Africa

A night market in South Korea. The country plans to ensure that 20 percent of all electricity generated is renewable by 2030. Credit: Yeong-Nam/CC BY 2.0

By Ahn Mi Young
SEOUL , Nov 1 2018 (IPS)

While major countries have pledged to be powered entirely by renewable energies in order to stop greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, there are a number of states that are investigating ways to implement this transition quickly in order to achieve their goals ahead of this deadline.

At the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Energy Forum held in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, on Oct. 30, GGGI council members, leading energy experts, and policy makers from both the private and public sectors asked precisely that question.

They gathered to share their energy transformation experiences from the United Kingdom, Norway, Japan, Denmark, and Mongolia and discussed how South Korea can emulate them as it transitions from a coal and nuclear-centric energy dependence to renewables.

How to accelerate the transition to Renewable Energy?

“As there is a big global shift towards renewable energy (RE), we may ask questions: How can we accelerate the clean energy transition? Is the Korean target ambitious? How fast can it be transitional?” said Frank Rijsberman, director-general of GGGI in his keynote speech.

Although global decarbonisation on its own isn’t adequate to meet the ambitions of the Paris Agreement, the forum shared renewable transition cases and experiences of how they have accelerated the transition to RE.

The UK is leading the low-carbon transition and has implemented a drastic cut of emissions in the past 18 years while also continuing its rapid economic growth. Norway built the world’s electric car capital, and made the transition from oil to a renewable model. In Denmark, Copenhagen has become the world’s green city, as it uses district heating pipelines to heat houses and aims to become the world’s first carbon neutral city by 2025.

The most drastic turnaround comes from South Korea and Japan, which have been among the world’s major producers of nuclear power in the past. But both countries have joined the global renewable energy transition club in recent years.

100 Percent Renewables South Korea

The forum heard from Hans-Josef Fell, president of Energy Watch Group, an independent global network of scientists and parliamentarians that was founded in 2006 under the direction of Fell while he was still a member of the German parliament. “It is possible to be 100 percent renewable and we can work together with South Korea to reach the 100 percent goal,” he told participants.

Fell forecast that Solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power will be the cheapest energy in G20 states by 2030, noting that RE has created 10.3 million jobs worldwide in 2017, with most jobs being in Asia.

The renewable breakdown of the global energy system in 2050 is forecast as:
• Solar PV: 69 percent,
• Wind power: 18 percent,
• Hydro: 8 percent,
• and bioenergy: 20 percent.

Fell also noted political will should be strong enough to fully embrace the RE transition, as he suggested the need for direct private investment in RE and zero-emission technology, for tenders to be granted only for capacity above 40MW, and the need to phase out all state subsidies on fossil fuels.

Japan transitions to PV

Japan is one of the countries that has shown the will to embrace RE. After committing to reducing its dependence on nuclear energy by 2030, Japan has set targets for becoming an economically independent and carbon-free mainstream power by 2050. Japan has reduced its nuclear power generation following the Fukushima nuclear power plant explosion in 2011.

Izumi Kaizuka, Director of RTS Corporation, a PV consulting company, who presented on the RE policy transition in Japan and the current status and outlook of the country’s PV market, said: “There has been an explosive growth of approved PV projects.”

But Japan has concerns about the future burden of surcharges, installation quality, environmental damage from natural disasters, and the lack of hosting capacity.

“There is a significant cost gap of the PV system between domestic and overseas [prices]. Prices are further decreasing due to global competition. Some emphasise the importance of how installation costs in Japan (not under global competition) will be further reduced,” Kaizuka said.

Japan has tried to address these concerns and introduced a new approval system to deal with delayed or unrealistic projects, to increase transparency for grid connections with disclosure of connection capacity and the price of work, as well as the exemption of surcharge for energy sufficiency efforts.

With these actions taken, Kaizuka had a strong growth forecast for PV-installed capacity in Japan. “Despite these concerns, PV is growing, since PV is stable and affordable,” Kaizuka said.

South Korea to move from coal-nuclear to renewables

Under its Renewable Energy 2030 Implementation Plan to achieve a 20 percent goal of renewable share of total electricity generation by 2030, South Korea is investing in clean energy.

This is a drastic reversal of the country’s previous nuclear-centric energy policy. In 2016, 25 reactors generated one-third of the country’s electricity and made South Korea the world’s fifth-largest producer of nuclear energy, according to the World Nuclear Association.

To reverse its energy mix, Seoul is driving a renewable boom under a private-public partnership.

“Active private investment is supporting the renewable energy transition. More than 95 percent of new capacity is PV and wind, which creates the largest number of jobs,” said Kyong-Ho Lee, Director of the New and Renewable Energy Policy Division, at South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).

The local government-led, large-scale projects, where local governments play a key role in selecting sites and choosing business operators, are cited as a major driving force of the on-going RE transition in South Korea.

“To encourage citizen participation, the government gives monetary incentives for both urban and rural renewable energy installed, as well as state loans for rural RE installed. Thus farmers can make a double income from both farming and PV power installed,” said Lee from MOTIE.

Seoul has said that by 2030, out of a forecast total 63.8GW to be installed, its RE mix will be:
• 57 percent PV,
• 17.7 percent wind power,
• 5 percent bio, and
• 6 percent waste.

“It is a transitional moment as we continue to improve conditions through deregulation of RE, installing and collecting PV modules,” Lee said.

In Norway, financial incentive was strong enough to drive the electric car boom. About 45 percent of new cars sold in Norway in recent months were all-electric cars. People who buy electric cars pay no import taxes, tolls, parking or ferry costs, and are exempt from a 25 percent sales tax at purchase.

“Nationwide infrastructure is necessary to spread the EV [electric vehicle] boom from cities to rural areas,” said Atle Hamar, Vice Minister, Ministry of Climate and Environment, Norway. “In cities, there are enough charging stations but in rural areas, we need public support [to build more].”

District heating in Denmark

Denmark offers the best conditions for using geothermal heat because of the country’s well-developed district heating. In Denmark, boilers provide heat for entire districts through a network of heating pipes.

“We will be testing new technology to find a cost efficient and easier way of heating houses. For example, we are replacing biomass with geothermal heat pumps, which is easier to heat houses,” Jacob Rasmussen, counsellor, energy & environment, Embassy of Denmark.

How fast can it go from nuclear to renewable?

These countries offer great examples for South Korea. And while the forum generally saw a consensus formed on the country’s need to transition to renewables, it debated how fast the transition should be.

South Korea’s transition may be too fast, according to some experts.

“We must respect the role of the nuclear power source [that has driven our economy as the cheapest energy source],” said Sang-hyup Kim, visiting professor from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and chairman of the Coalition for Our Common Future.

“In fact, nuclear is a reality [in South Korea] based on its [60 years of] science and technology. Why should we give it up so rapidly?”

To others, the transition may be a bit slow.

“Some would say the 20 percent goal is not ambitious enough. But we should manage our satisfaction by setting a reasonable target,” said Sun-Jin Yun, professor of environmental and energy policy at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Seoul National University (SNU).

Panelists agreed on the need to increase inter-Korean energy cooperation to bring peace to Northeast Asia. “Increasing energy interdependence is a way to secure peace for the whole of Northeast Asia. For example, a renewable energy-based grid connecting Mongolia and both Koreas and others can be the way to increase interdependence,” said YangYi Won Young, executive director, Energy Transition Forum, a private energy think-tank.

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Al Ahly of Egypt and Tunisia's Esperance both expect a tough task ahead to win the 2018 African Champions League title.

The Football Association of Zambia and Cosafa lead the tributes to referee Leah Namukonda, who died after a car crash.

By WAM
DUBAI, Nov 1 2018 (WAM)

Jamal Saif Al Jarawan, Secretary-General of the UAE International Investors Council, UAEIIC, said that the historic ties between the UAE and India are built on mutual respect and close cooperation, which is reflected by the signing of over 40 agreements and Memoranda of Understanding, MoU, in many areas, especially in investment, under a sustainable development vision.

He added that the historic relations between the two countries share the values of moderation, tolerance, peace and stability, which have strengthened their strategic partnership, through ongoing communication and mutual high-level visits.

During his speech at the two-day 2nd India-UAE Partnership Summit held in Dubai, with the participation of many public and private sector officials from both countries, Al Jarawan said that the strategic partnership between the UAE and India is witnessing ongoing work, with the aim of generating trade worth US$100 billion by 2020. Current levels of trade account for $53 billion, while UAE investments in India account for $10 billion, and the UAE has pledged to provide $75 billion to support India’s infrastructure, as well as $5 billion to the Indian agricultural sector over the next three years, he added.

Al Jarawan highlighted the council’s confidence in the ambitious strategic partnership between the two countries, which has all the components of success, as well as a series of investment reforms in India and its monetary policies, financial system and social security.

Al Jarawan also expressed his confidence in the growing ties between the two countries while noting that India has become the UAE’s second-biggest international economic partner.

A comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between the two countries was signed in January 2017, Al Jarawan noted.

 

WAM/Nour Salman

The post 40 cooperation agreements highlight Emirati-Indian strategic partnership: UAEIIC appeared first on Inter Press Service.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet highlighted the key role that human rights defenders play in societies. Governments have fallen short on their commitments as HRDs continue to be killed around the world with impunity. Credit: United Nations Women

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 1 2018 (IPS)

Globally, the people working to defend our human rights are increasingly under attack, reaching a “crisis point.”

More than 150 human rights defenders (HRDs) from around the world gathered in Paris this week to set out a vision for the enduring fight for human rights at the second Human Rights Defenders World Summit.

Among those who attended was United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet who highlighted the key role that HRDs play in societies.

“When you see someone in chains—someone whose rights are being denied—you don’t turn away. You challenge injustice. You stand up for the rights of others,” she told participants.

“Every step towards greater equality, dignity, and rights which has been made…has been achieved because of the struggles and the advocacy of human rights defenders,” Bachelet added.

The meeting marks the 20th anniversary of the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the international community during the first summit to ensure all can enjoy “freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want.”

However, governments have fallen short on their commitments as HRDs continue to be killed around the world with impunity.

The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Michel Forst recently expressed alarm over such trends, stating: “The Declaration has become a milestone in the human rights project…however, I am more concerned than ever.”

“We are facing an alarming panorama for human rights defenders. Their situation is deteriorating all over the world despite States’ obligations to ensure the protection of human rights defenders,” he added.

Amnesty International’s Secretary General Kumi Naidoo said the level of danger facing activists worldwide has reached crisis point. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS

Amnesty International’s Secretary General Kumi Naidoo echoed similar sentiments during the summit, stating: “The level of danger facing activists worldwide has reached crisis point. Every day ordinary people are threatened, tortured, imprisoned and killed for what they fight for or simply for who they are. Now is the time to act and tackle the global surge in repression of human rights defenders.”

In a recent report, Forst found that at least 3,500 HRDs have been killed since the adoption of the Declaration.

In 2017 alone, over 300 HRDs across 27 countries were killed, double the numbers from 2015, Front Line Defenders found.

Almost 85 percent of the recorded murders were concentrated in five Latin American countries: Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

Colombia, which is currently the deadliest place for HRDs, saw a increase in the number of murders of HRDs following the 2016 peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

In 2017, over 120 social and environmental leaders were killed by paramilitary or unidentified armed groups largely in areas where FARC has since left, contributing to struggles for power and land.

In May, Luis Alberto Torres Montoya and Duvian Andres Correa Sanchez were killed. They were a part of the Rios Vivos Movement which has rallied against the Hidroituango hydroelectric dam for its environmental and human rights impacts including the displacement of local communities.

In fact, Front Line Defenders found that 67 percent of those killed in 2017 were defending land, environmental, and indigenous people’s rights, and almost always in the context of mega projects, extractive industry, and big business.

The Wayúu Women’s Force, an indigenous environmental group, have been facing death threats for its opposition to a coal mine operating on their ancestral territory. A right-wing paramilitary group Aguilas Negras, or Black Eagles, reportedly dispersed leaflets promising to “clean” the region of the indigenous Wayúu.

“Every case of an attack on a human rights defender constitutes an attack on human rights – the rights of us all,” Bachelet said.

However, impunity continues to reign in many countries including in Colombia where human rights groups have said the government is failing to investigate crimes and prosecute those behind them, and have urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open a formal investigation.

But even in cases where the perpetrators are brought to a court, justice still remains elusive.

In Guatemala, the head of security of a mine—then owned by Canadian company Hudbay Minerals—was acquitted for the 2009 murder of indigenous activist Adolfo Ich Chaman and shooting of German Chub despite witness testimony and physical evidence.

The 2013 lawsuit also included 11 women who were allegedly raped at gunpoint by the mining company’s security forces during a forced eviction in 2007.

Following the ruling, the judge requested that criminal charges be brought against those involved in the prosecution including Chaman’s wife for “obstructing justice and falsifying information.”

“The systemic, widespread impunity is a very bad signal sent to the families of the victims and to anyone standing up for human rights…beyond these attacks and killings, it is ultimately our rights, our democracies that are in great danger,” Forst recently said to the General Assembly.

There has been some progress in recognising the importance and achievements of HRDs around the world. Most recently, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Yazidi activist Nadia Murray and Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege for their role in the fight to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

Both Forst and Bachelet stressed the need to take action and for all stakeholders to use this opportunity to move forward, particularly in the wake of the 20th anniversary of the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders as well as the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted at the Palais de Chaillot where the Summit aptly held their closing ceremony.

“The Summit is a key opportunity for human rights defenders around the world, facing vilification and increased attacks, to come to together and discuss next steps on their own terms,” Forst said.

“What human rights defenders teach us is that all of us can stand up for our rights and for the rights of others, in our neighborhoods, in our countries and all over the world. We can change the world,” Bachelet echoed.

This year has seen numerous events focusing on HRDs including the three-day summit and an upcoming high-level meeting to take place in mid-December in New York to address good practices and new opportunities in the Declaration’s implementation.

 

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Sierra Leone captain Umaru Bangura says the careers of the nations players are being affected by the current ban from global football.

Rose Uwane says she's struggling to rent an apartment in Lagos because she's a single woman and landlords assume she's a prostitute.

By Geneva Centre
GENEVA, Nov 1 2018 (Geneva Centre)

Security cannot be achieved by reactivating the armament race and an environment of tension and division, the Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, Ambassador Idriss Jazairy, said during the “A New Human Concept of Security” conference organized by the European Centre for Peace and Development in Belgrade.

“We live in troubled and uncertain times. Our era is defined by an environment of tension and division. It is compounded by the manipulation and hijacking of religions, creeds and value systems. For what purpose? For accessing power through violence in some parts of the world or through counter-factual political scheming in other parts,” Ambassador Jazairy underlined in his presentation.

In this regard, the Geneva Centre’s Executive Director highlighted the need to address ominous threats and divisive narratives descending on modern societies in Arab and Western societies alike. The rise of violent extremism on the one hand and of militant forms of nationalism and populism on the other represent a threat to multicultural societies, human well-being as well as world peace and stability.

Exclusion and marginalization of people as witnessed in several countries – he noted – fuel xenophobia, bigotry and racism. Proliferation of crises and conflict have the potential to divide societies and to foster hatred, intolerance and animosity between peoples regardless of cultural and religious origins.

In this connection, the Geneva Centre’s Executive Director said that the “dismal situation undermines the foundations of contemporary society. Outbreaks of endogenous and exogenous violence occur whether physical or verbal in different regions of the world.”

This has given rise to a “pincer movement of two extremes expressed through violent extremism and xenophobic populism.” The “greatest scam of the century”, highlighted Ambassador Jazairy, “is the misuse of universal inclusive values shared by all religions and value-systems to serve the opposite goals of discrimination and exclusion.”

To “unmask this scam”, the Geneva Centre’s Executive Director underlined that the promotion of equal citizenship rights is the silver-bullet. It will eliminate the fear of the Other and prevent potential social and/or religious tension or conflict that prevail within multicultural societies and across diverse nations.

“Most of today’s international conflicts are grafted on internal upheavals which themselves spring from the denial of equal citizenship rights. If we can defuse an exacerbation of internal dissent through dialogue and conflict resolution, the temptation for foreign interference will be reduced pari passu. Thus conflict will be circumscribed and peace will be given a chance,” he said.

In addition, Ambassador Jazairy appealed to international decision-makers to sign and endorse the 2018 World Conference declaration entitled “Moving Towards Greater Spiritual Convergence Worldwide in Support of Equal Citizenship Rights” that has been endorsed by more than 50 international opinion-makers. The latter was adopted at the 25 June 2018 World Conference entitled “Religions, Creeds and Value-Systems: Joining Forces to Enhance Equal Citizenship Rights” held at the United Nations Office at Geneva under the Patronage of HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

He said the World Conference Declaration offers an inspiring ideal of world citizenship that responds to citizens’ aspiration to a sense of belonging which will “foster their unity in diversity.” “A sense of belonging and sharing that extends to the nation and beyond to the world community,” he concluded.

ECPD conference responds to appeal by Executive Director of the Geneva Centre. Adopts a resolution endorsing the World Conference outcome Declaration

The participants present at the ECPD conference on “A New Human Concept of Security” unanimously adopted a resolution welcoming and endorsing the World Conference outcome Declaration entitled “Moving Towards Greater Spiritual Convergence Worldwide in Support of Equal Citizenship Rights.”

Through the unanimous adoption of the resolution, the participants call on all States to respect the Declaration and to support the implementation of its provisions. The resolution read as follows:

“To: the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue,

“We the participants of the XIV International Conference on A New Concept of Human Security, 26/10/2018, Belgrade of the ECPD, University for Peace established by the UN, choose to add our support to the outcome Declaration: ‘Moving Towards Greater Spiritual Convergence Worldwide in Support of Equal Citizenship Rights’ (General, 25/6/2018) that emanated from the World Conference (Geneva, Palais des Nations, 25/6/2018) on ‘Religions, Creeds and Value Systems: Joining Forces to Enhance Equal Citizenship Rights,’

“We do so,

• “In recognition of the inherent dignity and of equal and inalienable rights of the members of the human family which is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world and;
• “Within a framework of philosophy, global citizenship and the golden means that spreads equal citizenship rights (ECR) as a gateway to world peace.

“Furthermore, we support its suggested follow-up actions of a periodic holding of World Summit, the setting-up of an International Task-Force on ECR and to include a relevant item in the Universal Periodic Review.

“Agreed by all participants/Signed by Dan Wallace, Roberto Savio, Jeffrey Levett and Negoslav Ostojic.”

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Journalists covering the arrival of delegations to address the General Assembly’s seventy-second general debate. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

By Sarah Lister and Emanuele Sapienza
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 1 2018 (IPS)

Safety of journalists has featured prominently in international news in recent weeks. And yet, while some cases grab the headlines, many more do not, and the scale of the issue often goes unremarked. On this International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, it is worth pausing to reflect on some facts.

Over the period 2006-2017, UNESCO has recorded 1,010 killings of journalists. A total of 80 journalists and media workers were killed in 2018 as of 9 October. On average, every five days, a journalist is killed for bringing information to the public. Many people operating in the new media ecosystem – such as citizen journalists and bloggers – are experiencing growing harassment, in part due to their ambiguous status under national legislation.

Women journalists and media personnel have also been increasingly exposed to violence, with the number of women journalists killed worldwide rising steadily since 2010. But despite all of this, legal impunity for perpetrators of crimes against journalists remains the norm, as a staggering 90 percent of cases are unresolved.

Journalists are targeted for many reasons, and by many people. Some are investigating corruption and abuse of power. Some are expressing political or social views which others wish to silence. Some simply stand as a voice of peace in times of war. Irrespective of the motive, however, the systematic targeting of journalists is a telling reflection of how important – in fact, vital – their work is.

The intimidation, harassment and killing of journalists are – no doubt – extreme forms of censorship, and a violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, among other things, recognizes the freedom to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers”.

But they also erode the conditions for peaceful and inclusive societies. For this reason, Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – agreed in 2015 by more than 150 world leaders – has an indicator that tracks cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists and associated media personnel.

United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has spoken out on many occasions about the importance of governments ensuring accountability for crimes against journalists and the UN, across its agencies, funds and programmes, has committed to a comprehensive Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) engages in work to strengthen free and independent media, including in places where the media and journalists face pressures and threats of all sorts. In fact, a stock-taking exercise currently underway shows that, in the past few years alone, UNDP has implemented over 100 interventions in 60 different countries to enhance the media’s role in peace and development.

This work has taken many forms: from facilitating a “Journalists’ Pact for Strengthening Peace” in Lebanon, to promoting a balanced media coverage of elections in Georgia; from supporting insightful reporting on the extractive sector in Kenya, to providing training to journalists on how to make the most of open data in Moldova – just to mention a few examples.

A free and independent media sector is the bedrock of informed societies. It can support accountable and plural governance, it can provide a space for healthy public debate and dialogue and, under appropriate circumstances, can also play a role in reducing violent conflict.

In recent years, technological developments, including the rise of social and digital media, and the liberalization of media markets have fuelled a significant change, with profound implications on how people are informed and ways they can participate in governance.

Growing manipulation of public opinion is distorting political incentives in ways that are contrary to the public interest. Divisions in society are likely to become more easily exploited for political gain and the prospects for social cohesion look less promising, as public spaces become more fragmented and echo chamber effects become more intense.

These trends are extremely worrying and must be addressed urgently. But how can we protect the quality of public debate, and ensure the broader benefits to societies, if we do not defend independent media and public service journalism?

Journalists and other media workers must be protected from threats, violence, arbitrary detention and death. And those who perpetrate crimes against them must be brought to justice. Because information and ideas should be shared freely, without fear of repercussion for the benefit of whole societies.

The post Keeping Journalists Safe Benefits Whole Societies appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Sarah Lister is Director, UNDP’s Oslo Governance Centre, and Emanuele Sapienza is, Policy Specialist, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP.

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According to ‘The World State of Agriculture 2018’, India is the country with the highest number of organic producers (835'000). This is a woman cultivating her tea plantation in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Credit: Ilaria Cecilia/IPS

By Maged Srour
ROME, Oct 31 2018 (IPS)

Many countries and farmers around the world are not readily making the switch to organic farming. But the small Himalayan mountain state of Sikkim, which borders Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan, is the first 100 percent organic farming state in the world. 

Earlier this month, Sikkim, won the Future Policy Award 2018 (FPA) for being the first state in the world to declare itself, in 2015, 100 percent organic.

Its path towards becoming completely organic started in 2003, when Chief Minister Pawan Chamling announced the political vision to make Sikkim “the first organic state of India”.

The FPA, also known as the ‘Oscar for Best Policies’ is organised every year by the World Future Council (WFC). The aim of the FPA is to investigate solutions to the challenges in today’s world. The WFC looks at which policies have a holistic and long-term outlook, and which protect the rights of future generations. And once a year the WFC awards showcases the very best of them.

This year, in cooperation with IFOAM-Organics International (IFOAM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the FPA decided to focus on the best policies to scale up agroecology.

In 2004, one year after the vision was announced, Sikkim adopted its Policy on Organic Farming and in 2010, the state launched the Organic Mission, an action plan to implement the policy. In 2015, thanks to strong political coherence and strategy planning, the goal was achieved.

Among the noteworthy measures adopted by Sikkim during that decade, the fact that 80 percent of the budget between 2010 and 2014 was intended to build the capacity of farmers, rural service providers and certification bodies. The budget also supported farmers in acquiring certifications, and had various measures to provide farmers with quality organic seeds.

Best practices on agroecology: Denmark’s Organic Action Plan

The WFC has also rewarded other government policies with Silver Awards, Vision Awards and Honourable Mentions. Among the Silver awardees was Denmark’s Organic Action Plan, which has become a popular policy planning tool in European countries over the last decade.

Almost 80 percent of Danes purchase organic food and today the country has the highest organic market share in the world (13 percent).

“What has made Danish consumers among the most enthusiastic organic consumers [in the world], is that we have done a lot of consumer information and we have worked strategically with the supermarkets to place organics as part of their strategy to appeal to consumers on the value of food, putting more value into food through organics,” Paul Holmbeck, Political Director of ‘Organic Denmark’, told IPS.

The importance of being organic and agroecological

The policies of Sikkim and Denmark, as well as those of Ecuador and Brazil — countries that also received Silver Awards — are steps towards a world where agroecology becomes widespread and practiced globally. In fact, to conceive cultivated land as ecosystems themselves, in which every living and nonliving component affects every other component, is vital to obtain not only healthy and organic food, but also to preserve our environment.

Indeed, it would be a mistake to think that having organic products on our tables necessarily means having solved all problems related to intensive agriculture and to the damages on the environment.

“Agroecology is one approach that applies ecological concepts and principles to food and farm systems, focusing on the interaction between micro-organisms, plants, animals, humans and the environment, to foster sustainable agriculture development, in order to ensure food security and nutrition for all, now and in the future,” Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director General, told IPS. “It is based on co-creation of knowledge, sharing and innovation, combining local, traditional, indigenous practices with multi-disciplinary science.”

Emerging trends on organic

According to the report, The World of Organic Agriculture 2018 – Statistics and Emerging Trends, released earlier this year and authored by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and IFOAM, 57.8 million hectares (ha) worldwide were farmed organically in 2016. This is an increase of 7.5 million ha (or 13 percent) compared to the previous year.

In 2016, the share of land dedicated to organic farmland increased across the globe: Europe (6.7 percent increase), Asia (34 percent increase), Africa (7 percent increase), Latin America (6 percent increase), North America (5 percent increase).

Australia had the largest agricultural area farmed organically (27.2 million ha), followed by Argentina (3 million ha), and China (2.3 million ha).

In 2016, there were 2.7 million organic farmers. Around 40 percent of whom live in Asia, followed by Africa (27 percent) and Latin America (17 percent).

According to the report, the total area devoted in Asia to organic agriculture was almost 4.9 million ha in 2016 and there were 1.1 million organic producers in the region, with India being the country with the highest number of organic producers (835,000).

So the success of Sikkim is not surprising considering that the Asian continent can be considered among the regions at the forefront of organic production.

Perspectives about the future

However, favouring the scale up of agroecology, which includes producing organic products, is unfortunately not that simple.

“To harness the multiple sustainability benefits that arise from agroecological approaches, as enabling environment is required, including adapted policies, public investments, institutions and research priorities,” said Semedo.  “However, this is not yet a reality in the majority of countries.”

Indeed, poverty, malnutrition, unfair distribution of wealth, decreasing of biodiversity, deterioration of natural resources like soil and water, and climate change are significant challenges in most countries.

Agriculture will become one of the greatest challenges, if not addressed properly. Therefore, moving towards more sustainable agriculture and food systems is certainly a potential part of the solution, not only for our health and wellness but for the planet itself.

“It’s vital for everyone to be organic [and] for every person to eat organic because otherwise people would eat poison and basically writing a recipe for chronic diseases. It could be cancer [as well as] neurological problems,” warned Vandana Shiva, a food and agriculture expert and member of the WFC, told IPS during the ceremony of the Future Policy Award 2018 at FAO headquarters in Rome this October.

“Organic is the only living solution to climate change. Chemical farming is a very big contributor to greenhouse gas emissions but organic farming takes the excess carbon out of the atmosphere and puts it in the soil,” she added.

However, there seems to be a large consensus with the fact that the planet needs to move towards a more sustainable way of living and this is a reason for optimism.

“I’m very optimistic about organics [because] we are creating new solutions for climate and animal welfare, sustainability and good soil every single day,” said Holmbeck. “Governments are starting to see that organic food policy works: it is good for farmers, for consumers and for the planet.”

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The post “Governments are Starting to See that Organic Food Policy Works” appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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Benin striker Steve Mounie backs his country's plan to change its nickname from the Squirrels and suggests the Pythons.

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Prison sentences are given to 10 Benin youth players and former football federation president Anjorin Moucharafou for age cheating.

The pro-Iranian sect was protesting in the capital to demand the release of their detained leader.

Charles Wesco was shot in front of his wife and son two weeks after the family moved to volatile region.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Siddharth Chatterjee the UN Resident Coordinator discuss youth unemployment in Kenya. Credit: State House Kenya

By Yusuf Hassan
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 31 2018 (IPS)

The United Nations globally is witnessing some of the most ambitious reforms led by the UN Secretary General Mr. Antonio Guterres. Most relevant to us in Kenya is the entire reform of the development system and how the UN will adapt to a fast-changing development environment.

The countdown to the ambitious SDGs is already on, and the Agenda 2030 timeline implies we should already have gone one-fifth of the way towards all the targets. Kenya has been a champion of Agenda 2030 led by our own Ambassador Macharia Kamau, PS MFA, Kenya.

These include ridding Kenya of poverty and generally changing the narrative for those at the periphery of development and ensuring no one is left behind.

Kenya performed relatively well in the Millennium Development Goals, with that campaign being hailed for lifting more than one billion people out of extreme poverty and making inroads against hunger globally. However, Kenya was one of the countries that did not achieve MDG goals 4 and 5 which was about reducing maternal and child mortality.

Yusuf Hassan

Compared to the MDGs, Agenda 2030 is a doubling down, with global leaders having agreed on close to 170 targets summarized into 17 goals. Though countries will have to concentrate on those targets that are most urgent and of priority to them, the goals still mean greater challenges not only in financing programmes but in innovating for locally-applicable solutions.

One important transformation is in the operations of the Resident Coordinators(RC) System and new generation UN Country Teams. The Resident Coordinator’s Office is generally the engine of the UN development system on the ground, providing coordination, strategic policy, partnerships and investments around the SDGs.

In the reforms, the strengthened RC will be the representative of the UN Secretary-General on the ground and the most senior UN development officials at the country level and will be better positioned to ensure operational coherence and synergies in development, humanitarian and peace building action, according to the country context.

This takes effect on 01 January 2019.

Alignment of the work of UN in Kenya is expressed through the recently-launched United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF 2018-2022). The rigorous development process of UNDAF was led by the Treasury and Devolution ministries and coordinated with the UN Country Team.

More than 100 institutions were involved in the process to ensure the framework reflected priorities including Vision 2030, MTP III and the President Kenyatta’s bold Big 4 Agenda.

With Kenya being classified as a lower middle-income country, financial support to UN agencies has now undergone a considerable down-titration. Nevertheless, the current UNDAF has still committed up to 80% more resources towards finding solutions to the countries challenges between now and 2022.

Prime among those challenges include changing the narrative for the youth and advancing gender equality, but in that challenge lies an ideal common ground for joint programming not only between the development partners and UN but also bringing in the might of the private sector.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres is leading efforts to ensure that the UN is more effective, efficient, coherent, coordinated and a better performing United Nations country presence with a strengthened role of the UN Resident Coordinator.

The UN Resident Coordinator to Kenya, Siddharth Chatterjee at the launch of the UNDAF in June 2018 reiterated the fact that the UN agencies in Kenya have their shoulders squared to work with various partners to meet the challenges of our time. He emphasized that this will not be a “business usual” approach.

No doubt as a global body, the United Nations in Kenya is undertaking bold and innovative action that is required to deliver on the 2030 Agenda. This was acknowledged in an open letter by the Frontier Counties of Kenya to the UN stating, “The UN Kenya country team has demonstrated in action and words the principle of leaving no one behind and reaching the furthest behind first; as counties historically maginalised the ushers a new dawn of development”.

The President’s Big 4 agenda, the government’s keen interest to see rapid growth & progress and close working ties with the UN in Kenya, Kenya can become a model for the UN Delivering As One and ensuring “no one is left behind”.

Therein lies the UN “being fit for purpose.”

Hon Mr. Yusuf Hassan is a senior ranking Member of Kenya’s National Assembly and MP from Nairobi. He has served for over 18 years with the United Nations, including UNHCR & UNOCHA. He has also served as a senior adviser on refugees in the late UN SG Mr. Kofi Annan’s office. He is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy,Tufts University, USA.

The post Is the United Nations in Kenya Fit For Purpose? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By WAM
DUBAI, Oct 31 2018 (WAM)

Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, today announced that the UAE will contribute US$1.5 million annually for the period 2019 to 2021, cumulatively amounting to US$4.5 million, to fund the projects carried out by the Global Green Growth Institute, GGGI.

The announcement was made at the GGGI’s Assembly and Council, held at the South Korean capital, Seoul. Dr. Al-Zeyoudi led the UAE delegation that participated at the assembly.

Reiterating the UAE’s commitment to green development, the Minister said, “In the UAE, we are resolved to achieving a green economy as per the UAE Green Agenda 2030 adopted by the UAE Cabinet in 2015. During 2017-2018, we have made a lot of progress in the implementation of the Green Agenda 2030 and key policy developments with the assistance of the GGGI Abu Dhabi office team.”

“The UAE Cabinet adopted the National Climate Change Plan 2050 in June 2017, which consolidates the country’s climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives under one integrated framework. As part of the Climate Plan implementation, we have recently conducted a comprehensive climate risk assessment across four key sectors and identified priority climate risks that require us to develop appropriate adaptation measures,” he added.

Highlighting one of the initiatives in green development in the UAE, Dr. Al-Zeyoudi said, “The development of green growth indices is not new to us. We have already set 41 Green Key Performance Indicators to track the UAE’s progress towards achieving a green economy and offer regular updates through the UAE State of Green Economy Report. Furthermore, we launched the UAE Green Dashboard just last week, an open data platform which allows anyone to access and analyse underlying data on the 41 Green KPIs.”

The Minister held several bilateral meetings to boost cooperation in agriculture, food safety, green development and the recycling of industrial materials. These included a meeting with Lee Gae-ho, South Korea’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, former UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon, who is also GGGI’s Assembly President and Council Chair, as well as top officials from the Korean National Cleaner Production Centre.

Accompanied by Abdullah Saif Al Nuaimi, Ambassador of the UAE to South Korea, Dr. Al-Zeyoudi visited Korea Polar Research Institute, a statutory and government-funded research institution that is leading Korea’s national Polar programme for both the Arctic and the Antarctic, to explore first-hand the institute’s research efforts and how it is engaging the youth and the public in polar studies. The Minister was introduced to the key studies and research projects developed at the institute in the last 30 years.

Dr. Al-Zeyoudi also toured the Seoul Upcycling Plaza, Korea’s biggest upcycling complex, where he was introduced to the facility’s entire upcycling process, from material donation and collection to processing, production, and sales.

WAM/Nour Salman/MOHD AAMIR

The post UAE to contribute US$4.5 million to green development appeared first on Inter Press Service.