SUSTAINABILITY

Photo: A village near Thanesar in Kurukshetra, Haryana where the author met one of the women she spoke to. Credit: © Sreya Banerjea, 2016, Author provided.

Three Women: Stories of Indian Trafficked Brides

Viewpoint by Sreya Banerjea*

LONDON (IDN) – “I tried to escape in the middle of the night,” Mahira** recalled. “With a small packed bag, I tiptoed towards the door thinking that he was asleep. Suddenly, he grabbed me from behind and attacked with a cutlass.” I sat, stunned, as she lifted her saree and revealed a wide scar below her knee.

In north India, there is a particular history of purchasing brides from other states due to the “male marriage squeeze”: there is an excess of eligible men but not enough local women for marriage. This is caused by an imbalanced child sex ratio caused by sex-selective abortion and female foeticide.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; South Asia; 03 October 2020

Photo: Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja. CC BY-SA 4.0

Regional Autonomy Could Resolve Nigeria's Multifaceted Problems

Viewpoint by Kester Kenn Klomegah *

MOSCOW (IDN) – The African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have turned blind-eyes to the unprecedented and indiscriminate killings of civilians mostly in the southern parts of Nigeria. Nevertheless, the International Court of Criminal Justice (ICC) has utterly refused to categorise these as a genocide in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Amnesty International (AI), the International Crisis Group and local human rights organisations, have documented, in several reports, frequent attacks on civilians, mostly Igbo and Yoruba, in the Christian dominated southern Nigeria.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 02 October 2020

Photo: President Trump as the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its September monthly employment situation report. On October 1, he and First Lady Melania Trump tested COVID-19 positive. Credit: White House.

Trump Should Be Facing Impeachment Over COVID-19

Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar

This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Sonali Kolhatkar is the founder, host and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show that airs on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations.

LOS ANGELES (IDN) – President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania have both tested positive for the coronavirus in what is perhaps the most shocking “October surprise” in the history of presidential races. If he recovers with only mild symptoms, he will undoubtedly make the case that he was right all along in downplaying the virus. If he suffers, he will gain sympathy from the public at large.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 October 2020

Photo: Allison et al. 2017. Trees, forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world. Global Environmental Change 43, 51-56.

Cool News in a Warming World: Why Invest in Future Forests

Viewpoint by Finn Grundmann *

GÖTTINGEN, Germany (IDN) – Forests capture more than carbon! While plants are experts at retrieving carbon dioxide from the air, they have also perfected strategies to retain water in their natural surroundings. When thinking of the benefits of future forests, it is crucial to think beyond the tree level.

Tree roots loosen the soil, and by creating macropores, they drastically increase infiltration rates and help recharge groundwater levels. The effect of just one tree on those soil properties can be measured within a radius of 25 meters around the tree crown. Therefore, by planting just a hundred trees, an area as big as 32 full-size football fields can be restored.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 01 October 2020

Photo: Mark Apel, second from the left. Credit: HAF, 2018.

Cathartic Returns to Morocco: From Peace Corps to Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer

By Ellen Hernandez and Katie Bercegeay *

MARRAKECH (IDN) – Upon hearing the words “Hamdullah wa inshallah,” Mark Apel is transported as if in a time capsule to the many times he and Yossef Ben-Meir, President of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), uttered them in gratitude for the food set before them or in hope for something good to come of their efforts as Peace Corps Volunteers. “It makes you more mindful of the moment,” he remarked in a recent interview conducted by Yossef for HAF.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 01 October 2020

In Quest of Data-Based Solutions for A Sustainable Future

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – More than 2,000 participants from the data user and producer communities will discuss in the first-ever fully virtual UN World Data Forum, from October 19-21, some of the greatest data challenges in our fast-changing world. They will identify innovative solutions to intensify cooperation on data for sustainable development. and renew the urgent call for more and better funding for data.

“In a world wracked by COVID-19, we need data-based solutions to guide our way to a sustainable future,” said Francesca Perucci, Assistant Director of UN DESA’s Statistics Division. “We need data for a changing world, and we need data for a better world.”

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 01 October 2020

Photo: The first Ethiopian satellite launch by China. Source: SatNews

China Aids Africa to Advance into The Satellite Age

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – An ET-SMART-RSS Earth Observation (EO) smallsat, designed in Ethiopia with Chinese funds, is preparing for launch into orbit as soon as next month.

The satellite is the second to be launched into space by Ethiopia – just months after the launch of the county’s first ETRSS-1 satellite in December 2019.

The satellites analyse weather patterns to extract data and enhance the county’s preparedness in the case of drought, according to a report in SatNews, a provider of satellite news and other industry information in commercial and military enterprises worldwide.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 30 September 2020

Image: Map of the Caribbean Sea and its islands. CC BY-SA 3.0

Caribbean Concerns Find Voice at 75th Anniversary of the UN

Viewpoint by P.I. Gomes*

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (IDN) – The High-level Meeting to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations was held on September 21, 2020, with a view to adopting a political declaration on the theme: “The Future We Want, the United Nations We Need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism”.

The opening Plenary session observed the usual formalities of statements by the President of the General Assembly (GA) and by Presidents of the Security Council, Economic & Social Council and of the International Court of Justice.

: Dr. Patrick Gomes - former ACP Seretary-General; UN INSIDER; 30 September 2020

Actions Needed to Protect Wild Species and Natural Habitats

UN Summit on Biodiversity Provides an Opportunity

Viewpoint by Amy Fraenkel

The writer is Executive Secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

BONN (IDN) – The UN Summit on Biodiversity was meant to galvanize commitments to stop the impending biodiversity crisis, and to underscore the need for effective actions in a new Global Biodiversity Framework. Few could predict that it would take place in the middle of a deadly global pandemic -- which in all likelihood was brought about by human activities that exploit wild animals and nature.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 30 September 2020

Image: Members (dark blue) of the Pacific Islands Forum. CC BY-SA 3.0 Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Fiji’s Tourism Workers Turn to Farming and Fishing As COVID-19 Ravages the Industry

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – The COVID-19 crisis has hit tourism-dependent Pacific Island countries severely. Fiji, the largest of these states, is feeling the impact badly, with laid-off workers of tourism-related industries, such as hotels and travel companies, turning to farming and fishing for survival. Because of its larger land mass and fishing grounds in the sea, Fiji’s population is trying to cushion the impact depending on their natural resources.