The 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict marked the beginning of a long journey for Palestinians. During the war, approximately 700,000 Palestinians fled their homes in what is now Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories and became refugees. Following the 1948 war, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) was established by the U.N. General Assembly to provide relief and works programs for Palestinian refugees.
The UNRWA defines Palestinian refugees as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.” The definition was later expanded to include all descendants of male Palestinian refugees, including adopted children. Consequently, 68 years after the 1948 war and subsequent conflicts and uprisings, the number of Palestinian refugees has ballooned from 700,000 to roughly 5 million.
Most of the refugees sought asylum in neighboring Arab countries, where temporary camps were established and have since become permanent settlements. Nearly one-third, or 1.6 million, of Palestinian refugees live in 58 camps in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The remaining two-thirds primarily live in or near the cities of host countries and territories, including those internally displaced in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories.
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip is a tiny enclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea bordering Israel and Egypt. The territory has a population of 1.7 million, of which 1.3 million are registered Palestinian refugees. Subject to a blockade on all sides, residents of Gaza have severely restricted freedom of movement, and Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on earth.
Continuous conflict between Hamas and Israel has also worsened the conditions within the Gaza Strip and has internally displaced thousands since the original 1948 conflict. As a result, 80% of the population is dependent on international assistance, and the eight refugee camps regularly face shortages of food, clean drinking water, medicine and opportunities to lift themselves out of the camps.
West Bank
The West Bank is an Israeli occupied territory located between Israel and Jordan with a population of 2.7 million. There are nearly 775,000 registered refugees living in the territory, mostly living in major towns and rural areas. However, around a quarter of the registered refugees live in 19 camps scattered throughout the territory. Although conditions are generally better than Gaza, refugees living in camps in the West Bank also face squalid living conditions and major freedom of movement restrictions.
Syria
Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, thousands of Palestinians fled to Syria where they were generally welcomed and treated well. They were granted the same duties and responsibilities as Syrian citizens, other than political rights and nationality. As a result, by 2003 there were over 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria living in nine camps and in Syrian cities.
Syria’s ongoing civil war has severely exacerbated the plight of Palestinian refugees in the country, leaving many in besieged or hard to reach areas. Before the conflict began in 2011, UNRWA estimated there were 526,000 registered Palestinian refugees in the country. Today, many of the camps have been deserted or destroyed, and the refugees that remain in Syria continually experience a deterioration of humanitarian conditions. For instance, the Yarmouk Camp, located just outside Damascus and home to roughly 160,000 Palestinian refugees prior to the war, recently experienced fierce clashes between rebel groups, ISIS and the Syrian Army. The fighting left nearly 18,000 refugees without food, water and medical supplies, and resulted in a severe Typhoid outbreak.
Lebanon
Situated on the Mediterranean Sea between Israel and Syria, Lebanon has a population of 6.2 million, of which 450,000 are registered Palestinian refugees. The country is also home to thousands of undocumented and unregistered Palestinians, with estimates ranging from 10,000 to 40,000. Overall, Palestinians are thought to make up 10% of the total Lebanese population.
Around half of all Palestinian refugees in Lebanon reside in 12 refugee camps. Although many of these camps have existed for decades, they routinely suffer from high rates of poverty, unemployment and other issues such as overcrowding and lack of sufficient infrastructure. Those living outside the registered Palestinian refugee camps suffer continued discrimination, are denied basic rights and are even barred from working in certain professions. Consequently, Lebanon has the highest percentage of Palestinian refugees living in abject poverty among all other countries and territories UNRWA operates in.
Jordan
Jordan shares a border with Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the West Bank, and has a population of 8.2 million. Jordan is home to the highest number of Palestinian refugees, with 2.1 million registered and thousands more that have fled Palestinian refugee camps in Syria. Palestinians account for approximately a quarter of the total Jordanian population.
Most, but not all, Palestinian refugees have been granted full Jordanian citizenship and have been well integrated into society for decades. However, nearly 370,000 are settled in ten camps throughout the country. An additional 10,000 that have crossed the border from Syria live in camps along the border that have increasingly dire conditions and residents are prohibited from leaving.
Originally forced to flee fighting in the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, Palestinian refugees have long endured turbulent and unstable conditions since leaving home. Many have fled war only to be met with more violence and conflict in places such as Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Many are faced with severe human rights violations and are denied freedom of movement, leaving many to be born, live and die in the same place. In addition to these issues, the right of refugees to ultimately return to their homeland remains a major obstacle to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
For now, Palestinians remain part of the harrowing refugee crisis of the 21st century.
-Brendan Hennessey
Photo: Flickr
What is Desertification?
What is desertification? Though an unfamiliar term, it is rather intuitive. Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semiarid, or dry subhumid regions due to climate variations and human activities such as over-cropping, overgrazing, improper irrigation practices and deforestation. Desertification occurs all across the world, but Sub-Saharan and Central Asian drylands are particularly vulnerable. Presently, somewhere between 25 and 30 percent of the world’s land surface area is affected, jeopardizing the livelihoods of around 1.2 billion people.
Desertification’s devastating effects on the availability of food, water, fuel and building materials renders landscapes inhospitable to human life. In these sort of resourceless, fragile states, local conflicts over water or land can escalate into civil wars, sexual violence or genocide, as for instance, in the cases of Darfur, Mali, Chad and Afghanistan. Depleted and destabilized communities quickly become humanitarian crises, as those affected flee to become refugees and forced migrants, or stay and fall into radical resource-driven wars. Environmental disasters inevitably become human calamities. Therefore, in order to address issues of poverty, it is necessary to address environmental issues, and vice versa.
While desertification is perhaps not a global priority, it ought to be; many are working to combat its effects on land and people. The European Union (EU) is funding a four-year project called Wadis-Mar to counter desertification in North Africa where water scarcity and overexploitation of groundwater have diminished the region. While Wadis-Mar will utilize new technologies to combat this water crisis, a focus on education in responsible water sustainability and agricultural techniques is crucial to the continued success of the project. Likewise, the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) applies curative measures to communities across the world ravaged by desertification, from reforestation projects in South Africa’s Baviaanskloof Hartland to Chinese public education events that teach sustainability, land restoration and conservation.
Landscapes don’t have to decay and displace people. Understanding the reciprocity of humans’ relationship to the earth and modifying practices can help defeat the poverty cycle and restore people to their homes.
– Robin Lee
Photo: Flickr
Education System in Ethiopia
Even with one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The education system in Ethiopia is less than satisfactory and while it is free and compulsory, only 60 percent of children are enrolled in full-time education.
Education in Ethiopia is compulsory for children between the ages of 5 to 16, but with poor facilities and underprivileged backgrounds, many children do not get a high quality, full-time education. In Ethiopia, 95 percent of primary school teachers receives training, which is higher than the world median of 92 percent. While the quality of teaching is high, the ratio of teacher to a child is 1:64, so children are not able to receive the attention that they need in order to reach their full potential.
Prior to secular education being introduced in the early 1900s, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church dominated education in Ethiopia. Before 1974, the Ethiopian literacy rate was below 10 percent. Since then, the emphasis has been put on increasing this rate and it now stands at 49 percent. Even though this is very low compared to the rest of the world, it is a massive improvement for education in Ethiopia.
Although education in Ethiopia has improved over past years, there are still many difficulties that exist within the system. Currently, core subjects such as science and maths are being taught in English. As this is neither the teachers’ first language or the students, the concept of the subject gets lost in translation into Amharic.
Another downfall to education in Ethiopia is the lack of good governance. This occurs throughout the schools and universities across the country and puts the level of quality education at risk. And while the number of school dropouts has reduced, many students still finish school before reaching higher education, which limits their opportunity in the future.
Ethiopia joined the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) in 2004, which has since given grants in order to improve the level of education. Ethiopia has received four GPE grants over the course of 10 years and is currently in its third grant. Between 2014 and 2017, Ethiopia will receive $100 million in order to improve the quality of general education throughout the country.
Previous GPE funding has significantly improved education in Ethiopia. Now, each child in education has a textbook, and 60 percent of schools were inspected in 2015. Teacher training was also provided to 100,000 adults in order to increase the number of qualified teachers throughout the entire school system.
Now, the focus in Ethiopia is to keep children in school and progress to higher education and to reduce the number of school dropouts. This can be done through vocational education, such as technical vocation and education programs. This will ensure that even those who are not in education will receive some kind of training, and will be learning new or improving existing skills.
– Georgia Boyle
Photo: Flickr
Education System in Sri Lanka
With a literacy rate of 92.3% and a continuing increase in primary school enrolment, the education system in Sri Lanka is constantly evolving and improving. Considering its history, a visible improvement is a high achievement, and will hopefully be maintained in the future.
Currently, there are 10,390 government schools in Sri Lanka. A curriculum set by the government is taught in Sinhalese, with English set as a second language. Education in Sri Lanka is free from primary through university level, but is only compulsory for those between the ages of 5 and 14. Facilities within the country are all state-funded and free materials are given to each child throughout their education.
Today, the education system of Sri Lanka faces many challenges as its weaknesses overpower its strengths. With a high literacy rate, it is easy to get a clouded judgment of the level of education. Overall, the quality of education is poor, with a mismatched curriculum of two different systems of private and public schools, and a substantial lack of training for teachers.
Added pressures of inefficient administration and limited government expenditure lead to difficulties in aiding children into education. Despite the compulsory requirement for 5 to 14-year-olds, only 92.2% are in full-time education, and attendance to lessons are very poor. The main reason is many children do not have a birth certificate, which means that they are technically not allowed an access to education within the country. Other reasons for poor attendance includes lack of interest or poor household backgrounds, where children are required to help their families as an alternative to education.
The Free Education Policy of 1947 enabled children to have an easier opportunity accessing education. The government spent four percent of its GDP on education, leading to mass improvements in facilities, and the level of education children receive. This was a major break-through in Sri Lanka but following weak economic conditions in the late 1960s, the government was unable to continue spending this amount of money. In 1970, the allocation for education dropped to three percent and then to less than two percent in 1977 following the introduction of Structural Adjustment policies. The quality of education deteriorated comparatively as a consequence.
Since these hard times, education reforms have been set in order to change the system and modernize it. The General Education Project-2, established in 1998, provided students with textbooks, changed the curriculum to make it more relevant and helped to develop school libraries.
While these projects and reforms have aided Sri Lanka in improving the level of education available to schoolchildren, it is still not as good as it could be. In order for education in Sri Lanka to improve, much higher levels of training need to be accessible to teachers, and schemes need to be put in place so that children who have difficulty accessing education can have equal opportunities.
– Georgia Boyle
Photo: Flickr
Where are the Palestinian Refugee Camps?
The 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict marked the beginning of a long journey for Palestinians. During the war, approximately 700,000 Palestinians fled their homes in what is now Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories and became refugees. Following the 1948 war, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) was established by the U.N. General Assembly to provide relief and works programs for Palestinian refugees.
The UNRWA defines Palestinian refugees as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.” The definition was later expanded to include all descendants of male Palestinian refugees, including adopted children. Consequently, 68 years after the 1948 war and subsequent conflicts and uprisings, the number of Palestinian refugees has ballooned from 700,000 to roughly 5 million.
Most of the refugees sought asylum in neighboring Arab countries, where temporary camps were established and have since become permanent settlements. Nearly one-third, or 1.6 million, of Palestinian refugees live in 58 camps in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The remaining two-thirds primarily live in or near the cities of host countries and territories, including those internally displaced in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories.
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip is a tiny enclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea bordering Israel and Egypt. The territory has a population of 1.7 million, of which 1.3 million are registered Palestinian refugees. Subject to a blockade on all sides, residents of Gaza have severely restricted freedom of movement, and Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on earth.
Continuous conflict between Hamas and Israel has also worsened the conditions within the Gaza Strip and has internally displaced thousands since the original 1948 conflict. As a result, 80% of the population is dependent on international assistance, and the eight refugee camps regularly face shortages of food, clean drinking water, medicine and opportunities to lift themselves out of the camps.
West Bank
The West Bank is an Israeli occupied territory located between Israel and Jordan with a population of 2.7 million. There are nearly 775,000 registered refugees living in the territory, mostly living in major towns and rural areas. However, around a quarter of the registered refugees live in 19 camps scattered throughout the territory. Although conditions are generally better than Gaza, refugees living in camps in the West Bank also face squalid living conditions and major freedom of movement restrictions.
Syria
Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, thousands of Palestinians fled to Syria where they were generally welcomed and treated well. They were granted the same duties and responsibilities as Syrian citizens, other than political rights and nationality. As a result, by 2003 there were over 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria living in nine camps and in Syrian cities.
Syria’s ongoing civil war has severely exacerbated the plight of Palestinian refugees in the country, leaving many in besieged or hard to reach areas. Before the conflict began in 2011, UNRWA estimated there were 526,000 registered Palestinian refugees in the country. Today, many of the camps have been deserted or destroyed, and the refugees that remain in Syria continually experience a deterioration of humanitarian conditions. For instance, the Yarmouk Camp, located just outside Damascus and home to roughly 160,000 Palestinian refugees prior to the war, recently experienced fierce clashes between rebel groups, ISIS and the Syrian Army. The fighting left nearly 18,000 refugees without food, water and medical supplies, and resulted in a severe Typhoid outbreak.
Lebanon
Situated on the Mediterranean Sea between Israel and Syria, Lebanon has a population of 6.2 million, of which 450,000 are registered Palestinian refugees. The country is also home to thousands of undocumented and unregistered Palestinians, with estimates ranging from 10,000 to 40,000. Overall, Palestinians are thought to make up 10% of the total Lebanese population.
Around half of all Palestinian refugees in Lebanon reside in 12 refugee camps. Although many of these camps have existed for decades, they routinely suffer from high rates of poverty, unemployment and other issues such as overcrowding and lack of sufficient infrastructure. Those living outside the registered Palestinian refugee camps suffer continued discrimination, are denied basic rights and are even barred from working in certain professions. Consequently, Lebanon has the highest percentage of Palestinian refugees living in abject poverty among all other countries and territories UNRWA operates in.
Jordan
Jordan shares a border with Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the West Bank, and has a population of 8.2 million. Jordan is home to the highest number of Palestinian refugees, with 2.1 million registered and thousands more that have fled Palestinian refugee camps in Syria. Palestinians account for approximately a quarter of the total Jordanian population.
Most, but not all, Palestinian refugees have been granted full Jordanian citizenship and have been well integrated into society for decades. However, nearly 370,000 are settled in ten camps throughout the country. An additional 10,000 that have crossed the border from Syria live in camps along the border that have increasingly dire conditions and residents are prohibited from leaving.
Originally forced to flee fighting in the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, Palestinian refugees have long endured turbulent and unstable conditions since leaving home. Many have fled war only to be met with more violence and conflict in places such as Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Many are faced with severe human rights violations and are denied freedom of movement, leaving many to be born, live and die in the same place. In addition to these issues, the right of refugees to ultimately return to their homeland remains a major obstacle to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
For now, Palestinians remain part of the harrowing refugee crisis of the 21st century.
-Brendan Hennessey
Photo: Flickr
Five Ways to Help Stop Desertification of the World
Drought, deforestation and climate change. All of these contribute to the extreme global issue known as desertification. According to the environmental campaign Clean Up the World, desertification is the degradation of land in drylands, which affects all continents except Antarctica. Approximately half of the people worldwide who live below the poverty line live in affected areas.
The result of desertification is barren land that cannot be used for crop and food production or other agricultural purposes. Prevention methods have been introduced and tend to be more successful than attempts to restore already damaged regions, which can be costly and yield limited results.
Such large-scale environmental complications may seem troubling to deal with, but the outlined methods and many more make all the difference, giving individuals an idea of how to stop desertification.
– Mikaela Frigillana
Photo: Flickr
Education in France
Education in France is known globally as both competitive and exceptional when it comes to giving students a quality learning experience. This is because the French government and the French people understand the importance of education, thus they continue to provide substantial money towards their education systems. Though the French continuously values their education, issues such as failing to help students and an archaic university system are weighing down the quality of education in France.
For French children, education in France begins in kindergarten (maternelle) at an incredibly young age. Fifty-two percent of French children are enrolled in kindergarten at age 2 while 100 percent of children begin kindergarten at age 3. However, elementary school is only compulsory for children at the age of 6.
French primary schools are notorious for long school hours while simultaneously having fewer school days. It is estimated that French children spend approximately 900 hours a year in school which is more than any other European nation. Since vacation days are a national value in France, French school make up for lost time with additional school hours.
At 16, secondary education is not compulsory and French kids can decide whether to continue their education or leave and join the workforce.
French high school (lycée) or also known as secondary education, is for French children 16 years or older. During their time in high school, French children are not only taking their mandatory classes but are simultaneously studying for the Baccalauréat or Bac. The Bac is a final exam that qualifies students for university studies.
The Bac takes a total of six days to complete and unlike many exams, the Bac does not contain any multiple choice questions. Rather, the Bac tests oral and written proficiency in multiple subjects. Reports indicate that fewer than 20 percent of all students fail the Bac.
Despite the complexity of the Bac, almost all citizens are prideful of the Bac and refuse to modify it. During the month of June, newspapers and periodicals are teeming with discussions about the Bac. Many intellectuals in the country even discuss the Bac in relation to subjects such as literature and philosophy.
After high school, education in France is divided into a dual system of Universités and Grandes Ecoles. Universités in France are globally known to be exceptionally diverse and inclusive. Over 12 percent of the student population in Universités are foreign students. Additionally, any student who passes the Bac is already admitted to any university in the country. Currently, France has around 84 universités with free tuition for students.
In France, Grandes Ecoles are considered separate from the overall university system. This is because Grandes Ecoles are specialty schools for careers in mainly science and business. Grandes Ecoles try to provide a simulation of the job market which universités simply cannot do.
In France, there are about 250 Grandes Ecoles with each being relatively free, substantially funded and well adapted to the current job market.
However, Grandes Ecoles are immensely selective which makes entering any Grandes Ecoles fiercely competitive amongst pupils.
Though France provides a well-rounded education for its citizens, issues such as failing to help students and an outdated university system continue to detriment the overall quality of education in France.
Education in France has slowly drifted away from providing aid to children to neglecting the overall wellbeing of children. In French high schools, teachers are only present to teach their classes and then they leave. Teachers with office hours are almost non-existent which further alienates the instructors from their classes. As a result, it is often recorded that teachers tell students that they are zeroes (nuls).
A quote from one of the authors of “Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong”, Jean-Benoit Nadeau states that “An outstanding feature of French education is the authority of teachers. The French don’t regard childhood as an age of innocence but see it as an age of ignorance. Children must be set straight and corrected.”
This type of psychological abuse has many psychologists linking this emotional mistreatment from school to child development. Child defenders that deal with already abused and battered children even claim that this emotional abuse can further detriment childhood development.
Education in France is also suffering due to an archaic université system. Universités in France are slowly losing the prestige that they once had due to competition from U.S. universities. The reasoning behind this loss of prestige stems from the fact that unlike U.S. colleges, French universités do not make connections to the job market and inadequately prepares students for life after school.
As a result, less funding is being placed in the French university systems. A reduced amount of funding has led to overcrowding and a 50 percent dropout rate in the first two years of university studies.
Furthermore, universities in France are on a sharp decline as students attending Grandes Ecoles are gradually increasing.
The French government is steadily improving education in France through a set of reforms. In 2008, new legislation allowed universities to become autonomous. By allowing universities to become autonomous, these schools now have the ability to control more of the budgets and finances of their institutions. Increased budgetary autonomy has positively impacted the flexibility to raise donations through private investors as well as appoint professors as they see fit.
Not to mention, the French government is also encouraging universités to form joint structures. Joint structures allow universités to merge amongst themselves as well as with Grandes Ecoles. Joint structures are theoretically going to reverse the lost prestige of French universities as well as attract prospective foreign students.
French Minister of National Education, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem has commented on France’s recent education reforms as moving in the right direction with further efforts on reducing inequalities and school failure rates.
Without debate, the French education system is a unique and engaging system that provides a satisfactory education for its citizens. Yet, obstacles such as child mistreatment and a revamped university system are serious obstacles that need to be overcome in order to better advance the quality of education in France.
– Shannon Coble
Photo: Flickr
VOD Education in Kenya
Kenya has seen remarkable growth in education in the last few years. Between 2012 and 2013 student enrollment increased by 20 percent, and the number of college graduates in Kenya is expected to exceed those without any formal education by 2020.
However, university resources aren’t keeping up with the rapid increase in student enrollment. According to Finance Minister Njeru Githae’s 2012 policy budget statement, “The sector’s biggest challenges include inadequate infrastructure and staffing, a slow pace of ICT integration and dealing with accelerated admissions to universities.”
Video on Demand or VOD education in Kenya has yet to blossom, but it has the potential to ease the pressures that Githae mentioned. Africa’s market is perfect for the system’s development and integration into school systems due to the country’s high population and extensive internet penetration.
The system allows students to select and watch video content of their choice via either their televisions or computers. VOD allows teachers to customize and live to stream their own content to give students in remote areas access to the most effective lectures.
When used as a supplement to traditional teaching methods, it reinforces students’ understanding of content. Students have the option to stop or replay parts of lectures as many times as needed, while advanced learners can use the system to explore more material. Students can also use the system to catch up on missed lectures.
VOD education in Kenya could give the country an advantage with Information and Communications Technology (ICT) competitiveness and innovation. The system will familiarize students with technology and prepare them for entrance into a modern workforce that highly values technological literacy.
The system also contributes to student empowerment, active engagement, leadership and collaboration. Educators who use VOD encourage students to collaborate with each other — even peers from other universities — to create their own material.
VOD generates revenue through subscriptions, sponsorship, and advertising models, which could be used to fund education and reduce the cost of tuition. Students can access the system for free with university hotspots.
VOD education thus far has been shown to enhance student performance and academic development. Not only does it have the potential to become a useful enhancement to 21st century teaching methods, but it also is compatible with Kenya’s goal of becoming a globally competitive and prosperous nation.
– Liliana Rehorn
Photo: Flickr
France to Close all Coal Power Plants
This November at an annual U.N. climate change conference, President Francois Hollande announced that by 2023, France will no longer rely on coal for any of its energy. The country already derives over 75 percent of its electricity from alternative methods and President Hollande’s announcement indicates that France is to close all coal power plants.
Coal is relatively cheap and easy, making it a popular global energy source. Today, it makes up 40 percent of the world’s energy. Coal energy also produces 39 percent of global Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Besides the heavy release of CO2 into the atmosphere, coal as an energy source is problematic in many ways. The mining and extraction process for obtaining coal can have severely detrimental effects on the environment. The process can cause the destruction of landscapes and habitats, deforestation and erosion, contamination of groundwater, air and dust pollution and the displacement of communities.
Coal mining releases methane into the atmosphere. In terms of contributing to climate change, methane is about 84 times as powerful as CO2. On top of this, coal mining is a very dangerous job and can often have harmful effects on workers’ health. Those who inhale coal dust can suffer from black lung disease, cardiopulmonary disease and hypertension.
France’s decision to close all coal power plants comes in the wake of The Paris Agreement, an agreement made between 195 countries in 2015 to set the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change.
The country has become a leader in low-carbon energy production by increasing its use of nuclear fission, which produces many more health and environmental risks than fossil fuels. The country creates so much nuclear energy that it is able to export much of it to neighboring nations, bringing in substantial domestic revenue. The decision to cut all coal energy production by 2023 will even beat the United Kingdom’s decision to do the same by two years.
The announcement shows that France is committed to the Paris Agreement and the radical changes that come along with it. The country passed a bill in September banning the use of plastic cups, silverware and dishware, which will be implemented in 2020. France is the first country in the world to pass such a law.
Countries such as Germany, Finland, the UK and Canada are following France’s example and committing to similar ecological goals. The U.S. gets about 33 percent of its energy from coal and President-elect Donald Trump has not yet outlined a plan for reducing coal production.
Overall, France’s commitment to close all coal power plants by 2030 is an example to follow. The goals of the Paris Agreement require concrete dedication to stopping climate change, and France and President Hollande recognize this.
– Peyton Jacobsen
Photo: Flickr
Economic Growth in Pakistan Projects Future Prosperity
This year, economic growth in Pakistan reached its highest rate in eight years. With 4.7 percent growth in FY 2016, up from four percent the previous year, the country shows promise for further economic success and prosperity.
The World Bank praised the government’s prudent efforts in restoring economic stability. Growth has largely been driven by consumption, and indicators of economic improvement include low inflation, a low budget deficit and a low current account deficit. Additionally, foreign exchange reserves strengthened. The country’s recently upgraded ratings by Standard and Poor is proof of economic success.
In addition to economic growth, Pakistan has succeeded in reducing the percentage of people living in poverty. The percentage of people living in poverty in Pakistan decreased from 64.3 percent in 2002 to 29.5 percent in 2014. The World Bank president claims the country is on track to increased economic growth and prosperity, but in order to maintain and expand growth, the government must take additional steps.
Low rates of investment and declining export competitiveness hinder further growth. In order to strengthen economic growth in Pakistan, public, private and international investments will need to increase.
Despite Pakistan’s success in poverty reduction and improving health, nutrition and education have been trailing behind. The World Bank’s Country Director in Pakistan recommends implementing structural reforms that will benefit the entire population to promote viable and widespread success.
Pakistan will benefit from investments in electricity, education, health and nutrition. The government can help achieve these goals by expanding the electricity supply, accelerating energy reforms, ensuring anti-poverty measures and encouraging private sector investments. By expanding services and prioritizing individual prosperity, economic growth in Pakistan will benefit the population at-large.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister has expressed dedication to widespread growth by investing in the development of mega-hydropower projects, rail and road infrastructure, education and health.
Economic growth in Pakistan is attracting international interest and providing opportunities for investment. The high performance of the Pakistan Stock Exchange and projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor are leading the World Bank, the China Development Bank and other sovereign investment authorities to express interest in investing in Pakistan.
Although improvements are needed, economic growth in Pakistan is expected to continue. The World Bank projects further success for Pakistan, achieving a 4.8 percent growth rate in FY 2017 and 5.4 percent in FY 2018. Services in Pakistan are expected to grow by five percent. Large-scale manufacturing is expected to grow between four and 4.5 percent and investments are expected to increase from 14 to 14.6 percent of the GDP.
Economic growth in Pakistan is promising for the country’s future. Success in reducing poverty, stimulating economic growth and attracting international investments prove the country is committed to accelerating sustainable economic growth for years to come.
– McKenna Lux
Photo: Flickr
Poverty in Lesotho
Gaining independence from the U.K. in 1966, Lesotho has aspired to develop economically, socially and environmentally. Like many African nations, however, Lesotho has also faced a difficult struggle with poverty alleviation. In fact, according to the World Bank, approximately 57 percent of the population still lives in extreme poverty, which provides an incentive to understand the factors at play. As such, here are five major aspects of persisting poverty in Lesotho today:
Lesotho’s outlook is not entirely disconcerting. Women in Lesotho boast one of the highest literacy rates in all of Africa, reflecting Lesotho’s commitment to both education and gender equality. In fact, the percentage of GDP spent on education is the largest of any country in the world. Likewise, women in Lesotho report higher human development levels than their male counterparts in all areas except overall income. While there are admittedly several factors to consider for overcoming poverty in Lesotho, it is likely that solutions will continue to build on the nation’s current strengths.
– Zack Machuga
Photo: Flickr