environmentalpolitics
By Maxwell Radwin Suriname has some of the largest, most intact rainforests in the world. The Amazon covers around 93% of its surface area, making it one of the only countries with a net-negative carbon footprint. But at the same time, timber and mining concessions are expanding through the forest, with multinational companies moving in on Indigenous lands. Despite its environmental track record, Suriname is still the only country in South America that hasn’t formally recognized the territorial rights of Indigenous and Maroon peoples trying to conserve the rainforest. Years of legal challenges...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin A sweeping reform package introduced by the new government in Argentina is drawing criticism from conservation groups, who say new state programs and weakened regulations could endanger the environment. Congress passed the massive reform package this week to overhaul the country’s struggling economy. But conservation groups say many of its policies weaken protections for local and Indigenous communities and encourage accelerated investment in projects with a record of deforestation and pollution. “This is dangerous and concerning,” Manuel Jaramillo, head of the Wildlife Found...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin Mining can take its toll on the environment when done irresponsibly, especially in vulnerable ecosystems like the Amazon Rainforest. Deforestation and river pollution are common complaints from communities living near a mine. Heavy metals and chemicals like mercury and cyanide often kill off flora and fauna. But that environmental loss can also be viewed as an economic one. Damaging carbon sinks and natural aquifers can be extremely costly in the long run, leading to mudslides, drought, climate change and poor air quality, among many other things. Framing environmental impact...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin A court in Suriname has halted development on hundreds of thousands of hectares of Amazon Rainforest, much of it occupied by local and Indigenous people. The landmark ruling could give new autonomy to native communities and make it harder for projects to develop on primary forest in the future. The court approved an injunction filed on behalf of twelve Indigenous and maroon groups who were concerned about losing approximately 535,000 hectares (1,322,013 acres) of rainforest to agricultural development. The projects would have been carried out by Mennonites, the Ministry of Ag...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin There are hundreds of oil and gas operations across the Amazon Rainforest. And while critics have gone after them for reckless environmental damage, those companies also don’t work alone. They need support from big banks that provide direct funding through loans and underwriting bonds, which themselves need to be regulated, critics say. In recent years, increasing pressure on the banks has led to new environmental policies meant to minimize financing for projects tied to deforestation, pollution and human rights violations. The banks tend to celebrate their policies for being...
Mongabay
By Timothy J. Killeen Although new mines use state-of-the-art technology, the industry also has a legacy of ageing containment dams at older mines, particularly shuttered mines that no longer generate revenues to finance improvements in the technology surrounding tailings storage facilities (TSF). Their failure can result in the release of millions of cubic metres of toxic sludge into river systems. In populated areas, this can impact the water supplies of communities, wreak havoc on the local economy and endanger the health of thousands of inhabitants. In remote landscapes, a failed containme...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin Honduras has struggled with a poor human rights record over the last decade, with the international community expressing concern about reports of torture, arbitrary killings, life-threatening prison conditions and warrantless home searches, among a long list of other things. A significant percentage of the people suffering human rights abuses are connected to the environment, either because they’re activists, conservationists or members of Indigenous communities speaking out against harm to local ecosystems. In a new human rights report on Honduras this month, the Organizatio...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin MEXICO CITY — Mexico will hold elections on June 2 that are likely to shape the country for years to come. In addition to president, all 500 deputies in the lower house of Congress and all 128 seats in the Senate are on the ballot. The winners will have to reckon with a host of pressing environmental concerns that range from renewable energy and mining to access to clean water and infrastructure. The main presidential candidates are left-wing Claudia Sheinbaum and right-wing Xóchitl Gálvez, with center-left Jorge Máynez representing a third, dark-horse option. One of them wil...
Mongabay
By Timothy J. Killeen Investment capital flows when prices are high, but companies scale back investments when they fall. Nonetheless, companies do not often abandon projects once underway; in part, this is a natural resistance to writing-off an existing investment, but experienced businessmen also know that markets are cyclical. If companies wish to ‘cash in’ when prices are high, they must have installed capacity in order to ramp up production when the price is right. The prices of industrial minerals were at historical lows prior to 2000 but increased dramatically through the next two decad...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin Criminal groups have made a renewed push into one of Guatemala’s largest rainforests this year. As new trails open up and fires spread, officials have raised concern not just about deforestation but potentially losing control of the area altogether. The Maya Biosphere Reserve, stretching 2.2 million hectares (5.3 million acres) across northern Guatemala’s Petén department, has seen a wave of land invasions in areas that have historically gone untouched. Many of the invaders are well-armed and have the backing of organized crime, experts say. “The lack of governance in the pro...
Mongabay
閲覧を続けるには、ノアドット株式会社が「プライバシーポリシー」に定める「アクセスデータ」を取得することを含む「nor.利用規約」に同意する必要があります。
「これは何?」という方はこちら