Empowering Women for a Green Future: AFPPD Conference Tackles Climate Change and Gender Equality

Posted on August 15, 2024 by admin

Asia-Pacific, Civil Society, Climate Action, Climate Change, Conferences, Development & Aid, Environment, Featured, Gender, Headlines, Population, Sustainable Development Goals, TerraViva United Nations, Women & Climate Change

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Secretary General of AFPPD, Dr. Jetn Sirathranont, addresses a conference with the theme Gender Empowerment for a Green Economy in Islamabad, Pakistan. Credit: AFPPD

ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 2024 (IPS) – Robust data collection, integrated policies, and an accelerated push towards a green economy with a gender focus topped the agenda at a conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, that brought together policymakers, experts, and advocates from across the Asia-Pacific region.

The conference, with the theme Gender Empowerment for a Green Economy, focused on critical issues at the intersection of gender equality, climate change, and sustainable development. Held on August 12 and 13, 2024, it was convened by the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD).

Participants called for immediate action to empower women and ensure their active participation in sustainable development efforts across the region, especially since the conference coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Cairo Programme of Action from the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).

Romina Khurshid Alam, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, set the tone for the event by highlighting Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to integrate gender perspectives into national climate policies.

“As parliamentarians, we hold the power to shape policies and laws that can drive gender equality and environmental sustainability. We must advocate for and enact legislation that ensures women have equal access to opportunities in the green economy, whether it be in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, or ecosystem management,” Alam said.

The Secretary General of AFPPD, Dr. Jetn Sirathranont, emphasized that gender equality is not merely a fundamental human right but a crucial element for creating a positive and sustainable society. He noted that traditional stereotypes continue to perpetuate inequalities and stressed the importance of placing women at the center of efforts to develop a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

Toshiko Abe, MP and State Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan, emphasized the AFPPD’s role. She said the organization plays a crucial role in addressing gender issues, particularly in countries where women’s equality is lagging. She commended the collective efforts of Asian countries towards a gendered green economy.

However, Latika Maskey Pradhan, Deputy Representative of UNFPA Pakistan, warned that the full potential of women remains untapped, constrained by social norms, discriminatory practices, and limited access to resources and decision-making spaces.

In an interview with IPS, Pradhan further highlighted three key areas that the UN is focusing on at the grassroots level to change societal mindsets:

Investing in women’s education and skills development: Recognizing the importance of equipping women with the necessary education and skills to thrive in various sectors.
Reproductive health and rights: Emphasizing that access to reproductive health and rights is integral to achieving gender equality and empowering women.
Supporting women’s entrepreneurship and leadership: Advocating for the economic empowerment of women by providing opportunities for entrepreneurship and leadership roles.

Tabinda Sarosh, interim Chief Executive Officer of Pathfinder International, highlighted the impacts of climate change-related disasters. In 2022, severe flooding in Pakistan resulted in the displacement of 625,000 pregnant women. In a single month, around 70,000 of them gave birth in camps, where delivery conditions are often unsafe.

Delegates at the AFPPD conference on Gender Empowerment for a Green Economy in Islamabad. Credit: AFPPD

Gender and Equality Intertwined

The keynote address, delivered by Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, underscored the importance of the event at the highest levels of government.

“The theme, ‘Gender Empowerment for a Green Economy,’ is both timely and essential for our collective future. As parliamentarians, we must recognize that gender equality and environmental sustainability are deeply intertwined goals; the success of one depends on the other,” Sadiq said.

Fauzia Waqar, Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH), agreed, saying “Improvement in policies needs to be gender-affirmative, focusing on recruitment, retention, and the provision of basic facilities for women.”

Accountability was crucial. “There needs to be a national survey for the well-being of women, but currently, the baseline data is not available,” said Saliha Ramay from UNFPA. These insights underscore the need for continued efforts to promote gender equality.

One of the conference’s highlights was the session on women’s role in global crises, particularly focusing on climate change and security. Parliamentarians from Cambodia and the Maldives, along with representatives from international organizations, shared their perspectives on how women are uniquely positioned to lead in climate action and peacebuilding efforts.

Poverty, Gender and Climate Action

Ly Kimlieng, MP from Cambodia, highlighted the intersection of poverty and gender issues, stating, “Gender-responsive climate action is needed as Cambodia works with agriculture and technology to create solutions and remove gender biases.”

Ensuring community involvement was crucial. Lydia Saloucou, President of Pathfinder International’s Africa Region, told the conference: “We need to protect our next generation by collaborating with the community and affected populations to find solutions.”

Women’s role in climate change mitigation, adaptation and agriculture shouldn’t be underestimated said Dr. Anara Naeem, MP from the Maldives.

“Women’s role is invaluable in climate adaptation, with their crucial involvement in food production and capacity building.”

Guncha Annageldieva, YPEER International Coordinator from Turkmenistan, called for integrating sexual and reproductive health into climate discourse, stating, “Investing in sexual and reproductive health within climate action empowers women and prevents future disaster management costs.”

Women Key to Sustainable Development

Presentations from Indonesian parliamentarians, youth representatives, and economic experts highlighted the importance of investing in women’s economic empowerment as a key driver of sustainable development.

Jasmin Sri Wulan Sutomo, an MP from Indonesia, pointed out the ongoing challenges despite the country’s significant economic progress. She noted, “Women’s labor participation remains stagnant due to factors like the wage gap, unplanned pregnancies, and old informal labor practices.”

Jayaa Jaggi, Advocacy Manager at YPEER Pakistan, highlighted the disparity in Pakistan, noting that the gap for women is vast and young minority women have limited exposure to education and economic opportunities.

A presentation by Durre Nayab from UNFPA & PIDE addressed the demographic dividend and gender perspective through National Transfer Accounts, revealing that “women are more involved in unpaid labor while men predominantly work in the paid economy,” stressing the need to recognize women’s contributions beyond market-based work.

A crucial session emphasized the need for gender-responsive policies to empower women to address climate change. Policymakers and experts discussed specific risks faced by women and girls, advocating for enhanced investment in women’s capabilities and private sector engagement to support a transition to green and blue economies.

Women’s Role in Strong Climate Policies Lauded

Dr. AbdelHady El Kasbey, an MP from Egypt, highlighted the importance of women’s leadership in environmental policies, stating, “Countries with more women in parliament often see stronger national climate change policies adopted, leading to lower emissions and more equitable governance of natural resources.”

He stressed the need for gender-responsive financing, noting that despite billions of dollars invested in environmental issues, “less than 1% of this market aligns with women’s empowerment goals.”

Mr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director of SDPI, called for gender-segregated data to support gender-responsive policies, emphasizing, “Decision-makers can utilize the power of women as agents of change to adopt pro-environmental practices and turn challenges around for us.” He highlighted the need for a credible baseline to empower women to address the effects of climate change.

Climate-Resilient Healthcare Systems

The spotlight then turned to healthcare systems that are both climate-resilient and equitable. Experts presented strategies for ensuring that health systems can withstand the impacts of climate change while providing accessible care to all, particularly women and marginalized communities.

Zeeshan Salahuddin, MP from Tabadlab, highlighted the overlooked impacts of climate-induced events, stressing the importance of integrating climate considerations into national policies. He remarked, “To address these issues, there is a need to strengthen provincial departments, improve climate health financing, and explore climate debt swaps to alleviate financial and climate burdens.”

Islamabad Declaration

The conference concluded with the adoption of the Islamabad Declaration, reaffirming the commitment of participating nations and organizations to advancing gender equality, women’s empowerment, and climate action. The declaration outlined key commitments, including reaffirming support for the ICPD Programme of Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, acknowledging the severe impacts of climate change on vulnerable countries, and emphasizing the importance of building resilience through investments in emergency preparedness and disaster risk reduction.

As the conference ended, participants left with a renewed sense of urgency and commitment to addressing the interconnected challenges of gender inequality and climate change. The event served as a powerful reminder that empowering women is not just a matter of social justice, but a critical strategy for building a more sustainable and resilient future for all.

Note: The Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) in Pakistan organized the meeting. It was supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Japan Trust Fund (JTF).

IPS UN Bureau Report

WFP in Gaza: ‘We Need a Long Ceasefire That Leads to Peace so We Can Operate’

Posted on August 15, 2024 by admin

Armed Conflicts, Civil Society, Global Governance, Headlines, Human Rights, Humanitarian Emergencies, IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse, Middle East & North Africa, TerraViva United Nations

Opinion

Credit: WFP/Ali Jadallah/2024

ROME, Aug 15 2024 (IPS) – Corinne Fleischer, WFP’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, describes Gaza as “a terrible situation getting worse.” Over the past two weeks, 21 United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) food distribution points have been closed under evacuation orders.

“UNRWA says that 86% of the Strip is under an evacuation order,” she says on a video call from her office in Cairo. Fleischer visited the enclave in July.“ 2 million people are crammed into 14% of the territory.”

Despite Immense Challenges, WFP Continues to Assist Gazans

With continuous evacuation orders forcing WFP to uproot food distribution sites, precise targeting of the most vulnerable groups becomes challenging. We provide ready-to-eat food, hot meals and nutrition support to breastfeeding women and small children.

Mohammed was severely injured in the conflict but all efforts to evacuate him for medical treatment failed. His family fully depends on food from WFP to survive.

“We support partners in almost 80 kitchens, where they cook meals, pack and distribute them to people in camps,” Fleischer explains. She previously visited Gaza last December. “Then, it was really about how do we bring food in – that’s still very much the case,” she says. “Now, at least we have a dedicated WFP operation on the ground.” Our main accomplishment? “We have helped prevent full-scale famine from happening,” she says.

There are currently nearly 500,000 people at IPC5/Catastrophe, the highest grade of food insecurity on the global standard for measuring food insecurity – down from 1.1 million people earlier this year.

Fleischer is keen to highlight the positive impacts of humanitarian supplies making it through.“Right now, we don’t bring enough food into Gaza,” she says. “We don’t bring in what we plan for the month because we don’t have enough crossing points open. We need all the crossings open and at full capacity.”

“Operations are super complicated,” Fleischer says. “We work in a war zone. Roads are destroyed. We are waiting hours at checkpoints for green lights to move.”

WFP, she stresses, also works to support the wider humanitarian community. “We are leading the Logistics Cluster (the interagency coordination mechanism) and supporting partners to bring in their goods through the Jordan corridor. We are receiving their goods in the north at the Zikim crossing point. We’re helping them in Kerem Shalom. So, of course, we’re helping with fuel supplies too.”

Nowhere Is Safe in Gaza

“Gazans cannot get out, and they’re asking to get out,” Fleischer says. “They’re beyond exhausted. There is no space – one makeshift tent after the other up to the sea. Streets are teeming with people.” Meanwhile, the breakdown of sewage systems, lack of water and waste management means diseases, such as Hepatitis A which is spreading among children, are allowed to fester.

Children eat fortified biscuits from WFP at a makeshift camp in southern Gaza.

“We are lucky that nothing has happened to our amazing staff – more than 200 UNRWA staff have been killed,” she says. “That is not acceptable.” She adds: “We have amazing security officers who advise management on which risks to avoid, so that we can stay and do our work safely and families can access our assistance safely. But the risks are high. Very high. We have bullets close to our convoys. We’re there repairing roads. We’re there moving with our trucks. We’re there reaching people. And it’s very dangerous.”

On the path to recovery, the private sector has a role to play, says Fleischer – take the reopening of shops. “If you think of a lifeline, of hope, or a sense of normalcy, it’s surely when the staple bread is back in the market,” she says of bakeries that have reopened with WFP support. “Bakeries need wheat flour, they need yeast, and diesel too – and that’s where we come in.”

High Prices Keep Basic Foods Out of Reach for Most Gazans

In the south of Gaza, “basic food items are slowly re-emerging in food markets. You can actually find vegetables, fruits in the markets but because prices are high, they remain out of reach for most,” she says “And in any case, people don’t have cash. There are no jobs. Even our own staff tell us, ‘We have a salary, but we can’t access cash’.”

Fleischer is keen for humanitarian efforts to reach a stage where people “stop eating things they have been eating for the past nine months” – to diversify diets heavily dependent on canned food (provided by WFP) and whatever people can get their hands on.

“This level of destruction I’ve never seen.”

Fleischer’s biggest fear for Gaza is “that there is no end to this [war]. That we continue with ever less space for the people who already have nowhere to go back to. Even if they moved back to the north, where could they go?”

“Everything is flattened. There are no homes, it’s all destroyed. We need a long ceasefire that leads to peace so we can operate.”

After the Rafah incursion, many people returned to Khan Younis but there’s no means of living in the area. There are no homes left. Credit: WFP

Fleischer, who has served with WFP in Syria and Sudan’s Darfur Region, adds: “This level of destruction I’ve never seen. Hospitals and clinics are destroyed, food processing plants are destroyed. Everything is destroyed.”

Yet, “There is this never-give-up attitude from the people, from the families we serve,“ she says. “I can’t believe children still run to you and laugh with you. They probably see in us hope that there will be an end to all this – a sign they are not forgotten.”

This story originally appeared on WFP’s Stories on August 8, 2024 and was written by the WFP Editorial Team.

IPS UN Bureau

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South Sudan: World’s Youngest Nation at a Crossroads

Posted on August 13, 2024 by admin

Africa, Armed Conflicts, Civil Society, Global Governance, Headlines, Human Rights, Humanitarian Emergencies, IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse, TerraViva United Nations

Opinion

United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Crisis Bureau Director, Shoko Noda

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 13 2024 (IPS) – Thirteen years since becoming an independent state, South Sudan faces profound humanitarian challenges. South Sudan’s first Independence Day was imbued with a great sense of hope.

I remember crowds cheering in the streets, waving the country’s new flag high. Thirteen years later, the youngest nation in the world, barely into its adolescence, faces profound challenges.

At the heart of South Sudan’s challenges lies a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions. Given seven million of the country’s 12.4 million people are projected to experience crisis-level hunger this year, and nine million are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, the gravity of the situation cannot be overstated.

One in ten lack access to electricity. Seventy percent can’t access basic healthcare. These are fundamental human rights that the vast majority of people are deprived of.

I saw South Sudan’s dire humanitarian situation firsthand when I visited the country in March. I met women and children displaced by conflict – some for the second time in their lives – in a transit centre in Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile state. They had nothing and were fully reliant on aid. Their plight still lingers in my mind and heart.

As it marks its 13th independence anniversary, South Sudan finds itself at a pivotal moment in its nation-building journey.

Humanitarian aid alone cannot untangle the intricate web of challenges facing South Sudan. A holistic approach is required—one that lays the groundwork for self-sufficiency, peace and sustainable development.

With the constitutional-making process underway and elections on the horizon, the efforts we make today will shape the trajectory of the country for generations to come. We must bolster institutions, foster stability and empower the youth—the driving force behind the nation’s aspirations for progress and prosperity.

Central to this is the empowerment of women and girls, who face disproportionate challenges and vulnerabilities in the face of conflict, displacement and climate change. Gender-based violence (GBV), child marriage and maternal mortality rates are alarmingly high, underscoring the urgent need for targeted interventions that prioritize the rights and dignity of women and girls.

When I visited Malakal, I met with young women whose stories painted a vivid story to me on the barriers they face on a daily basis—from fearing for their safety to feeling unable to speak out about their hopes and aspirations, or being denied work opportunities.

It should not be this way.

Our team on the ground is working hard to improve the lives of women and girls in South Sudan. I was impressed by courts in Juba, set up with UNDP support, that focus on addressing violence against women. We are also working to ensure women’s inclusion in peacebuilding processes, promote gender equality and create opportunities for women and youth to thrive.

But so much more needs to be done.

With 75 percent of the population comprising young people, they represent both South Sudan’s greatest challenge and its most promising asset. Neglecting to invest in the youth equates to neglecting the future of the country itself—a risk we cannot afford to take.

Their voices must be heard, their aspirations nurtured and their potential unleashed.

South Sudan is at a crossroads.

With the right support, the country has the potential to create a future defined by hope, greater prosperity and stability for all. The alternative is a deepening of an already profound and protracted crisis.

South Sudan cannot navigate this path alone. It requires the support that transcends its borders to overcome the myriad challenges it faces. Increased development cooperation—the kind that helps people break the cycle of crisis and build safer, more stable, resilient, and sustainable lives—is urgently needed.

My hope is to return in 10 years and see the families I met at the Malakal transit centre peacefully settled, their children grown and thriving, with stable livelihoods and access to all the services they need to sustain them and nurture their hopes and aspirations for the future.

This is what development looks like.

Shoko Noda is United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Crisis Bureau Director

Source: Africa Renewal, a United Nations digital magazine that covers Africa’s economic, social and political developments—plus the challenges the continent faces and the solutions to these by Africans themselves, including with the support of the United Nations and international community.

IPS UN Bureau

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Digital Trade & the Sustainable Development Goals: A Dynamic Agenda

Posted on August 12, 2024 by admin

Civil Society, Climate Action, Climate Change, Environment, Featured, Global, Headlines, Human Rights, Humanitarian Emergencies, Sustainable Development Goals, TerraViva United Nations

Opinion

Online transactions and E-commerce have become a key part of people’s life in Asia and the Pacific. Credit: Unsplash/Rupixen

BANGKOK, Thailand, Aug 12 2024 (IPS) – The rapid growth of digitalization has fundamentally altered commerce, impacting production and facilitating the movement of goods. The 2023 Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report (APTIR), has pointed out that although digital trade revenues of Asia and the Pacific account for a significant share of global trade, this growth is uneven, with trade concentrated in a few areas, leading to disparities across the region.

Studies show a positive relationship between digital trade and progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These linkages among digital trade policy and the social and economic pillars of the SDGs may appear more indirect, but they do manifest through economic channels.

Various facets of the relationship between sustainable development and digital trade are evident, such as the impact of digital trade on wealth inequality in the region, the role of the Internet in export expansion, how e-commerce facilitates small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and how digital trade can help achieve the ambitious agenda behind the SDGs.

However, better digital infrastructure does not necessarily engender competition and instead requires active measures from the government to promote linkages between export superstars and domestic suppliers.

Additionally, robust regulatory frameworks on digital trade can help eliminate “monopolistic and restrictive” trade policies, contributing significantly to a more equitable distribution of wealth.

Examples of good practices

Different policy measures to establish an inclusive digital trade and e-commerce landscape have been used across the region. For example, research on internet courts in China showed how such public and digitized judicial systems benefit smaller and medium-sized firms compared to private dispute resolution mechanisms, which are highly costly.

Similarly, research on the Pacific Alliance’s trade policies, particularly its binding agreements and work instruments, provided a framework to incorporate net neutrality in the promotion of equitable digital development.

Indonesia’s introduction of single submission for freight transport applications and its impact on sustainability in supply chains was another case study. This policy instrument has had significant impacts across multiple domains, such as increasing time effectiveness, reducing costs, and increasing transparency in shipping and port clearances.

Lessons learned and the way forward

There is a need to understand the specific digital trade policy instruments that promote sustainable development. It is critical to acknowledge key differences and similarities between trade and digital trade policy to strategically leverage their interlinkage to achieve the SDGs. Social development works in tandem with economic progress.

A key concern is the lack of data on cross-border e-commerce in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions, which hinders the implementation and evaluation of programs designed to promote the participation and productivity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

More concerted efforts to improve data measurement through private-public partnerships could be a possible policy intervention to address this issue. States should establish effective monitoring systems by improving the availability of economic statistics and third-party evaluations for measuring the progress and impact of SME support programs.

However, given the diversity in operations of SMEs across sectors, it is essential to devise and tailor policies that cater to their specific needs and realities.

There is also a need for sharing real-world examples of successful government initiatives and SME support programs so neighboring countries can draw lessons from them. There are doubts about the long-term usefulness of stand-alone Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs) due to the lack of stringent legal provisions for possible breaches, unlike market-access free trade agreements (FTAs).

Lastly, the United States, which has played a pivotal role in advocating for an open global trade environment, gradually step back from its position, it is time to rethink the leadership that would guide the establishment of digital trade provisions in the future.

This involves showcasing how digital trade rules will be established and enforced moving forward. Who will provide such public goods for digital trade is a major question facing the global economy.

Given its rapid digital-economy growth, significant market size, and increasing influence in global digital trade, should that leadership come from the Asia-Pacific region?

Witada Anukoonwattaka is Economic Affairs Officer, Trade Investment and Innovation Division, ESCAP; Preety Bhogal is Consultant, Trade Investment and Innovation Division, ESCAP.

IPS UN Bureau

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Killings of Palestinian Journalists Continue –Aided by Uninterrupted Flow of US Arms

Posted on August 12, 2024 by admin

Armed Conflicts, Civil Society, Featured, Global Governance, Headlines, Human Rights, IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse, Middle East & North Africa, Press Freedom, TerraViva United Nations

The journalists gather in front of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital to commemorate their friends, Al Jazeera reporter Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi, who lost their lives in Israeli army attack on a moving vehicle in the Al-Shati refugee camp, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on July 31, 2024. Source: Middle East Monitor. Credit: Ashraf Amra, Anadolu Agency

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 12 2024 (IPS) – The growing number of killings of Palestinian journalists in Gaza has triggered a demand for a cut-off in US arms supplies to Israel.

Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), told IPS despite pleas of the international community to suspend arms to Israel in the face of its unprecedented atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza, including the killing of over 165 Palestinian journalists, it beggars the imagination that Biden is now seeking to sell Israel new weaponry to facilitate even more slaughter.

On August 9, the U.S. State Department officially notified Congress of its intent to proceed with a new authorization for weapons to Israel, including 6,500 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) guidance kits to Israel, despite extensive evidence documenting the Israel Defense Force’s (IDF) use of U.S. weapons to carry out war crimes and crimes against humanity, said DAWN, in a press release Friday.

This “is a slap in the face of humanity and all the values we hold dear,” Whitson said.

According to Cable News Network (CNN) last June, two key congressional Democrats have given their approval to allow the Biden administration to proceed with what is believed to be the biggest ever weapons package for Israel, expected to be worth more than $18 billion and include some 50 F-15 fighter jets.

Blinken also announced his decision not to sanction the IDF’s notorious Netzah Yehuda battalion, despite credible evidence of its systematic and gross human rights violations in the occupied West Bank, in violation of strict U.S. laws requiring the imposition of such sanctions.

“It is mind-boggling that despite the overwhelming evidence of the IDF’s unprecedented crimes in Gaza that has shocked the conscience of the entire world, the Biden administration is greenlighting the transfer of additional lethal weapons to Israel,” said Whitson.

“It is hard to comprehend how the Biden administration can justify rewarding Israel with new weapons, despite Israel’s persistent defiance of every single plea the Biden administration has made urging a modicum of restraint, and despite the very apparent fact that such sales violate black letter U.S. laws prohibiting weapons to gross abusers like Israel,” she pointed out.

Meanwhile, as of August 9, 2024, preliminary investigations by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) showed at least 113 journalists and media workers were among the more than 40,000 killed since the war began, making it the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.

Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict during the Israeli ground assault, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications, supply shortages, and extensive power outages, CPJ said.

This has meant that it is becoming increasingly hard to document the situation, and CPJ is investigating almost 350 additional cases of potential killings, arrests and injuries.

Dr Ramzy Baroud, a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle, told IPS Israel has killed, as of last week, 168 Palestinian journalists, the same way it has killed over 200 aid workers, hundreds of doctors, medics and people from every category and background. None of this is coincidental.

A simple proof that Israel deliberately targets journalists is the fact that it habitually produces and promotes stories that justify their murder, often accusing them of terrorism. Israel is yet to provide a single set of credible evidence against any of the killed journalists, he said.

On October 11, Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog had said “there are no innocent civilians in Gaza”. This disturbing Israeli logic applies to all Palestinians in the Strip, including journalists.

“Israel must be held accountable to its ongoing murder of journalists. But a huge responsibility falls on the shoulders of journalists and media organizations around the world, who often ignore the very murder of their colleagues in Gaza, let alone circulate Israeli’s unfounded accusations often without questioning its credibility or merit,” he said.

The fact that Gazans continue to report on their own genocide by Israel is heroic beyond words. But they must not be disowned, and must not continue to report and die alone without a true international solidarity that could hold their murderers to account, said Dr. Baroud, who is also a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA).

Dr. James Jennings, President, Conscience International, told IPS the heroic martyrs of the free press in Gaza deserve to be honored by all humanity, at the very least with the Nobel Peace Prize. Standing under the bombs, reporting the truth, then paying with your life is a superhuman act of courage.

The job of journalists is simply to journal–to shine a light on the truth by writing down or telling what they see on the battlefield. Killing the messengers is a sign that the perpetrators fear them and their influence, he pointed out.

Deception and lies are major part of war. How else could people slaughter myriads of others and do it with impunity?, he asked.

But truth has two sides–sending and receiving. Refusing to credit honest reporters means that we really don’t want to hear what they are saying anyway. Choosing to believe lies because we want them to be true is what enables wars to continue.

“Even worse than lying to the enemy is lying to yourself. Attempting to cover the plain truth by denying facts or looking the other way is tantamount to insanity. When will Americans stop lying to themselves and start believing their own ideals?”, asked Dr Jennings.

Ibrahim Hooper, National Communication Director at the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said: “The only thing that can explain the shocking silence of American and international media professionals about the mass killing of their Palestinian colleagues is the decades-long and systematic dehumanization of the Palestinian people, in which the lives of Palestinians have lesser or no value. Journalists worldwide must begin to speak out about these killings and about the Israeli genocide in Gaza.”

In a press release last week, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said it is monitoring attacks and threats against journalists.

The agency noted that in recent months, multiple journalists covering protests in different parts of the world have been subjected to various forms of attacks, including killings, injuries, arbitrary detentions, and confiscation of their equipment, while exercising their rightful duties as journalists.

UNESCO recalls “that all authorities concerned have the duty and responsibility to ensure the safety of journalists covering protests around the world, in accordance with international norms and human rights obligations”.

In a joint statement, five UN special rapporteurs declared: “We have received disturbing reports that, despite being clearly identifiable in jackets and helmets marked “press” or traveling in well-marked press vehicles, journalists have come under attack, which would seem to indicate that the killings, injury, and detention are a deliberate strategy by Israeli forces to obstruct the media and silence critical reporting.”

Meanwhile, under international law, the intentional targeting of journalists is considered a war crime. While all governments are bound by international law protecting reporters, U.S. domestic law also prohibits the State Department from providing assistance to units of foreign security forces credibly accused of gross violations of human rights. Israel’s well-documented pattern of extrajudicial executions of journalists is a gross violation of human rights.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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Small Farmers Feeling Climate Change Heat Find Little Support From the State

Posted on August 9, 2024 by admin

Asia-Pacific, Civil Society, Climate Change, Development & Aid, Economy & Trade, Editors’ Choice, Environment, Featured, Food and Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, Food Sustainability, Headlines, Health, Natural Resources, Sustainable Development Goals, TerraViva United Nations

Food and Agriculture

The extreme heat adversely affected the milk production of the over 800,000 cattle in Karachi. Credit: Zofeen Ebrahim/IPS

KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 9 2024 (IPS) – The over 20 million residents of Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, in Sindh province in particular, have been experiencing brutal heat since May. But they are not the only ones bearing the brunt of high temperatures and humidity.

Up to 15,000 cattle died due to scorching heat mixed with high humidity which Shakir Umar Gujjar, president of the Cattle and Dairy Farmers Association, Pakistan, said was “no joke”.

Mubashir Abbas, owner of 170 heads, lost eight cows and five buffaloes to the “extreme heat” in the last week of June, which translates to a loss of Rs 5.5 million (USD 19,800) for him.

“Three more are running high fever and I will have to sell them to cut my losses,” he told IPS over phone from Bhains Colony, in Karachi’s Landhi district. “I will fetch no more than Rs 40,000 (USD 143) a piece, when the market rate for each healthy one is valued between Rs 1.5 and 2 million (USD 5,300–7,000),” he estimated. Every now and then, in the last 23 years, he would lose a few to disease, but he had never “seen a healthy animal dying from heat.”

Livestock, the largest sub-sector in agriculture, contributed 60.84 percent to agriculture and 14.63 percent to the country’s GDP during 2023-2024, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey. More than eight million rural families are engaged in livestock production, accounting for 35-40 percent of their total income.

About 15,000 cattle died due scorching heat mixed with high humidity in Sindh province, Pakistan. Credit: Zofeen Ebrahim/IPS

“From June 23 to 30, Karachi experienced a heatwave with temperatures ranging between 40 and 42 °C. The ‘feel-like’ temperature went up to 54 °C due to high humidity,” said Dr. Sardar Sarfaraz, chief meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

Dr. Nazeer Hussain Kalhoro, director general at the government’s Sindh Institute of Animal Health in the Livestock and Fisheries Department in Karachi, attributed extreme heat to the death of livestock, especially exotic and crossed breeds.

The temperature was still lower than the deadly 2015 heatwave temperature of 44.8 °C that claimed over 2,000 human lives when the feel-like heat index exceeded 60 °C, said Sarfaraz. “A much bigger number of animals died then, and many young animals had to be slaughtered,” said Gujjar.

The heat had adversely affected the milk production of the over 800,000 cattle in Karachi, said Gujjar. “When an animal is in stress and discomfort, due to extreme heat, its intake of regular amount of fodder decreases, which can result in decrease in milk production,” said Kalhoro.

“I was getting between 1,400 and 1,480 kg in a day; it is not more than 960 kg now. I lose 0.11 million rupees (USD 400) daily,” said Abbas.

Communication Gap

The lack of engagement with the farmer by the government was the reason. Gujjar said the communication gap between the ministry of national food security and research at the federal level and the livestock departments at the provincial departments meant the uneducated farmer was on his own.

“The biggest tragedy is that our farmer is not educated and also unaware of how to prepare or protect the animal from the vagaries of climate,” said Gujjar, adding: “They do their own traditional treatment of their animals, which results in even more avoidable deaths.”

Similar is the plight of small farmers who remain in the eye of the climate storm. “They are continuously in a reactive mode,” said Mahmood Nawaz Shah, president of a farmers’ group, the Sindh Abadgar Board, with “government policies not conducive to them”.

Giving examples, Shah said the minimum price of cotton was fixed and notified at Rs 8,500/kg (UAD 30) but growers received Rs 5,200/kg (USD 18); a 50-kilo bag of urea increased from Rs 1,700 to Rs 4,600 (USD 6 to 16) in just three years; and the artificial shortage for the same last year meant the farmer had to pay Rs 5,500 for the same bag from the black market.

“We had recommended to the government to develop a climate endowment fund and compensate small farmers by involving insurance companies as soon as extreme events lead to crop and livestock losses,” said Shah.

Both the farmers, Gujjar and Shah, have hit the nail on the head on why Pakistan, one of the most vulnerable to climate crises, is unable to manage it effectively. The disconnect and lack of coordination between different federal and their related provincial government bodies is found across the spectrum and is highlighted in the 2024 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) as a major reason that hampered policy implementation, placing Pakistan on the 30th position among 63 countries and the EU, which collectively account for over 90 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. “Improved cooperation between different levels of government would be a step in the right direction,” it concluded.

Similarly, the 2024 Environmental Performance Index that assesses the progress of effectiveness of 180 countries in mitigating climate change, relying on historical greenhouse gas emissions data, put Pakistan three rungs down at 179^thrank this year from the 176^th position it held in 2022.

Indifference and Apathy

Both the CCPI and the EPI are a clear giveaway of government’s nonchalance. The latter index has especially pointed to areas like air pollution, wastewater treatment, protected areas management and climate mitigation.

“The country is slipping on most environmental indicators,” agreed former climate change minister, Malik Amin Aslam, pointing to the weak air pollution control measures, non-adherence to the electric vehicles transition and failure to promote renewables. From being a country championing the global green cause in 2022 to now “ignominiously slipping down the environmental performance ladder” should certainly raise alarm bells for our current green policy makers, warned Aslam.

The 2022 floods, which should have acted as a wake-up call for the government, he said, failed to move the government towards preparedness and improving the health of the environment.

Maha Qasim, CEO of Zero-Point Partners, an environmental management and consulting firm, said: “No significant effort had been made in building climate-resilient infrastructure like roads, drainage systems and flood management facilities like levees or reservoirs.

The EPI has pointed towards Pakistan’s use of coal as a driver.

Putting things in perspective, Qasim said that in 2021, only around 14% of Pakistan’s energy mix was based on coal, while it figured 45 percent and 63 percent in India’s and Estonia’s energy mix. But in the last two years, Pakistan’s overall GHG emissions as well as CO2 have declined, due to “Pakistan’s overall performance capita emissions from fossil fuels and industry have declined due to stagnant economic growth,” she said.

Thus, Pakistan is well within its carbon budget and has met its Nationally Determined Contribution commitments to the UNFCCC.

The updated NDCs of 2021 have pledged to reduce emissions by 50%, shifting to renewable energy by 60 percent and 30 percent to electric vehicles by 2030, and a complete ban on importing coal.

Poor transport fuel regulations, old and inefficient vehicles on the road, mass cutting down of trees to make way for rapid urbanization, burning of agricultural residue and poor solid waste management have also been mentioned for Pakistan’s poor score.

Aslam, however, said the index failed to “register or recognize” Pakistan’s efforts on reforestation—the Billion Tree Tsunami Afforestation Project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, followed by 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Programme across the country. “The EPI ranking can certainly enhance its acceptability and credibility by improving these areas,” he said.

Weak Governance

Sobia Kapadia, a humanitarian aid practitioner, added factors like “weak governance, turning to fire-fighting and ad-hoc measures” whenever a climate crisis arises, thereby destroying the symbiosis.

“Heat, rain and floods are all connected to the core issue of human-induced development; but blaming heat and humidity on climate change is like blaming the naughtiest child,” said Kapadia, citing resorts being constructed in the mountains by cutting trees.

In yet another recent report that gives insights to investors and helps governments in setting carbon market-friendly policies, Pakistan comes 39th out of 40 countries.

Khalid Waleed, an energy economics expert at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), was quoted by media saying “for the first time in budget history, the government has tagged projects worth Rs53 billion under climate change adaptation and Rs225 billion under climate change mitigation,” referring to the budget presented earlier this month. However, he added that the budget was not climate change project-specific but had been tagged for their climate benefits.

Zia ul Islam finds the budget allocation “rather tricky” to understand as it not only indicates development projects from the Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives, but foreign-funded projects and projects under various ministries and provinces.

Environmental and public policy analyst Dawar Butt, comparing the country’s miniscule environmental spending to India and Bangladesh, said climate did not seem to be a priority. He further added that the climate change allocation has been “cut down by one billion rupees from what finally got approved in this year’s budget.”

Handling Climate Change on Piecemeal Basis

But it is not just how the government is handling climate change. Referring to a climate risk awareness survey conducted by GIZ Pakistan, Qasim highlighted that while many organizations are beginning to acknowledge the impact of climate change on their business models, their approach towards dealing with it was “incomplete and fragmented with a focus on climate mitigation” to meet external requirements of clients or regulators rather than on long-term business sustainability.

Due to the funding fatigue, Zia ul Islam suggested the “begging attitude” may be replaced by capacity building of concerned authorities, bringing in necessary improvements in the legal instruments and effective implementation.”

Good News

If Pakistan can somehow link smooth governance with climate finance and showcase to the world that it can fund its own climate solutions, it will give local and international companies the confidence to invest in the country. This year’s Financing Climate Action report by Transparency International states Pakistan has a huge potential to “dollarize climate adaptive and mitigative projects” provided climate governance is improved.

Flood insurance initiatives for farmers, for example, said Qasim, at very low markup rates, have the potential to be “scaled up across the country to increase flood resilience.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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