Information Minister Faults Journalists

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — Something Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said reminded me of British political journalist, Andrew Marr.

Journalism, Marr wrote in his book, My Trade, is a chaotic form of earning, ragged at the edges and full of snakes and con artists.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 24 April 2021

Volunteers Are Helping Venezuela To Rebuild US-Devastated Industry

By Leonardo Flores

This article was produced by Globetrotter. Leonardo Flores is a Venezuelan political analyst and peace activist with CODEPINK. He is a Globetrotter/Peoples Dispatch fellow.

VENICE, CA (IDN) — “We don’t just repair machines; we repair consciences,” says Sergio Requena of the Productive Workers Army (EPO by its Spanish-language initials) in Venezuela. The EPO is a group of 2,270 volunteers with a broad range of technical expertise. They go from factory to factory repairing broken machinery. Their mission is to recover Venezuela’s industrial production by empowering workers to take matters into their own hands.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 22 April 2021

Photo: Prof. Ksenia Tabarintseva-Romanova and Prof Alexei Antoshin

Economic and Social Development of the African Continent — A Russian Perspective

Kester Kenn Klomegah* interviews Prof. Ksenia Tabarintseva-Romanova and Prof Alexei Antoshin

MOSCOW (IDN) — After the Soviet collapse, Russia has maintained strong and time-tested relations with African countries, particularly as the Soviet Union had played an important role during decolonization. The African continent comprises a diverse collection of countries, each with its own set of development setbacks and challenges. The political culture and investment climate are, in fact, diverse but are also important forces in determining the levels of the economy.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 18 April 2021

Image: Ushering in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Source: UNCTAD.

Nepal Is Closely Following the Fourth Industrial Revolution Under Way

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn*

KATHMANDU (IDN) — In December 2020, Dr. Leonel Fernández Reyna, former president of the Dominican Republic and President of Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo, presented his vision about “The global and regional challenges of the 4.0 world,” where he highlighted the need to facilitate access to technology for all citizens.

His observations are a clarion call to the international community as the world stands on the precipice of a great tectonic shift caused by the Fourth Industrial Revolution currently underway.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Sustainable Industrialisation; 08 April 2021

Photo: Zhang Dezhen, a staff member at the Shanghai Fengxian Converter Station, patrols the power converter area. Credit: Wu Huiyuan/Sixth Tone.

China's Growing Network of Ultra-High Voltage Power Lines Has Hit Its Fair Share of Snags — Part Two

Please click here for Part One of this article.

By Ye Ruolin and Yuan Ye *

SHANGHAI (IDN | China Dialogue) — The Hunanese experience and other cases demonstrate how this vision may prove difficult to realise. The Baihetan dam, currently under construction on the Jinsha River straddling the border of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, is set to become the world’s second-largest hydropower station after the Three Gorges Dam once it is fully completed in 2022.

From its inception, it was meant to connect to two UHV lines that would send power to Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces on China’s eastern coast. The project has been delayed, however, due to a conflict over who owns its electricity.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 02 April 2021

Photo: Power lines at Shanghai Fengxian Converter Station in January 2021 Credit: Wu Huiyuan/Sixth Tone.Photo: Power lines at Shanghai Fengxian Converter Station in January 2021 Credit: Wu Huiyuan/Sixth Tone.

China's Growing Network of Ultra-High Voltage Power Lines Has Hit Its Fair Share of Snags — Part One

By Ye Ruolin and Yuan Ye *

SHANGHAI (IDN | China Dialogue) — With few coal reserves to call its own and winter rains too erratic to rely on hydropower, central China’s Hunan province had long faced frequent electricity blackouts, an annoyance to residents and a hindrance to economic growth. So, when an ultra-high voltage power line was approved in 2015, hopes were high.

The new Ultra-High Voltage (UHV) connection would run all the way from the energy-rich Jiuquan region in northwestern Gansu province, and bring in enough coal, wind, and solar power to answer a quarter of Hunan’s energy needs.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 02 April 2021

Photo: Nigerian Port Harcourt Refining Ltd in Alesa-Eleme. CC BY 2.0

Nigeria Decides to Invest $1.5bn in Irreparable Refinery

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — Brazil has proved a disaster in the management of COVID-19, but there are other areas where we can use their examples.

Like what to do about failing refineries. This hot-button topic returned to the front burner after the Nigerian government recently announced plans to repair the Port Harcourt Refinery.