The Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development regrets the fact that part of the Ngäbe-Buglé tribe is unhappy with the construction of the Barro Blanco dam in the river Tabasara in Panama. Ploumen said this in reply to parliamentary questions filed by Jasper van Dijk (SP). The Netherlands is involved in the construction of this controversial dam because of the loan provided by the Dutch development bank FMO. The minister does not have the intention of forcing the FMO to withdraw the loan, even though the basic human right of "free, prior and informed consent’ has been violated. A part of the Ngäbe tribe has not been informed before the plans were carried out. Anouk Franck of Both ENDS looks at the impact of the FMO loans.
Since the nineties, the production of red bush tea in South Africa has grown enormously: over 4500 people now live off of tea production. Red bush can only be grown in South Africa because of its unique ecosystem. The entire world market for red bush tea depends on South Africa. However, climate change causes increasing heat and drought which endangers red bush production. The Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) from Cape Town - a Both ENDS partner - supports farmers who aim to develop sustainable production techniques.
The European Union wants to grant a EUR 300 million loan to Tunisia, under the guise of development assistance. This is a very bad idea, according to Both ENDS and other European and North-African civil society organisations.
Around 85% of the loan would immediately be used to repay the already existing debts Tunisia has to the EU Member States and the European Investment Bank (EIB). These debts have been generated by the regime of dictator Ben Ali, but the common people of Tunisia - already empoverished - will have to meet the costs.
Was the discovery of oil in Uganda in 2005 a blessing or a curse for its poor population? Meanwhile, it's become clear that oil exploitation is a great threat to people and the environment through corruption and misuse of natural resources. Frank Muramuzi of the Ugandan organisation NAPE visited Both ENDS on January 28th to talk about the threatened lakes in the Albertine oil rift. A number of western oil companies have a permit for mining in and around Lake Albert, resulting in large scale erosion. Chances are that Uganda will suffer from the lack of regulation and legislation around this topic, and like many African countries, will go down in the battle for oil. As members of the Ecosystem Alliance, NAPE, Both ENDS, IUCN NL and Friends of the Earth are actively involved in protecting this area.
On the 25th of March 2010, Both ENDS organised a Political Café on the social and environmental effects of coal mining in developing countries. Matthews Hlabane of the Green Revolutionary Council was our special guest of the evening. Coming from the mining city of Witbank, South Africa, he could share his first hand experience on the devastating effects of coal mining.
On World Water Day 2012 (22nd of March) the United Nations awarded two environmental organisations with a "Water for Life" award for their efforts to improve water management in their region. Both ENDS' partner Environment Support Group (ESG) received an award in category 1 for "Best water management practices", for a project on protecting the Bangalore lakes in India. A second award was handed out to Soluciones Simples Que Salvan Vidas (Sodis) for developing new communication strategies to improve water management in Bolivia.
In the final days of March, the human rights council of the United Nations declared they will install an 'Independent Expert on Human Rights and Environment'. The effect of climate change on human lives is becoming more obvious, and by making this decision, the council acknowledges the importance of the relationship between human rights and the environment. This is good news right before the Rio+20 conference in June; Both ENDS and other civil society organisations are advocating incorporation of human rights into sustainable development policy.
Currently, the board members of the UN-backed Green Climate Fund (GCF) are meeting in Indonesia. It is the sixth board meeting since its establishment in 2011: the members, coming from 12 Western and 12 Southern countries, meet every three or four months to discuss what should be done with the huge sum of money (up to $ 100 billion a year!) that is going to be made available by the international community for climate projects in developing countries. Both ENDS, together with a group of delegates from various Southern organisations, has attended every board meeting so far.