Last year, Nicaragua awarded a Chinese firm a 100-year concession to construct a channel to rival the Panama Canal. Construction for the proposed 178-mile waterway is expected to begin in December, with $50 billion in funding from the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company, or HKND.
However, Danish NGO Forests of the World has criticized both the Nicaraguan government and the HKND for failing to involve the indigenous residents of the region in the planning process, especially considering in the devastation of the forests and in the mass displacement the project will cause.
According to Forests of the World, the proposed canal will fragment the Rama and Kriol territory, dividing the region into two parts, and will plough through two UNESCO biosphere reserves that include a number of endangered species, including jaguars, great green macaws, tapirs and sea turtles.
Claus Kjaerby, the Central American representative for Forests of the World, has stated that the canal will cause negative impacts on “protected wetlands vital to migratory birds, the Central American biological corridor, destruction of freshwater habitat, deterioration of drinking water reserves and the inevitable pollution of Lake Nicaragua.”
Environmentalists are particularly worried about the traffic that the canal could inevitably bring to Lake Cocibolca. As the largest body of freshwater in Central America, Lake Cocibolca is at high risk of salinization as well as the added maintenance of disposing of excavated dirt. Moreover, the potential seismic activity from nearby active volcanoes is a further concern for the canal.
In addition to hundreds of Nicaraguan farmers protesting the construction, Nicaragua’s indigenous groups have contacted the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights for legal advice, arguing that they will be forced to relocate with little support from the government, which violates Nicaraguan law and international labor standards.
The Nicaraguan government stated that while it did inform the indigenous people of the canal, it did not have any formal discussion regarding the project. The company managing the canal, the Great Inter-Oceanic Canal Commission, has said it would provide landowners with fair compensation.
The government has also alleged that businesses and political leaders considered five different routes before settling on the current route, which they consider to be the least damaging route. Paul Oquist Kelley, executive secretary of the Nicaraguan Grand Canal Commission, stated that the route, despite it not being the cheapest option, was chosen because the path has the lowest environmental and social cost.
The NGO has urged Danish firm Maersk, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, to influence the canal construction to prevent environmental damage and protect indigenous rights.
On the other hand, President Daniel Ortega has indicated that the project would provide enough work to help alleviate poverty in the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, where poverty affects more than half of the population.
The Panama Canal generates approximately $1 billion in revenue annually to Panama, and a Nicaraguan Canal could generate a similar stream of revenue.
A Nicaraguan Canal would also have several benefits comparable to the Panama Canal, such as in reducing the length of trips. For example, a journey from Los Angeles to New York would have approximately 800 km less to travel. The canal would also be able to accommodate ships up to 250,000 tons, more than double the freight limit of the Panama Canal.
Nonetheless, the lack of discourse between the government and the indigenous people residing in the proposed canal land reveals a troubling lack of transparency and agreement regarding the project.
– William Ying
Sources: The Guardian, The Guardian 2, The Guardian 3, Verdens Skove, Tico Times, Journal of Commerce, LA Times
Photo: Flickr
Nicaragua Canal to Cause Displacement
Last year, Nicaragua awarded a Chinese firm a 100-year concession to construct a channel to rival the Panama Canal. Construction for the proposed 178-mile waterway is expected to begin in December, with $50 billion in funding from the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company, or HKND.
However, Danish NGO Forests of the World has criticized both the Nicaraguan government and the HKND for failing to involve the indigenous residents of the region in the planning process, especially considering in the devastation of the forests and in the mass displacement the project will cause.
According to Forests of the World, the proposed canal will fragment the Rama and Kriol territory, dividing the region into two parts, and will plough through two UNESCO biosphere reserves that include a number of endangered species, including jaguars, great green macaws, tapirs and sea turtles.
Claus Kjaerby, the Central American representative for Forests of the World, has stated that the canal will cause negative impacts on “protected wetlands vital to migratory birds, the Central American biological corridor, destruction of freshwater habitat, deterioration of drinking water reserves and the inevitable pollution of Lake Nicaragua.”
Environmentalists are particularly worried about the traffic that the canal could inevitably bring to Lake Cocibolca. As the largest body of freshwater in Central America, Lake Cocibolca is at high risk of salinization as well as the added maintenance of disposing of excavated dirt. Moreover, the potential seismic activity from nearby active volcanoes is a further concern for the canal.
In addition to hundreds of Nicaraguan farmers protesting the construction, Nicaragua’s indigenous groups have contacted the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights for legal advice, arguing that they will be forced to relocate with little support from the government, which violates Nicaraguan law and international labor standards.
The Nicaraguan government stated that while it did inform the indigenous people of the canal, it did not have any formal discussion regarding the project. The company managing the canal, the Great Inter-Oceanic Canal Commission, has said it would provide landowners with fair compensation.
The government has also alleged that businesses and political leaders considered five different routes before settling on the current route, which they consider to be the least damaging route. Paul Oquist Kelley, executive secretary of the Nicaraguan Grand Canal Commission, stated that the route, despite it not being the cheapest option, was chosen because the path has the lowest environmental and social cost.
The NGO has urged Danish firm Maersk, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, to influence the canal construction to prevent environmental damage and protect indigenous rights.
On the other hand, President Daniel Ortega has indicated that the project would provide enough work to help alleviate poverty in the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, where poverty affects more than half of the population.
The Panama Canal generates approximately $1 billion in revenue annually to Panama, and a Nicaraguan Canal could generate a similar stream of revenue.
A Nicaraguan Canal would also have several benefits comparable to the Panama Canal, such as in reducing the length of trips. For example, a journey from Los Angeles to New York would have approximately 800 km less to travel. The canal would also be able to accommodate ships up to 250,000 tons, more than double the freight limit of the Panama Canal.
Nonetheless, the lack of discourse between the government and the indigenous people residing in the proposed canal land reveals a troubling lack of transparency and agreement regarding the project.
– William Ying
Sources: The Guardian, The Guardian 2, The Guardian 3, Verdens Skove, Tico Times, Journal of Commerce, LA Times
Photo: Flickr
Nigeria’s Economic Growth a “Hot Prospect”
Despite the latest focus on the Ebola virus in West Africa, there has been a major growth in the economy and middle class, according to Nigeria’s finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. It was only two decades ago that Africa was dubbed as the world’s economic “basket case,” and since then the growth of the middle class has almost tripled.
In a speech given by Okonjo-Iweala, she said that the country’s economic growing has been increasing at an average of 7 percent per annum and that this is due to the strong influence of growth that the non-oil sectors have. She also said that Nigeria should not be seen as just an oil and gas economy now, but rather a strong and diverse economy.
Things that have helped grow the economy are building essential administrative functions, like computerized land registries, that permit the sale of a plot of land within a week rather than what it was prior, months or even years. New highways have been implemented for trade, which has helped by cutting down travel time between Benin City and Lagos, approximately cutting six hours off. Another big factor of the economic growth goes to a developing national program that offers mortgages, and this helps by boosting the housing sector, which in turn gives millions of Nigerians a stable home and investment for the future.
According to Okonjo-Iweala, there are still many obstacles that Nigeria has to overcome, and one of those is that the governance is still too corrupt, which includes the theft of the oil produced by the country. Another challenge blocking the growth is that there are serious security issues due to the militant Islamist militia that continues to take over land in northeastern Nigeria.
World Bank has proved through research that improvement in agriculture is three times more impactful in ending poverty than any other thing. With that being said, Anglo-Dutch giant Unilever as well as Minnesota-based Cargill have both financed developments to process Nigeria’s cassava crop. Nigeria is home to 173.6 million people with a GDP of $521.8 billion, Okonjo-Iweala believes that it has become an “economic powerhouse” and has achieved a level that should be a member of things like the G20.
– Brooke Smith
Sources: Atlantic Council, World Bank
Photo: Flickr
Food Shortages in Somalia
Three years ago, Somali residents experienced one of the worst famines in history. The devastating epidemic resulted in over a quarter of a million deaths across the country. With severe droughts currently plaguing the nation, officials are concerned that more lives will be lost as the country spirals back into famine.
Al-Shabab, a militant terrorist group based in Somalia, has been preventing aid and relief services from reaching those in need. The group has blocked roadways, prohibiting standard trade from reaching millions of people. In addition, extreme droughts have wiped out a great percentage of livestock and local crops. In some areas, including the province of Bakool, residents state that it hasn’t rained since last October.
“Lack of food and water is our biggest challenge now,” says Bakool Commissioner, Mohamed Abdi Mohamed. “Food is too expensive even for those with money. The town is under a blockade.”
Since al-Shabab began erecting blockades, prices for food and other basic necessities have more than tripled. This has caused many to plunge further into poverty and over a million people have been forced to leave their homes. A large number of people have set out in search of food and water themselves, though, with the continuous drought, many have died along the way. Others have transferred to refugee camps where they often receive little to no assistance.
Rebels have intercepted food deliveries intended for thousands of starving people in Somalia. They are currently keeping food products locked away in warehouses in the capital city of Mogadishu. Now, the only way that relief services are able to reach people in these areas is through deliveries of airlifted goods. Though this form of distribution is costly, many international organizations are doing their best to continue relief services.
An estimated 1.6 billion dollars is needed to save the 2.9 million lives at stake. As of yet, only half of this amount as been reached. The UN is currently urging international aid groups and individuals to raise awareness of the situation and to help in funding relief efforts.
– Meagan Douches
Sources: The Guardian, The Huffington Post, UN
Photo: Flickr
Ending Global Poverty By 2030
Videos and pictures of malnourished children play on TV screens in between reality TV shows and donation envelopes arrive in the mail, sometimes to be barely glanced at. A supporter of The Global Poverty Movement said, “Everything that has a beginning has an end,” but what is the world doing to end global poverty?
Two people who are aware of and trying to combat this issue are Hugh Evans and Simon Moss. These two men erected The Global Poverty Movement in 2008 during a “High Level meeting on Millennium Development Goals” and within a year launched in Australia. It is their hope that through this project, global poverty can be eradicated by 2030 through the use of government changes and business and consumer action, along with developing a movement that will inspire and educate people to move to action to affect change.
Since landing in England, New Zealand and the United States, the Project has increased in numbers by the thousands and secured funding for their initiatives, such as Live Below the Line, The End of Polio and Global Citizen, to eradicate poverty by the billions.
The Global Poverty Project has made use of multimedia to reach those all over the world in support of their campaign of ending global poverty through video presentations to recruiting celebrities such as Hugh Jackman to enlist in the cause to free ticketed concerts to spread their mission.
By using these methods, people of all ages—about 250,000 so far—are becoming members of Global Citizen, becoming more conscious of the less fortunate and moving to action by simply using the Internet.
In late September, the organization hosted their third annual Global Citizen Festival with popular singers Jay Z, Carrie Underwood, fun. and The Roots, to name a few. In order to obtain tickets, the organization created an incentive program; sign petitions, email world leaders and share content on social media. By doing so, “fans [became] active participants in campaigning for positive change.” These campaigners earned points to put in a raffle to win tickets to the concert.
With the help of activists lobbying for change, a change will come, even if it’s through sharing an article online or signing a name to a petition because like one Global Citizen said, “What we do in one place effects someone on the other side of the world.”
– Kori Withers
Sources: Global Poverty Project, Global Poverty Project 2, Global Poverty Project 3
Photo: UN Seattle
Malnutrition in the Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands consists of a scattered archipelago located in Oceania, just east of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia. Based on the Human Development Index, the country ranks 143 out of 187, meaning that the standard of living is extremely low in the country.
A majority of the population lives in rural areas and relies heavily on subsistence gardens and the sea to supply food. Recently, there has been increased access to imported foods high in carbohydrates and fat, consequently making the islanders’ diet less nutritious. Additionally, due to an increase in global food prices, preferred items such as canned tuna and fresh marine fish are becoming harder to come by.
The global financial crisis beginning in 2007 created a heavy burden for Solomon islanders. Food prices increased by 53 percentage points. Staple foods such as rice, noodles and flour were affected the most by the increases. Islanders living in urban areas have been worse off than their rural counterparts since they do not have the land to grow their own crops.
Children under the age of five are greatly affected by malnutrition in the Solomon Islands. About one-third of kids are stunted and roughly five percent are emaciated.
Since more children are lower in height for their age group compared to lower in weight for their height group, it is evident that this young population attains their daily energy requirements, but that the foods consumed are lacking in nutritional value. Stunting is a result of chronic malnutrition and inadequate food intake. There is a clear deficiency in essential nutrients and vitamins that leads to slower development and reduced growth.
Malnutrition in the Solomon Islands also precipitates many infectious diseases in the young population. In a Demographic and Health Survey, it was found that 21 percent of diarrheal episodes were among children ranging from 12 months to 23 months of age. There is also a problem of tuberculosis and malaria among children, although the numbers have been decreasing over the years.
Malnutrition is persistent, slow acting and leads to harm and death for children on a large scale. It has serious implications on a child’s mental and physical development.
Local government officials need to promote behavioral changes and empower caregivers to take responsibility for the nutritional rehabilitation of children. By maintaining the quality and quantity of foods a person eats and ensuring adequate healthcare, the threat of malnutrition can be reduced and eventually eliminated.
– Leeda Jewayni
Sources: World Fish Center, WHO
Photo: The Travel Word
Why Are Chadian Women Dying?
With the second highest maternal mortality rates, Chad falls drastically behind the fifth United Nation Millennium Development Goal in diminishing the mortality ratio by three quarters. There are approximately 1,100 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births, illustrating a dire need for solutions.
The nature of the problem varies, with deaths ranging from hemorrhage, HIV/AIDS, limited access to health care and obstructive labor. There is also a high Total Fertility Rate in Chad, with women averaging about 5 children.
Many disparities exist between Chadian women who live in urban and rural areas, where the latter averages a much higher TFR. This is partially due to the lack of access to antenatal care as well as limited availability of contraceptives.
Similar to many other patriarchal societies, men play a big role in hindering women from receiving family planning services, consequently endangering their spouse.
High maternal mortality rates pose serious social and economic repercussions for Chadians, further sinking affected families in poverty and decreasing the nation’s economic growth.
A mother is the foundation of a family and research has shown that when a mother passes, there is a greater likelihood for a child to drop out of school, in addition to becoming malnourished.
To address the problem at hand, the Chadian government should focus on increasing access to health facilities, strengthening family planning services and educating young mothers on proper antenatal care. Establishing clinics with trained health professionals increases the rate of women with medical supervision during childbirth.
Chad has witnessed inadequate human resources for health; thus, more midwives and physicians are in need of proper training. In addition, 20 percent of women have an unmet need for contraceptives, indicating that family size is out of their control.
Better access to family planning allows births to be spaced out and reduces unwanted pregnancy. Furthermore, education is key in developing countries. Teaching Chadian women about reproductive health will ensure that women are making choices that are best for their bodies and will give them a sense of empowerment.
– Leeda Jewayni
Sources: CIA, Safer Birth in Chad, World Bank
Photo: The Guardian
Stand #UpForSchool
Did you know that 58 million children worldwide are not in school? An estimated hundred million more are not learning due to discrimination and other barriers. The recent #UpForSchool petition and campaign, developed by A World At School, has set out to change these figures and improve education for millions of children across the globe.
A World At School advocates that every child has the right to an education. Barriers throughout the world such as early marriage, forced work, war-torn conflicts, exploitation and discrimination prevent children from receiving the education they deserve. The #UpForSchool campaign is dedicated to helping children overcome these barriers.
The petition targets governments, politicians and leaders to make education their number one priority. It strives for progress to the United Nations Millennium Development Goal, which states that all out-of-school children will achieve their right to education by the end of 2015.
A World At School was established in 2013 and has been working toward childhood education ever since. In order to help meet the 2015 deadline, the organization created a 500 day campaign encouraging others to take action. Every 100 days, the group plans to take on more of the key barriers preventing childhood education. The group promotes that “nothing changes without pressure” and that anyone can play a role in the cause by getting involved and signing the petition.
The campaign has also been encouraging young people to join forces and work together for the cause. It’s currently run by over 500 global youth ambassadors in 85 countries. On September 22, a youth rally was held at NYU’s Kimmel Center featuring world leaders from the U.N., A World At School and CNN. The rally was highly successful and hundreds of youth leaders turned up to sign the petition.
#UpForSchool currently has over 16,000 endorsers, and campaigners plan to make it the biggest petition in history. Their current target is over 12 million signatures worldwide. If you would like to get involved, you can sign #UpForSchool at www.aworldatschool.org/upforschool.
– Meagan Douches
Sources: A World At School, A World At School 2, A World At School 3, Their World, Huffington Post
Photo: Talk Vietnam
Caterpillar Foundation Donations
Founded in 1952, Caterpillar Foundation dedicates itself to transforming lives within the international communities where Caterpillar works. It has been the champion for programs that support education, environment and emergency relief.
The program has donated over 550 million dollars to organizations that put poverty onto the path of prosperity “by investing in those proven to yield the best results – women and girls.” Last year the foundation committed itself to a three year 29.2 million dollar commitment. Partnering with Opportunity International the joint venture looks to service 16.7 million people across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The Caterpillar Foundation’s commitments will be leveraged through Opportunity International via microfinance loans, savings and financial training. Due to Caterpillar’s strong commitment to women and girls, most of the money will be financed to women, or groups of women, looking to form working relationships.
As of August 2014, Caterpillar Foundation announced the allocation of an additional 11 million dollars to help with Africa’s water and energy needs. Five million dollars have been distributed to help programs that address public policy needs and lack of access to energy. Five million dollars will be used to extend an already existing water line in Tanzania and Ethiopia. The last million will help teach women and girls about the dangers of traditional cookstoves and the benefits of adopting clean cooking solutions.
Most recently Caterpillar has committed itself to another generous contribution of 2.5 million dollars to The Poverty Project. This nonprofit organization has received wide acclaim since the implementation of its new strategy unveiled in 2012. Global Citizen is an online platform that serves as the basis for all the work performed by the registered Global Citizens. There are more than 250,000 global citizens that have partaken in 1.75 million actions that have contributed to more than 35 campaign victories and announcements.
The Poverty Project has since released a new strategy as of January 1 of this year. The strategy focuses on ending extreme poverty by 2030. With its announcement of a new vision, The Poverty Project has also put forth a new theory of change and an updated framework. These proposals are all designed to create a movement of unstoppable Global Citizens.
This dynamic and effective strategy is what caught the eye of the Caterpillar Foundation. Since the three main goals of this foundation are education, environment and emergency relief, the money given to The Global Poverty Project has all been earmarked for specific projects.
The Global Poverty Project has determined that universal sanitation brought into impoverished areas will increase the chances for women to receive an education, get a job or run a small business. This is where the bulk of the money will go. It will also be used to put restrooms inside homes and provide them with running water. The remainder of the money will be used to help educate the 31 million girls who currently do not attend school around the world.
– Frederick Wood II
Sources: Peoria Public Radio, Caterpillar, Global Poverty, Peoria Public Radio 2
Photo: Urban Times
Domestic Violence on a Global Scale
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 25 percent of women and 8 percent of men have been raped and/or physically assaulted by a spouse, friend or acquaintance. This means that “each year about 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner.”This issue is severely under-recognized. The National Association of Social Workers does its part to both prevent and find solutions for domestic violence.
Social workers are directly involved with victims, whether it be through counseling individuals, aiding in the judicial process or finding new homes for those abused. The issue of domestic violence exists outside of the U.S. There are countless foundations all over the world aimed at providing a support system to those affected by domestic violence. For example, the Global Foundation to Eliminate Global Violence (GFEGV) is a nonprofit aimed to both eliminate domestic violence and to support those who have already been claimed as a sufferer. Trying to escape the throngs of violence can be the hardest part for most victims, who may either rely on their abuser for financial stability or may have emotional ties to them. Having the courage to escape can often result in not only loneliness, but also poverty. According to the GFEGV’s website, the annual cost of health-related domestic violence issues in the U.K. is $23 billion. In the U.K., one in four women will be abused, while men have a one in six risk.World Bank data reports that “women aged 15-44 are more at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war and malaria.”Here are some quick facts from the U.N.’s UNITE website about domestic violence:
The dowry-related murders mentioned above involve the murdering of a new wife, or wife-to-be, if she fails to meet the dowry requirements of her husband’s family. It is a practice that occurs in various cultures worldwide.
Donating money to organizations and becoming educated is important to improving and ultimately eliminating domestic violence worldwide.
– Kathleen Lee
Sources: National Association of Social Workers, EDV, UNiTE
Photo: Trade Arabia
Sugar to Reduce Carbon Footprint
It is a bold and innovative plan. A plan to reduce an entire country’s carbon footprint to almost zero, and Ethiopia plans on achieving it by 2025. The scheme currently set into motion centers entirely around sugar.
Day to day life in Ethiopia relies heavily on sugar, from drinks to pastries, many of the daily activities of life require sugar. So much so that Ethiopia can’t meet its own sugar demands and has to import 200,000 tons of sugar a year. The rising costs of petroleum used to refine the sugar has also increased the cost of sugar. Ethiopia does not produce its own oil and has to import petroleum as well.
Six years ago, the country decided to solve its own problems. It implemented hydroelectric, geothermal and wind energy. Ethiopia found it could produce molasses as a byproduct of sugar refinement. This molasses can then be turned into an ethanol-based bio-fuel. Co-generation, which is the use of agricultural waste to create energy, began to be explored as well.
There are currently three sugar plants in full production, which produce over 300,000 tons of sugar a year as well as 62MW of electricity due to co-generation and ethanol production. These numbers are a significant increase since the program began, when half of all power was used by the plant.
Gossaye Mengiste, Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, believes the country has the potential to produce 600MW of electricity once the 13 factories are complete.” Once complete, all 16 factories, including the three already in production, are slated to generate enough exportable sugar to give it an earning projection of $300 million for the country.
In addition to making up the sugar deficit, there are almost no emissions produced by these sugar-based bio fuels when used in cars, stoves and generators. The elimination of car emissions is one of the biggest steps to reducing the country’s carbon footprint and achieving its stated goal of zero emissions by 2025.
These ambitious talks have come under fire by some, who say that it is a “condescending plan drawn up mainly by people living in highland areas but affecting the lowland population.” Sugar plantations require huge tracts of land. Pastoralists are the ones to which many officials are turning. The pastoralist people are southern nomadic groups that herd grazing animals from pasture to pasture. They comprise roughly 11 percent of the population and use about 63 percent of the land.
The Ethiopian Sugar Development Agency cautioned the government about this as early as 2008 saying, “Government’s strong support in clearly defining the policy with respect to bagasse energy development is critical to the successful achievements of substituting bagasse cogeneration for imported fossil fuels or diversifying electric energy source based on renewable energy source.”
– Frederick Wood II
Sources: New Agriculture Trust, ESI-Africa, Gasand Oil
Photo: Flickr