At COP16, Biodiversity Credits Raising Hopes and Protests

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COP16

Indigenous women in Cali hold a protest commodificationof their traditional natural products. Majority of the indigenous organizations participants in the COP have been vocal about their opposition to biodiversitycredits, which they think is a false solution to halt biodiversity loss. Credit:Stella Paul/IPS COP16 Logo, installed at the conference venue atCali, Colombia. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

Indigenous women in Cali hold a protest commodificationof their traditional natural products. Majority of the indigenous organizations participants in the COP have been vocal about their opposition to biodiversitycredits, which they think is a false solution to halt biodiversity loss. Credit:Stella Paul/IPS
COP16 Logo, installed at the conference venue atCali, Colombia. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

CALI, Columbia, Oct 26 2024 (IPS) – At the end of the first week at the 16th Conference of Parties on Biodiversity (COP16), finance emerges as the biggest issue but also shrouded in controversies.

On Saturday, as the COP moved closer to its most crucial phase of negotiations, resource mobilization—listed under Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF)—took centerstage, with most parties demanding faster action, greater transparency and the adoption of true solutions to halt biodiversity loss. 

Biodiversity finance: Expectation vs Reality

On Thursday, October 24, the government of China formally announced that the Kunming Biodiversity Fund—first announced by Chinese president Xi Jinping in 2021—was now fully in operation. The fund promises to contribute USD 220 million over the next 10 years, which would be spent especially to help developing countries in implementation of the KMGBF and achieve its targets, said Huang Runqiu, Minister of Environment and Ecology, China, at a press conference. It wasn’t clear, however, how much of the promised amount had been deposited.

This has been the only news of resource mobilization for global biodiversity conservation received at COP16, as no other donors came forth with any further announcements of new financial pledges or contributions to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), which was expected to receive USD 400 billion in contribution by now but has only received a paltry USD 250 million.  In addition, there were no announcements of the countries reducing their current spending on harmful subsidies that amount to USD 500 billion and cause biodiversity degradation and biodiversity loss.

In absence of new contributions and lack of any concrete progress on reduction of harmful subsidies, the new mechanisms like biodiversity credits to mobilize resources for implementation of the Global Biodiversity Fund is fast gaining traction.

From October 21–24, the COP16 witnessed a flurry of activities centered primarily around biodiversity credits and the building of new pathways to mobilize finance through this means. Experts from both the UN and the private sector were heard at various forums discussing the needs of developing tools and methodologies that would help mobilize new finance through biodiversity credits while also ensuring transparency.

COP16 logo, installed at the conference venue in Cali, Colombia. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

COP16 logo, installed at the conference venue in Cali, Colombia. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

Inclusiveness and the Questions

According to a 2023 report by the World Economic Forum, the demand for biodiversity credits could rise to USD 180 billion annually by 2050. The report said that if major companies stepped into the market, the annual demand for biodiversity credits could go to as high as USD 7 billion per year by 2030.

Experts from the UN and a variety of technical people with various backgrounds said that since biodiversity credits are still in their infancy, there will undoubtedly be a lot of scrutiny and criticism. The Biodiversity Credit Alliance is a group that provides guidance for the establishment of a biodiversity credit market. The urgent need, they said, was to develop infrastructure and policies that would help answer those questions and tackle the scrutiny. The first and foremost of them was to help build digital tools and infrastructure that could be used to share and store biodiversity data in a credible and transparent manner.

Nathalie Whitaker, co-founder of Toha Network in New Zealand, a group of nature-based business investors, said that her organization is building digital tools, especially for helping local communities to participate in biodiversity credit programs and access the benefits.

“Once the communities have these tools, they can instantly see what data is being used to pay for the biodiversity credits or even decide the value of the natural sources in their territory. So, they can see what resources are being discussed, what is being valued, how it’s being done and how the whole discussion is moving forward,” Whitaker said.

Fabian Shimdt-Pramov, another speaker at the event, said that the quality of the tools would decide the course and results of a biodiversity credits project.

Shimdt-Pramov, chief business development officer at Biometric Earth, a German company that uses artificial intelligence to build biodiversity analytics tools from different sources such as remote sensing, wildlife cameras, acoustic monitoring, etc.

“If methodology is not correct, if the data is not correct, the system doesn’t work,” he said, emphasizing on the requirement of high-level technological expertise that is needed to get a biodiversity credit project off the ground.

However, when questioned on the cost of buying such high-end technologies and tools, especially by Indigenous communities living in remote areas without any internet connectivity, both speakers appeared to be at a loss for words.

“I have seen in the Amazon a community selling five mahogany trees on the internet, so I am guessing it’s not a big challenge,” Shmidt-Pramov said in a dismissive voice. Whitaker acknowledged that lack of access to digital technology in Indigenous Peoples communities was an issue but had no solutions to propose.

Terence Hay-Edie of Nature ID, UNDP, however, stressed the need to empower the communities with the knowledge and skills that would help them access the tools and be part of a biodiversity credit.

As an example, he cites restoration of river-based biodiversity as a biodiversity credit project where a river is considered to have the same rights as a human being. According to him, if values of credits are counted and traded for restoration of biodiversity around a river, it will require recognition of all these rights that a river has, which is only possible when the community living along the river has full knowledge of what is at stake, what is restored, what value of the restored biodiversity is to be determined and how the pricing of that value will be decided.

“A river can be a legal entity and have a legal ID. Now, can we build some tools and put them in the hands of the community that is doing the restoration to know the details of it? That’s what we are looking at,” Hay-Edie said.

A False Solution?

However, Indigenous peoples organizations at the COP16 were overwhelmingly opposing biodiversity credits, which they called “commodifying nature.”

What are biodiversity credits? It’s basically regenerating biodiversity where it is destroyed and earning money from that. But it doesn’t work that way, according to Souparna Lahiri, senior climate change campaigner at Global Forest Coalition.

“If we talk of a forest, the ecosystem is not just about trees but about every life that thrives in and around it—the rivers, the animals, plants, bees, insects, flowers and all the organisms. Once destroyed, it’s lost forever. And when you regenerate it elsewhere, you can never guarantee that it will be an exact replica of what has been lost.  This is why the very concept of biodiversity credit is a destructive idea,” says Lahiri.

Valentina Figuera, also of the Global Forest Coalition, said that while trading carbon credits could work as a tool in carbon change mitigation, it would not be the same in biodiversity.

“In climate change, you can measure the total carbon generated by a forest, for example. But in biodiversity, how do you measure it? What is the mechanism? How do you even value life that thrives there? So, this concept is a straight import from climate change and forcefully imposed in biodiversity, which is nothing but a false solution, so that businesses that cause biodiversity loss can conduct their business as usual.

The Dilemma of Participation

COP16, dubbed the “People’s Cop” by Colombia, the host country, has drawn several hundred representatives of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC), especially from across Latin America, including Colombia, Brazil, Panama, Venezuela and Peru. While the Latin American IPLC organizations appeared united in their opposition to biodiversity credits, African organizations seemed to be willing to consider it.

Mmboneni Esther Mathobo of the South African NGO International Institute of Environment said that her organization was in support of biodiversity credits, which could, she said, not only help the community earn money but also motivate them further to preserve biodiversity.

“We are influencing and making sure that our rights are safeguarded and protected in this newly emerging market of bringing biodiversity credits,” said Mathobo.

Currently, Namibia is implementing its first biodiversity carbon credits project in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Known as the Wildlife Credits Scheme, the project is known as a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) that rewards communities for protecting wildlife and biodiversity.  Mathobo said that the project in Namibia made her realize that there was a great opportunity for local communities to conserve and restore biodiversity and earn from it.

“We faced many challenges to earn carbon credits because that system was established and created behind our heads. And now we wake up, but we find ourselves sitting with a lot of problems in that market where our communities are not even benefiting. But we believe that with the engagement of the biodiversity alliance, UNDP, we are going to be the ones making sure that whatever happens in the biodiversity credit market, it benefits all our regions and all our communities, as well as safeguarding and protecting our rights,” she said.

“To each their own, if Latin American indigenous communities feel they don’t want to trade natural resources, that’s their right. But in Africa, we have the potential to earn biodiversity credits and we need the money, so we are supporting it,” Mahobo commented when reminded of the opposition of Latin American countries to biodiversity credits.

Source: World Economic Forum Report on Biodiversity Credit

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Press Freedom in Sri Lanka: A Long Road to Justice

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At the gravesite of the late editor-in-chief of the influential English-language newspaper Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was killed in his car on January 8, 2009, on his way to work in Colombo. Credit: Johan Mikaelsson/IPS

At the gravesite of the late editor-in-chief of the influential English-language newspaper Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was killed in his car on January 8, 2009, on his way to work in Colombo. Credit: Johan Mikaelsson/IPS

COLOMBO, Oct 25 2024 (IPS) – Anyone interested in unsolved murders and disappearances will find much to study in Sri Lanka. Fifteen to twenty years ago, the country made global headlines, not only for the government’s military offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas but also for the numerous murders of journalists. The newly elected president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake—often referred to as AKD—seems determined to address the culture of impunity.

Local press freedom organizations in Sri Lanka have documented 44 cases of murdered and disappeared journalists and media workers between 2004 and 2010. International media watchdogs report lower numbers due to narrower definitions of who qualifies as a journalist. Regardless, it is well known that many journalists risk their lives. To date, no one has been convicted for the crimes committed against individual journalists or entire newsrooms.

One of the most iconic and globally recognized cases is the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was killed in his car on January 8, 2009, on his way to work in Colombo. As the editor-in-chief of the influential English-language newspaper Sunday Leader, Wickrematunge was a vocal critic of the government and a prominent figure in public debates.

The Rajapaksa brothers, ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda, allegedly obstructed investigations into his murder as well as those involving journalists and members of parliament. Yet, the Wickrematunge family remains hopeful that justice will not only be served for Lasantha but also for all murdered journalists and their families, colleagues, and society as a whole.

Lal Wickrematunge, former owner of the now-defunct Sunday Leader, explained that a new process has begun, gaining momentum since the September 21 presidential election.

“This election was crucial because what’s needed now is political will, just political will,” Lal stated.

He had received assurances from two major presidential candidates, Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, that the investigations would resume post-election.

“They requested to bring back retired CID inspectors to see if they can finally close these cases,” he added.

Since Dissanayake’s clear victory and his formation of an interim government, Lal confirmed that these promises have been fulfilled so far. With parliamentary elections set for November 14, Dissanayake’s leftist coalition, National People’s Power, is projected to secure a majority.

“The new president has reinstated investigators who were previously dismissed or even imprisoned on fabricated charges. These investigators are now back to work, aiming to bring those responsible for journalists’ murders—both in the South and North—to justice,” Lal said.

Hope for Accountability

After the election results were announced, a curfew was imposed, and security was heightened at international airports to prevent former politicians implicated in various crimes from leaving the country. With the upcoming parliamentary elections, Lal remains optimistic.

“I believe this is a step in the right direction. So far, the president has earned the trust of even those who didn’t vote for him, and it looks like his party will win a solid majority in parliament. He’s promised transparency and good governance, and he’s staying true to his word, gaining the confidence of people across the country,” Lal explained.

He then recalled the events of January 2009, when his brother Lasantha was murdered. Four men on two motorcycles smashed the windows of Lasantha’s car. Witnesses didn’t hear any gunshots, but Lasantha had a hole in his skull with no exit wound, and no bullets or gunpowder residue were found. It’s believed the killers used a bolt gun—typically used to slaughter livestock—which they concealed in a rolled-up newspaper.

The suspected mastermind behind the murder is Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who served as president from 2019 to 2022. After several months of widespread protests (known as Aragalaya, which means struggle in Sinhala) against his government over claims of resource mismanagement, fuel shortages, and skyrocketing food prices, he resigned. Rajapaksa, who returned to Sri Lanka after his resignation, now lives off the state like four other former presidents.

As Secretary of Defense from 2005 to 2015, Gotabaya allegedly ordered the assassination. The motive was linked to Sunday Leader’s reporting on corruption, particularly in the purchase of used Russian-made MIG fighter jets from Ukraine, where Rajapaksa was implicated as the main beneficiary. Rajapaksa sued the newspaper for defamation, and a court hearing was scheduled for 2009, but the case never proceeded due to Lasantha’s murder.

The Fight for Justice Continues

Though it has been 15 years since Lasantha’s death, his legacy endures, as do the memories of other murdered journalists. Of the 44 documented cases, 41 involved Tamil journalists. Many Sri Lankan journalists in exile, including those associated with JDS Lanka (Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka), continue to report on the situation back home.

In 2021-2022, a legal initiative called “A Safer World for the Truth” took place in The Hague under the auspices of The People’s Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists. This project, led by the Permanent People’s Tribunal in collaboration with Free Press Unlimited, Reporters Without Borders, and the Committee to Protect Journalists, reviewed three murder cases, including Lasantha’s.

Nishanta Silva, the lead investigator in the case, now in exile in Switzerland, presented evidence pointing to the involvement of the “Tripoli Platoon,” a secret military unit directly under Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s control.

Although targeted killings of journalists have ceased since 2009, Sri Lanka remains far down in global rankings for press freedom. In Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index, Sri Lanka ranks 150th out of 180 countries—a grim reflection of the ongoing challenges. Tamil journalists in the north face the greatest difficulties.

Press Freedom in Northern Sri Lanka: Challenges and Resilience

In Jaffna, the largest city in northern Sri Lanka with a population of 170,000, a vibrant Press Club brings together many local journalists who support one another. Similar press clubs exist in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, two other northern cities.

In October 2020, Mullaitivu Press Club president, journalist Shanmugam Thavaseelan, and photojournalist Kanapathipillai Kumanan were investigating illegal logging when a group of men approached and attacked them as they were photographing and filming a stack of about 200 tree trunks.

Both Thavaseelan and Kumanan were brutally beaten, with Thavaseelan losing two teeth. They spent three days in the hospital. Thavaseelan’s missing teeth serve as a lasting reminder of the assault.

During the attack, they were forced to delete the contents of a memory card; one card went missing, and one camera was damaged. The two journalists were also robbed of about 50,000 rupees, equivalent to USD 150. Their investigation revealed that the illegal logging was extensive and involved local authorities.

The attackers were identified and arrested by the police but were released on bail after a month. Four years later, the case remains ongoing in court.

“No journalist has been murdered or disappeared since 2009-2010. But they harass us and try to intimidate us in other ways. Over the past ten years, I’ve been involved in five court cases,” says Thavaseelan.

Journalists covering routine news, sports, and cultural events typically face no issues. However, those investigating corruption or misconduct often find themselves in trouble. Most journalists rely on motorcycles for transportation, making them vulnerable on the roads, where there have been multiple incidents of cars deliberately trying to run them over.

“There is no specific legal protection for journalists while we’re doing our work, unlike for government employees,” Thavaseelan explains.

Kumanan, who monitors and reports on the Mullaitivu region, is constantly under surveillance by military intelligence personnel. In this area, there is one Sinhalese soldier for every three Tamil civilians, and they regularly check on Kumanan and track his movements.

“I know my rights, and I stand up for myself, which usually makes them back off,” Kumanan says.

A Struggle for Justice

Freddy Gamage, a Sinhalese journalist from Negombo near Colombo, is president of the Sri Lanka Web Journalists Association and works to strengthen the bonds between journalists and press freedom advocates in the north and south. Over the years, he too has been the target of attacks.

“Our struggle for justice is incredibly difficult and has been going on for over a decade. It’s hard to see how justice will be served, even if the government changes, given how successive Sri Lankan governments have acted in the UN in Geneva, where these issues are raised,” Gamage says.

“But we can’t give up. We need to continue our efforts to unite journalists from the north, east, and south. After the elections, we need to consider what steps we can take, both nationally and internationally, to secure justice,” Gamage explains.

Every year, memorials for murdered journalists are held, where colleagues gather to renew their calls for justice. With the recent change in government, there is hope, but realizing justice will require strong political will, hard work, and perseverance.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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Capacity Building Is Key to Africa’s Digital Sequencing Success Story

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Biodiversity

The International Livestock Research Institute is using genomics to breed livestock suited to local conditions and production systems to meet community needs. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

The International Livestock Research Institute is using genomics to breed livestock suited to local conditions and production systems to meet community needs. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

BULAWAYO, Oct 22 2024 (IPS) – Christian Tiambo has always wished to uplift local farmers’ communities through cutting-edge science.

As climate change wreaked havoc on local agriculture, Tiambo, a livestock scientist at the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH) and at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), focused on conserving and developing livestock that could withstand environmental stress.

Genomics, a Game Changer

Tiambo’s research took an exciting turn when part of his PhD studies was to characterize and establish local poultry populations with interesting resilience potential. Yet, the need for local access to advanced genomic tools was a barrier to fully unlocking this potential.

Today, the power of digital data and sequencing information is transformative. It is driving the discovery of genes and innovation in agriculture through the identification and deep characterization of pathogens in plants and animals. That is helping scientists to breed livestock suited to local conditions and production systems, thereby benefiting local communities that have been custodians of genetic resources for generations.

But there is a catch: Africa, like other parts of the global south, is a genetic goldmine but has not fully capitalized on the digital sequencing information (DSI) derived from its genetic heritage. DSI is a tool that provides information for the precise identification of living organisms and allows the development of diagnosis tools and technologies for conservation in animals and plants. Besides, DSI is also used in investigating the relationships within and between species and in plant and animal breeding to predict their breeding value and potential contribution to their future generations.

Tiambo said DSI can be used to adjust the genotypes and produce animals with desired traits, adapted to local conditions but which have higher productivity.

A promising innovation has been the development of surrogate technologies in poultry, small ruminants, cattle or pigs—giving opportunity to local and locally adapted and resilient breeds to carry and disseminate semen from improved breeds in challenging environments.

“Farmers would not need to keep requesting inseminators and semen from outside their village,” Tiambo explained, noting that this shift could dramatically improve livestock breeding, dissemination of elite genetics, boost food security and alleviate poverty in remote rural areas of Africa.

Global cooperation among stakeholders of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is key to establishing international guidelines on benefit-sharing from animal genetics resources and their associated information, including DSI.

Christian Tiambo, a livestock scientist at the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health. Credit: ILRI

Christian Tiambo, a livestock scientist at the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health. Credit: ILRI

Using genetics and associated traditional knowledge includes adapting specific livestock to specific environments. This contributes to the development of improved and elite tropical animal breeds with particular traits that meet community needs to improve livelihoods, he said.

“Local livestock is not just for food but is our heritage, culture and social value,” said Tiambo, adding that conserving livestock is conserving local culture, social ethics and inclusion, with gender aspects being considered. For example, the Muturu cattle and the Bakosi cattle in Nigeria and Cameroon are animals used in dowry, The Bamileke cattle remain sacred and maintain the ecosystem of sacred forest in part of the western highlands of Cameroon.

“I have never seen any traditional ceremony done with exotic chicken in any African village,” he said.

Genetics and DSI, according to Tiambo, are “game changers” in breeding livestock with desired traits faster. What used to take five to seven years or more, he says, can now be done in just three or four cycles with the help of genomics.

ILRI has been working with the Roslin Institute, the Kenyan Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization and collaborating with the African Union-InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), the National Biosafety Authority, farmer communities, and National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in Africa and Southeast Asia in the conservation and development of improved local chicken using stem cell technologies.

Bridging the Capacity Gap

DSI needs infrastructure and human resources. “A lot of infrastructure, equipment and skills are coming from outside Africa, but how can we also generate DSI and use it locally?” Tiambo asked. He worries that without developing local capacity to harness DSI, “a lot of helicopter research will still be happening in Africa where people fly in, just pick what they want, fly out, and no scientists in Africa are involved in generating and using DSI.”

Technologically advanced countries have often exploited these genetic resources, developing commercial products and services without clear mechanisms for sharing the monetary and non-monetary benefits with local communities as ethics and common sense would require—an injustice that needs urgent correction.

The use of DSI on genetic resources is one of the four goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in 2022 with the aim of stopping global biodiversity loss by 2030.

ThankGod Ebenezer, bioinformatician and co-founder of the African BioGenome Project, argues that Africa must seize this moment to build and strengthen local capacity to produce and use DSI from genetic resources.

“The establishment of a benefit-sharing mechanism for DSI is a first step in the right direction and Africa needs to maximise even this first step by putting in a framework to generate and make use of DSI locally,” Ebenezer told IPS, explaining that Africa needs to be able to do genetic sequencing on the ground with local scientists having the capacity to translate and use it.

The Africa BioGenome Project, of which Tiambo is also a founding member, is a continental biodiversity conservation initiative that has laid out a roadmap for how Africa can benefit from DSI and the planned multilateral fund.

“The main benefit comes from being able to use DSI and ultimately share it with the global community in line with the national and international rules and regulations,” said Ebenezer. “Because if you cannot use DSI yourself, you will always feel like a supplier, like someone who gets crude oil from the ground and asks someone else to add value to it and gets several products.”

“The multilateral fund is key,” Ebenezer stresses. “If someone converts DSI into revenue, for instance, they’re only looking at paying 1% back into the fund. Is that enough for the communities that hold this biodiversity?”

At COP16 in Colombia (Oct 21-Nov 1, 2024), world leaders will discuss mechanisms for fair and equitable sharing of DSI benefits, a critical step for Africa and other biodiversity-rich regions. For example, Africa hosts eight of the 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world, according to the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

“In terms of the negotiation, we would like the DSI fund to be approved so that it’s ready for implementation because this is an implementation COP,” Susana Muhamad, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia and COP16 President-designate, told a press briefing ahead of COP16.

“We would like the decision of the parties to give the COP the teeth for implementation. One is the DSI,” Muhamad said.

Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, is hopeful that COP16 will operationalize the multilateral mechanism for the sharing of benefits from the use of digital sequencing information in genetic research.

“We are going to look at that. And I think it’s a very complex term and issue, but it is ultimately about how those industries, sectors and companies that use digital sequence information on genetic resources that are often located in the global south, but not exclusively, how they use it and how they pay for using it,” said Schomaker, noting that COP15 agreed to establish a multilateral mechanism and a Fund for DSI.

The fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of genetic resources is one of the three objectives of the CDB, including the conservation of biological diversity and sustainable use of its components. Target 18 of the CBD seeks to reduce harmful incentives by at least USD 500 billion per year by 2030, money that could be channelled to halting biodiversity loss.

The World Resources Institute (WRI), in a position paper, has urged COP16 to provide more finance and incentives to support nature and biodiversity goals.

There is currently a USD 700 billion gap between annual funding for nature and what’s needed by 2030 to protect and restore ecosystems, the WRI said, noting that “many of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems—and biggest carbon sinks—are in developing countries that cannot save them without far more financial support.”

The WRI commented that bringing in more private sector finance will require incentives, which can come from policy and regulation as well as market-based strategies to make investments in nature more attractive.

But this should not substitute for shifting harmful subsidies and delivering international public finance to the countries that need it most, WRI argued.

As the world scrambles to stop biodiversity loss by 2030, the upcoming COP16 discussions could be pivotal in ensuring that Africa finally benefits from its own genetic wealth.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Salt: Bangladesh Communities On the Frontline of Climate Change

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COP29

A young girl digs deep into soil saturated with salt water, hoping to find logs to burn as fuel. Two years on from Cyclone Aila, the communities along Bangladesh’s southwest coastline are starting to rebuild their lives. In the course of the cyclone, which struck in May 2009, surges of water up to three meters high battered the coast along the Bay of Bengal in Khulna district. Cyclone Sidr, the worst ever in the area, had already weakened the area. Aila only needed to hit a small amount to destroy the defenses. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

A young girl digs deep into soil saturated with salt water, hoping to find logs to burn as fuel. Two years on from Cyclone Aila, the communities along Bangladesh’s southwest coastline are starting to rebuild their lives. In the course of the cyclone, which struck in May 2009, surges of water up to three meters high battered the coast along the Bay of Bengal in Khulna district. Cyclone Sidr, the worst ever in the area, had already weakened the area. Aila only needed to hit a small amount to destroy the defenses. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

DHAKA, Oct 22 2024 (IPS) – Global warming has far-reaching effects, and certain countries, particularly those with low lying coastal regions, are more vulnerable than others. Bangladesh, the largest delta in the world, is at the forefront of the global warming crisis. Its coastal areas are increasingly exposed to rising sea levels, natural disasters, and salinization, all of which have devastating effects on its population.

Nijhum Dwip is a 20-kilometer-long offshore island in the Bay of Bengal, nearby the South of Hatia Island. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has warned that the sea is rising more dramatically and may rise 11.2 inches by 2070, resulting in the shrinkage of this island by 96% within half a century (WWF 2010). Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Nijhum Dwip is a 20-kilometer-long offshore island in the Bay of Bengal, nearby the South of Hatia Island. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has warned that the sea is rising more dramatically and may rise 11.2 inches by 2070, resulting in the shrinkage of this island by 96% within half a century (WWF 2010). Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

The rise in natural calamities, such as cyclones and tidal surges, worsens the already fragile ecosystem. In this context, Bangladesh serves as a case study of how climate change disproportionately affects some regions, despite their minimal contribution to global emissions.

Bangladesh’s vulnerability to global warming is linked to its geography and socioeconomic structure. The nation’s low-lying coastal regions are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, which cyclones and tidal floods exacerbate. Two significant cyclones, Sidr in 2007 and Aila in 2009, ravaged Bangladesh’s coastal zones, including the districts of Satkhira, Barguna, Patuakhali, Khulna, and Bagerhat. These events highlighted the urgent need for climate action. 

Water and soil salinity in Satkhira, the most climate-prone district in Bangladesh, is trying to adapt, but the land is adverse to growing crops; people are fleeing to the other districts to save their livelihood even in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic fueled climate migration more as the supply and growth of food sources have become very minimal. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Water and soil salinity in Satkhira, the most climate-prone district in Bangladesh, is trying to adapt, but the land is adverse to growing crops; people are fleeing to the other districts to save their livelihood even in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic fueled climate migration more as the supply and growth of food sources have become very minimal. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Cyclone Aila, which struck on May 27, 2009, serves as a stark reminder of the destructive potential of climate-induced disasters. The cyclone claimed 330 lives and left over 8,000 missing. It caused extensive destruction in the coastal district of Satkhira, particularly in the village of Gabura, which was near the Sundarbans mangrove forest. Aila displaced over 1 million people, destroyed natural resources, and wiped out crucial infrastructure. Moreover, a deadly outbreak of diarrhea followed, infecting over 7,000 people, with fatalities reported within days of the cyclone.

The economic cost of Cyclone Aila was staggering. The total damage was estimated at USD 552.6 million. The cyclone also exposed the vulnerability of Bangladesh’s public health infrastructure, with millions at risk of post-disaster diseases due to inadequate resources and medical attention.

This woman lost almost everything when the cyclone Aila hit the territory. She is a widow and lives with her son. Women in developing countries like Bangladesh living around the coastline areas are mostly experiencing poverty and natural disasters. These are making them more vulnerable, affecting their livelihoods and security. Water and soil salinity in Satkhira, the most climate-prone district in Bangladesh, is trying to adapt, but the land is adverse to growing crops; people are fleeing to the other districts to save their livelihood even in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic fueled climate migration more as the supply and growth of food sources have become very minimal. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

This woman lost almost everything when the cyclone Aila hit the territory. She is a widow and lives with her son. Poverty and natural disasters have an impact on women in developing nations like Bangladesh who live near the coastline. These are making them more vulnerable, affecting their livelihoods and security. In Satkhira, the most climate-prone district in Bangladesh, water and soil salinity are a problem and while the region is trying to adapt, crops don’t grow there and people are fleeing to the other districts to save their livelihoods. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

One of the long-term effects of climate change in Bangladesh is the rising sea levels, which are already encroaching on the country’s coastal areas. As sea levels rise, Bangladesh’s coastal regions face increased salinity in both soil and water. The reduced flow of freshwater from upstream rivers during the dry season exacerbates this issue.

Saline water now reaches as far as 240 kilometers inland, rendering agricultural activities increasingly difficult. Farmers, once able to produce several crops per year, are struggling to sustain their livelihoods as crop productivity plummets.

Much of the flood damage caused by Cyclone Aila was to the water and sanitation systems the Bangladeshi villagers depend on. Floodwaters seeped into supplies used for drinking and washing, and latrines were washed away, allowing raw sewage to increase the threat to diseases such as cholera. This young boy in Gabura, one of the worst-hit villages in the Satkhira district, has access to safe drinking water – but has to cross a river to collect it. Livelihoods have also been lost: freshwater with sewage and saltwater, and seawater continues to flood farmlands at high tide two years on, making it impossible to grow crops.

Much of the flood damage caused by Cyclone Aila was to the water and sanitation systems the Bangladeshi villagers depend on. Floodwaters seeped into supplies used for drinking and washing, and latrines were washed away, allowing raw sewage to increase the threat to diseases such as cholera. This young boy in Gabura, one of the worst-hit villages in the Satkhira district, has access to safe drinking water—but has to cross a river to collect it. Livelihoods have also been lost: freshwater with sewage and saltwater, and seawater continues to flood farmlands at high tide two years on, making it impossible to grow crops. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

The saline intrusion has also led to a shift in the region’s economy, with shrimp farming becoming one of the few viable industries. Shrimp farming, however, brings its own set of environmental challenges, as it requires large-scale land conversion and disrupts natural ecosystems, further trapping seawater in agricultural lands. The transformation of agricultural lands into shrimp farms has also altered the social fabric, contributing to food insecurity and economic hardship.

A laborer who finished his work with others to build a dam to protect the border of the river. Every year, more or less, cyclones hit Gabura and its surrounding areas, high tides hit the land and drown houses, and destroy crop fields. And often, it kills lives. A young girl digs deep into soil saturated with salt water, hoping to find logs to burn as fuel. Two years on from Cyclone Aila, the communities along Bangladesh’s southwest coastline are starting to rebuild their lives. In the course of the cyclone, which struck in May 2009, surges of water up to three meters high battered the coast along the Bay of Bengal in Khulna district. It was already weakened by Cyclone Sidr, the worst ever in the region. Aila needed a tiny hit to destroy the defenses. Much of the flood damage caused by Cyclone Aila was to the water and sanitation systems the Bangladeshi villagers depend on. Floodwaters seeped into supplies used for drinking and washing, and latrines were washed away, allowing raw sewage to increase the threat to diseases such as cholera. This young boy in Gabura, one of the worst-hit villages in the Satkhira district, has access to safe drinking water – but has to cross a river to collect it. Livelihoods have also been lost: freshwater with sewage and saltwater, and seawater continues to flood farmlands at high tide two years on, making it impossible to grow crops. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

A laborer building a dam to protect the border of the river. Every year, more or less, cyclones hit Gabura and its surrounding areas; high tides hit the land and drown houses and crop fields. And often, it kills lives. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

The Sundarbans, the largest tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world, play a crucial role in protecting Bangladesh’s coastal communities from climate-induced disasters. Sixty percent of the forest lies within Bangladesh, primarily in the districts of Khulna and Satkhira, while the rest extends into West Bengal, India. The Sundarbans act as a natural buffer, absorbing the impact of cyclones and tidal waves. Despite its protective function, the forest is under threat from both environmental degradation and human activities.

As agricultural lands diminish, more people are forced into the forest to collect honey, firewood, and other resources, putting them at greater risk of attacks by wildlife, including the Royal Bengal Tigers. Additionally, pirates and illegal loggers roam the forest, further endangering the livelihoods of those who depend on the Sundarbans for survival.

An agent from the shrimp farm is checking good quality baby shrimp in the shrimp market. Many people are involved in catching and trading baby shrimps. They catch baby shrimps from the nearby rivers and sell them to earn a living. Shrimp farming is widespread around the coastal area of Satkhira. It is a profitable business, but the businessmen are grabbing land from the farmers for a longtime contract for shrimp farming. This farming requires saltwater to cultivate shrimps, and the salt goes deep into the soil day by day, and after a few years, the whole area gets affected by salinity. No crops or trees cannot grow in that territory in the long run. Biodiversity and natural ecosystems get interrupted. Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

An agent from the shrimp farm is checking good quality baby shrimp in the shrimp market. Many people are involved in catching and trading baby shrimps. They catch baby shrimps from the nearby rivers and sell them to earn a living. Shrimp farming is widespread around the coastal area of Satkhira. It is a profitable business, but businessmen are grabbing land from the farmers for longtime contracts for shrimp farming. This farming requires saltwater to cultivate shrimps, and the salt goes deep into the soil day by day, and after a few years, the whole area gets affected by salinity. No crops or trees cannot grow in that territory in the long run. Biodiversity and natural ecosystems get interrupted. Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

The impacts of climate change in Bangladesh have forced many coastal inhabitants to migrate in search of safer living conditions and economic opportunities. These displaced individuals, often referred to as “climate refugees,” migrate to urban centers or across international borders, particularly into India. The migration is mostly unregulated, leading to significant challenges for both migrants and the host communities.

The story of the coastal communities of Bangladesh reflects a grim reality: climate change has not only stripped them of their homes and livelihoods but also made life increasingly unbearable. As the fairy tale of the king and his daughter suggests, life without salt is flavorless, but for these climate refugees, salt—in the form of increased salinity—is the bitter reality of their lives. The same salt that infiltrates their lands also fills their tears.

Despite the severity of the crisis, it is not too late to take meaningful action to mitigate the effects of climate change on Bangladesh and other vulnerable nations. International cooperation is essential, as the effects of climate change transcend borders. Developed countries, which are historically responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions, must provide financial and technical support to countries like Bangladesh. Without adequate assistance, the human and economic toll of climate change will continue to rise.

Efforts to combat climate change must focus on both mitigation and adaptation. Coastal defenses, improved infrastructure, and sustainable agricultural practices can help protect vulnerable populations. Additionally, international policies must prioritize climate-induced migration, ensuring that displaced persons are treated with dignity and provided with the resources they need to rebuild their lives.

Bangladesh’s experience with climate change serves as a stark reminder of the global implications of environmental degradation. The country with its vulnerable coastal areas is emblematic of the challenges that face many developing nations as they struggle to adapt to rising sea levels, increased salinity, and more frequent natural disasters. International cooperation and policy reforms are critical to ensuring that Bangladesh and other nations can withstand the growing pressures of climate change.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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The Future of Food Security Lies Beyond COP29’s Negotiation Tables

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Biodiversity, Climate Action, Climate Change, Climate Change Justice, Conferences, COP29, Economy & Trade, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, Food Sustainability, Global, Green Economy, Headlines, Natural Resources, TerraViva United Nations

Opinion



 

ASUNCION, Paraguay, Oct 21 2024 (IPS) – Climate change has thrown our food systems into chaos. Extreme weather events and dramatic climate variations are hammering food production and supply chains across the world. As global leaders gear up for COP29, there’s plenty of buzz about climate action. But can we really expect these slow-moving, bureaucratic negotiations to deliver tangible and swift results to decarbonize and insulate our agri-food systems? Most likely not. But do not despair. While the COP29 talks unfold, crucial climate solutions for transforming food systems are already taking root on the ground.

Jesus Quintana

In the exhilarating, Oscar-winning movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, the leading characters are surrounded by overwhelming chaos and complexity. Yet, within this confusion, small actions, and the determination of people behind them, spark powerful change. In stunning similarity, the climate crisis —particularly in food systems— feels like an insurmountable challenge with everything, droughts, floods, storms, hunger and other interlocked crises, striking everywhere, and all at once.

Urgent action is needed. Where do we turn? COP 29 will likely be stuck in slow-paced discussions. Meanwhile, transformative solutions are taking shape on the ground. Across the globe, communities, farmers, sponsors and innovators are quietly building resilience in their food systems, demonstrating that true progress often emerges from the margins, not the center of chaos. Just like in the metaphoric film, finding purpose and action amid disorder is where meaningful change begins.

Grassroots solutions for climate-resilient food systems

While world leaders talk and officials try to turn decisions into workable policies, local communities are already acting. Across the Global South, where the effects of climate change are being felt most acutely, smallholder farmers and grassroots organizations are implementing innovative practices that build resilience to climate shocks.

In regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Latin America, agroecology is gaining traction as a powerful tool for both mitigating and adapting to climate change. This farming approach, which draws on traditional knowledge and emphasizes sustainable, low-emission methods, is helping communities adapt to changing weather patterns while improving food security. Agroecology promotes biodiversity, improves soil health, and reduces dependency on chemical inputs, all of which enhance the resilience of agricultural systems to climate impacts and helps decarbonize them.

The private sector’s role in transforming food systems

Community movements and local governments are playing a vital role, but the private sector is also increasingly driving climate solutions in food systems. Market forces are pushing companies to innovate in ways that reduce agriculture’s climate footprint. The plant-based food revolution is an example of how the private sector is responding to the need for more sustainable diets that lower greenhouse gas emissions. Similarly, alternative protein food-tech startups are leading the way towards a sustainable and tasty food future. These unconventional substitutes for traditional livestock farming offer a glimpse of how innovation can drive systemic changes in food production.

In addition to product innovation, there is growing corporate investment in regenerative agriculture—a practice that rebuilds soil health, captures carbon, and improves biodiversity. Large food companies, driven by consumer demand for sustainable products, are making commitments to source ingredients from regenerative farms, contributing to both climate mitigation and long-term food security.

Climate finance outside the COP processes

One of the most significant barriers to transforming food systems in the face of climate change is the lack of adequate financing. While COPs have made important commitments, such as the creation of the Green Climate Fund, the flow of funds has been slow and insufficient to meet the needs of vulnerable communities. In response, philanthropy and private finance are stepping in.

Some patrons and foundations are funding initiatives that help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change, while impact investors are supporting agri-tech innovations that boost productivity in a sustainable way. These efforts, although outside the COP framework, are critical in scaling climate-resilient food systems and achieving global net-zero targets.

Real solutions are happening now

While COP29 will no doubt produce important global agreements, the truth is that many of the solutions to the climate crisis—especially when it comes to food—are already in motion. Farmers, local communities, philanthropies and private companies are building a food system that is more resilient, sustainable, and low-carbon.

Global leaders must take notice. Yes, we need ambitious targets and international commitments. But we also need to support and scale the grassroots movements and private-sector innovations that are already leading the way. Real food security in a climate-challenged world will not be achieved through top-down solutions alone—it will come from empowering those on the frontlines.

As COP29 approaches, let’s not lose sight of what is happening beyond the negotiation tables. The future of food security depends on action today, led by those who can’t afford to wait.

Jesus Quintana is Senior Advisor on Sustainable Food Systems and former Director General, CIAT

IPS UN Bureau

 

Overlapping Crises Hinder Global Social Development and Poverty Reduction

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Civil Society, Development & Aid, Featured, Gender, Headlines, Human Rights, Sustainable Development Goals, TerraViva United Nations

Poverty & SDGs

Without investing in social development and crisis response, vulnerable communities are more susceptible to the impacts and stressors put on by multiple crises. Credit: UN Women_Ryan Brown

Without investing in social development and crisis response, vulnerable communities are more susceptible to the impacts and stressors put on by multiple crises. Credit: UN Women_Ryan Brown

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 19 2024 (IPS) – Social development in a global context shows the risk of trending downwards and not recovering if countries do not minimize the long-term impacts of multiple crises and work towards building up their resilience. As much as this will require national political will, it will also need global cooperation for it to be possible.

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) launched the 2024 edition of the World Social Report on October 17. Titled ‘Social Development in Times of Converging Crises: A Call for Global Action’, the report discusses the effects of multiple crises and shocks on countries’ social development and their capacity to handle those shocks through social protections or lack thereof. It posits that while there has been an upward trajectory in development and economic growth in some parts of the world after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, many developing countries are still struggling to reach their development goals or to reduce the rate of extreme poverty to even pre-pandemic levels.

Overlapping crises, especially those caused by extreme weather, may increase in frequency and intensity. The shocks from these crises will be, or are, felt across the world rather than contained to one country or region as a result of the networks that connect across countries and systems. The DESA report cites the example of global warming and the prediction that every region will experience changes in their national climate systems. The increasing risk of extreme weather such as hurricanes and prolonged droughts will not only impact countries directly affected, but this also poses a threat to agricultural production and food security.

Yang Wenyan (right), Chief of Global Dialogue for Social Development Branch of the Division for Inclusive Social Development of United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and Shantanu Mukherjee, Director of Economic Analysis and Policy Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), brief reporters on the launch of "World Social Report 2024: Social Development in Times of Converging Crises: A Call for Global Action." Credit: Loey-Felipe/UN Photo

Yang Wenyan (right), Chief of Global Dialogue for Social Development Branch of the Division for Inclusive Social Development of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and Shantanu Mukherjee, Director of Economic Analysis and Policy Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), brief reporters on the launch of “World Social Report 2024: Social Development in Times of Converging Crises: A Call for Global Action.” Credit: Loey-Felipe/UN Photo

The report shows that although there is a better understanding of the impacts of these crises, preparedness has not yet caught up. Information on early warning and preventative systems is not consistently made available or is otherwise unclear on how effective they are.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries bolstered their social protections; however, gaps remain, which undermine social development in times of crisis. As the report reveals, only 47 percent of the world’s population has access to at least one social protection benefit, meaning nearly half the world’s population of 8.1 billion do not access social protections. The disparity continues as the report indicates that in higher-income countries, 85 percent of the population is covered, while in lower-income countries, it is only 13 percent. Factoring in gender, a new report from UN-Women revealed that 2 billion women and girls globally do not have access to social protections.

Continued crises and shocks to social development disproportionately affect vulnerable communities as they face increased risks of poverty, food insecurity, wealth inequality and education loss, which are only exacerbated with the limited reach or lack of access to social protections.

One area in which this is evident is in unemployment rates, which have only increased over time. The employment gap increased from 20 percent in 2018 to 21 percent in 2023. In 2022, the poorest half of the global population owned only 2 percent of the world’s health. These are indicators of the increase in existing income and wealth inequalities, especially in developing countries with pre-existing high levels of inequality.

For countries to build resilience is now more critical than ever, which the report argues can be achieved more fully through international cooperation. Otherwise, actions taken at the national level will be limited.

“I think in most countries, governments’ priorities are actually to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. It’s just that in order to do so, they need to achieve a particular level of growth,” said Shantanu Mukherjee, Director of Economic Policy and Analysis, UN DESA. “So often it becomes a question of which is going to come first. What we’re seeing in this report is that this is too narrow-minded of a view. That you can invest in people in order to get higher growth in the future because you’re improving resilience. You’re improving their capacity to actually contribute in the future.”

The report concludes with recommendations that countries could adopt to reinvigorate national actions for social development, such as expanding and strengthening social protections and accelerating work towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Global cooperation can be strengthened through establishing cross-country collaborative solutions and a knowledge base for risk governance.

Making improvements towards global financing is also one of the proposed recommendations from the report. Easing debt restrictions on developing countries, for instance, would ensure the flow of money, especially they spend far more on paying off their debts than paying towards social development. According to Mukherjee, this has been achieved before, and there are conversations among major creditors to take measures to ease debt restrictions.

However, in the present day, not only are the challenges more complex, now more parties are  involved. In addition to countries and financing institutions such as the World Bank and international development banks, the private sector can also be involved as countries can raise funds on the international market, which need to be paid back, he said.

“Now you can imagine that when there are a lot of people who have lent money, no one wants to be the first person to say, ‘Okay, I’ll take… I’ll withdraw my claim for a little bit until things get better’, because then everybody else will say, “Country X is taking a little bit of time; why don’t you repay us because country X is standing back?”. So these coordination mechanisms and good kinds of agreements were set up, and I think they need to be revitalized,” said Mukherjee.

The report and its recommendations come in the wake of the Summit of the Future and the ratification of the Pact for the Future, where member states made the commitment to take concrete measures towards development and preparedness for current and future generations, thinking beyond the 2030 Agenda. Upcoming global meetings such as the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, scheduled for June-July 2025 in Spain, and the the Second World Summit of Social Development, scheduled for November 2025 in Qatar, will be critical opportunities for the international community to reach consensus on different areas of social policy.

“Growing insecurity together with high inequality and persistent social exclusion are eroding the social fabric and thus the ability of countries and of the international community to act collectively towards common goals, including achieving the SDGs to address climate challenges,” said Wenyan Yang, Chief, Global Dialogue for Social Development Branch, UN DESA.

“So the Second World Summit for Social Development is an opportunity to build new global consensus on social policies and actions to create momentum for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and to fulfill the promises that we made to people in 1995.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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