Salt: Bangladesh Communities On the Frontline of Climate Change

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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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Overlapping Crises Hinder Global Social Development and Poverty Reduction

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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.”

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A Pact for the World’s Poorest

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Sustainable Development Goals

Deodat Maharaj, Managing Director of the United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries

Deodat Maharaj,
Managing Director of the United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 18 2024 (IPS) – Last month, world leaders gathered at the time of the UN General Assembly in New York and agreed on a pioneering Pact for the Future. This global accord has implications across a broad range of issues that affect every country. It offers much hope for the poorest and most vulnerable countries on the planet, known as Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

The world’s 45 LDCs are home to a billion people who face systemic underdevelopment marked by poverty, inadequate health systems, poor infrastructure and limited access to education and technology.

While some progress has been made during the last decade, less than a fifth of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are on track to be met. For example, only around 60% of children in least developed countries complete primary school despite improving literacy rates across the globe. Healthcare disparities are also stark, with maternal mortality rates averaging 430 deaths per 100,000 live births in low-income countries compared to 13 per 100,000 in wealthier nations.

The Pact for the Future, along with its two annexes, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations, offers an inclusive roadmap aimed at accelerating progress towards the SDGs. By also leveraging advancements in science, technology and innovation, the framework seeks to dislodge decades of stagnation and inequality.

Bridging the massive digital divide, which is most pronounced in poor and indebted countries, will be critical for accelerated progress. Only 36 percent of people in LDCs are connected online, and buying a smartphone costs 95 percent of an average monthly income. In general, low-income countries also have a lower level of educational attainment and fewer trained professionals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The Pact for the Future outlines several key commitments: On digital cooperation, the Global Digital Compact presents targeted actions for a safer, more inclusive, more equitable digital world by closing the digital divide and expanding inclusion in the digital economy.

On sustainable development and financing for development, the Pact reaffirms the 2030 Agenda and places the eradication of poverty at the centre of efforts to achieve it. Amongst the proposed actions, it pledges to close the SDG financing gap and strengthen efforts to address climate change, which is disproportionately impacting LDCs.

On financial reform, the Pact seeks an overhaul of global financial systems, including by granting developing countries a greater voice in decision-making. It seeks to mobilize additional financing for the SDGs and generally making finance more readily available. The Pact also addresses the unsustainable debt burdens of many LDCs.

This novel Pact for the Future has the potential to give a push to the development agenda across the developing world, but especially so in LDCs. However, for success, there are some prerequisites. Firstly, there is the matter of financing.  It is good to see the welcome emphasis on boosting financing for developing countries and making it more accessible.  With finance, the possibilities are unlimited. Without finance, progress will once more be stymied. Therefore, the international community must match words with action.

Secondly, the role of business as an essential partner is key. A government-centric approach on its own cannot and will not work. More specifically, there must be attention to the micro, small and medium-scale enterprises sector, which accounts for the majority of businesses and generates the bulk of employment in most developing countries. Systematic support for digitalisation, innovation and the application of technology to this sector will create jobs and opportunities whilst boosting inclusive growth.

Thirdly, multilateralism is vital. The Pact for the Future has enormous potential, with the power to materially shift the dial for least-developed countries. However, it will require international cooperation, sustained political will and strong accountability mechanisms. If realised, this bold initiative could become the catalyst for new technological investments that can help shape an equally bold future for the world’s poorest.

At its core, the UN’s Pact for the Future is a blueprint for renewed cooperation in a fragmented world and offers much hope. There may not be another such opportunity. Let us seize the moment.

Note: Deodat Maharaj is the Managing Director of the United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries and can be contacted at: Deodat.Maharaj@un.org

IPS UN Bureau Report

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What is the World’s Most “Demanding and Impossible Job”?

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Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elías

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 18 2024 (IPS) – When Dr Gamani Corea, a former Secretary-General of the Geneva-based UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was holding court in the delegate’s lounge, I asked him what he thought of the bitter dispute between then Secretary-General (SG) Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992-1996) and the United States over the Egyptian’s determination to win re-election for a second term.

Dr Corea, a product of two prestigious universities, Oxford and Cambridge, and a one-time Sri Lankan Ambassador to the European Economic Community (EEC) in Brussels, pondered for a while, and declared: “I cannot really figure out why anyone in his right mind would ever want such a demanding job.”

And perhaps he was right.

Trygve Lie of Norway, the first UN Secretary-General, once remarked the SG’s job was “the most impossible job on this earth.”

Still, the post of SG, in contemporary history, has attracted at least three ranking officials from their respective country’s highest political hierarchies: Boutros Boutros-Ghali, acting Foreign Minister of Egypt, Secretary-General Ban ki-moon, a former Foreign Minister of South Korea and the current Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, a former Prime Minister of Portugal.

The SG, for all intents and purposes, is the UN’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) who is virtually subservient to 193 political leaders, including presidents, prime ministers, reigning monarchs, foreign ministers and even UN ambassadors.

But he also has no means of implementing UN resolutions or a standing army to enforce them.

Guterres, who has taken a strong stand against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and publicly condemned the devastating killings of civilians in Gaza has come under fire, mostly from Israeli politicians and senior officials, who have not only called for his resignation but also declared him persona non grata (PNG), banning him from entering Israel.

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, a former UN Under-Secretary-General and one-time Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, told IPS the incumbent Secretary-General recently lamented to the media that “Well, it is absolutely true that the Secretary-General of the United Nations has very limited power, and it’s also absolutely true that he has very little capacity to mobilize financial resources. So, no power and no money.”

“That is the reality which every Secretary-General faces and have been aware of”, said Ambassador Chowdhury.

“That is also known generally to the people who follow the United Nations regularly and thoroughly understanding the functional complexity of the world’s largest multilateral apparatus. Why then this reality surfaces and brought to public attention only when the UN leadership fails to carry out the mandated responsibilities?”

This “very limited power”, as worded by SG Guterres, should be highlighted as often as possible to avoid unnecessary and undue expectations of the global community about the UN and its top leadership.

“No Secretary-General has pointed out these limitations as he campaigned for the post and on assuming the office, he said. Current SG Guterres was no exception. He would have been realistic and factual if he had pointed out the limitations – better termed as obstacles – to his leadership as he took office in 2017, and not in 2024 after being in office for nearly eight years.”

Irrespective of the major ongoing wars, the built-in operational weakness and inability of the world’s most important diplomat has always been there, said Ambassador Chowdhury, former Senior Special Adviser to UN General Assembly President (2011-2012) and President of the UN Security Council (2000 and 2001).

Ian G. Williams, President of the Foreign Press Association USA, told IPS it is time for the pandering to stop. Former Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan’s shredding of the UN Charter should have been be taken as Israeli abrogation of the Charter, but barring the Secretary General indicates that Israel has no part in the organization, as should banning UNRWA and the threat to confiscate its assets in Jerusalem to build illegal settlements on occupied territory.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) got Al Capone for tax evasion – and now is the time for Israel to be squeezed out for its manifest procedural breaches of the UN Charter and Vienna Convention even if the two veto holders cover for it on genocide, said Williams.

“Being declared PNG by Israel has probably saved Antonio Guterres’ reputation, which until now has been dimmed by his relative caution in addressing Israeli depredations. To be attacked by an enemy of mankind and international law is no bad thing”.

But now there should be follow-up, he pointed out.

“The members hip of the United Nations should now be carving away at Israel’s membership prerogatives since, even if states are reluctant to act on the state’s egregious violations of international law, it has now clearly broken the basic rules of international diplomacy.”

“Will it take (Israeli Ambassador) Danny Danon dancing across the General Assembly podium with the SG’s head on a platter to provoke action? asked Williams, a former President of the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA).

Asked about the PNG declaration by Israel, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: “We saw this announcement, which we see as a political statement by the Foreign Minister. And just one more attack, so to speak, on UN staff that we’ve seen from the government of Israel.”

“Look, this issue of PNG has been announced by different countries at different times towards a representative. And as we said every time, we do not recognize that the concept of persona non grata applies to UN staff”, he added.

Time and again, said Ambassador Chowdhury, “I have pointed out that “essentially there are four main constraints to the effectiveness of the Secretary-General”.

Firstly, veto and veto-wielding members of the Security Council, which influences matters in all areas of UN system’s work; secondly, promises and commitments made by the Secretary-General as a candidate to secure his election; thirdly, aspiration to get re-elected for a second term from day one of the first term; and, fourthly, the labyrinthine UN bureaucracy.

“We need to revisit the operational credibility of our much-cherished world body. What was needed in 1945 to be enshrined in the UN Charter is to be judged in the light of current realities.”

If the Charter needs to be amended to live up to the challenges of global complexities and paralyzing intergovernmental politicization, let us do that. It is high time to focus on that direction. Blindly treating the words of the Charter as sacrosanct may be self-defeating and irresponsible. The UN could be buried under its own rubble unless we set our house in order now, declared Chowdhury.

“I am often asked, during ‘questions and answers’ segment following my public speaking, if I want to recommend one thing that would make the UN perform better, what would it be. My clear and emphatic answer always has been “Abolish the Veto!” Veto is undemocratic, irrational and against the true spirit of the principle of sovereign equality of the United Nations”.

In an opinion piece in the IPS Journal in March 2022, I wrote that “Believe me, the veto power influences not only the decisions of the Security Council but also all work of the UN, including importantly the choice of the Secretary-General.”

The same opinion piece asserted that “I believe the abolition of veto requires a greater priority attention in the reforms process than the enlargement of the Security Council membership with additional permanent ones. Such permanency is simply undemocratic. I also believe that the veto power is not ‘the cornerstone of the United Nations’ but in reality, its tombstone.”

Abolishing the veto would also release the election of the Secretary-General from the manipulating control of the veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council.

After choosing nine men successively to be the world’s topmost diplomat, “I strongly believe that it is incumbent on the United Nations to have the sanity and sagacity of electing a woman as the next Secretary-General in 2026 when the incumbent’s successor would be chosen,” he added.

“I would also recommend that in future the Secretary-General would have only one term of seven years, as opposed to current practice of automatically renewing the Secretary-General’s tenure for a second five-year term, without even evaluating his performance,” he noted.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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World Told Act Now or Face 136 Years of Hunger, Report Warns

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Food Security and Nutrition

World Food Day 2024

 

The world must take action to improve food security, which is at risk due to conflict and climate change. Credit, Busani Bafana/IPS

The world must take action to improve food security, which is at risk due to conflict and climate change. Credit, Busani Bafana/IPS

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Oct 15 2024 (IPS) – High levels of hunger will continue for another 136 years in many developing countries, according to a new report assessing global hunger.

The report, the 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI), paints a grim picture, predicting that global hunger levels will remain high for another century. If more progress is not made to end hunger, it will continue to reverse many development gains. The report blames the combined crises of conflict, climate change, high food prices and mounting debt, all of which are denying billions of people the right to adequate food. 

Hunger Here To Stay

Published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, on October 10, 2024, the GHI reveals that at least 64 countries are unlikely to reach low hunger levels until 2160 if the current pace of change continues.

Hunger is at serious or alarming levels in 42 countries, with conflicts exacerbating food crises in places like Gaza and Sudan, where famine is already present in North Darfur, the report found.

Now in its 19th year, the GHI ranks countries based on recorded levels of undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality. Of the 136 countries examined, 36 face serious hunger levels, while six at the bottom of the index—Somalia, Yemen, Chad, Madagascar, Burundi, and South Sudan—have alarming hunger levels. In 2023 alone, 281.6 million people in 59 countries and territories faced crisis-level or acute food insecurity, including Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and Burkina Faso.

The report warns that the chances of meeting the UN’s goal of zero hunger by 2030 are grim.

Concern Worldwide’s Chief Executive, David Regan, described the situation as disappointing that the 2030 goal was now out of reach.

“Our response should be to redouble our efforts to regain momentum,” Regan told IPS. “We need global action to tackle hunger.”

Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the regions most affected by hunger. According to the GHI, about 22 countries in Africa are facing serious hunger levels.  Of the top ten countries cited for having serious to alarming hunger levels, five are in Africa.

David Regan, Chief Executive, Concern Worldwide. Credit: Concern worldwide

David Regan, Chief Executive, Concern Worldwide. Credit: Concern worldwide

Conflict, Climate Change and High Debt Fuel Hunger

Large-scale armed conflicts, climate change, high food prices, market disruptions, economic downturns, and debt crises in many low- and middle-income countries have combined to complicate efforts to reduce hunger, the report found.

“Conflict can only be resolved where the external stakeholders that are typically fueling the conflict, step away from using conflict to acquire the resources or to increase the instability of the most fragile states,” Regan told IPS. “Climate change will not stop until those responsible for the largest emissions reduce them. It is not possible to say that the human right to food is being respected globally when powerful nations are clearly not playing their role in addressing its causes.”

Regan criticized wealthy nations for not playing their part in addressing global hunger, stating that while they have not turned their backs on the issue, political  interest in solving hunger has waned in recent years.

The report further notes that more than 115 million people globally are internally displaced—some have been forced to migrate as a result of persecution, conflict violence and many more displaced by weather-related disasters.

The wars in Gaza and Sudan have led to exceptional food crises, the report stated, flagging rising inequality between and within countries.  Although extreme poverty in middle-income countries has decreased, income inequality remains persistently high, and poverty in the poorest countries is worse than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gender Equality, Key to Food Security

The report also draws attention to the link between gender inequality, food insecurity, and climate change, noting that these factors combined have put communities and countries under extreme stress.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu delivers his speech during the opening session of 29th Session of the Committee on Agriculture. Credit: FAO/Cristiano Minichiello

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu delivers his speech during the opening session of 29th Session of the Committee on Agriculture. Credit: FAO/Cristiano Minichiello

“Governments must invest in and promote gender equality and climate change and recognize and deliver on the right to food so that all people are assured the right to food,” Regan said.

Ahead of World Food Day, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has echoed the call for swift action to eliminate hunger and ensure everyone has access to safe, nutritious food.

The World Food Day is being marked under the theme Right to food for a better life and a better future, which underscores the urgency to provide varied and healthy food to all.

FAO Director General Qu Dongyu noted that 730 million people are facing hunger due to the global challenges caused by man-made and natural disasters. Besides, more than 2.8 billion people in the world cannot afford a healthy diet.

“There is no time to lose, we must take immediate action, we must act together,” Dongyu urged, reiterating that the right to food is a basic human right.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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Building Water Security for the Next Generation in the Pacific Territories

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Aid, Asia-Pacific, Biodiversity, Civil Society, Climate Action, Climate Change, Climate Change Justice, Conservation, Development & Aid, Editors’ Choice, Environment, Featured, Natural Resources, PACIFIC COMMUNITY, Pacific Community Climate Wire, Small Island Developing States, Sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals, TerraViva United Nations

PACIFIC COMMUNITY

Pacific Community’s PROTÉGÉ Project strives to advance climate resilient development. Credit: SPC

Pacific Community’s PROTÉGÉ Project strives to advance climate resilient development. Credit: SPC

SYDNEY, Oct 14 2024 (IPS) – The Pacific Islands region is both the frontline of the wrath that climate change is lashing on the environment and human life and the drive for innovation and solutions to stem the destruction and strengthen island environments for the future. The survival of life, even nations, in the Pacific depends on it.

“The world has much to learn from you… Plastic pollution is choking sea life. Greenhouse gases are causing ocean heating, acidification and rising seas. But Pacific Islands are showing the way to protect our climate, our planet and our ocean,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, said during his visit to Tonga in August.

And the Pacific Community’s PROTÉGÉ Project (the name means ‘protect’ in French) is doing just that. Launched six years ago with funding by the European Development Fund (EDF), it is striving to advance climate resilient development through protecting and better managing biodiversity and natural renewable resources, such as freshwater, in the three French overseas territories of New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna, as well as the British overseas territory of Pitcairn, in the Pacific. To achieve this, it has brought together provincial and local-level governments, consulting firms, non-government organizations, and local communities and is led and coordinated by science and development experts from the regional development organization, Pacific Community (SPC), that works for 22 Pacific island governments and territories.

It honors the interconnected nature of island ecosystems through the four focus areas of the project: agriculture and forestry, coastal fisheries and aquaculture, invasive species and water. For instance, “in an integrated watershed management approach, what happens in the mountains ends up in the rivers and eventually in the sea,” Peggy Roudaut, SPC’s PROTÉGÉ Project Manager in Noumea, New Caledonia, told IPS.

A community worker, replants and maintains the forest. Reforestation develops long-term climate-resilient environments. Credit: SPC

A community worker replants and maintains the forest. Reforestation develops long-term climate-resilient environments. Credit: SPC

Healthy forests are the lungs of flourishing natural ecosystems and biodiversity and restoring and maintaining forests is at the heart of the PROTÉGÉ Project. Credit: SPC

Healthy forests are the lungs of flourishing natural ecosystems and biodiversity, with forest maintenance at the heart of the PROTÉGÉ Project. Credit: SPC

“The water theme is central,” she continued. “By working on the sustainability of water resources and supporting the water policies of the territories, while also promoting actions to make aquaculture and agriculture more sustainable, we contribute to making the overseas countries and territories more resilient to the effects of climate change.”

While the Pacific Islands are surrounded by a vast 161.76 million square kilometers of ocean, their sources of freshwater are fragile. Most islanders who live in rural areas have to choose from limited groundwater lenses, streams or rainwater harvesting. Ninety-two percent of Pacific islanders living in urban centers have access to clean drinking water, declining to 44 percent in rural communities, reports the Pacific Community (SPC).

Improving water security is a priority in the national development goals of Pacific Island countries, but real progress is being undermined by population growth, which is rapidly increasing demand, and the worsening impacts of climate change. Rising air and sea temperatures, more heatwaves and unreliable rainfall with rising sea levels that are driving coastal erosion are all taking their toll on the region, reports the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

In the western Pacific, temperatures are predicted to increase by 2-4.5 degrees Celsius by 2100, while most Pacific Island states will witness a sea level rise 10-30 percent higher than the global mean, which is projected to be 38 centimeters by the end of the century, according to the United Nations.

And then there’s pollution. “For many rural and remote and even urban communities, water sources that were once safe to drink or use for farming have become unsafe due to pollutants, including improper waste disposal and agricultural runoff,” Professor Dan Orcherton, Professor in Sciences at the University of Fiji, told IPS, emphasizing “that freshwater security in the Pacific Islands is quite precarious, reflecting a complex interplay of natural and human induced factors.”

The Pacific Community (SPC) is working to protect, manage and support countries to monitor freshwater reserves across the entire Pacific region.  PROTÉGÉ, specifically focused on Pacific territories, has been supporting this work by regenerating forests and vegetation in their vicinity and developing long-term climate-resilient management plans.

The quality of drinking water is also being improved through closely studying detrimental factors, such as construction and development, and decontaminating rivers and wells that are polluted by waste and landfills.

Healthy forests are the lungs of flourishing natural ecosystems and biodiversity that, in turn, regulate the local climate, protect natural watersheds and prevent soil erosion. Forests cover 43.7 percent of the five archipelagos in French Polynesia, which is regularly battered by cyclones, droughts and sea level rise. Meanwhile, in Wallis and Futuna, a small group of volcanic islands in the central Pacific with scarce freshwater, deforestation due to forest clearing, and soil erosion are serious problems.

Closer to the east coast of Australia, forest covers 45.9 percent of the islands of New Caledonia. Here, water resources are being affected by nickel mining, forest fires and soil erosion. Scientists forecast that, against predicted climate change impacts, 87-96 percent of native tree species in New Caledonia could decline by 2070.

The broader community, including children, are also involved in the reforestation projects. Credit: SPC

The broader community, including children, are also involved in the reforestation projects. Credit: SPC

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is a partner in a project being rolled out in the district of Dumbea, north of the capital, Noumea. Credit: SPC

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is a partner in a project being rolled out in the district of Dumbea, north of the capital, Noumea. Credit: SPC

Roudaut spoke of three projects in New Caledonia that, together, boosted the reforestation of 27 hectares, the replanting of vegetation around drinking water supply catchments and put in place 3,460 meters of fencing around water sources that will prevent damage, whether by fires or wildlife, such as deer and wild boars. Local communities were vital to their success, with 190 islanders, many of whom were women and youths, involved in making the projects a reality on the ground.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is a partner in one being rolled out in the district of Dumbea, north of the capital, Noumea. The project focuses on the Montagne des Sources upstream of the Dumbea dam, which provides water to 110,000 people, or 40 percent of New Caledonia’s population.

Solène Verda, Head of WWF’s Forestry Program in the territory, told IPS that the incidence of forest fires, as well as floods and droughts, which also affect water security, will only intensify with climate change. “Every year in New Caledonia, fires destroy around 20,000 hectares of vegetation, which is a disaster regarding the islands’ surface; in ten years, 10 percent of the main island has already burned,” she said. “The predictions are not cheery for New Caledonian forests and, thus, the freshwater resources.”

Improving water security is a priority in the national development goals of Pacific Island countries. Credit: SPC

Improving water security is a priority in the national development goals of Pacific Island countries. Credit: SPC

The PROTÉGÉ initiative is tackling one of the greatest inhibitors to combating climate damage, which is limited technical and management capacity. Due to “the remoteness of these islands and small populations… combined with the emigration of skilled professionals out of the region, there is minimal capacity within regional countries to respond to the day-to-day vulnerability threats, let alone the frequent natural disasters experienced,” reports the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

“Thanks to SPC’s PROTÉGÉ, we had the opportunity to test different forest restoration techniques on our degraded watersheds… and it has given us a clearer idea of the methods best suited to our context,” Verda said.

It is a key issue understood by the EU, which has supported the initiative with 36 million euros, in addition to 128,000 euros contributed by the three French territories.

PROTÉGÉ is part of our “commitment to environmental sustainability, climate resilience and sustainable economic autonomy for these small, often vulnerable island territories in line with the Green Deal,” Georges Dehoux, Deputy Head of the Office of the European Union (EU) in the Pacific in Noumea, told IPS. The Green Deal is the EU’s ambition to achieve net zero emissions and non-resource equitable economic growth to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050.

All Pacific Island countries and territories “are facing the same environmental and economic challenges, and a combined and coordinated response at the regional level will ensure better resilience to these challenges,” Dehoux added.

Those working with the project have a sense of urgency about what they are aiming to achieve. For, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) advises, “We can still reverse some of the damage we have inflicted on our precious planet. But time is running out. If we don’t take decisive action in the next 10-20 years, the damage will have passed irreversible tipping points.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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