The aid pause has left thousands of workers jobless and essential services suspended

Originally published on Global Voices

An aid worker distributes grain to a woman in rural Rajarchar Village, Bangladesh. The food was provided by the nonprofit Save the Children and its partner CODEC and funded by USAID. Image from Flickr. CC BY-NC 2.0

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), founded after the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act, has been leading US aid efforts in several South Asian countries for decades.

However, an executive order from US President Donald Trump dated January 20, 2025, put all USAID and State Department projects, worth USD 44 billion, on hold for 90 days. According to the order, the administration will review each program and decide whether to cancel it, keep it running, or change it to better align with Trump's priorities. In 2023, the US disbursed USD 72 billion — 1.2 percent of its total budget — to over 200 countries for 20,000 activities, including fighting global hunger, disease, and human rights abuses.

The sudden announcement hit countries like Bangladesh and Nepal hard. These countries have long relied on USAID for essential programs in food security, healthcare, education, and agricultural development. In 2023, Bangladesh received USD 490 million in aid from USAID, while Nepal secured a USD 659 million five-year development deal in 2022.

The aid pause had immediate impacts, including the layoff of over  1,000 workers at Bangladesh’s  International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), a vital research and treatment center dedicated to saving the lives of the disadvantaged. In Pakistan, suspending US-funded health programs endangers 1.7 million people, including 1.2 million Afghan refugees who have been stuck in limbo in Pakistan since the US pulled out of Afghanistan in August 2021.

Lasting impact on Bangladesh

USAID's impact can be seen across nearly every sector in Bangladesh. Expat Bangladeshi Physician Rumi Ahmed shared in a Facebook post:

There is hardly a sector in Bangladesh where USAID has not left its mark. Back in the 1960s, rice production was far lower, but thanks to agricultural advancements — modern seeds, improved techniques, and strategic support — our yields have multiplied, even as arable land has decreased.

Growing up in our villages, we had no electricity. Well into the late 1970s and 1990s, we relied on hurricane lamps. Today, nearly every home in Bangladesh has electricity, thanks in large part to the Rural Electrification Board, which was funded and supported by USAID.

As a cyclone-prone country, we used to see devastating loss of life from storms. In the past, millions perished in cyclones, but today, even with severe weather, casualties are minimal. That’s because of the extensive network of multipurpose cyclone shelters along our coast and the highly effective early warning system — both made possible through USAID’s efforts.

In healthcare, USAID has revolutionized the fight against tuberculosis (TB) by funding and supporting the widespread use of the GeneXpert system, dramatically improving diagnosis and treatment.

And when COVID-19 hit, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines you stood in line for? They were a direct gift from USAID.

Since 1990, USAID has helped Bangladesh cut maternal and child mortality by over 60 percent, expand family planning services, and improve nutrition. USAID has helped improve the quality of education, particularly for children from poor and disadvantaged families, and helped the development successful television program Sisimpur, which has improved literacy, numeracy, and hygiene practices among young children.

Beyond Access and Save the Children in Bangladesh partnered to create the USAID-funded READ program and expand community literacy in Bangladesh. Photo from Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0

There have been reports that over a dozen healthcare facilities serving Rohingya refugees have suspended operations recently, cutting off thousands from essential health services in the crowded camps near Myanmar's border in Cox's Bazar district.

As per a report in the Bangla daily “Kaler Kantha”, the aid pause has left over 10,000 workers jobless from 300+ non-profits who sourced grants from USAID.

Health facilities for Afghan refugees in Pakistan to be shut down

Pakistan is also facing harsh impacts from the pause. Over 60 UNFPA-run health facilities are set to close, depriving 1.7 million people, including 1.2 million Afghan refugees, of vital reproductive health services. The freeze also affects development projects, raising questions about regional self-reliance or seeking new allies. Across various sectors, 39 projects worth USD 845 million —including energy, economic development, agriculture, governance, education, health, and humanitarian aid — have been suspended.

The fallout of these suspensions could be a reduction of US influence in Pakistan and a deterioration of the US's reputation in Pakistan.

A man in North Waziristan, Pakistan, receives emergency food assistance through the UN World Food Program, the Government of Pakistan, and USAID’s Office of Food for Peace. Photo from Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0

Suspension of projects in Nepal threatens neonatal health

USAID's projects in Nepal aimed to promote equal access and opportunities, Particularly in the Terai belt, which faces gender inequality issues, limited family health options, and a lack of Indigenous rights. The key sectors where USAID supports Nepal with aid include health, education, agriculture, infrastructure, economic growth, enhancing community participation in Natural Resource Management, humanitarian aid, and women and children empowerment. The aid pause will impact around 300 NGOs, consultancies, and nonprofits for at least three months.

The projects and programs in Nepal that are not aligned with the priorities of the new US administration, like nutrition, climate change, and LGBTQ+ issues, have been affected. Apart from four big project tranches, the USAID Biodiversity (Jal Jangal) project suspension is expected to have a substantial impact on Nepal's development aid, affecting livelihoods and incomes generated by these projects.

This recent curtail from USAID funding has impacted the educational sector of Taplejung district in the easternmost Koshi province of Nepal. 39 schools in Taplejung, where the early grade learning program had started, have been directly affected by it. Trump’s aid cut jeopardises neonatal health care as over 2,000 neonates die in Nepal each year. The USAID funding freeze has also led to the termination of 36 staff nurses in federal and provincial hospitals.

A Nepali nurse working at a teaching hospital in Kathmandu partly funded by USAID. Photo from Flickr. CC BY-NC 2.0

Can India step up?

Although India received less US aid relative to its size — around USD 150 million from USAID in 2024 — the US aid pause has caused a setback in grassroots health and education programmes. Analysts say that India, as the largest country in the region with economic stability, can step up to fill some void left by the United States and help countries like Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

Written by Rezwan

Heatwaves, bushfires, droughts, storms and floods are destroying the continent

Originally published on Global Voices

Far North Queensland highway bridge collapse. Screenshot from 9 News Australia video: “Prime Minister heads to flood emergency zones”. February 6, 2025.

Australia is facing increased destruction from natural disasters and seeing a growing number of endemic species threatened due to the worsening climate crisis. The Australian summer, running from January to February, has been particularly difficult this year as the climate crisis has hit Aussies on many fronts, with heatwaves, bushfires, storms, and floods disrupting life across the continent.

The impact of bushfires

Bushfires broke out through Southeastern Australia in late December 2024 and weren't contained until mid-January this year. The fires endangered numerous species of rare plants and animals. Amid the disaster, scientists rushed to the fire-ravaged Grampians National Park on a mission to help conserve the Grampians globe-pea, a very rare and endangered species of plant. The Guardian reported:

The Grampians globe-pea, a critically endangered wiry shrub, had finished flowering and was fruiting when fires tore through its home in the Grampians national park, in western Victoria. The spiny plant with vibrant orange and yellow flowers is extremely rare and restricted to a handful of sites.

However, the mission faced delays as a second outbreak merged with the original fire a fortnight later.

The bushfires broke out again in western Victoria, with major outbreaks in the Little Desert National Park and new fires in the Grampians National Park. The Little Desert Nature Lodge facilities were destroyed, with concerns for local threatened species such as the Malleefowl.

Bluesky user Lyndall Terrier expressed her concern:

Bluesky screenshot — user Lyndall Terrier expressed her concern about Malleefowl

Another continuing casualty of increasing temperatures is the Great Barrier Reef. Coral bleaching reached alarming levels in 2024 in the southern reef, an area previously spared mass bleaching. According to researcher Shawna Foo:

Seeing the impacts on a reef that has largely avoided mass bleaching until now is devastating. The high rates of mortality and disease, particularly in such a remote and pristine area, highlight the severity of the situation.

A bleached coral in the Great Barrier Reef. Image from YouTube.

Extreme weather events

In addition, severe floods broke out during Northern Australia's wet season from November to April, especially in Far North Queensland. This news report in early February captured the extent of the disaster:

However, the monsoons did not come to Darwin, Australia’s northernmost capital, until very late in the season. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) reported:

The monsoon arrived in Darwin on 7 February 2025. It's the latest known arrival since records began. The previous record was 25 January 1973.

Before the onset of the much-anticipated monsoon, northern Australia endures the build-up – a time of extreme heat and humidity.

The monsoon is associated with increased rainfall and some relief to the oppressive heat.

In Northwestern Australia, Category 5 Cyclone Zelia brought heavy rain and floods, making landfall in mid-February:

In December, intense heatwaves covered most of the continent. The Early Warning Network (EWN) summed up temperature trends last year:

2024 was Australia’s second-warmest year on record, with temperatures 1.46°C [2.65 °F] above the long-term average, bringing with it several significant heatwaves. December’s heat events, including a peak of 47.2°C [117 °F]in Birdsville, were a reminder of the challenges posed by rising temperatures.

These natural disasters underscore the urgency of the current climate crisis and back up the warnings contained in several recent international climate reports.

State of the climate

The State of the Climate 2024 report highlighted the challenges the continent is facing:

The warming has led to an increase in the frequency of extreme heat events… 2023 was one of Australia's largest bushfire seasons in terms of area burned.

In contrast, northern Australia has been wetter than average over the last 30 years.

According to the Australian Conservation Foundation’s Extinction Wrapped 2024 report:

In 2024, 56 Australian species and ecological communities were newly recognised nationally as
being threatened with extinction or moving closer towards extinction.

Climate change is a major threat to our threatened species and ecosystems. In 2024, new information identified Australian and New Zealand species as being among the most at risk of extinction globally due to climate change.

The impact on humans is taking many forms. Many people are being forced to move homes. On Bluesky, Patti Mac was just one of the concerned:

Bluesky screenshot. User Patti Mac shared concern about flood impacts on housing

The study referenced on Bluesky indicated that the disasters are disproportionately impacting poorer Australians:

Every year, an average of around 22,000 Australians move home after climate disasters, according to demographers.

The figure mostly impacts poorer Australians but the study doesn't capture the extent of residents becoming trapped in risky towns they can't leave.

In addition, insurance is becoming beyond the reach of many in high-risk areas. All property insurance costs are rising steeply nationwide. Overseas events like the recent California fires are also adding to the costs worldwide:

In Australia — frequently ravaged by wildfires and flooding — 15 percent of households are experiencing ‘home insurance affordability stress,’ which means they're plowing more than four weeks of their annual income into premiums.

Independent think tank, the Australia Institute, reports that:

Around the world, climate change is increasing the costs of insurance and Australia is no exception.

Between 2022 and 2023, the average home insurance premium in Australia rose by 14 percent, the biggest rise in a decade.

The potential disasters continued into the last week of summer, with Victoria facing wild weather and bushfires. Other states also faced heatwaves and a couple of potential cyclones brewing up north.

One of the cyclones has travelled south from north Queensland:

A weather event not seen in 33 years has put in the AFL on notice with fears the opening game of the season might have to be cancelled.

Experts are predicting Tropical Cyclone Alfred will make landfall near Brisbane on Thursday and Queensland isn’t the only state now in the firing line.

…The NSW SES, in an alert issued on Sunday afternoon, warns the cyclone could produce flash flooding and river floods, damaging winds and heavy rainfall across much of northern NSW.

Meanwhile, southern Australia is witnessing one of its worst recorded droughts, with a bushfire season extended to late autumn.

Written by Kevin Rennie

It could lose one third of its area by the end of the century

Originally published on Global Voices

The shoreline of the Caspian Sea in Dagestan, Russia. Screenshot from the video “Тайны Каспийского моря” on Анатомия Монстров‘s YouTube channel. Fair use.

The Caspian Sea, the largest enclosed body of water in the world, faces a grim future in the form of significant desiccation, loss of flora and fauna, and large-scale pollution. All these processes have already started and their further deterioration poses immense risks for the economies and environment of the five littoral states: Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan.

However, the list of affected stakeholders extends far beyond these countries, as the Caspian Sea plays an important role in the global trade, energy, and transport spheres. The sea is home to the third largest oil and natural gas reserves in the world and acts as the crucial link of the so-called Middle Corridor connecting Asia and Europe.

In recent years the water level reached the lowest recorded point in history. If the water level continues to decline at the current rate, it is forecasted it will drop by up to 18 meters by the end of the century. Under this scenario, the water surface will shrink by around 93,000 square kilometers, which is 34 percent of the surface area of the sea and roughly the size of Portugal. In this regard, the Caspian may repeat the fate of the nearby desiccated Aral Sea, which is considered one of the largest anthropogenic environmental disasters in the history of the world.

Photo of Vadim Ni. Used with permission.

Global Voices conducted a written interview with Vadim Ni, one of the founders of the Save the Caspian Sea campaign to discuss the challenges facing the sea, consequences of the pollution, and measures necessary to ensure that it does not repeat the Aral Sea’s fate. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Nurbek Bekmurzaev (NB): Can you please tell how Save the Caspian Sea was created? What are the main goals of your initiative?

Вадим Ни (ВН): Мы основали движение Save the Caspian Sea в декабре 2024 года вместе с группой казахстанских и зарубежных экологов, активистов и правозащитников. Поводом послужило критическое состояние Каспийского моря, вызванное ростом температур, сокращением стока реки Волга, который составлял до 80-85 процентов в море, а также индустриальным загрязнением. Эти изменения приводят к деградации экосистем, сокращению популяций морских обитателей и ухудшению условий жизни прибрежных сообществ.

Основные цели движения – привлечение международного внимания к проблемам Каспия, введение строгих экологических стандартов и обеспечение прозрачности деятельности промышленных компаний. Мы добиваемся усиления экологического контроля за нефтегазовой отраслью, разработки программ по восстановлению экосистем и увеличения международного сотрудничества в вопросах защиты Каспия. На данный момент инициатива уже объединила экспертов, экологов, общественные организации, журналистов и представителей бизнеса.

Vadim Ni (VN): We founded the Save the Caspian Sea movement in December 2024 together with a group of Kazakhstani and foreign environmentalists, activists, and human rights defenders. The reason was the critical state of the Caspian Sea, caused by rising temperatures, a decrease in the flow of the Volga River, which amounted to 80-85 percent of the water in the sea, as well as industrial pollution. These changes have led to the degradation of ecosystems, a decrease in marine populations, and a deterioration in the living conditions of coastal communities.

The main goals of the movement are to attract international attention to the problems of the Caspian Sea, introduce strict environmental standards, and ensure transparency in the activities of industrial companies. We seek to strengthen environmental control over the oil and gas industry, develop programs to restore ecosystems, and increase international cooperation in protecting the Caspian Sea. At the moment, the initiative has already united experts, environmentalists, public organizations, journalists and business representatives.

NB: What are the problems and challenges facing the Caspian Sea face and jeopardizing its future? Who are its main polluters?

ВН: Каспийское море сталкивается с рядом серьезных проблем. Главная из них – стремительное снижение уровня воды. С 2006 года море обмелело почти на два метра, а к концу столетия прогнозируется его падение ещё на 8–18 метров. В некоторых районах Казахстана и Туркменистана береговая линия уже отступила на десятки километров, что ведет к разрушению прибрежных экосистем, пересыханию нерестилищ и гибели многих видов водных обитателей.

Помимо изменения климата, значительный урон Каспийскому морю наносит загрязнение промышленными и бытовыми отходами. Основными загрязнителями являются нефтегазовые компании, работающие на месторождениях Тенгиз, Кашаган и Азери-Чираг-Гюнешли. Их деятельность приводит к разливам нефти, выбросам серных соединений и тяжелых металлов, что негативно сказывается на качестве воды и жизни морских обитателей. Огромную роль в загрязнении также играют реки Волга и Урал, которые несут в Каспий промышленные отходы, пестициды и микропластик.

Эти процессы уже привели к резкому сокращению популяций осетровых. Из-за загрязнения и неконтролируемого рыболовства численность каспийского тюленя также сократилась более чем на 90 процентов.

Мы активно добивается от правительства Казахстана раскрытия обязательств нефтегазовых компаний в рамках соглашений о разделе продукции и концессионных соглашений, подписанных в 1990-х годах. Эти соглашения установили правовую основу для добычи нефти, однако их условия никогда не публиковались, что привело к отсутствию прозрачности в отношении экологических обязательств компаний. Общественный доступ к этой информации необходим для обеспечения ответственности и защиты экосистемы Каспийского моря от дальнейшего ущерба.

VN: The Caspian Sea faces several serious problems. The main one is the rapid decline in water levels. Since 2006, the sea has become almost two meters shallower, and by the end of the century, it is predicted to fall by another 8–18 meters. In some areas of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, the coastline has already retreated by tens of kilometers, which leads to the destruction of coastal ecosystems, the drying up of spawning grounds, and the death of many species of aquatic inhabitants.

In addition to climate change, industrial and household waste pollution causes significant damage. The main polluters are oil and gas companies operating in the Tengiz, Kashagan, and Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields. Their activities lead to oil spills and the emission of sulfur compounds and heavy metals, which negatively affect the quality of water and marine life. The Volga and Ural rivers also play a huge role in pollution, carrying industrial waste, pesticides, and microplastics into the Caspian.

These processes have already led to a sharp decline in sturgeon populations. Due to pollution and uncontrolled fishing, the Caspian seal population has also declined by more than 90 percent.

We are actively pressing the government of Kazakhstan to disclose the obligations of oil and gas companies under the production sharing and concession agreements signed in the 1990s. These agreements established the legal basis for oil production, but their terms have never been published, resulting in a lack of transparency regarding the companies’ environmental obligations. Public access to this information is necessary to ensure accountability and protect the Caspian Sea ecosystem from further damage.

NB: Who is fighting to preserve the Caspian Sea at the local, national, and regional levels?

ВН: Защиту Каспийского моря обеспечивают как локальные, так и международные организации, а также независимые активисты, многие из которых являются членами нашей кампании. В Казахстане одним из ключевых участников движения является Центр экологических правовых инициатив “Глобус”, который занимается защитой прав граждан на благоприятную окружающую среду. В Азербайджане действует Ассоциация экологического образования, активно продвигающая инициативы по снижению загрязнения воды.

На международном уровне экологическая организация Crude Accountability занимается мониторингом нефтедобывающей деятельности в Каспийском регионе и привлечением внимания к проблемам загрязнения. Кроме того, значительную роль играет Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), которая требует прозрачности в работе промышленных компаний и соблюдения ими экологических стандартов.

Движение Save the Caspian Sea уже стало первым участником глобальной сети Blue Community из Центральной Азии, что подчеркивает его значимость в международном экологическом сообществе. Оно объединяет ученых, экологов и активистов, которые работают над созданием долгосрочных стратегий по сохранению моря и его экосистемы.

Несмотря на эти усилия, борьба за сохранение Каспия остается сложной из-за отсутствия эффективных механизмов регионального сотрудничества. Для защиты этого водоема необходимо активное взаимодействие между правительствами, бизнесом и гражданским обществом, а также усиленный контроль за соблюдением природоохранных норм.

VN: The protection of the Caspian Sea is ensured by both local and international organizations, as well as independent activists, many of whom are members of our campaign. In Kazakhstan, one of the key participants in the movement is the Center for Environmental Legal Initiatives “Globus,” which is engaged in protecting the rights of citizens to a favorable environment. In Azerbaijan, the Association for Environmental Education is actively promoting initiatives to reduce water pollution.

At the international level, the environmental organization Crude Accountability monitors oil production activities in the Caspian region and draws attention to pollution problems. In addition, a significant role is played by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which requires transparency in the work of industrial companies and their compliance with environmental standards.

The Save the Caspian Sea movement has already become the first Central Asian member of the global Blue Community network from Central Asia, which emphasizes its importance in the international environmental community. It unites scientists, environmentalists and activists who are working to create long-term strategies for the conservation of the sea and its ecosystem.

Despite these efforts, the fight to preserve the Caspian remains difficult due to the lack of effective mechanisms for regional cooperation. Protecting the body of water requires active cooperation between governments, businesses, and civil society, as well as increased enforcement of environmental regulations.

NB: What needs to be done to prevent the Caspian Sea from suffering the same fate as the Aral Sea?

ВН: Необходимо срочно принять комплексные меры. На государственном уровне прикаспийские страны должны разработать совместные программы по сохранению водных ресурсов, включая ограничение промышленного забора воды, восстановление экосистем и предотвращение сброса отходов в море.

Особую роль играет ужесточение экологических норм для нефтегазового сектора. Компании, работающие в регионе, должны быть обязаны внедрять безопасные методы добычи, минимизировать выбросы вредных веществ и инвестировать в восстановление морской среды. Международные организации и экологические фонды должны оказывать поддержку инициативам, направленным на защиту Каспийского моря, а также активно выступать против расширения разрушительных индустриальных проектов в регионе.

На индивидуальном уровне граждане могут вносить свой вклад, поддерживая экологические организации, участвуя в акциях по очистке побережья и снижая собственное потребление пластика. Только совместные действия на всех уровнях помогут сохранить Каспийское море для будущих поколений.

VN: Comprehensive measures must be taken urgently. At the state level, the Caspian countries must develop joint programs to conserve water resources, including limiting industrial water intake, restoring ecosystems, and preventing waste dumping.

Tightening environmental standards for the oil and gas sector plays a special role. Companies operating in the region must be required to implement safe production methods, minimize emissions of harmful substances, and invest in restoring the marine environment.

International organizations and environmental funds must support initiatives aimed at protecting the Caspian Sea, and also actively oppose the expansion of destructive industrial projects in the region.

At the individual level, citizens can contribute by supporting environmental organizations, participating in coastal cleanups, and reducing their plastic consumption. Only joint action at all levels will help preserve the Caspian Sea for future generations.

Written by Nurbek Bekmurzaev

Without external aid, the Burundian government would struggle to deal with climate change damage

Originally published on Global Voices

Flooding in Gatumba (western Burundi). Screenshot from the video “Burundi: Severe Flooding” on the Tv5monde Info YouTube Channel. Fair use.

This article was published as part of the training on Climate Justice in Africa.

Burundi, a country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa, experiences heavy rainfall nine months of the year. After a three-month summer period, the first raindrops fall in September.

Although the rainy season is necessary, it also causes families to suffer, leading to panic and anger. Water from the mountains overlooking Bujumbura, the economic capital in eastern Burundi, regularly claims lives. This rainfall also causes some citizens to become environmentally displaced, bringing schools and businesses to a complete standstill.

The reasons for these disasters are many: unregulated construction, irresponsible deforestation, a lack of resilient strategies acknowledging this recurring phenomenon, and the climate crisis affecting Africa despite being the least polluting continent.

As a result, the rainy season in Bujumbura causes many deaths every year. In October 2024, rainwater swept away and killed two children. The children’s bodies were recovered from a ditch in the Bukirasazi commune, northern Bujumbura. As they walked home from school, a strong current of rainwater from the mountains caught them unaware.

Anonymous witnesses say these kinds of accidents are common during rainy seasons. In an interview with Global Voices, they denounced the authorities’ silence on this recurring deadly phenomenon:

Les autorités nous ont abandonnés alors qu'elles sont au courant de ce qui nous arrive à chaque saison pluvieuse. Cette pluie tue, perturbe le sommeil, et produit des déplacés climatiques qui voient leurs maisons noyées à chaque saison des pluies.

Although the authorities know what happens to us every rainy season, they have abandoned us. This rainfall kills, disrupts sleep, and results in environmentally displaced people every rainy season due to their homes flooding.

Financial impact on most disadvantaged people

The damage heavy rainfall causes can reduce incomes in specific occupations, especially for truck drivers who deliver building materials or obtain their supplies in Bujumbura’s outlying districts. As drivers cannot drive their trucks on impassable roads, their incomes fall by half. The monthly salary for this trade ranges between BIF 572,679 (USD 192) and BIF 1,777,536 (USD 596). The country’s average monthly income is between BIF 757,600  (USD 254) and BIF 2,289,638 (USD 768).

Nzeyimana Thomas, a building materials supplier, said:

Pendant la saison des pluies excessives, nous enregistrons une baisse énorme de nos revenus. Un camion qui faisait dix tours en été fait cinq tours en période pluvieuse.

During severe rainy seasons, our incomes drop dramatically. A truck that makes ten visits in the summer only makes five in rainy seasons.

Samuel, a truck driver we met in a parking lot at Petit séminaire de Kanyosha (the Junior Seminary of Kanyosha) in southern Bujumbura, explains:

Les camions s’embourbent plusieurs fois dans des routes  en boue et que le dépannage prend de nombreuses heures. Un manque à gagner irrécupérable.

The trucks regularly get stuck on muddy roads, and repairs can take several hours. This results in an irrecoverable loss of earnings.

A truck owner, who asked to remain anonymous, condemned the state of the roads despite the taxes that authorities impose:

Nous payons une bagatelle de plusieurs millions de francs burundais mais le gouvernement ne songe pas à nous construire de bonnes routes.

We pay several million Burundian Francs, but the government doesn’t intend to build any adequate roads for us.

Denial of responsibility

Article 35 of the Burundian Constitution stipulates that the Burundian government is responsible for land-use planning:

La gestion des ressources naturelles, l'utilisation rationnelle efficace et efficiente est une mission première du gouvernement.

The government’s primary mission is to ensure the proper management and rational, effective, and efficient use of natural resources.

As such, victims of recurrent flooding during the intense rainfall periods between November and April say they are entitled to demand effective measures and laws. These include the construction of adequate roads and robust water mains.

In an interview with Global Voices, Bigirimana Constantin, director-general of the Burundi Road Agency (ARB), acknowledged:

Les eaux de pluie en provenance des montagnes surplombant Bujumbura causent d'énormes dégâts, nous le savons. Elles détériorent l'état des routes, empêchant les usagers à vaquer normalement à vaquer normalement aux activités.

We know the rainwater from the mountains overlooking Bujumbura causes tremendous damage, affecting the condition of the roads and preventing their users from going about their everyday activities.

However, he also condemned the destruction of the vegetation cover, making way for unregulated construction with the full knowledge of the authorities. According to Constantin, the authorities and citizens downplay the impact of their actions on the environment:

L’urbanisation est mal faite, les infrastructures d'évacuation des eaux sont très vieilles et les gens jettent n’importe quoi n’importe où. Il faut une solution telle le renouvellement des ouvrages de traversée. L’assainissement actuel date de longue date et n’est pas adapté à la situation actuelle d’occupation de la ville.

Urbanization is flawed, the drainage infrastructure is old, and people often dump anything anywhere. A solution, such as renewed crossing structures, is necessary. The current sewage system is also old and unsuitable for the city’s current circumstances.

Constantin also explained how the government has allocated substantial budgetary resources to address climate change-related matters. Moreover, in 2023, the government signed two grant agreements with the African Development Bank to help build its climate change resilience.

The same expert says that some of this work also falls to the general population:

La responsabilité du curage des caniveaux qui doivent être entretenus pour leur durabilité incombe aux citoyens et à l’administration.

Cleaning the gutters to maintain their sustainability falls to the government and citizens alike.

Scale of damage overwhelms government

The Burundian government has turned to international aid to address the increasing climate change-related damage and urban overpopulation. Innocent Banigwaninzigo, an environmentalist and president of l’Association Ensemble pour la Protection de l’Environnement (Association for Environmental Protection or ASEPE), a non-profit organization committed to environmental protection in Burundi, told Global Voices:

L'État burundais à lui seul ne peut pas faire face aux besoins en cours et en activités préventives liés aux changements climatiques. Et les cas des victimes des changements climatiques se sont multipliés en termes de fréquence et en termes de dégâts causés.

The Burundian government cannot meet the country’s current needs alone or implement climate change prevention measures. Due to the frequency and damage caused, the number of climate change victims has proliferated.

However, he also encourages the government to increase its disaster management budget:

Le pays doit séduire les partenaires mais nous avons vu que dans le passé, les aides pouvaient être suspendues brusquement pour des raisons diverses, politiques ou de gouvernance. Le nombre des victimes des changements climatiques monte chaque jour au Burundi, spécialement en période de fortes pluies. Celles-ci font peur aux habitants du littoral du lac Tanganyika alors que sur les collines, les agriculteurs qui voient leurs champs pousser dans la verdure chantent et dansent la pluie. Le Burundi s’est doté des textes juridiques pour une gestion rationnelle, efficiente et efficace des ressources naturelles; la constitution, le code de l’eau, le code forestier, le code de l’environnement et de l’urbanisme. De bons instruments juridiques qui ne sont pas respectés en pratique. La corruption caractérise les constructions anarchiques.

Although past experience has shown that aid can abruptly end for various reasons, including political and governmental ones, the country must attract partners. In Burundi, the number of climate change victims increases daily, especially during heavy rainfall periods. Although this rain frightens the inhabitants along Lake Tanganyika’s coastline, it makes the farmers in the hills, who see their fields grow greener, sing and dance. Burundi has established a legal framework for the rational, effective, and efficient management of its natural resources: the Constitution, the Water Code, the Forest Code, the Environmental Code, and the Urban Code. However, the authorities have failed to implement these legal instruments, and there is active corruption in unregulated construction.

Banigwaninzigo concluded that environmental governance is lacking:

Il faut une éducation pour un changement de mentalité et de comportement respectueux de l’environnement et comprendre la responsabilité de chacun vis à vis du dérèglement climatique et les conséquences sur la vie.

We must educate people to change their mentality and make them environmentally conscious, thus helping them better understand their responsibilities and the impact of climate change.

Added to this is the issue of overpopulation. Unregulated construction has taken over the forested areas that mitigate soil erosion in the mountains overlooking Bujumbura.

Although the owners of these buildings anonymously claim to have received plots of land and building permits from the authorities, many cannot provide any documentation confirming this. Some residents say the authorities made verbal allocations after pocketing the money.

Burundi’s vulnerability to climate change puts the public in grave danger. The government and authorities must harmonize their initiatives to tackle the growing impact.

Written by Leon Masengo Translated by Laura · View original post [fr]

Small island states rely on the loss and damage funds to assist vulnerable communities

Originally published on Global Voices

“Rise for climate to build a fossil-free world’ action in Port Vila, Vanuatu in September 2018. Photo from Flickr account of 350.org. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Several Pacific leaders and institutions have expressed concern over the withdrawal of the United States of America from the Paris Agreement and what it means for the future of global climate action.

US President Donald Trump signed the order after his inauguration, which would stop the US government’s contribution to the loss and damage funds under the agreement signed in 2015. As of 2024, the US covered about 22 percent of the budget for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC ) for 2024–2025, totaling about USD 7.5 million.

Trump also withdrew the US from the climate treaty during his first term in 2017, but his successor reversed this decision in 2021. The landmark Paris Agreement binds 196 nations to work together toward bringing the global temperature down to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

According to the October 2024 report from the United Nations Environmental Programme, global greenhouse gas emissions continued to increase in 2023, with wealthy countries like the US producing around 77 percent of all emissions. In comparison, Pacific island nations account for just 0.02 percent of global emissions.

Despite this gap, Pacific nations are more prone to the harsh impacts of climate change, such as severe cyclones, rising sea levels, land degradation, and more. These disasters have displaced communities, destroyed livelihoods, undermined local economies, and created significant social strife in many countries.

Asked during a panel at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, about Trump’s executive order, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape reminded the US to consider its “moral responsibility”:

While it is not my place to advise the government of America, it is prudent that the biggest holder of carbon footprint takes the greater responsibility (because) much of the burden is being borne by those of us with the least carbon footprint.

There is a moral responsibility by each global leader to think from the global perspective instead of from their own national-interest perspective.

Evidence shows that we are at a tipping point, almost reaching the end of earth’s sustainability level. If this planet sinks, we all sink with it. There is no second Earth.

Vanuatu Attorney General Arnold Loughman called Trump’s action a “troubling precedent” and “bad behavior” that would have grave consequences in the region. He warned that the US government's withdrawal from the agreement would severely affect international climate financing.

These funds are essential for building resilience and supporting adaptation strategies. Losing this support could severely hinder ongoing and future projects aimed at protecting our vulnerable ecosystems and communities.

Vanuatu was among the countries that submitted a petition to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) urging the United Nations body to issue an opinion about the obligation of states to address global warming under international laws and the penalties for the failure to act.

Fiji Prime Minister and former Minister for Climate Change Sitiveni Rabuka said that Pacific nations are now rethinking their climate action plans.

It will force us to rethink our position, some of us have been worrying, thinking about how the West particularly those closer to cooperation partners in the Pacific such as Australia and New Zealand.

We try to comply with the demand for protocols about carbon emission.

We have been with the rest of the world encouraging those that have been extracting or exporting fossil fuel to scale down.

His minister for environment and climate change told the media that the government has already written a letter urging Trump to reconsider his decision.

In a Facebook post, New Zealand’s former Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio, believes that the withdrawal of the US will allow China to expand its influence in multilateral institutions.

…guess who'll step up big time to take their place as a leading force for global multilateral organizations? — it will be China!

…when the great USA withdraws from these global organizations and doesn’t want to pay their fees etc. it just means, China can now go about providing a global leadership role in these organizations without any interference from the USA. If you can’t count on your traditional allies and partners like the USA who else will step up big time in supporting small island states like the Pacific?

In an editorial, Samoa Observer called out Trump for dismissing the devastating impact of climate change.

For Trump, climate change is a hoax, for Pacific nations like Samoa, it is a reality we are living in. Maybe the Los Angeles fires and the hurricanes last year are not enough for one of the world’s richest men to realise that it is not a hoax.

A former Fiji minister posted on X that Pacific residents will continue to fight for a climate-resilient future.

President Trump has today signed an executive order for USA’s withdrawal from the Paris (Climate) Treaty. Our commitment to fighting for a climate resilient future for all Fijians and Pacific Islanders will not be diminished by this.

— Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum (@AiyazSKFiji) January 21, 2025

Perhaps Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. should extend another invitation to Trump to snorkel in the waters of the Pacific and witness the degradation of the ecosystem caused by climate change. In December 2024, Surangel Whipps Jr told the media about his proposal to invite Trump to the next meeting of Pacific leaders.

I would very much like to bring [Trump] to Palau if he can. That would be a fantastic opportunity to take him snorkelling and see the impacts. See the islands that are disappearing because of sea level rise, see the taro swamps that are being invaded.

The decision is also causing waves in the US, where several politicians and environmental advocates are pushing back on Trump's decision. US Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has also announced he will step in to personally fund the Paris Climate Agreement, matching the amount the US has withdrawn.

Written by Mong Palatino

Shortly after the news hit the public, authorities turned to the usual blame game, with a media gag order leaving citizens in the dark.

Originally published on Global Voices

Screenshot taken from the video “Drone video shows fire at a Turkish ski resort hotel | REUTERS” from the scene of the fire, on the Reuters YouTube channel. Fair use.

It was meant to be a vacation for many of those who perished in a fire that broke out at a skiing resort on January 21. It is a two-week school holiday in Turkey, hence there were many families among hotel guests. As of January 24, the death toll had reached 78 people (including entire families and approximately 20 children), while 51 were reportedly injured to varying degrees. It took 36 hours to complete search and rescue operations. In total 12 people have been detained, among them the owner of the hotel, Deputy Mayor of Bolu Sedat Gülener and Acting Fire Department Chief Kenan Coşkun. Shortly after the news hit the public, authorities turned to the usual blame game, with a media gag order, citing it as preventive measure against misinformation, while leaving citizens in the dark.

The 12-story Grand Kartal Hotel is one of the ski resort hotels in the province of Bolu. The wooden building is 26 year old. At the time of the fire 234 people were staying at the hotel. Guests who witnessed the tragedy first hand said they did not hear fire alarms go off or sprinklers turn on when the fire started.

According to the Minister of Culture and Tourism Nuri Ersoy, the hotel had a fire competence certificate issued by the fire department in 2021 and 2024 but the latter was refuted by the Bolu Mayor Tanju Ozcan, who said the fire department had not issued a positive report since 2007.

Kartalkaya, where the fire broke out, falls outside the Bolu municipality jurisdiction. Because of that the licensing of tourist facilities in Kartalkaya is carried out by the Bolu Provincial Special Administration. Businesses with a “tourism operation certificate” are licensed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. While this explained the back and forth between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Bolu municipality it was a report by journalist Ismayil Saymaz that settled the matter of accountability. Speaking to Halk TV in an interview, Saymaz revealed how Bolu Municipality sent inspectors on December 16, 2024 after receiving a request from the Grand Kartal Hotel dated December 12, 2024. The inspection report indicated seven deficiencies, including unsuitable two emergency exit doors and fire exits, a defective alarm system, insufficient electrical equipment and fire extinguishing equipment, as well as a lack of smoke detectors.

Saymaz also shared a second request sent by the hotel to the municipality requesting the withdrawal of the previous request, which was then approved by the municipality. It is unclear whether municipality informed the Ministry of Culture and Tourism but, following the leak, the deputy mayor and the head of the fire department were detained. Even though, according to a directive regulating tourism facilities, the responsibility to regularly inspect hotels and ensure they meet safety standards lies with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The consequences

Speaking to the BBC, one of the survivors of the fire, Atakan Yelkovan, said there was no alarm and it was his wife who smelled the smoke. Other survivors confirmed in interviews with the media that they did not hear any alarms going off and felt lucky they were able to escape.

Other survivors said they also did not see any fire escapes. “My husband had to jump down from a ledge because he couldn’t find the fire escape. I’ve stayed at this hotel before, and I’ve never seen a fire escape,” said survivor Eylem Şentürk in an interview with journalists. A member of hotel staff, Neçirvan Öner, corroborated this, telling journalists the fire escape “was not proper” and that “there were no fire extinguishers on the floors.”

Dr. Mustafa Bilge, an expert in fire suppression systems, emphasized in an interview with Global Voices that the hotel lacked critical fire safety measures, which contributed to the tragic loss of lives.

Fire escape doors must be capable of withstanding fire for 90 minutes and should only open from the inside. Moreover, kitchen ventilation hoods must be equipped with specialized fire suppression systems. The building should have been equipped with a fire sprinkler system, smoke detectors, fire exits throughout the premises, and stairwell pressurization systems to facilitate safe evacuation. These systems, which should have been centrally controlled by a fire alarm panel, were absent, leaving occupants vulnerable during the fire.

The regulation on the Fire Protection of Buildings states that buildings that fall under the category of hotels and guesthouses with more than 200 beds and higher than two floors are obligated to install sprinkler systems. The hotel where the fire broke out had a capacity for 350 beds, had 161 rooms, and was 12 floors high.  The sprinkler systems for buildings in this and similar categories were made obligatory in 2008. And, according to health and safety regulations, inspections of such equipment must be carried out once a year.

“However, there is a significant gap in defining who is responsible for conducting fire system tests, under what standards these tests should be performed, and how compliance certificates should be issued,” explained Dr. Mustafa Bilge. He also called for urgent regulations aligning with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. He also recommended establishing dedicated fire department units for testing and inspection, and ensuring fire personnel receive training and certification from local expert organizations such as the Turkish Fire Protection and Education Foundation (TÜYAK), the Mechanical Contractors Association (MTMD), and the Turkish Society of HVAC (heat, ventilation, and air conditioning) and Sanitary Engineers  (TTMD).

Other experts who spoke to the media explained that, given the death toll, the likelihood of the hotel having properly functioning warning, detection and extinguishing system was slim. In an interview with the BBC, the head of the Turkish Fire Protection and Education Foundation said “the fire system either did not exist or was not designed in accordance with the standards.”

“It is obvious that adequate fire safety measures were not taken in the facility,” read a statement from the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB).

But all of these observations were already identified in that inspection on December 16, 2024.

According to reporting by Bianet, the hotel is located in a ski resort where three other hotels are located. However, there was no dedicated fire department in the area and the nearest fire station was 28.5 kilometers away. The distance, as well as weather conditions, delayed the response.

In search of accountability

Visiting Bolu on January 23, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan promised accountability, but critics of the government say in a country where no government official has taken accountability for any of the tragedies this too will soon be forgotten.

“Each time, there is a tragedy, we witness the same thing over again. No responsible person is found, no punishment is given, nor are we told what will get fixed. This isn't destiny, this is lack of control, incompetence, injustice, and greed,” shared popular Instagram account Turkish Dictionary. In another post on Instagram, the same account demanded “resignation and trial of those responsible and all hotels complete safety review.”

A graphic designer Mahir Akkoyun known as Mahirgra on social media platforms wrote:

The negligence and irresponsibility arising as a result of political decisions have once again shown that human life has no value in this country. In a country where those responsible can never be fully held accountable, this cycle of disaster will continue as long as there is no accountability.

News platform Fayn Studio listed a chronology of tragic events from 2003 until 2025, where lives were lost like the Soma mine killing 301 mine workers, 2016 fire at a girls’ dormitory in Adana killing 14, or the 2018 train accident in Chorlu, killing 25, or the devastating February 2023 earthquake in which over 53 thousand people died as per official data. The chronology was titled “tens of tragedies which could have been avoided, zero resignations.” “Just like after every tragedy we are going to look for those responsible. While those whose real job is to do this will wait for the news agenda to change and the subject be forgotten,” wrote the editorial team in a post shared on their Instagram page.

Turks have been accustomed to tragedies and stories shaking them to the core, just as they are accustomed to seeing no responsibility taken by any of the government officials at any time.

Written by Arzu Geybullayeva

From Bogotá to Kathmandu, authors shared how floods impacted their communities

Originally published on Global Voices

Image by Giovana Fleck

Porto Alegre, Brazil — by Giovana Fleck

“It's worse than the pandemic,” a friend told me on a call. He was phoning me between volunteering at a shelter and trying to save his own house. Our hometown, Porto Alegre, in Brazil, was hit by catastrophic rainfall between April and May of 2024. This led to extensive flooding, affecting over two million people, displacing hundreds of thousands, and causing over 160 deaths. Even though the pandemic caused a much higher number of deaths, the destruction of the floods was tangible — you could see the level of the water rising by the day.

The impact of the floods in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul region, where Porto Alegre is the capital, was exacerbated by decades of negligence from the public administration, as well as the lack of agency for various alerts around the impacts of the climate crisis.  When the rainfall first stopped, and we could assess the damage, I remembered a conversation I had had with a Pakistani colleague a few years before. “I’ve been having PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) every time it rains in Karachi,” he said. He was also dealing with the aftermath of floods that have now become a yearly issue for many Pakistanis.

The city center of Porto Alegre, on May 9, 2024. Photo: Gustavo Garbino/PMPA. Free use.

We are more interconnected with the world than we realize, and a multitude of global influences shapes our experiences. Sometimes, that happens through culture — whether culinary, musical, or artistic. But oftentimes, they are related to catastrophes. There was a surge of devastating floods worldwide in 2024. Europe was particularly hard hit as heavy rains inundated countries from Spain to Romania, causing deaths and widespread damage. Asia faced its own challenges, with deadly floods in Afghanistan and Indonesia, for example, while Chad in Africa experienced its worst flooding in decades. Beyond Brazil, in Latin America, Uruguay and Argentina also grappled with severe floods, culminating in a year marked by the destructive power of extreme weather events across the globe.

I tried to connect some of our experiences by asking members of the Global Voices community from all corners of the world about their experiences with natural disasters. This story is a tapestry of events from 2022 to 2024, with notes of fear and hope for the future. Their accounts were collected to give a sense of how our lives are affected by floods and how the differences between our experiences might mainly be their latitude and longitude.

Karachi, Pakistan — by Ali Osman

The monsoon rains of 2022 brought Karachi, a city of more than 20 million, to a halt, with the metropolis facing some of its worst urban flooding in history. The rains started around late morning and continued for most of the day into the evening. The rate of rainfall in Karachi usually hovers between very heavy to extremely heavy, and at times, even two hours of rainfall can cause great inconvenience to the populace due to poor drainage infrastructure.

In 2022, the city was hit by a major storm, with around 200 mm (8 inches) of rain falling within a few hours. Living in one of the better parts of the city, I had to endure four days without electricity with my entire neighborhood flooded. With the city experiencing severe urban flooding and the electricity supply disrupted, I ran out of food by the end of the second day, and drinking water became scarce on the third day. The only way to procure food or water was to walk through the flooded streets and roads and hope the nearest convenience store had not run out. Unfortunately, most stores were out of essential supplies due to supply chain disruptions. A walk, which usually takes me 10 minutes, took me almost an hour and a half, and only then could I procure a bottle of drinking water and a couple of packs of instant noodles.

The nights were the worst, with no electricity, stifling humidity, and mosquitos constantly feeding on any exposed skin if one was outside. The weather-induced trauma has stayed with me, and every year during the monsoon months, I pray that I never have to go through what I endured in 2022.

Lahore, Pakistan — by Umaima Ahmed

Over the years, floods have played a huge role in damaging the livelihood and economy of Pakistan.

Earlier, it was only the rural areas that faced the brunt, but now we see urban centers severely being impacted, too. In 2024, when Lahore witnessed heavy rainfall, I woke up to find my kitchen swamped with water, no electricity for hours, and was bound to my house as the roads were flooded with water. Schools had to be shut down, and people were distressed.

This experience made me recall the stories I heard last year from Faizan, a doctor in Dera Ghazi Khan (D.G. Khan) in southern Punjab, located on a strip between the river Indus and the Koh-e-Suleman range of mountains separating it from the Baluchistan Province. He was part of a group of volunteers who stepped up to help people who were migrating because of floods in D.G. Khan. While speaking to Global Voices on a call, he said:

Floods are not a new phenomenon in Pakistan but the intensity is increasing over the years and so is the damage. The people living in this area are usually peasants working on agricultural land on minimum wage or earning through their domestic animals but due to floods they lost their animals and had to move out. For months they survived in camps where we, the volunteers, provided them with basic health facilities and midwives were available in case of childbirth cases.

He left the discussion on a very serious question, “With climate change, these floods will increase; how long will the poor people pay for the lack of vision of our leaders?”

Thessaly, Greece — by Asteris Masouras

In September 2023, Storm Daniel became the deadliest “Medicane” in recorded history. Before devastating Libya, it inundated the Thessaly Plain in Greece, destroying much of the country’s agricultural capacity, among other severe impacts — all while some of the worst wildfires in recent decades were still raging.

The ever-worsening scale, frequency, and impact of these climate change-induced extreme weather events cause cascading helplessness, trauma, and resignation, but people never stop helping one another. That, at least, is a measure of hope, but humanity can still do better in curbing emissions and escalating mitigation efforts.

Emilia Romagna, Italy — by Marisa Petricca

May 24 was declared a National Day of Mourning for the victims of the flooding, and both the Italian and European flags hung at half mast outside the Chamber of Deputies in Rome

Kathmandu, Nepal — by Sanjib Chaudhary

The Kathmandu Valley saw once-in-70-year floods in the last week of September 2024. The Bagmati, Manohara, Bishnumati, and Nakkhu rivers overflowed, flooding the valley. Many houses were submerged, and at least 56 people were killed by the floods in the wider Kathmandu Valley.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Prabin Ranabhat (@prabin_ranabhat)

I have lived in the Kathmandu Valley for the last 45 years and have never seen such floods. In my opinion, the encroachment of the rivers and the conversion of fields that acted as sponges to reduce the flood effects into concrete jungles, in addition to the incessant and intermittent rains caused by climate change, could be the main reasons behind the floods in Kathmandu.

Valencia, Spain — by Lourdes Sada and Violeta Camarasa

On October 29, Spain suffered the worst floods in its recent history. Valencia, and to a lesser extent, the provinces of Málaga, Cuenca, and Albacete, were surprised by huge floods that left 231 dead and four missing (as of December 14). The most lethal natural disaster recorded in the country to date also caused vast material damage, and thousands of families were left homeless. Despite the red alert declared by the State Meteorological Agency at 7:36 a.m., the authorities did not activate the European Public Warning System (ES-Alert) until 8:11 p.m., 12 hours later. Without official directions, most citizens went ahead with their lives as usual. Many of the victims were dragged inside their cars while driving home from work. Most, however, were elderly people living on ground floors, who were drowned inside their homes.

Although floods in Valencia are a recurring phenomenon, experts blame the virulence of recent years on climate change. In addition, Valencia’s economic dependency on tourism has led to an overexploitation of land for construction. Combined with the lack of urban regulation, this has caused five percent of the houses in the province of Valencia to be built on floodplains and floodwater courses. The tragedy has, so far, resulted in two rallies against the authorities’ inaction and calls for improving emergency protocols, public education, infrastructures, and protection of vulnerable groups.

Colombia — by Kelly Chaib De Mares

Colombia has long experienced disasters linked to the rainy season, especially during La Niña events, which significantly increase rainfall and have been a recurring phenomenon for decades. However, the first half of November 2024 brought an unusual pattern: torrential rains caused by climate variability, a confluence of several meteorological phenomena favorable for rain, such as tropical cyclones or the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). On November 11, 2024, the government declared a national emergency because of the bad weather affecting 27 of the country’s departments and warned that priority attention would be focused on the most affected areas, such as the capital Bogotá, the desert region of Guajira, and the jungle region of Chocó.

On November 6, 2024, Bogotá experienced an unprecedented downpour, the heaviest rainfall in 27 years, causing severe disruptions, including the blockage of the main northern access road. In La Guajira, Colombia’s northernmost region, over 15 days of unrelenting rain led to the deaths of two people and impacted 42,219 families. Meanwhile, in Chocó, Colombia’s poorest department, already burdened by illegal armed group conflicts, torrential rains left 30,000 families in distress, with more than 4,000 individuals displaced, 18 schools damaged, and nearly 1,500 hectares of crops destroyed; the authorities are calling for a truce among armed groups to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Written by Giovana Fleck, Asteris Masouras, Violeta Camarasa, Sanjib Chaudhary, R Umaima Ahmed, Marisa Petricca, Kelly Chaib De Mares, Lourdes Sada, Ali Osman

Several governments expanded their control over online spaces

Originally published on Global Voices

Countries in the South Asian region. Image via Wikipedia by Iktsokh. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Home to 2.07 billion people, South Asian countries account for a quarter of the global population. The region faces many challenges, including steep population growth, rapid urbanization, high poverty rates, and income inequality. Also, it grapples with governance issues, like the backsliding of democracy, rising authoritarianism, and crucial elections, along with economic issues like increasing unemployment, growing inflation, mounting external debt, and more.

While there were numerous significant stories and developments from this region in 2024, Global Voices was able to cover select aspects through our dedicated community of writers and translators. Here is a summary of our coverage for South Asia in 2024, highlighting the different measures several governments took to expand their control over online spaces amid elections and political unrest.

A year of crucial elections

There were several crucial elections in South Asian countries in 2024. On January 7th, the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (AL) secured a fourth consecutive term in a one-sided election, which the opposition and its allies boycotted. However, the new government was short-lived. Starting in July 2024, a student-led uprising, supported by hundreds of thousands of citizens, stood up to state repression and the authoritarianism of the Sheikh Hasina government. The escalating unrest led to anarchy, resulting in her resignation and departure from the country on August 5th, 2024.

People cheering in front of the Prime Minister's office following Sheikh Hasina's resignation. Image by Md Joni Hossain Via Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Check out our special coverage: Turmoil in Bangladesh

The February 8 general elections in Pakistan were regarded as one of the least credible elections of the year due to allegations of vote rigging, internet shutdowns, and delays in announcing results. The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) formed a coalition government along with several independent candidates, while independent candidates loyal to imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) formed an opposition alliance. The Election Commission of Pakistan revoked PTI's electoral symbol in December 2023, forcing their candidates to run independently.

In June 2024, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Indian general elections, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured a third term, further consolidating his power.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD), the leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People's Liberation Front), became the ninth executive president of Sri Lanka, winning the September 2024 presidential election.

Social media and cybertroops

Over 52.90 million social media users in Bangladesh, mostly on Facebook, became targets of political parties pushing their narratives. Through weaponized misinformation and disinformation, the ruling Awami League (AL) highlighted progress under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, often using fake articles and maligning the opposition, while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) spread stories of democracy being under threat, rallying followers to resist authoritarianism.

In a Transparency report, Meta reported deleting 50 Facebook accounts and 98 pages from Bangladesh in the first quarter of 2024 for spreading misinformation about the opposition. TikTok reported the removal of over 2,300 accounts from Bangladesh in January alone for attempting to manipulate election narratives. In several instances, the use of AI and deepfakes were also reported.

Protest of PTI supporters in London echoing Imran Khan's call for free and fair elections in Pakistan. Image via Flickr by Alisdare Hickson. CC BY-SA 2.0.

In Pakistan, political parties like the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and Pakistan Muslim League N (PMLN) used social media for their election campaigns, significantly impacting voters. Pakistan's imprisoned leader and former prime minister Imran Khan was seen delivering speeches from his jail cell using artificial intelligence (AI).

With over 800 million internet users, India leads globally Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp usage, prompting political parties to utilize social media influencers to amplify their messages. To appeal to a young, hyper-online population, political parties have mobilized thousands of influencers, including gamers, who were able to connect with diverse demographics. Various cartoons, memes, and trolls were also used to push different electoral narratives. The IT cell of the ruling BJP had a history of using data analytics and social media strategies, as demonstrated in the 2014 and 2019 elections. Reports indicate the use of an app called Saral to collect detailed user data ahead of the 2024 elections.

Before the September 2024 elections in Sri Lanka, the leading presidential candidates used social media extensively for campaigns and political narratives focusing on various issues and targets. Dr. Sanjana Hattotuwa published an analysis using a dataset of over 4,000 tweets associated with Presidential candidates Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW), Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD), and Sajith Premadasa (SP), depicting how social media crafts polished and ideal personalities. While these characterizations can often be perceived as authentic, this depiction risks being manipulative.

Sri Lanka has approximately eight and a half million Facebook users, many of whom use the platform to discuss elections, politics, and candidates. Using Meta's new Content Library (MCL), Dr. Hattotuwa analyzed the three most popular posts and approximately 1,500 comments each from the official Facebook accounts of presidential candidates RW, SP, and AKD over a 30-day period. The analysis mapped how these candidates are perceived by their core fan base, and the results presented a snapshot of how contemporary political discourse is constructed.

Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake in 2023. Photo by Bunty456 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Digital repression as a tool for authoritarianism

There were no major internet disruptions in Bangladesh during the January elections except for a few website blocks. However, during the July protests, mobile internet was shut down intermittently from July 16–August 5, along with bans on several social media platforms. A nationwide complete internet shutdown occurred between July 18 and 23, accompanied by media blackouts that nearly severed all communications with Bangladesh. These measures had a negative impact online as the spread of misinformation and disinformation became rampant.

Pakistan further tightened its restrictions on dissent and free speech this year. Before the February elections, authorities imposed a series of internet shutdowns. Pakistanis faced difficulties accessing the platform X (formerly Twitter) since the February elections, and in April 2024, the government acknowledged banning the platform, citing national security concerns. In August, Pakistan deployed a national firewall to track, block, or restrict content deemed propaganda. While Pakistanis were accessing blocked sites and platforms using VPNs, on November 16, authorities directed the Pakistan Telecom Authority to block unregistered VPNs in an effort to “curb access to terrorist, pornographic, and blasphemous content.” As X users began migrating to Bluesky, another social media platform, reports of blocking that platform emerged in November.

Image by Giovana Fleck, used with permission.

A Civic Media Observatory analysis reveals how the Indian government has actively expanded its control over online spaces in recent years, using website blocking as a key strategy. A March 2024 report by digital rights group Geeks for Geeks noted that over 55,000 websites were blocked in the past decade, with 48 percent blocked under the IT Act. The targets included independent news outlets, hate speech trackers, and streaming platforms.

In January 2024, Sri Lanka introduced the Online Safety Act, which grants an “Online Safety Commission” broad powers to define “prohibited statements,” recommend content removal, and disable access for offenders. Amnesty International deemed it a major blow to freedom of expression in Sri Lanka.

Written by Rezwan

‘[Beryl is] evidence of the entrenchment of the Caribbean region as the canary in the coal mine of the climate catastrophe’

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image via Canva Pro.

From the region's diverse heritage and culture to the political developments that have impacted the region, 2024 has been a year that showcased the Caribbean's resilience, creativity, and spirit — especially as they relate to environmental issues, which have consistently held a top slot in our year-end reviews since 2017.

From the community level to the global stage, environmental challenges — and by extension, the fight for climate justice — remain the cause that brings the region together as netizens and advocates help shape global conversations with a unique Caribbean perspective. Nearly 40 percent of regional Global Voices articles this year comprised stories about the environment, the highest ever ratio since we've been doing these annual coverage summaries. Here's a look back at some of the climate-focused stories that defined the past year across the archipelago.

The climate crisis reaches ‘catastrophic’ levels

The biggest climate-related story of the year was the passage of Hurricane Beryl in late June/early July. Yes, the storm broke many records — the most quickly organised Category 4 hurricane on record, a significant early-season storm with an atypical trajectory — but it also broke many lives and livelihoods, leaving small island infrastructure and economies reeling.

The University of Miami's Tropical meteorology researcher Brian McNoldy went on record as saying that warmer ocean temperatures — the highest ever logged for that time of year — played a key role in Beryl's speedy formation. In a blazing opinion piece for The Bridge, however, artist and advocate Holly Bynoe wrote honestly and passionately of the experience of St. Vincent and the Grenadines: “This storm is the most recent evidence of the entrenchment of the Caribbean region as the canary in the coal mine of the climate catastrophe, exposing the ugly underbelly of climate injustice.”

She also made the point that the language used to describe hurricane-hit territories was “synonymous with erasure and the cornerstone trendy lingo of global disaster management and recovery efforts.” Their meaning, however, “is more complex than their singularity. You can only understand their feeble, inadequate, fearmongering and impotent use once touched by the violence of assumed ‘flatness’ and erasure.”

As for recovery? Bynoe felt that it must move “beyond the material, beyond the debris:”

[C]limate injustice is now, for the Grenadines, a deep and abiding embodiment […] With public trust at an all-time low, citizens must hold governments and agencies accountable for truth-telling during catastrophic times and agitate for a more dynamic definition and recovery system that includes social dimensions such as livelihood restoration and well-being.

The storm also reignited discussion surrounding often unconsidered effects of the climate crisis, which we have covered in the past.

Environmental and developmental challenges

An oil spill caused by an overturned tanker in Tobago in February prompted CEO of the Jamaica Environment Trust Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie to question whether the region had a sufficient enough oil spill contingency plan in place, especially in light of Guyana's newly discovered oil and gas reserves.

“Forecasts predict the country could produce 1.2 million barrels per day by 2027 or 2028,” Moodie observed.

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), however, indicate that in the event of a spill or well blowout, the repercussions could devastate large swathes of the Caribbean, stretching from Trinidad through the Lesser Antilles, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.

This would devastate coastal ecosystems, infrastructure, tourism, fisheries, shipping, and other vital economic activities, placing many island nations in economic jeopardy.

Moodie was also among a cadre of Jamaican environmentalists demanding mandatory EIAs for projects that pose significant environmental risks. They cited one project in particular: a new development called The Pinnacle, located close to the Montego Bay Marine Park, the country's first marine area, which includes a five-square kilometre park and two special fishery conservation areas.

In Aruba, meanwhile, citizens took to the streets to protest against unsustainable and unregulated growth in the hotel and tourism industry which they say has been exacerbated by colonial impacts. The island's current mass tourism trend has seen it systematically losing land to wealthy foreign investors interested in building luxury hotels.

In Barbados, environmentalists suggested that without strategic conservation measures, the island's iconic bearded fig tree could potentially disappear from the landscape. Just as concerningly, changing climatic conditions have contributed to once abundant populations of flying fish — the island’s national fish — going into decline.

Guyana tries to maintain a balance

The region's newest oil and gas player has, since 2021, been insisting that it can essentially have its cake and eat it too. This year, as the South American CARICOM nation continued to strive towards its goal of being a low-carbon oil producer, it prioritised its 30×30 conservation target, whereby it aims to protect 30 percent of its land and marine resources by the year 2030.

In this vein, the country's rainforests have been key in the government's expanded eco-tourism efforts. The current administration has been pushing what it calls “climate-smart agriculture techniques” in order to sustainably increase food production, and has also put in place a carbon valuation mechanism that brings the country money in return for maintaining its forests — but there have been questions surrounding the land rights of the Indigenous people who in large part care for these forests, and whether they are actually benefitting from the existing carbon trade deal.

Coastal Indigenous communities in the country have also been struggling, with one in particular, Almond Beach, facing serious erosion — and with it, a community exodus and a threat to four endangered species of sea turtle that typically nest there.

Environmental conferences

In May 2024, Antigua and Barbuda hosted the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4), a global event that takes place every ten years and aims to address climate resiliency in nations that have unique vulnerabilities.

The focus was on establishing a mandate to negotiate a new legal mechanism (a framework for the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS, 2024–34, abbreviated to ABAS) that will secure a fast, financed and equitable transition away from fossil fuels in order to try and stay within the 1.5° Celsius climate limit. In a piece for The Bridge, four experts in this area noted that due to their “small size, insularity, and remoteness,” SIDS are exposed to “devastating exogenous shocks of a relative scale unthinkable in larger states.”

In building a case for why SIDS should have their own Marshall Plan, they argued:

Acute vulnerability defines the development experience of SIDS but confers no entitlement to Official Development Assistance (ODA) or concessional financing. Many are locked out of affordable flows of public finance and pushed towards exorbitant commercial borrowing to bankroll investments entailing disproportionate sunk costs.

Moreover, they continued:

[D]uring 2024–34, the lifetime of the ABAS, we are likely to breach a series of key climatic tipping points, most notably the central demand of SIDS to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels. This externally imposed catastrophe threatens their way of life and even their very existence, particularly for those low-lying states at most immediate risk from sea-level rise. This, in turn, transgresses island states’ legitimate rights to development and non-interference as sovereign equals in the international community of states.

At the close of the conference, SIDS stakeholders found themselves having to advocate for maintaining their “special case” classification status for sustainable development, since developed countries have been resisting the idea that SIDS need special assistance.

At the start of October, St. Lucia hosted the RedLAC Congress, which preceded COP16 later in the month. The point of the Congress was to “[advance] global conservation targets within national and regional contexts,” since the recently adopted Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) mandates that 30 percent of the earth’s land and sea should be conserved by the year 2030 via the establishment of protected areas.

CEO of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) Karen McDonald Gayle felt that RedLAC “provides an invaluable platform to build and encourage a stronger presence of Caribbean countries in this network and to reinforce our collective message of long-term environmental funding for the region,” even as environmentalists called for greater regional collaboration to meet the 30×30 goal.

Painting the region blue

Nevertheless, Caribbean island nations have been forging ahead with other approaches to shield themselves against the ravages of the climate crisis. Trinidad and Tobago piloted a blue carbon credit system to finance mangrove conservation. Because of their relevance to the global carbon cycle, blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves offer climate mitigation benefits that can assist with climate change adaptation.

While mangrove forests in Trinidad and Tobago have been estimated to store at least 1,118,630.99 tonnes of carbon, there has been an increasing loss of these forest systems because of factors like development, pollution, extractive activities, unsustainable agriculture and extreme weather events. It is therefore hoped that carbon credit markets can help bridge the shortfall in financing climate action goals.

In a similar manner, expanding on the foundation of NGOs and private reserves involved in conservation efforts, Belize has been employing ‘blue bonds’ as a potential solution to its debt coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, swapping it for the protection of marine resources.

As Prime Minister John Briceño noted in January of this year, Belize’s blue spaces “sustain livelihoods, social stability, and climate security. […] The Belize Blue Bonds is much more than a deal for debt restructuring. It represents the single most successful initiative by the value of our marine resources and our history of good stewardship.”

Glimpses of hope

Whether it was our story about fisherwomen using theatre to champion gender justice at a regional climate justice camp, or the Dominican Republic's shift to electric vehicles, there was definitely positive environmental news — including the journalistic work being done around climate justice in the Caribbean.

One of our most popular environmental stories this year included a post about a Talipot Palm in Trinidad, over which there was great excitement around its flowering. The palm, known for having the largest inflorescence in the world, can flower once it reaches maturity, typically between 25 and 80 years old. After it flowers, it takes about a year for the resulting small, circular yellow-green fruit to mature — and because the tree is monocarpic, this process only happens once; the tree dies after fruiting.

The levels of interest in this story, as well as in our post about Trinidad's Caroni Swamp — which secured more than 13,000 views in English alone between July and September — suggested to our editorial team that humans are still fascinated by and deeply connected to the mechanisms of nature.

That symbiosis, more than anything, imparts the will needed to continue to advocate for and act in the interest of the planet's survival, as well as our own.

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco

The village and its women were at the heart of environmental campaign against the deforestation in the Akbelen forest in southwestern Trukey 

Originally published on Global Voices

Image by Arzu Geybullayeva on Canva using screenshots from +90 official on TikTok and Akbelen ilk değil | Ağaçlar kimin için kesiliyor? on YouTube. Fair use.

Every year, the BBC announces a list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world. This year, in the category of “Climate Pioneers,” is Nejla Işık, the head of Ikizkoy village from Turkey. The village and its women were at the heart of an environmental campaign against deforestation in the Akbelen forest in Muğla province.

İkizköy village

İkizköy village is situated near the Akbelen forest in Turkey's southwestern province of Muğla. Since 2019, residents of the village have been trying to prevent deforestation in the Akbelen forest but have met with a crackdown.

In July 2023, two companies — Limak Holding and İÇTAŞ Enerji — with ties to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) moved to cut down trees in the Akbelen forest. This followed the decision by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to hand some 740 decares (740,000 square meters) of forest land over to YK Energy — a joint company set up by Limak and İÇTAŞ — to mine for lignite in April 2021.

Shortly after the destruction of the forest began, a group of women from İkizköy village became the symbols of the local resistance. Among them, was Nejla Işık. In an interview with Fayn Studio, a Turkish online media outlet, Işık said making it to the list gave the community renewed hope and an opportunity to have the world hear of their struggle. She said before the forest was destroyed, “We had a dream-like village. They cut our wings and made us suffer. I wish, instead, that our forest was kept alive, and I was not on that list. We really believed that we could save our forest, fought hard, and did not give up, but with those trees, they also cut our happiness to live.”

During local elections in March 2024, Işık was elected as the village's first woman mukhtar or the village head.

Business interests

In Turkey, preserving green spaces is not a priority for the ruling party, which has no sound environmental policy.

The crackdown in 2013 against a group of environmentalists trying to prevent the destruction of Gezi Park was a defining moment, marking the AKP's anti-environmental turn. Since then, scores of protests have erupted across Turkey, often organized by local residents trying to protect the remaining green spaces and prevent the expansion of power plants. However, with a government that lacks any green vision, prioritizes the economy at the expense of the environment, and allows companies to fill their coffers at the expense of regular citizens, it is a struggle that is here to stay.

The deforestation in the Akbelen forest that began in July 2023 was a brazen example of this. The companies behind the forest destruction refused to comply with a court order that suspended the project in the first place.

The scale of destruction of forest areas over the last 10 years in Muğla was documented by one local media news platform, Fayn Studio, with a time-lapse video showing the gradual deforestation.

Meanwhile, AKP party ally, the National Movement party (MHP) at the time, accused the residents of the village of being provocateurs. In a statement, the leader of the MHP, Devlet Bahçeli, lashed out at the protesters, describing them as criminals and terrorists trying to “destroy the inner peace” at Akbelen. Ironically, the residents and all those who joined them accused the ruling government of doing the same.

Out of 35 coal-fired power plants worldwide, three are operating in Muğla — Yatağan (in operation since 1982), Yeniköy (in operation since 1986), and Kemerköy (in operation since 1993). All three were privatized in 2014. Yeniköy and Kemerköy were purchased by YK Energy, a joint company set up by Limak Holding and İÇTAŞ Enerji. Both Limak and İÇTAŞ are known for their ties to the ruling government.

Since taking over plant management, the companies have done little to address the devastating health and environmental implications of the plants. Local residents have documented these effects extensively in local and international reports. These implications also did not stop the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources from launching a new regulation in March 2022 that opened the natural olive groves in the area to development and green-lights mining activities for the power plants.

The same month, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change made amendments, for a fourth time, to a regulation governing protected natural areas (national parks, nature parks, environmentally protected zones, and wetlands), opening these areas for mining and construction. These decisions were announced amid an ongoing court case filed by the residents of İkizköy village. Dismissive of the protests by residents, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry handed over the 740 decares of forest land for lignite mining.

In a statement signed by 16 environmental non-governmental organizations at the time, the signatories said, “Deforestation should not be allowed for the continuity of thermal power plants, which cause premature deaths and are one of the main causes of the climate crisis. Fighting the climate crisis is possible by working with nature, not against it. We cannot sacrifice forests, which account for more than half of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions we have caused in the last 10 years, for the sake of coal power plants that threaten natural areas, climate, and the lives of all living things.”

In recent years, Turkey has been hit by a series of natural disasters and environmental crises such as drought, wildfires, floods, and mudslides, and in February 2023, a devastating earthquake. Reports of forest fires have been making headlines each summer. Experts say that while climate change or excessive weather conditions may have had a role to play, these disasters were also the result of poor planning and incorrect decisions made at the government level.

According to the Climate Transparency Turkey report, Turkey continues to generate more than 30 percent of its electricity through coal. The report adds, “Despite the decrease in coal-powered generation in 2021–2022, Turkey has no intention to phase out coal and has approximately 20.4 GW of new coal capacity in the pipeline, placing it sixth globally. In June 2022, the first block of the China-financed 1.3 GW coal power plant opened in Hunutlu. While the coal capacity pipeline decreased by 63 percent in comparison to 2020, to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius or achieve Turkey’s goal of net zero emissions by 2053, no new coal power plants should be built.”

Turkey only ratified the 2015 Paris Agreement, which set a goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in October 2021, five years after signing the agreement. At the time, Turkey also announced its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2053.

According to Climate Action Tracker, the country's efforts to reach the Paris Accord's goals are “critically insufficient.” And ratifying the Paris Agreement was not done with pure intentions. The decision came shortly after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received guarantees of financial support from France, Germany, the World Bank's International Finance Corporation, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, according to reports by Politico and Reuters. Previously, Ankara said the reason it had not signed the agreement was unfair classification. Turkey was ranked as an Annex I group country — a “developed” or “industrialized” country — which prevented it from seeking funding, unlike nations ranked as “developing.”

For Işık, the struggle continues. “This is a battle for the right to live in peace in our small village, refusing what has been imposed on us. They destroyed half of our forest last year but didn’t find the coal they were hoping for. Still, we’ve never lost hope or determination,” she said in an interview with local media.

Written by Arzu Geybullayeva

The controversial legal conclusion notwithstanding, this matter remains unresolved in the eyes of environmentalists and governance advocates

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image via Canva Pro.

This article was first published on Global Voices’ contributor Emma Lewis’ blog; an edited version appears below with permission.

We are not satisfied: that is the message from a large group of civil society organisations and individuals in an Open Letter to Jamaica's Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) regarding the extraordinary behaviour of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), the government agency responsible for enforcing justice with regard to environmental crimes.

NEPA’s announcement in court on November 27, 2024, that it was withdrawing criminal charges against Trade Winds Citrus Limited for a December 2023 oil spill in the Rio Cobre that affected the water supply of neighbouring communities, was greeted with surprise and condemnation from many corners of society. The media started talking about a “secret deal” between NEPA and the company; the details of the mediation agreement were not even revealed to the judge in court because of a non-disclosure clause.

Subsequently, NEPA Chairman Weldon Madden was asked to resign, while Matthew Samuda, the minister with responsibility for the environment, issued a statement that “the Government of Jamaica is not satisfied that the issue was handled at the Board leadership level with the required standards of transparency and openness.” Under considerable pressure, details of the Mediation Settlement Agreement were finally published on NEPA’s website, where a Chronology of Events from the oil spill can also be found.

Jamaica's rivers — including the Rio Cobre — have often been under siege from industrial pollution. In 2021, The Rio Cobre suffered a spill of caustic effluent from the nearby bauxite plant – and this incident was not the first time. The West Indies Alumina Company (Windalco), which runs the plant, was a repeat offender that “received multiple breach notices” and were, at the time, “defendants in a legal case filed by NEPA over a 2019 discharge into the river which resulted in a massive fish kill and several persons falling ill.” Windalco later tried to restock the river with fish, but the transparency of that process was also called into question.

In this most recent case, there are a number of issues arising that warrant further investigation. NEPA’s comment, relayed by Minister Samuda, that it determined withdrawing the case was justified based on “the limited material impact of the incident and the comprehensive cleanup undertaken” has given some environmentalists pause. Whether the damage caused by the oil spill was extensive or not, and regardless of how many fish were killed or not, the issue goes beyond that. Trade Winds Citrus Limited committed an environmental crime, which NEPA was prosecuting with the go-ahead from the DPP since the crime does not amount to a few dead fish; rather, it has an impact on nearby communities and the ecosystem in general, which many feel were hardly taken into consideration.

Will this be NEPA’s modus operandi going forward? And if it is “business as usual,” then what does that consist of? The Open Letter, signed by 39 groups and individuals, including the Jamaica Environment Trust, Friends of Rio Cobre, Freedom Imaginaries, Jamaicans for Justice, Stand Up For Jamaica, Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal, and Jamaica Climate Change Youth Council, outlined these and other concerns to the DPP.

“Under the fiat granted by your office,” it said, “the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), the administrative arm of the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA), is tasked with prosecuting environmental crimes. NEPA’s decision, however, to pursue mediation in this case raises serious questions about its commitment to environmental justice. We now urgently request a comprehensive investigation by your office into NRCA/NEPA’s actions. This is critical to restoring public confidence in environmental law enforcement and ensuring that agencies with prosecutorial powers act at all times in the public’s interest.”

Some of the issues identified included the fact that mediation was pursued in this case. “[I]ntended for compromise between private parties,” it said, the approach was “unsuitable for holding environmental offenders accountable, especially where there is significant public impact and public interest. It undermines deterrence and signals leniency toward environmental crimes.” The letter also criticised NEPA's narrow focus, which “prioritised the fish kill while disregarding the broader impacts of the oil spill on the river ecology, river users and the surrounding communities.”

Furthermore, NEPA dropped the case “based on vague assurances from TWCL, including commitments to best practices and collaboration, which lack clear enforcement mechanisms.” The signatories took this as a demonstration of “a lack of interest in prosecuting environmental crimes and a lack of intent to hold environmental offenders accountable within the criminal justice system,” especially when coupled with the fact that the agreement prevents “legal action by either party” and prohibits NEPA from assisting communities who may want to bring action against TWCL. This clause, it maintained, “stifles the communities’ and the public’s rights to seek justice, undermining and betraying public trust in environmental governance and the administration of justice.”

The group statement also alleges a lack of transparency or meaningful consultation with the affected communities, an exclusion that “denies stakeholders of their right to participate in the resolution of a matter directly impacting their lives and environment. The inclusion of a confidentiality clause in the mediation agreement, intended to shield its terms from public and judicial scrutiny, is unacceptable given the public nature and significant interest in this offence.”

The controversial legal conclusion notwithstanding, this matter remains unresolved in the eyes of environmentalists and governance advocates: “The public deserves full transparency and public accountability regarding NEPA’s decision-making processes and assurance that environmental laws will be enforced openly, vigorously and with due regard for environmental law standards, principles and best practices.

“Environmental crimes demand robust legal action — not alternative resolutions that fail to deliver justice or protection of natural resources. We urge your office to revisit this case, investigate NEPA’s actions, and undertake a long overdue broader review of NEPA’s prosecutorial effectiveness to strengthen environmental governance.”

Written by Emma Lewis

The film reveals the industrial pollution and government neglect plaguing Zenica and its residents, while highlighting the bravery of local citizens fighting for change.

Originally published on Global Voices

A scene from the documentary “Sky Above Zenica.” Photo by Emir Džanan via OBC Transeuropa. Used with permission.

This interview with the directors of the documentary “The Sky Above Zenica” Zlatko Pranjić and Nanna Frank Møller, and Professor Samir Lemeš from Eko Forum Zenica was conducted by Anna Lodeserto and first published by Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBC Transeuropa). An edited version has been republished by Global Voices under a content sharing agreement.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is still facing severe environmental and socio-political degradation stemming from the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, unchecked resource exploitation, limited environmental awareness among political elites, and lax regulation, all worsened by climate change, as visibly seen in the increasing floods in Central Bosnia. Industrial pollution, plastic waste-clogged rivers, habitat destruction from hydropower projects, and deforestation of ancient sites threaten both human health and the regional ecosystems. Local environmental organizations and activists are engaged in a continuous, often dangerous struggle against powerful polluters and government inaction, with Zenica, a city spotlighted in the acclaimed documentary movie “Nebo iznad Zenice” (“The Sky Above Zenica,”) emerging as a symbol of this fight for environmental justice.

At the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival, the 2024 Human Rights Day screenings of the movie, directed by Zlatko Pranjić and Nanna Frank Møller (Denmark, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2024), played to sold-out audiences and received critical acclaim. The film sheds light on the industrial pollution and government neglect plaguing Zenica and its residents, while highlighting the bravery of local citizens fighting for change. OBC Transeuropa spoke with the directors and Professor Samir Lemeš, an environmental advocate and University of Zenica lecturer, and also a co-founder of Eko Forum Zenica, about the making of the film, its impact, and its broader significance on a global scale.

OBC  Transeuropa (OBCT): Why is “The Sky Above Zenica” such an important film for Bosnia and the world?

Samir Lemeš (SL): This film is essential for us and worldwide because it shifts the issue from a local to a global stage. It is now available also on streaming platforms, meaning people worldwide can learn about our struggles, which parallel those of other communities facing pollution from multinational corporations elsewhere. The corporation highlighted in the film, which has massive operations in many other countries — like for example Belgium, Germany, Italy and France — adheres to stricter environmental standards elsewhere due to EU regulations. Yet here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, pollution is far more severe because regulations are lax. Also, the film puts a clear pressure on investors and stakeholders. The corporation’s annual revenue is nearly 20 times our country’s budget, making it more powerful than our government. To bring about change, we must appeal to stronger entities, such as banks that fund these corporations. By highlighting the issue, the film encourages financial institutions to demand better environmental practices.

OBCT: How did local activism grow to this level, and what impact do you hope it will have?

Zlatko Pranjić (ZP): Local activism has been crucial. The activists in Zenica are not affiliated to popular international organizations like Amnesty International, Greenpeace or similar ones; they are ordinary people with limited resources. Yet, they have managed to confront global corporations and challenge complicit politicians who hand over our resources without environmental safeguards. Thus, such a movie sends a powerful message to ordinary people: persistence and collective action can achieve effective results for the global good and the communities involved in the fight.

SL: It is also a counter to the pervasive narrative of apathy and nihilism here. Many believe that nothing can change, but our message is clear: stay stubborn, stay persistent, and keep pushing. Use every tool available — media, film, legal channels, and international agreements. This movie exemplifies to what extent relentless effort can lead to real progress even in the most challenging situations.

Samir Lemeš in front of the coking plant. Photо by Emir Džanan via OBC Transeuropa. Used with permission.

OBCT: What inspired you to focus on Zenica, and what challenges did you encounter in capturing this story?

Nanna Frank Møller (NFM): I first heard of Zenica from Zlatko Pranjić, who grew up there. I visited the area for the first time in 2017, and it was shocking to see the thick, black smoke pouring from factory roofs without chimneys, something I had only ever seen in remote images from highly polluted regions on other continents. From the very beginning, we knew this would be much more than a short-term project so that the work on the film spanned seven years, following a participatory approach. Zlatko and I wanted to deeply portray the daily lives of the people in Zenica and follow their journey over time, allowing the audience to engage directly with the protagonists’ struggles. We stood alongside Samir Lemeš and other Eko Forum’s activists as they tirelessly pressured both local authorities and the steel corporation. It took persistence, but the story’s impact grew as the local authorities and the Ministry of Environment began enforcing new pollution measurements, strengthening Eko Forum’s case. I will also never forget the first screening in Zenica… it was incredibly moving and touching. Many of the attendees were local citizens who had either participated in or supported the film, and they expressed heartfelt gratitude for finally having their reality and struggles recognized on the big screen.

OBCT: How do you believe the film has supported the local fight against industrial pollution in Zenica?

NFM and ZP: Documentary films have a unique power to delve into issues in ways daily news cannot, creating lasting emotional connections with audiences that can lead to real change. Six weeks after our premiere, the coking plant in Zenica closed. This happened alongside an ongoing complaint through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [EBRD], spearheaded by Professor Lemeš in the film. The steel corporation cited economic and environmental reasons for the closure, but it is clear that this was a complex result of both the activists’ efforts and institutional pressure. We also hope the film’s exposure can encourage further accountability.

OBCT: Could you tell us about the award at the Sarajevo Film Festival and its significance for the film’s message?

NFM and ZP: The film received the Special Environmental Awareness Award, sponsored for the very first year by the United Nations Development Program in BiH, at the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival. This recognition goes beyond Zenica, highlighting how communities worldwide suffer under corporate-driven pollution. The film indeed raises a crucial question: Can environmental responsibility and profit co-exist without “greenwashing?” Given that organisations like the EBRD, partially funded by taxpayer money, support these corporations, our biggest hope is that this award draws attention to the need for balanced corporate accountability worldwide. We aim to inspire both international bodies and companies to actively foster a cleaner, fairer world.

OBCT: What are the next steps for your movement and environmental justice in Zenica?

SL: The work here is far from over. While air quality has improved somewhat, industrial waste remains a massive problem. Factories now have filters, but these must be consistently maintained, which requires constant monitoring. On a global scale, decarbonization is a pressing issue and for this reason, we have joined several alliances focused on decarbonizing steel production, while also engaging in awareness campaigns like Shiny Claims, Dirty Flames, led by the Fair Steel Coalition, to expose private companies which claim to use green technology but overlook the environmental, health, and human rights impacts of steel production. ArcelorMittal, for example, was a sponsor of the Olympic torch in Paris, promoting it as made with green technology. However, the reality is far different: they still fail to meet environmental standards in places like Zenica. We encourage everyone to look deeper into these initiatives to understand the full story behind such overly labelled “green” claims.

The Sky Above Zenica is still garnering significant acclaim on the international festival circuit. It premiered at CPH:DOX 2024 in Copenhagen, earning nominations for both the Human Rights Award and Danish Dox Award, and went on to screen at DOKUFEST Prizren, Kosovo, and DocuMental Sofia, Bulgaria. After winning the Special Environmental Awareness Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival on August 23, it also received a Special Mention at 6th Rab Film Festival in Croatia and the Check Point Award at the Bergen International Film Festival in Norway. It also received two special mentions at the Inconvenient Films Festival in Lithuania, and on the November 3 it won the main award in the Testimonies competition at Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival in Czechia. In early 2025, it will be featured at the Trieste International Film Festival and the Budapest International Documentary Festival, where it is nominated in the international competition category.

Written by OBC Transeuropa

How one young woman survived Hurricane Beryl during ‘that time of the month’

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image via Canva Pro.

As Tropical Storm Rafael makes its way across Jamaica, I cannot help but remember the devastation we faced after the passage of Hurricane Beryl — a major storm that manifested itself early in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season — and I feel compelled to share my story.

It's not that my experience with Hurricane Beryl was somehow more frightening or difficult than anyone else's — God knows the impact has been tremendous and ongoing — but, like many other women, I am sure, I faced an additional challenge: I was on my period.

My sharing of this experience is in no way intended to make light of the challenges around menstruation that so many women face daily, both within and outside of the hurricane season. Having reported on the realities of period poverty in the Caribbean, however, the hurdles I struggled with during the storm certainly afforded me a more intimate understanding of the issue. To be clear, what I endured during Beryl is NOT an example of period poverty; I merely experienced a small aspect of that lived experience for a short period of time, and, in retrospect, I was grateful for it.

As Beryl barrelled across the region, devastating countries like Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and others, it set its sights on Jamaica. Even as the storm barely skirted the southern parishes of the island, it caused flooding, loss of life, and damage to property, leaving countless people without power — a situation that lasted for weeks and months.

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Beryl's intense nature marked the second time that an Atlantic hurricane had reached Category 5 status in July (after Hurricane Emily, which made itself known on July 17, 2005). Beryl's maximum sustained winds were reported to be near 160 mph, with higher gusts.

Each hurricane season, I find myself thinking of the worst-case scenario should a storm hit and we lose our often taken-for-granted resources like electricity and, even worse, water. These thoughts flood my mind because I dread not having water in my pipes to take a shower — especially when I have my period. Though I always have my contingencies, nothing beats free-flowing water from the pipes. I suppose it’s a combination of comfort and the need to have access to pollutant-free water since pipe-borne water — especially since that access, triggered by climate change events, is being reduced.

Some might say that my water challenges are an easy fix because my household can invest in a tank. While that is always a solution, it’s not a feasible solution for us right now. As such, the next best thing is to store water in buckets for use in the spaces we need it most — the bathroom and kitchen. We also employed various treatment methods to ensure our own safety.

Over the years, we’ve been fortunate enough not to have lost our water connection during a storm, but with Hurricane Beryl, our luck ran out. Our taps were dry even before the brunt force of the Category 4 storm hit. Jamaica's National Water Commission (NWC) reported that “some 70 per cent of customers [were] without water,” and while we were fortunate to regain our connection to a clean water supply after about a week, others struggled without water and other utilities for far longer. Despite my discomfort, I also acknowledged the privilege that I had.

So what is the combination of menstruation without a water supply like? Imagine enduring excruciating pain while not having water in your pipes to clean yourself. The only place water was seeping in was through a leaking roof. Our home was at the mercy of hurricane-force winds and lashing rain. I worried about potential damage to property and life, and while I was as prepared as I could be, I was also overwhelmed.

Prepared because I had on hand non-reusable period products (pads/sanitary napkins), as well as the more environmentally-friendly menstrual cups, as well as disposable wipes. I also had the treated water that we had stored, but I was uncomfortable. It was difficult to function under the circumstances.

Not knowing how long we’d be without water, I had to skimp on the water we had managed to save — but how do you use water conservatively and ensure that you keep your hygiene up, especially with a heavy menstrual flow? If you know how to make your resources stretch, you find a way — and sure enough, I did. Naturally, I never felt as clean as I would have wanted, but “washing the possibles,” cleaning my menstrual cup, and properly disposing of sanitary napkins and used wipes did just enough for me to not feel gross. My flow generally lasts six days, so I endured the discomfort for almost as long as we didn’t have water coming through our pipes.

As I speak about “the possibles,” I recall speaking with Danielle Fraser, who said, “At times, it’s hard to the point where some people have to use half a bucket of water, or way less than they normally would, to clean up. As Jamaicans say, ‘We clean up the possibles.’”

It was all an exhausting juggling act — using my kerosine lantern in the bathroom, using as little water as possible, and managing my menstrual hygiene while the wind and rain threatened my home. As I went through the motions, all I could think about was, “How many other women, girls, and people who menstruate are in a similar situation, or worse? How are they coping? Do they have water stored? Do they have menstrual products?” Given the realities of period poverty, I already knew the answer to those questions.

Despite the discomfort and stress of the situation, I emerged from it with a renewed sense of resilience and hope. I am grateful for the lessons learned, and as we continue to face the challenges of climate change, I remain hopeful that we can create a future where everyone has access to clean water and the dignity it brings.

Though challenging, the experience has deepened my understanding of the struggles many face daily. It has also reinforced my commitment to advocating for better access to essential resources, especially against the urgent backdrop of the climate emergency. As we brace for future storms, I hold onto the hope that we can build more resilient communities where no one has to endure a ‘Beryl’ous period without piped water.

Written by Candice Stewart

Solutions exist but are not implemented

Originally published on Global Voices

Image of houses submerged in water in the Far North Region of Cameroon. Screenshot from the video “Report on Cameroon: The devastating impact of flooding” on the France24 YouTube channel. Fair use.

Climate change affects many African countries. Every rainy season, recurrent flooding plunges their populations into chaos, resulting in hundreds of deaths and thousands of displaced people.

Africa’s rainy seasons typically last from May to October, with peaks in July and August. However, these seasons no longer follows the typical pattern, with rainfall becoming increasingly frequent and heavier. From July through September 2024, West and Central Africa experienced several devastating torrential downpours.

In an interview with French media outlet France 24, Aida Diongue-Niang, a climatologist and vice-president of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), explained why. According to this Senegalese expert, the magnitude of the problem is a direct consequence of increased rainfall variability due to climate change:

A domino effect leading to humanitarian disaster

Major cities are often on the water’s edge, and torrential rain and flooding can cause dams and houses to collapse. The situation is usually devastating. According to UN figures quoted by the Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency, flooding has affected some 700,000 people in these two African regions.

This France 24 report describes the situation in Chad. Since July, over 1.7 million people have been affected, and 503 have died.

On September 26, 2024, the  International Organization for Migration (IOM) published a report on the devastating impact, stating:

(…) des déluges d’eau ont ravagé des régions entières, faisant plus de 1 500 victimes, affectant 4 millions de personnes et déplaçant plus de 1,2 million d'individus à travers le Burkina Faso, le Cameroun, le Tchad, la Guinée, le Mali, le Nigeria et le Niger.  

(…) Floods have devastated entire regions, affecting some 4 million people, killing more than 1,500, and displacing 1.2 million others across Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger.  

Sylvia Ekra, the IOM regional director for West and Central Africa, stated:

Nous n’avions jamais connu d’inondations comme celles de cette année. Elles nous confrontent brutalement aux répercussions des changements climatiques, qui sont de plus en plus importantes dans notre région. Nos équipes travaillent sans relâche sur le terrain pour soutenir les communautés affectées et les autorités locales. Même si nous aidons les pays à mieux se préparer aux situations d'urgence toute l'année, l'ampleur de la situation actuelle exige un financement supplémentaire urgent pour répondre aux besoins immédiats et à plus long terme.

These floods were unprecedented. They were a brutal reminder of climate change’s increasingly profound impact on our region. Our teams work tirelessly to support the affected communities and local authorities. Although we help countries better prepare for emergencies all year round, the current situation requires additional emergency funding to meet the immediate and long-term needs.

Although climate change has already wreaked havoc on the continent’s crops, the humanitarian crisis will likely worsen in these countries. Recurrent flooding has destroyed harvests in societies where rural populations often account for over 70 percent of the general population. For example, more than 400,000 hectares of farmland have been destroyed in Chad. Given such circumstances, food security is no longer guaranteed, thus depriving communities of their basic means of survival. Media outlet Tchad Info quotes the prime minister of Chad, Allah-Maye Halina, as saying:

(…) Ces inondations ont détruit déjà plus de 250.000 hectares de culture, provoqué la perte de 60.000 têtes de bétail et causé des dommages considérables sur des milliers de maisons, des écoles, des centres de santé et des infrastructures publiques.

(…) These floods have already destroyed over 250,000 hectares of crops, killed 60,000 heads of cattle, and damaged thousands of houses, schools, health centers, and public facilities.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has expressed concern over the high number of people facing hunger and needing assistance:

Cette hausse inquiétante des besoins humanitaires survient dans un contexte de crise de la faim régionale qui touche déjà 55 millions de personnes, soit quatre fois plus qu'il y a cinq ans.

This alarming rise in humanitarian needs comes amid a regional hunger crisis already affecting 55 million people, four times more than five years ago.

In its report, the International Organization for Migration warns of potential disease risks:

En Afrique de l'Ouest et en Afrique centrale, les inondations ont exacerbé les problèmes sanitaires. La stagnation de l'eau et les mauvaises conditions sanitaires ont augmenté le risque de maladies liées à l’eau telles que le choléra, tandis que les infrastructures endommagées, telles que les routes, ont limité l'accès aux zones touchées, ce qui complique l’arrivée de l’aide humanitaire.

Floods have exacerbated health problems in West and Central Africa. Stagnant water and poor sanitation have increased the risk of water-borne diseases, such as cholera. Damaged infrastructure, such as roads, has restricted access to affected areas, thus hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Known solutions not implemented

In a BBC article, Moussa Malam Abdou, a Nigerian geographer and lecturer at the André-Salifou University in Zinder, Niger, explained the solutions to this growing problem. According to Moussa, we must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by regulating human behavior: 

The World Food Programme also argues there should be investments in proactive measures, such as early warning systems, disaster risk financing, and social protection systems. Margot Van der Velden, the WFP regional director for West and Central Africa, stated:

Les actions anticipatoires sont une clé essentielle pour débloquer une aide humanitaire plus efficiente, plus efficace et tournée vers l'avenir. Elles peuvent sauver des vies, préserver la dignité des personnes et offrir des opportunités d'investissement financier significatives.

Proactive measures are essential in making more effective, efficient, and future-oriented humanitarian aid available. They can save lives, preserve dignity, and provide significant financial investment opportunities.

In some countries, the lack of large dams to regulate water flow rates in rainy seasons has profound implications. Despite repeated promises to build such infrastructure, this is yet to happen.

Tired of waiting, the people often make their frustration known. In a BBC interview, Aline Taryam, a Chadian student living in the Chari River region (a Central African river located between Chad, Cameroon, and Central Africa), said:

Written by Jean Sovon Translated by Laura · View original post [fr]

The rivers threw trash right back at city dwellers who had dumped them

Originally published on Global Voices

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

It took the Great Nepali Floods of September 28, 2024, for the residents of Kathmandu to fully grasp the extent of the trash being dumped into the Valley’s sacred rivers.

Even three weeks later, plastic bags still hang like flags from the high branches of trees in Teku and Sankhamul suburbs in the Nepali capital, stark reminders of how high the water rose on that fateful day. Pieces of cloth, Styrofoam, plastic bottles, and other debris remain scattered along the damaged pavements and embankments on the banks of the Bagmati river.

This was the revenge of the rivers. The Bagmati, Vishnumati, Manohara, and Nakkhu struck back at the city dwellers for treating the once sacred rivers as dumpsites. The rivers threw the trash right back where it came from.

“If we do not want such garbage being washed away during the monsoon, we should prioritise waste management. We should focus on every aspect of waste generation,” says Shilashila Acharya of Avni Ventures, a recycling company in Kathmandu. “Dumping sites are often near the riversides. So, we might also want to rethink the locations of the dumping sites.”

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

Single-use plastic is the largest source of trash in Kathmandu Valley, with an estimated 5 million plastic bags used daily. About 800 tons of this non-biodegradable material is dumped in the river or in landfill sites every day.

Thicker plastics, such as bottles and other discarded household items, are collected by waste pickers for recycling. However, plastic bags thinner than 20 microns — often used just once to carry vegetables or other food — are simply discarded. One plastic bag takes 500 years to completely biodegrade, and microplastics contaminate drinking water and find its way into the human food chain.

Plastics thrown carelessly into rivers can clog drainage systems, disrupt the water cycle and poison aquatic species and wildlife. Waste collecting companies have realised that there is money in trash, and are doing good business recycling the plastic bottles and large items. However, since thin plastic bags aren’t recyclable, they often end up being swept down the Bagmati River towards the plains.

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

“Cleaning campaigns are not enough. When we clean, we pick up the waste from one site and throw it off in another likely a landfill. This does not deal with the main problem of waste,” says Nabin Maharjan of Blue Waste to Value (BW2V) which recycles waste and turns them into sellable products such as cooking utensils.

He adds: “But what we can do instead is pick the waste in a segregated form, reduce them to products and sell them. And that is how a circular economy can thrive. The government and local authorities should be involved.”

Nepal’s governments has attempted to ban polythene and single-use plastic bags thinner than 20 microns several times in the past, but these regulations were quickly repealed due to lobbying by plastic pellet importers with political connections.

Hanging from railings on the Bagmati banks, and swinging from trees at its confluence with the Vishnumati in Teku are at least seven types of plastic. The lowest grade are single use thin plastic bags that need to be banned at source.

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

But half-buried in the silt of the Bagmati’s floodplain are PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, which can easily be recycled. While waste collectors do remove most of these and other recyclables before disposal, many still end up in the river. Without extended producer responsibility, the Nepali government does not require manufacturers to ensure proper recycling.

“The first and foremost step of waste management starts is the segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable trash at source. Secondly, there should be more planned landfills within a community. While we prefer landfills to be away from the city, planned smaller landfills help better manage the waste of a community,” adds Acharya.

“Third is the partnership that can exist between government authorities like Kathmandu municipalities with private organizations who are already working in waste management. This collaboration can help them better manage the waste,” she says.

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

The Kathmandu Valley produces an estimated 1,200 tons of waste every day, most of which ends up unsegregated at the landfill site at Banchare Danda of Nuwakot, after the previous site at Sisdole got filled up in 2022. Nearly 65 percent of it is still organic household waste, and can easily be turned into compost and need not end up in landfills at all.

Much of the paper, plastic bottles, metal and glass can also be recycled easily if they are segregated at source — as Mayor Balen Shah promised in his election campaigning. This could reduce the volume of garbage that has to be sent in fleets of tipper trucks every day to the landfill.

Residents living near Banchare already suffer serious health risks from water contaminated by leachate from the dumpsite.

Says Nabin Maharjan: “We have to start working on minimising the waste generation. Until waste prevention is not taken seriously, this cycle of people throwing waste and people cleaning it up will never end.”

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

Image by Suman Nepali via Nepali Times. Used with permission.

Written by Nepali Times