Just over six months since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, civic freedoms remain under threat across the world. A new brief released by the CIVICUS Monitor documents ongoing and unjustifiable restrictions on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression. The brief also finds …
One-hundred and fifty years after a treaty with England granted the Miskito people rights over their land--a treaty which was never fully respected--the government of Honduras has officially handed over nearly a million hectares (970,000 hectares) of tropical forest along the Caribbean Coast to the indigenous people. The Miskito are …
The Bosawas Reserve is a critically important rainforest but native people say it is being destroyed by "colonists" A famed rainforest in Nicaragua is under growing threat from illegal loggers, say indigenous leaders. The Bosawas Biosphere Reserve is Central America's largest tropical forest with clouds constantly drifting over the hilly …
A growing body of scientific evidence ranks Mexico and its southern neighbors near the top of the list of countries most vulnerable to global warming, and advances in micro-forecasting foresee a grim future in alarming detail. According to two new studies, a deadly combination of warmer weather and less rainfall …
An overnight diplomatic slugfest ended in log jam as US and EU refuse to even discuss how they shall provide the promised US $ 100 billion to the poor countries to adapt to climate change and address emission reductions. The row erupted even as new reports came in of the …
Abandoned Carbide factory continues to leach toxic chemicals into groundwater Even as the world prepares to witness the London Olympics starting Friday, victims and survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy have decided to pre-empt the organisers by holding a “Bhopal Special Olympics” here on Thursday. Five survivor organisations, led by …
A paper published by the charity today highlights the increasing impact of climate change on small-scale producers in the developing world, even suggesting that agricultural productivity in some countries could fall by as much as 50% by 2080. "Small-scale producers are a key link in many companies' supply chains, often …
What role can companies play in strengthening the capacity of small-scale producers in developing countries to adapt to climate change, and in doing so, make their global value chains more resilient? While some leading companies have made progress in taking greater responsibility for what happens throughout their supply chains, there …
The objective of the study was to determine how data on water source quality affect assessments of progress towards the 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target on access to safe drinking-water.
The level of hunger worldwide has dropped in recent years but 26 countries still face extremely dangerous food shortages and are threatened by rising prices, a major report said Tuesday. The Global Hunger Index, released by the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), measures food insecurity. Its level has …
The documentary Bananas! highlighted plight of Nicaraguan banana plantation workers who brought a legal case in the US against the use of a banned pesticide DBCP by the Dole Food Company. Tom Levitt reports.
Google Maps is tangled in a border dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. According to the Costa Rican press, misrepresentation of the country’s northeast around the river San Juan by Google Maps encouraged former Nicaraguan guerrilla leader Eden Pastora to conduct a river dredging operation in the disputed territory. Pastora …
Close to two-thirds of the world's poorest people live in rural areas. Eradication of rural poverty depends on increased access to goods, services, and information, targets detailed in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. However, alleviating poverty is hindered by two interlinked phenomena: lack of access to improved energy services …
Caribbean Nicaragua has its own cultural logic that helps to explain the eating habits of indigenous communities that rely on sea turtle meat for nutrition and prefer its taste to that of other available meats. Nutritional costs and benefits form a fundamental part of this reliance, yet there are ecological, …
The potential impact of the global financial crisis of 2008 on living standards in the developing world has given renewed emphasis to the importance of social safety net programs. The right policies can be a smart investment in an uncertain world. This report reviews the evidence on conditional cash transfers …
Based on practical knowledge and international experience accumulated via past and ongoing World Bank operations, this Note aims to provide World Bank staff and others interested in off-grid electrification with useful guidelines for designing sustainable off-grid projects. Given the unique features of projects and country situations, the note does not …
Days of heavy rains in Nicaragua have killed at least seven people who were dragged away by swollen rivers, and another four are missing, emergency services said on Thursday. The torrential rains in the Central American nation, one of the poorest in the Americas, forced the evacuations of some 2,600 …
Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela are closer to ensuring their citizens have the chance to break the cycle of poverty than many of their neighbours in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the World Bank
Social science literature on protected areas (PAs) has hitherto focused mostly upon how PAs have been designated at the expense of the interests of people living in and around the PA and how this has often resulted in conflict. However, there is a growing recognition that this dichotomised perception does …
