Indigenous people from the Parque das Tribos community mourn the death of Chief Messias of the Kokama tribe from Covid-19, in Manaus, Brazil, on May 14, 2020. MICHAEL DANTAS / AFP / Getty Images
By John Letzing
This past Wednesday, when some previously hard-hit countries were able to register daily COVID-19 infections in the single digits, the Navajo Nation – a 71,000 square-kilometer (27,000-square-mile) expanse of the western US – reported 54 new cases of what's referred to locally as "Dikos Ntsaaígíí-19."
<p>That brought the total number of reported cases in the <a href="https://www.ihs.gov/navajo/navajonation/" target="_blank">designated home</a> of the Navajo people to 5,533, as the number of known deaths reached 252. For an area with an <a href="https://www.census.gov/tribal/?st=04&aianihh=2430" target="_blank">estimated population</a> of 172,875, that translates into an infection rate more than five times that of the US <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html" target="_blank">as a whole</a>. The Navajo Nation is not an isolated example. <a href="https://time.com/5808257/indigenous-communities-coronavirus-impact/" target="_blank">Around the world</a>, COVID-19 still poses a disproportionate threat to indigenous communities even as it recedes elsewhere.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/covid-19.html" target="_blank">United Nations</a>, indigenous peoples' traditional lifestyles can create greater risks of spreading infection when they involve large gatherings to mark events like harvests, or living in multi-generational housing with elderly family members. The indigenous also <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/un-desa-policy-brief-70-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-indigenous-peoples/" target="_blank">suffer</a> from a relatively high degree of socio-economic marginalization that makes them more vulnerable. This dynamic is not new.</p><p>The Navajo Nation <a href="https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/index.htm" target="_blank">government</a> issued a stay-at-home order as COVID-19 spread, implemented a curfew, and mandated the use of masks in public. But it has <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/navajo-nation-hit-hard-coronavirus-200526171504037.html" target="_blank">struggled</a> with issues including the fact that nearly a third of the homes in the area (detailed in the map below) lack running water for hand washing.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3NDY4Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMDAzNDk2NX0.vVWmJG9OhDMQ0-QJQYWbzO97J96n3HTkYnrNoYN31Xo/img.png?width=980" id="ab1a9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4583f8be3269a8dd27b5a836a20ceaac" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The Navajo Nation covers the corners of three different states. Google Maps
<p>In Brazil, an advocacy group reported last month that the COVID-19 mortality rate among indigenous people was <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/23/world/coronavirus-indigenous-death-apib-intl/index.html" target="_blank">nearly twice</a> that of the country as a whole. Prior to that, a mapping service had published an <a href="https://infoamazonia.org/en/2020/05/distantes-de-utis-e-respiradores-indigenas-da-amazonia-tentam-se-blindar-do-virus/#!/story=post-51141" target="_blank">analysis</a> showing that villages in the Amazon are on average 315 kilometers (195 miles) away from the nearest intensive care bed in the Brazilian public health system – and more than half of the villages analyzed were more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) away from any intensive care unit.</p><p>Brazil is <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31236-8/fulltext" target="_blank">just one</a> of the countries in the World Health Organization's Americas region with significant and remote indigenous populations deemed vulnerable to the pandemic. The WHO <a href="https://cnnphilippines.com/world/2020/6/2/americas-rapid-increase-coronavirus-cases-WHO-says.html" target="_blank">said</a> the region recently accounted for half of the 10 countries in the world reporting the highest new number of cases over a 24-hour span.</p>
Growing Contribution
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3NDY5Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjM4MTgyM30.IuQTKQs1stvYYKD6vaVTrqAyoBsUG0BhDvlhxsyKwPA/img.png?width=980" id="02a05" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2841f82b1785df5d5ed7bf64d3bb882b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />World Economic Forum
<p>There are exceptions, however. Some of the world's indigenous populations appear not to be overly impacted by COVID-19. In New Zealand, for example, the Māori <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-situation/covid-19-current-cases#ethnicity" target="_blank">accounted for</a> 9% of reported cases as of 4 June, but <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/new-zealands-population-reflects-growing-diversity#:~:text=The%20next%20largest%20ethnic%20group,from%2011.8%20percent%20in%202013." target="_blank">represent</a> more than 16% of the country's population. And in Canada, <a href="https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1581964230816/1581964277298" target="_blank">government figures</a> have not indicated an unusual infection rate for indigenous people – though there are <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indigenous-leaders-covid19-data-testing-1.5562555" target="_blank">concerns</a> that indigenous cases in the country are being undercounted.</p><p>For more context, here are links to further reading from <a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/" target="_blank">the World Economic Forum's Strategic Intelligence platform</a>:</p><ul><li>COVID-19 is not the only thing indigenous people in Brazil have to worry about. According to this report, indigenous lands in the country are being devastated as the outside world has been distracted by the pandemic. <em>(</em><a href="https://theconversation.com/brazils-jair-bolsonaro-is-devastating-indigenous-lands-with-the-world-distracted-138478" target="_blank"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>)</em></li></ul><ul><li>Perhaps no community in North America has been more shaped by infectious disease than Native tribes, according to this report. <em>(</em><a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2020/0430/For-Native-Americans-coronavirus-looks-heartbreakingly-familiar" target="_blank"><em>Christian Science Monitor</em></a><em>)</em></li></ul><ul><li>In Colombia, the killing of indigenous leaders increased after a coronavirus-related lockdown in March made them easier to locate in isolation, according to this report. <em>(</em><a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/wps/2020/05/20/the-impact-of-colombias-covid-19-response-on-indigenous-inclusion-in-peace-processes/" target="_blank"><em>LSE</em></a><em>)</em></li></ul><ul><li>In some countries consultations with indigenous people are now being abruptly suspended in order to force through megaprojects relating to agribusiness, mining, dams and infrastructure, according to a UN independent expert. <em>(</em><a href="https://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/articles/covid-19-impact-on-worlds-indigenous-goes-well-beyond-health-threat/" target="_blank"><em>Ecosystem Marketplace</em></a><em>)</em></li></ul><ul><li>Mining sites, deemed an essential business during the pandemic, are placing indigenous communities in Canada and several other countries at high risk of infection, according to this report. <em>(<a href="https://e360.yale.edu/digest/as-mining-continues-during-coronavirus-local-indigenous-communities-at-high-risk" target="_blank">YaleE360</a>)</em></li></ul><ul><li>The Secoya community fled by canoe to isolate themselves from the outbreak in the central wetlands of Lagarto Cocha in Ecuador, only to suffer 15 confirmed cases and two deaths among its population of 744, according to this report. <em>(</em><a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2020/05/11/coronavirus-Latin-America-Amazon-indigenous-communities" target="_blank"><em>The New Humanitarian</em></a><em>)</em></li></ul><ul><li>Well ahead of government action, indigenous federations across the Amazon launched extensive campaigns to mitigate the pandemic and its socie-economic consequences, according to this report. <em>(</em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-indigenous-people-in-the-amazon-are-coping-with-the-coronavirus-pandemic-137041" target="_blank"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>)</em></li></ul><p>On the <a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/" target="_blank">Strategic Intelligence</a> platform, you can find visualizations and feeds of expert analysis related to <a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/topics/a1G0X000006O6EHUA0?tab=publications" target="_blank">COVID-19</a>, <a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/topics/a1Gb00000038pGiEAI?tab=publications" target="_blank">Global Health</a> and hundreds of additional topics. You'll need to register to view.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/covid-19-presents-an-inordinate-threat-to-indigenous-people/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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As we continue to grapple with the issues of overfishing, plastic pollution, and climate change, there exists an opportunity to address these existential threats with new innovations. Sawitree Pamee / EyeEm
By Kaya Bulbul
The ocean is our lifeline - we rely on it for the food we eat, the air we breathe, as well as for millions for jobs worldwide.
As we continue to grapple with the issues of overfishing, plastic pollution, and climate change, there exists an opportunity to address these existential threats with new innovations, many of which unidentified or insufficiently supported.
<p><span></span><a href="https://www.weforum.org/uplink" target="_blank">UpLink</a> is a response to this demand; a new digital platform to surface the best ideas and solutions for pressing issues and connect them to the world's decision makers.</p><p>The UpLink platform brings together key stakeholders who are championing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): change-makers, social innovators, thematic experts, investors and technology titans.</p><p>The UpLink platform was launched with the <a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/topic/0TO2o000000VefpGAC/ocean" target="_blank">Ocean Solutions Sprint</a>, which has sourced over 50 entrepreneurial solutions from more than 15 countries which respond to the most pressing challenges facing the ocean today and speed up progress being made towards <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg14" target="_blank">SDG-14: Life Below Water</a>.</p><p>The sprint culminated at the World Economic Forum's <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/virtual-ocean-dialogues-2020/" target="_blank">Virtual Ocean Dialogues</a>, where six finalists presented their ideas to a panel of experts and judges from across the industry.</p>
<iframe src="https://livestream.com/accounts/1909571/events/9146673/videos/206855962/player?mute=false&width=640&height=360" width="100%" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e3e028fc3bb47f2a1bba1a20b830e724"></iframe>
<p>"We need to get these problems in front of more people so they can pool together their intellect and their heart and add it to this explosive renaissance of ocean problem solving," said Douglas McCauley, Director of the Benioff Ocean Initiative and one of the sprint panelists.</p><p>"We know that just as diversity in a natural system like a coral reef makes it more resilient, more powerful, it makes our problem solving more powerful. I'm excited to have an open platform in UpLink, without any barriers for people to put that diversity together for ocean problem solving."</p>
<p>The three winning innovations helping to save our ocean are:</p><p><a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-contribution/a012o00001G7khBAAR/cubex-global-marketplace-for-25-billion-revenue-recovery-in-ocean-freight" target="_blank">Cubex Global</a> (Ocean Innovation Award)</p><p>Cubex aims to reduce global shipping emissions by buying and selling unused container space on existing cargo ship routes.<br></p><p>Over 100 million shipping containers are 50% empty while traveling from port to port - a massively wasteful practice that produces 280 million tons of carbon emissions and costs $25 billion USD every year.</p><p>While many traditional companies use phones, fax and email to fill up their containers, Cubex uses a real-time, blockchain-enabled online marketplace which optimizes empty cargo space and can potentially reduce emissions from shipping vessels by up to 20%. Anyone using the platform can buy or sell cubic meters of space on any container going to any destination.</p>
<p><a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-contribution/a012o00001G7hJOAAZ/recyglo" target="_blank">Recyglo</a> (Action on Ocean Plastic Award)</p><p>Founded in Myanmar in 2017, Recyglo works closely with businesses in the country and surrounding areas on waste management requirements, connecting with logistics and recycling facilities around the world to process waste materials in a safe, non-hazardous manner.<br></p><p>With <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/90-of-plastic-polluting-our-oceans-comes-from-just-10-rivers/" target="_blank">8 of the 10 rivers with the most plastic pollution in the world located in Asia,</a> a solution to this problem is desperately needed in the region.</p><p>"The current waste management in Myanmar is fragmented, inefficient and problematic," co-founder and CEO Shwe Yamin Oo has said. As well as helping companies organize their recycling habits and disposing of their waste, Recyglo also provides data analytics on the amounts of waste recycled and the impact on carbon footprint.</p><p>The company is currently managing 500 tons of waste and saving 1470 tons of CO2 every month, and has educated 800,000 people on the merits of proper recycling.</p>
<p><a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-contribution/a012o00001G7jlbAAB/oceanium-food-and-nutrition-products-from-sustainably-farmed-seaweed" target="_blank">Oceanium</a> (People's Choice Award)</p><p>Oceanium is developing food products and packaging material made from sustainably farmed seaweed.</p><p>What sounds like a simple solution to solving ocean plastic pollution has a raft of environmental benefits. Seaweed farming does not require cleared land which means that deforestation is not necessary. It also sequesters carbon dioxide and nitrogen from the ocean, which reduces atmospheric carbon and ocean acidification, and requires no fertilizer or pesticide to grow.</p><p>Meanwhile, seaweed farms protect the seabed from commercial fishing and create a marine sanctuary for sea life. The company hopes its bio-packaging will replace harmful plastic products. For every ton of plastic replaced by bio-packaging, approximately 1.9 tons of carbon dioxide is prevented from entering the atmosphere.</p><p>Oceanium also believes that seaweed farming could create jobs in coastal communities and developing countries, and could be used to feed livestock and help to end global food insecurity.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/3-innovations-that-are-leading-the-fight-to-save-our-ocean/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum.</a></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Sockeye salmon are seen swimming at a fish farm. Natalie Fobes / Getty Images
By Peter Beech
Using waste food to farm insects as fish food and high-tech real-time water quality monitoring: innovations that could help change global aquaculture, were showcased at the World Economic Forum's Virtual Ocean Dialogues 2020.
<p>Two young entrepreneurs addressed a breakout session of the event called <em>Harnessing the Power of Innovation to Achieve SDG14.</em> Syrine Chaalala, co-founder of the French-Tunisian company <a href="http://nextprotein.co/" target="_blank">nextProtein</a>, and Charlotte Dupont, co-founder of the French company <a href="https://www.bioceanor.com/products-and-services" target="_blank">BiOceanOr</a>, revealed the ideas that drove their rapidly accelerating startups.</p><p>Chalaala's nextProtein uses food waste to mass-produce insect protein to feed farmed fish in place of fishmeal – the production of which, often from corporate fisheries' by-catch, can lead to the depletion of ecosystems and the collapse of local fisheries. As our demand for farmed fish is growing 8% a year, her innovation could play a vital role in reducing the knock-on impact of aquaculture on the ocean.</p><p>She said that farming insects requires a fraction of the space as animal feed production – 100 square meters (1,076 square feet) of space can produce as much protein as 100 hectares (247 acres) of soy field.</p><p>"Because we wanted to have maximum impact, we wanted to provide solutions to other problems," said Chalaala, naming food waste and land scarcity as two key issues her business tackles. "Here, we can convert 20 kilos (44 pounds) of food waste into 1 kilo (2 pounds) of product."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM2NjM0OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5ODgwNzI4Mn0.97Q4mo_iOgbdUuiRS35PKdK1-e0QKv8C3-ewjkAmhTg/img.png?width=980" id="e712b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="94432f70b397eba50b44653468421d60" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Fly fishing. nextProtein
<p>The method uses vertical farming, little energy and almost no water – testament, said session host Christian Lim of <a href="https://www.blueoceanspartners.com/" target="_blank">Blue Oceans Partners</a>, to the efficiency of the insects at thriving on low input. The insect nextProtein uses is the Black Soldier Fly, selected due to its high-yield quality, and the ease of processing it into powder, oil and fertilizer. Her business is aiming to produce 100,000 tonnes of insect protein annually by 2025 – or around 10% of the insect meal market.</p><p>Meanwhile Charlotte Dupont and her colleagues at BiOceanOr have developed what they term "the first underwater weather station for real-time monitoring of water quality." One of its many applications is for fish farmers who aren't yet monitoring their water quality in real time.</p><p>She painted a picture of an industry that is only reluctantly changing, with water quality largely still monitored by hand. Since this process is time-consuming and arduous, it's generally done only once a day. But once the firm's underwater 'weather-stations' are installed, farmers can get a moment-by-moment grasp on conditions for their stock.</p><p>"Our first customer called us a few days later to tell us our tool wasn't working – the oxygen levels couldn't be so low," she said. But the equipment was fine: the unprecedented readings had thrown him. He was used to taking his readings only once a day, in the late morning, and had no idea how low oxygen levels could get overnight.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM2NjM1My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMTIyMTUyNn0.x-eiOr4B5_0GZvmVnYiD0YYGyDR32PO0YJ0H-3tFrzM/img.png?width=980" id="b4249" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8a25143f13bdf53b3e5fdfd0833eaf7c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
BiOceanOr's AquaREAL system. BiOceanOr
<p>"There are a lot of aquaculturists who don't realize right now the power of real-time monitoring," said Dupont. "It's a knowledge that they transmit from generation to generation, like agriculture a century ago: 'I know it because my father knows it.' They think there's nothing you can learn from tools, but just as in agriculture, there's a lot you can learn."</p><p>"I think data will be really central in the future," said Dupont, predicting a future where people subscribe to the water forecast just as today they subscribe to a weather forecast.</p><p>"With sensitive ecosystems like reefs and coastal systems, people will be able to subscribe to the data and see what is going on," she said. These water-quality forecasts will play a vital role in protecting ocean health.</p><p>Their session provided a short but telling insight into two crucial innovations in aquaculture as we set a course for a sustainable blue economy in the post-COVID-19 era. For more from the Virtual Ocean Dialogues 2020, you can access the whole event <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/virtual-ocean-dialogues-2020/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/virtual-ocean-dialogues-water-forecasting-fish-farms-waste-innovation-blue-economy/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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World Health Organization Launches WHO Foundation, Allowing Public Donations
28 May
Health + Wellness
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says this is a historic step for the group. FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP / Getty Images
By Linda Lacina
World Health Organization officials today announced the launch of the WHO Foundation, a legally separate body that will help expand the agency's donor base and allow it to take donations from the general public.
<p>The foundation will accept funding from non-traditional sources, including individual major donors, corporate partners and the general public. Until now the WHO has been one of the few international organizations which has not traditionally received donations from the general public.</p><p>"This is a historic step," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.<br></p>
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<p>The group's funding has gained unprecedented scrutiny in recent weeks after US President Trump has paused funding to the WHO.</p><p>While the group has a relatively modest budget for its scope ($<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-who-foundation/who-creates-foundation-to-boost-funding-in-coronavirus-fight-idUSKBN2332GY" target="_blank">2.3 billion</a>, similar to a mid-sized hospital in the developed world, as<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/0520-who-briefing/" target="_blank"> explained last week</a>), flexible funding sources have been needed for some time, said the Director-General.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/fact-sheet/the-u-s-government-and-the-world-health-organization/" target="_blank">agency's funding comprises</a> contributions from member states, which are flexible, and voluntary contributions earmarked for fixed purposes. Whereas 40 years ago, 80% of the funding was flexible and could be used at the organization's discretion, now that share has shrunk to 20%, the Director-General <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/0520-who-briefing/not%20received%20donations%20from%20the%20general%20public." target="_blank">said recently</a>.</p><p>"In effect, that means WHO has little discretion over the way it spends its funds, almost 80% of its funds," he said at today's briefing. "In order to improve flexibility, we need to have additional resources and un-earmarked resources."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMyNzY0My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODg1Njg0OX0.Bmzp5no4Mun-lxr3rGuBKAHhWjsQZPN52__pTpZo22g/img.png?width=980" id="66f7f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76bd3567f39608fc3d64af3143dc95b2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
<p>The foundation has been in <a href="https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/world-health-organization-who-coronavirus-press-conference-may-27" target="_blank">development since February 2018</a>, said the Director-General, and was not created in response to the recent US funding pause. The idea surfaced through a regular 'Open Hour" session where WHO staff are encouraged to come to the Director-General and "generate crazy ideas" to transform the organization.</p><p>A COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, launched this spring, helped serve as a proof of concept for the foundation. The fund, created in response to the coronavirus crisis, has raised $214 million USD from more than 400,000 individuals and companies in just two and a half months.</p><p>The Response Fund will continue to assist the coronavirus effort, buying lab diagnostics, personal protective equipment, and funding research and development. The WHO Foundation, meanwhile, will have a broader mission, funding all elements of WHO's public health work including: mental health, noncommunicable diseases, emergency preparedness, and health system strengthening.</p><p>"The foundation will enhance and complement the global health's ecosystem by providing agility flexibility in receiving contributions and grant making, accelerating WHO-led evidence-based interventions, and focusing on high impact intervention and partnerships," explained Professor Thomas Zeltner, a Swiss physician who serves as chair of the board of the WHO Foundation.</p>
<p>A WHO representative will attend foundation board meetings and report to member states on its interaction with the foundation and funds received from it.</p><p>The foundation will ultimately help the WHO focus efforts on promoting good health, rather than just grappling with disease. Additional funding can help the agency invest in some of its least funded areas such as diet or air quality.</p><p>"Our focus should not be in managing disease," said the Director-General, "but in preventing it from happening and in helping people to lead a healthy life."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/new-who-foundation-will-help-broaden-the-agency-s-donor-base-covid-19-who-briefing/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>
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Biodiversity – the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems – is declining globally, faster than at any other time in human history. Csondy / Getty Images
By Marie Quinney
Biodiversity is critically important – to your health, to your safety and, probably, to your business or livelihood.
<p>But biodiversity – the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems – is declining globally, faster than at any other time in human history. The world's 7.6 billion people represent just 0.01% of all living things by weight, but humanity has caused the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/21/human-race-just-001-of-all-life-but-has-destroyed-over-80-of-wild-mammals-study" target="_blank">loss of 83% of all wild mammals and half of all plants</a>. (Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse is one of the top five risks in <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2020" target="_blank">the World Economic Forum's 2020 Global Risks Report</a>, too.)</p><p>In celebration of <a href="https://www.cbd.int/idb/" target="_blank">the International Day for Biological Diversity</a>, we break down the five ways in which biodiversity supports our economies and enhances our wellbeing – and has the potential to do even more.</p>
1. Biodiversity Ensures Health and Food Security.
<p>Biodiversity underpins global nutrition and food security. Millions of species work together to provide us with a <a href="https://www.cbd.int/health/doc/Summary-SOK-Final.pdf" target="_blank">large array of fruits, vegetables and animal products essential to a healthy, balanced diet</a> – but they are increasingly under threat.</p><p>Every country has indigenous produce – such as wild greens and grains – which have adapted to local conditions, making them more resilient to pests and extreme weather. In the past, this produce provided much-needed micronutrients for local populations. Unfortunately, however, the <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i1620e.pdf" target="_blank">simplification of diets, processed foods and poor access to food have led to poor-quality diets</a>. As a result, <a href="https://www.bioversityinternational.org/research-portfolio/diet-diversity/biodiversity-for-food-and-nutrition/" target="_blank">one-third of the world suffers from micronutrient deficiencies</a>.</p><p>Three crops – wheat, corn and rice – <a href="https://enviroliteracy.org/food/crops/" target="_blank">provide almost 60% of total plant-based calories consumed by humans</a>. This leads to reduced resiliency in our supply chains and on our plates. For example, <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i1620e.pdf" target="_blank">the number of rice varieties cultivated in Asia has dropped from tens of thousands to just a few dozen; in Thailand, 50% of land used for growing rice only produces two varieties</a>.</p><p>People once understood that the conservation of species was crucial for healthy societies and ecosystems. We must ensure this knowledge remains part of our modern agricultural and food systems to prevent diet-related diseases and reduce the environmental impact of feeding ourselves.</p>2. Biodiversity Helps Fight Disease.
<p>Higher rates of biodiversity have been linked to an increase in human health.</p><p>First, plants are essential for medicines. For example, <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf" target="_blank">25% of drugs used in modern medicine are derived from rainforest plants</a> while <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf" target="_blank">70% of cancer drugs are natural or synthetic products inspired by nature</a>. This means that every time a species goes extinct, we miss out on a potential new medicine.</p><p>Second, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.644" target="_blank">biodiversity due to protected natural areas has been linked to lower instances of disease</a> such as Lyme disease and malaria. While the exact origin of the virus causing COVID-19 is still unknown, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5711306/" target="_blank">60% of infectious diseases originate from animals</a> and <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/631980-Machalaba-Anthropogenic%20Drivers%20of%20Emerging%20Infectious%20Diseases.pdf" target="_blank">70% of emerging infectious diseases originate from wildlife</a>. As human activities encroach upon the natural world, through deforestation and urbanization, we reduce the size and number of ecosystems. As a result, animals live in closer quarters with one another and with humans, creating ideal conditions for the spread of zoonotic diseases.</p><p>Simply put: <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.644" target="_blank">more species means less disease</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxMDYyOC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDA4MjA5MH0.7QU59zfy44cq0wSAwMxeqjyygJi9ef1aEyYHQZ3gCts/img.png?width=980" id="77368" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="18d555bb10422495fc147f109cb72b3b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Human activity is eroding biodiversity. World Economic Forum Nature Risk Rising
3. Biodiversity Benefits Business.
<p>According to the World Economic Forum's recent <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf" target="_blank">Nature Risk Rising Report</a>, more than half of the world's GDP ($44 trillion) is highly or moderately dependent on nature. Many businesses are, therefore, at risk due to increasing nature loss. <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/biodiversity/protected_areas/arguments_for_protection/goods_services/medicine/" target="_blank">Global sales of pharmaceuticals based on materials of natural origin are worth an estimated $75 billion a year</a>, while natural wonders such as <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/all_publications/living_planet_report_2018/" target="_blank">coral reefs are essential to food and tourism.</a></p><p>There is great potential for the economy to grow and become more resilient by ensuring biodiversity. <a href="http://wedocs.unep.org/xmlui/handle/20.500.11822/31813" target="_blank">Every dollar spent on nature restoration leads to at least $9 of economic benefits.</a> In addition, <a href="https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/global-report/" target="_blank">changing agricultural and food production methods could unlock $4.5 trillion per year in new business opportunities by 2030</a>, while also preventing trillions of dollars' worth of social and environmental harms.</p>4. Biodiversity Provides Livelihoods.
<p>Humans derive approximately <a href="https://livingplanetindex.org/home/index" target="_blank">$125 trillion of value from natural ecosystems each year</a>. Globally, <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/wwap/wwdr/2016-water-and-jobs/" target="_blank">three out of four jobs</a> are dependent on water while the agricultural sector employs over <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/livelihoods" target="_blank">60% of the world's working poor</a>. In the Global South, forests are the source of livelihoods for <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/livelihoods" target="_blank">over 1.6 billion people</a>. In India, forest ecosystems contribute <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19915547" target="_blank">only 7% to India's GDP yet 57% of rural Indian communities' livelihoods</a>.</p><p><span></span>Ecosystems, therefore, must be protected and restored – not only for the good of nature but also for the communities that depend on them.</p><p>Although some fear environmental regulation and the safeguarding of nature could threaten businesses, the "restoration economy" – the restoration of natural landscapes – provides more jobs in the United States than most of the extractives sector, with the potential to create even more. According to some estimates, the restoration economy is worth <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0128339" target="_blank">$25 billion per year and directly employs more than the coal, mining, logging and steel industries altogether</a>. Nature-positive businesses can provide <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/10-things-you-need-know-about-restoration-economy" target="_blank">cost-effective, robot-proof, business-friendly jobs</a> that stimulate the rural economy without harming the environment.</p>5. Biodiversity Protects Us.
<p>Biodiversity makes the earth habitable. Biodiverse ecosystems provide <a href="https://www.nature-basedsolutions.com/" target="_blank">nature-based solutions</a> that buffer us from <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_protect.html" target="_blank">natural disasters such as floods and storms</a>, <a href="https://digital.iucn.org/water/nature-based-solutions-for-water/" target="_blank">filter our water</a> and <a href="https://www.naturebasedsolutionsinitiative.org/publications/the-superior-effect-of-nature-based-solutions-in-land-management-for-enhancing-ecosystem-services/" target="_blank">regenerate our soils</a>.</p><p>The <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/miracle-mangroves-coastal-protection-numbers" target="_blank">clearance of over 35% of the world's mangroves for human activities</a> has increasingly put people and their homes at risk from floods and sea-level rise. If today's mangroves were lost, 18 million more people would be flooded every year (an increase of 39%) and annual damages to property would increase by 16% ($82 billion).</p><p>Protecting and restoring natural ecosystems is vital to fighting climate change. Nature-based solutions could provide <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/114/44/11645" target="_blank">37% of the cost-effective CO2 mitigation needed by 2030</a> to maintain global warming within 2°C (35.6 F).</p><p>Natural ecosystems provide the foundations for economic growth, human health and prosperity. Our fate as a species is deeply connected to the fate of our natural environment.</p><p>As ecosystems are increasingly threatened by human activity, acknowledging the benefits of biodiversity is the first step in ensuring that we look after it. We know biodiversity matters. Now, as a society, we should protect it – and in doing so, protect our own long-term interests.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Rifugio Guide del Cervino – in Italy or Switzerland? Wikimedia
By Douglas Broom
Rifugio Guide del Cervino is a bar and restaurant atop the Plateau Rosa, a glacial ridge in the Italian Alps. Or at least, it was. Climate change is moving it inexorably toward Switzerland as the glacier on which it sits steadily melts.
<p>We're used to news reports about people and wildlife forced to move by the effects of climate change. But in this corner of the Alps, climate change is literally moving the border between Italy and Switzerland.</p><p>When <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c911489e-93b9-11ea-97b5-8f15973668de?shareToken=f55bfe668dfecede699f0de2bc8149d1" target="_blank">the Rifugio was built in 1984</a>, it was on the Italian side of the border. Since then, climate change, accelerated by the 2003 European heatwave which <a href="https://www.unisdr.org/files/1145_ewheatwave.en.pdf" target="_blank">caused Alpine glaciers to lose 10% of their mass</a>, has led to the glacier retreating towards Switzerland.</p><p>It could prove to be a headache for <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/italys-alpine-border-melts-and-leaves-a-pasta-restaurant-in-switzerlandmaybe-11582134089" target="_blank">restaurateur Lucio Trucco</a>. If the eatery were declared to be in Switzerland, he would have to make <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/melting-glaciers-leave-a-pasta-restaurant-on-the-italy-switzerland-border-between-both-countries-4964061.html" target="_blank">some major changes to his kitchens</a>, including installing <a href="https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guidance/advice-for-you/when-travelling/travel-adaptor-for-switzerland/" target="_blank">Swiss power sockets</a>, which his Italian plugs won't fit.</p><p>Faced with such issues, Trucco, an experienced mountain guide, says he knows which side of the border his restaurant is located. He has been quoted in media reports as insisting: "The building hasn't moved, so this is still Italy."</p>
Mobile Border
<p>The Rifugio has 40 guest beds and is a <a href="http://www.cerviniaicons.com/food/2018/06/rifugio-guide-del-cervino/" target="_blank">popular destination for climbers attempting the Breithorn</a> (4,164 meters, or 13,661 feet), neighbor to the Matterhorn on the Swiss border. But that's as close to Switzerland as Trucco wants his restaurant to get.</p><p>For now, COVID-19 restrictions mean the Rifugio is closed. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52701621" target="_blank">Italy is starting to lift its coronavirus lockdown</a>, but with bars among the businesses allowed to open, some people say <a href="https://www.skiresorts.net/skiing-social-distancing/" target="_blank">social distancing in ski resorts</a> may prove hard to implement.</p><p>In 2009, <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16854-climate-changes-europes-borders-and-the-worlds/" target="_blank">Italy and Switzerland agreed their border should be mobile</a>, shifting to accommodate changes caused by glacial melting. Movements are monitored using GPS sensors allowing the <a href="https://glacierhub.org/2020/04/30/as-the-climate-shifts-a-border-moves/" target="_blank">border to be redrawn</a> as the ice moves.</p>Sea Levels
<p>Climate change is affecting other borders around the world. In the southern U.S., <a href="http://mississippiriverdelta.org/our-coastal-crisis/land-loss/" target="_blank">rising sea levels</a> and the canalization of the Mississippi river are the culprits. Since the 1930s, Louisiana has seen more than half a million hectares of its coastal territory disappear under the waves.</p><p>As Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Kolbert put it in<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/01/louisianas-disappearing-coast" target="_blank"> a recent article for the New Yorker</a>: "If Delaware or Rhode Island had lost that much territory, the U.S. would have only forty-nine states. Every hour and a half, Louisiana sheds another football field's worth of land."</p><p>Shrinking glaciers are one of the most visible demonstrations of the effects of global warming. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the amount of ice lost since 1980 is equivalent to <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-glacier-mass-balance" target="_blank">removing a 24-meter (79-foot) slice off the top of each glacier</a>.</p><p><a href="http://climateandlife.columbia.edu/2017/05/08/the-glaciers-are-going-why-this-matters/" target="_blank">More than one-sixth of the world's population</a>, particularly in China, India and other Asian countries, depend on glaciers for drinking and irrigation water, according to scientists at Columbia University.</p><p>Global temperatures are estimated to have risen by at least 1°C (33.8 degrees F) <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/" target="_blank">above pre-industrial levels</a>, and experts warn urgent action is needed to curb emissions. A rise above 1.5°C (34.7 degrees F) will cause <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature23878" target="_blank">glaciers in Asia</a>, for example, to shrink by two-thirds by the end of the century.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Zebra Medical Vision has created a scalable, AI-driven method for tracking the spread of COVID-19. youtu.be
By Sarah Shakour and Natalie Pierce
COVID-19 has infected nearly 5 million people around the world, and continues to spread rapidly. Although lockdowns are now being eased in some countries, the impacts from this the virus will continue to be felt until a viable solution or vaccine is found. And while the world waits for such a solution, young people are adopting a do-it-ourselves attitude and using emerging technologies to strengthen local relief efforts, often in the some of the hardest-hit and most vulnerable places on the planet.
<p>From 3D-printed face shields to an AI-powered app that can triage at-risk patients, here are just a few examples of the technology transformations the World Economic Forum's <a href="http://www.globalshapers.org/" target="_blank">Global Shapers</a> and <a href="https://www.younggloballeaders.org/" target="_blank">Young Global Leaders</a> (YGL) have been developing to respond to the global pandemic:</p>
<p><strong>1.</strong> <a href="https://www.globalshapers.org/hubs/barcelona-hub" target="_blank">Barcelona Hub</a> and YGL Javier Garcia Martinez have produced a scalable artificial ventilator to ease pressure on hospitals amid acute shortages. Their device uses certified parts that are readily available in medical facilities and online stores, and meets all medical regulations in Spain. Three hospitals are already testing the device in their ICUs, giving patients suffering from the most severe symptoms a better chance of survival. The team behind the project, <a href="https://www.theopenventilator.com/update" target="_blank">Open Ventilator</a>, has produced eight prototypes and procured funding to develop 25 additional devices.</p><p><strong>2.</strong> <a href="https://www.globalshapers.org/hubs/madrid-hub" target="_blank">Madrid Hub</a> is <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/B-uEl3sl0C0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">3D printing</a> face shields, respiratory filters and automatic respirators for some of the hardest-hit hospitals in the world. In order to amplify their work, they joined <a href="https://www.weforum.org/projects/coronavirus-makers" target="_blank">Coronavirus Makers</a>, a community of more than 17,000 young scientists, engineers and designers using their skills to help end the shortage of life-saving equipment in Spain.</p><p>Similarly, <a href="https://www.globalshapers.org/hubs/boston-hub" target="_blank">Boston Hub</a> is supporting the <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.09.20096099v1?fbclid=IwAR1tQDOeeGqBLxcB_-Kmkbggw9-v6VL11ySwiAW2UHDbPVeqTbODWUfPeO8" target="_blank">Gaza Hub in printing 3D equipment for frontline medical workers</a> in a city under-equipped to respond to the pandemic, given the weakness of its health infrastructure after decades of conflict. Together, Global Shapers have printed 1,000 face shields, 50 goggles and 20 ventilator pieces to support local responses in Gaza, while providing impoverished families with access to basic necessities and regular meals.</p><p>"In places where health infrastructure is almost non-existent, young people can play a vital role in piloting new technologies that truly have the capacity to save millions of lives in this pandemic. And this is much needed in a context like ours," said Shahd Alfarra of the Global Shapers Gaza Hub.</p>
<p><strong></strong><strong>3. </strong>Young people are also behind innovative intensive care solutions. Emma Greer from the <a href="https://www.globalshapers.org/hubs/madrid-hub" target="_blank">Milan Hub</a> is behind a project called <a href="https://www.weforum.org/covid-action-platform/projects/cura-connected-units-for-respiratory-ailments" target="_blank">CURA</a> (Connected Units for Respiratory Ailments), which repurposing shipping containers as ICU pods. The first container was deployed in Turin in April and there are plans to scale to hospitals across Italy, as well as in Europe and Latin America. The project is being manufactured by young volunteer designers, engineers and medical professionals.</p><p>Following a similar path, YGL Cameron Sinclair and his team at <a href="https://jupe.com/" target="_blank">Jupe Health</a> have launched a new venture to <a href="https://jupe.com/care" target="_blank">deploy medical shelters</a> for use by three different groups: mentally and physically exhausted healthcare workers, as well as ICU patients who are either critically ill or whose symptoms are not life-threatening. The mobile spaces are produced at 1/30th the cost of standard hospital rooms, and can be shipped anywhere using existing logistics infrastructure.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bb54cf829e5e4414ee63831688d7eb3c"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rh34bldQBCg?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p><strong>4. </strong>Working with a team of Venezuelan doctors, YGL Andres Simon Gonzalez-Silen has developed <a href="https://www.venemergencia.com/covid19testdigital" target="_blank">Telesalud COVID-19</a>, a free digital telemedicine solution. The platform provides virtual health services including remote consultations and monitoring between doctors and patients, with the aim of decongesting already fragile health systems weakened by the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Since its inception, Telesalud COVID-19 has supported over 80,000 Venezuelans abroad, completing more than 25,000 tests and referring 1,150 high-risk patients to local hospitals.</p><p><strong>5.</strong> <a href="https://www.zebra-med.com/covid-19" target="_blank">Zebra Medical Vision</a>, led by YGL Eyal Gura, has created a scalable, AI-driven method for <a href="https://zebramedblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/23/managing-the-covid-19-crisis-a-discussion-with-zebra-meds-clinical-leaders/" target="_blank">tracking the spread of COVID-19</a>. This solution, coupled with a machine-learning algorithm, analyzes CT scans to detect the lung capacity of patients in order to better predict their recovery. When equipment is in dire supply, this technology supports patient triage, based on proven disease progression. This month, Gura will deploy his product at Apollo Hospitals, the largest healthcare provider in India, serving more than 40 million patients.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="77f149fd23b964a114838aeebf0b1abd"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/savHgQntSQk?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>"Young people cannot wait for others to take action on COVID-19. This is our new normal and it is the perfect opportunity to take action with purpose today," said Gonzalez-Silen. </p>
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Aerial view of a wind farm near The Øresund Bridge in Sweden on June 26, 2018. Maxym Marusenko / NurPhoto / Getty Images
By Johnny Wood
What does COVID-19 mean for the energy transition? While lockdowns have caused a temporary fall in CO2 emissions, the pandemic risks derailing recent progress in addressing the world's energy challenges.
<p>The current state of the sector is described in the World Economic Forum's <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/fostering-effective-energy-transition-2020" target="_blank">Energy Transition Index 2020</a>. It benchmarks the energy systems of 115 economies, highlighting the leading players in the race to net-zero emissions, as well as those with work to do.<br><br>With pressure to get idle economies back to "normal," the short-term shift to a more sustainable energy sector could be in doubt. But the current crisis also presents an opportunity to rethink how our energy needs are met, and consider the long-term impact on the planet.</p>
Unprecedented Change
<p>The past decade has seen rapid transformations as countries move towards clean energy generation, supply and consumption. Coal-fired power plants have been retired, as reliance on natural gas and emissions-free renewable energy sources increases. Incremental gains have been made from carbon pricing initiatives.</p><p>Since 2015, 94 of 115 countries have improved their combined score on the Energy Translation Index (ETI), which analyzes each country's readiness to adopt clean energy using three criteria: energy access and security; environmental sustainability; and economic development and growth.<br><br>But the degree of change and the timetable for reaching net-zero emissions differ greatly between countries, and taken as a whole, today's advances are insufficient to meet the climate targets set by the Paris Agreement.</p>The 10 Countries Most Prepared for the Energy Transition
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI3OTU4My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMDQ0NjQ4MX0.SumXaqZnlWq6pBIoqAggmvg9LDqI_Vqn984i3YL1yhU/img.png?width=980" id="53351" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0d6767a8b912d7699fb087ecff33ce3f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Sweden is the nation most ready to transition to sustainable energy. WEF Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2020 edition
<p>Sweden tops the overall ETI ranking for the third consecutive year as the country most ready to transition to clean energy, followed by Switzerland and Finland. There has been little change in the top 10 since the last report, which demonstrates the energy stability of these developed nations, although the gap with the lowest-ranked countries is closing.<br><br>Top-ranked countries share a reduced reliance on imported energy, lower energy subsidies and a strong political commitment to transforming their energy sector to meet climate targets.<br><br>The UK and France are the only two G20 economies in the top 10 however, which is otherwise made up of smaller nations.</p>
Powerful Shocks
<p>Outside the top 10, progress has been modest in Germany. Ranked 20th, the country has committed to phasing out coal-fired power plants and moving industrial output to cleaner fuels such as hydrogen, but making energy services affordable remains a struggle.</p><p>China, ranked 78th, has made strong advances in controlling CO2 emissions by switching to electric vehicles and investing heavily in solar and wind energy - it currently has the world's largest solar PV and onshore wind capacity. Alongside China, countries including Argentina, India and Italy have shown consistent strong improvements every year. Gains over time have also been recorded by Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Kenya and Oman, among others.</p><p>But high energy-consuming countries including the US, Canada and Brazil show little, if any, progress towards an energy transition.</p><p>In the US (ranked 32nd), moves to establish a more sustainable energy sector have been hampered by policy decisions. Neighboring Canada grapples with the conflicting demands of a growing economy and the need to decarbonize the energy sector.</p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a reminder of the impact of external shocks on the global economy. As climate change increases the likelihood of weather extremes such as floods, droughts and violent storms, the need for more sustainable energy practices is intensified.</p><p>Policy-makers need to develop a robust framework for energy transition at local, national and international levels, capable of guarding against such shocks.<br><br>"The coronavirus pandemic offers an opportunity to consider unorthodox intervention in the energy markets, and global collaboration to support a recovery that accelerates the energy transition once the acute crisis subsides," says Roberto Bocca, Head of Energy & Materials at the World Economic Forum.</p><p>"This giant reset grants us the option to launch aggressive, forward-thinking and long-term strategies leading to a diversified, secure and reliable energy system that will ultimately support the future growth of the world economy in a sustainable and equitable way."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/energy-transition-index-2020-eti-clean-sustainable-power/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Leon, Spain's main reservoir barely reaches 10% on September 1, 2017 during the country's worst drought in 20 years. Alvaro Fuente / NurPhoto / Getty Images
By Chiara Cecchini
Although it is difficult today to divert attention from the dramatic situation we live in, it is even more important to get closer to our primary needs. Recently, we celebrated World Water Day, and the timing couldn't have been more appropriate to give to all of us the chance to rethink priorities and draw some lessons.
<p>Without water, our lifespan would be 14 days. Our entire existence is closely dependent on one single, exhaustible resource. In a moment where we all feel vulnerable, and surprisingly dependent on more external systems than we imagined, life is reminding us of what makes us human, and where we should probably focus our attention.</p><p>Looking at the numbers, desertification is on the increase everywhere in the world. <a href="https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/BP_DESERTIFICATION/BP_DESERTIFICATION_EN.pdf" target="_blank">In Europe it already affects 8% of the territory</a>; <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/atmospheric/us-desert-50-years1.htm" target="_blank">in Africa, almost 70% of the continent is arid or semi-arid</a> land; and in North America about 40% of the continental land is at risk of desertification. Data shows that this scenario is destined to get even worse, with forecasts saying that <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/new_report_highlights_crucial_role_of_water_in_development/" target="_blank">47% of the world population is going to experience water scarcity by 2030</a>.</p><p>But where do we consume all this water?</p><p>Only <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/where-earths-water?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects" target="_blank">2.5% of the water on Earth is fresh</a> and only <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-1YrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT29&lpg=PT29&dq=0.1%25+of+water+is+accessible+to+humans&source=bl&ots=1Bl2FEa1Ng&sig=ACfU3U1k-ZLPQC8WRk5j2lkO3O3iecyA6g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjO_YuqyOXoAhUSVRUIHYeqCnk4ChDoATADegQIDBAw#v=onepage&q=0.1%25%20of%20water%20is%20accessible%20to%20humans&f=false" target="_blank">0.1% of it is accessible to humans</a>, while every human being needs it to survive. This explains the reason why in 2010 the UN officially recognized access to safe drinking water as a basic and universal human right, as well as including water among the Sustainable Development Goals.</p>
<iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-freshwater-use-over-the-long-run" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe>
<p>Global <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000372985.locale=en" target="_blank">water use has increased by a factor of six over the past 100 years</a>. The majority of it (up to 70%) goes into irrigation of crops that eventually feed us, the animals that we eat, or the clothes we wear. The remaining 30% is consumed by the industry and for domestic use.</p><p>While the majority of the available water goes to produce human food, the water impacts of individual products vary considerably. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_footprint" target="_blank">214 liters of water are needed to produce one kg of tomatoes</a>, 2,500l for a kg of rice, 3,180l for a kg of cheese, and 15,400l for a kg of beef. It is then easy to understand the risks of price increases for food in contexts of water scarcity. As well as the power we have every time we do our grocery shopping. Do we know how much water we eat every single day?</p><p>The <a href="https://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/pdf/human_right_to_water_and_sanitation_media_brief.pdf" target="_blank">World Health Organization defines the concept of water scarcity</a> based on the assumption that each person needs between 50 and 100 liters of water per day to meet their primary needs. We know that in most Western countries this percentage is abundantly exceeded.</p>
<p>The average American uses about 340 liters of water each day, and this is calculated as consumption at home only, without considering food consumed. Add to it your morning coffee (140 liters) a banana (80 litres), some grilled chicken (430 liters) and tomatoes (50 liters) for lunch, some cheese (200 liters), olives (200 liters) and a beer (150 liters) as aperitif, and some rice (250 liters) and broccoli (40 liters) for dinner. Your average daily water consumption has already jumped to 1,900 liters per day.</p><p>Not to mention current data on food waste. Every day in the United States, consumers throw out nearly a pound of food each, wasting both food and water. When we throw food away, we also throw away all the water and energy used to produce it.</p>
What Can We Do About It?
<p>Now that the whole world is experiencing the effects of a major disaster, we have the opportunity to re-evaluate some of our choices. COVID-19 has transformed everyday life so significantly that the effects are already visible from space, showing us that change is possible and results are tangible. COVID-19 is teaching us (among other things) that our eagerness for creation should not result in the destruction of our planet.</p><p>Here are five simple things we can all start doing to have a healthier relationship with water and our environment in the future.</p><p><strong></strong><strong>1. Follow the food pyramid,</strong> which forms the basis of the <a href="https://oldwayspt.org/resources/oldways-mediterranean-diet-pyramid" target="_blank">Mediterranean diet</a>. </p><p>Our weekly food intake should be mainly composed of fruit, vegetables and grains, with minor presence of animal-based proteins. It takes 31 mixed salads to make the water footprint of one burger.</p>
<p><strong>2. Look at how food is produced. </strong></p><p>Regenerative agriculture, permaculture and organic farming aim to improve the quality and productivity of soil so that it retains moisture, minimizing the need for excessive irrigation. <a href="http://www.betterfishfarming.org/" target="_blank">Hydroponic, aquaponic</a>, <a href="http://civileats.com/2015/12/14/can-large-corporate-urban-farms-grow-local-food/" target="_blank">aeroponic and vertical farming</a> make it possible to grow produce very efficiently.</p>
<p><strong>3. Eat unprocessed food. </strong></p><p>While the water footprint of whole foods is made up entirely of the water needed to grow, processed foods require additional water for cleaning, pre-cooking, and making packaging materials.</p>
<p><strong>4. Reconsider where to live and shop. </strong></p><p>As food and other products are traded, their water footprint follows them in the form of virtual water. Which means that every time you consume an imported product, you don't only increase its footprint by the water needed to take care of shipment, but you also take away water from its local population. Supporting your house, neighborhood and city to grow more food can have a hugely positive impact on your water footprint, as well as supporting existing local producers.</p>
<p><strong>5. Think twice before buying new clothes. </strong></p><p>It takes about <a href="https://curiosity.com/topics/it-takes-2700-liters-of-water-to-make-one-t-shirt-curiosity/" target="_blank">2,700 liters of water to make just one t-shirt</a>, enough for one person to drink for 900 days. <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2260064/Over-600-dresses-400-pairs-shoes-1-116-tops-No-Suri-Cruise-mean-YOU-Women-558-pairs-trousers-372-cardigans-lifetime.html" target="_blank">The average woman will own 372 cardigans and 558 pairs of trousers during her adult life</a>. The fast-fashion industry is based on us buying items extremely often, but do we really need all of them?</p><p>In a moment where we feel caged, where we are scared of losing our loved ones, and we feel vulnerable in the middle of a pandemic that seems unstoppable, our ecosystem is presenting us with a challenge. It is everyone's personal responsibility whether to accept it or not. Are we able to preserve our main source of life?</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from </em><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/covid-19-water-what-can-we-learn/" target="_blank"><em>World Economic Forum.</em></a></p>From Your Site Articles
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Children receive free food as part of the government initiative in Caracas, Venezuela on March 23, 2020. Carlos Becerra / Getty Images
By Dongyu Qu
Even as it takes its distressing toll, the current pandemic has generated a flurry of less somber memes. Some of these involve people stuck at home, unable to tear themselves from the pantry, piling on the pounds. But for many in the developing world, the lockdowns mean the exact opposite: they cannot get anywhere near the pantry.
<p>Take the closure of schools. In the global North, this is an inconvenience for parents. E-learning platforms aside, it is also an educational setback for students, especially if it entails <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/31/china-and-korea-delay-college-exams-to-keep-lid-on-coronavirus" target="_blank">postponing exams</a>. Yet dispiriting as this all is, it is not a vital threat.</p><p>By contrast, for many children in the global South – <a href="http://www.fao.org/americas/noticias/ver/en/c/1266855/" target="_blank">85 million in Latin America and the Caribbean alone</a> – school closures mean no more school meals. Which in turn (in some African households in particular) means an end to the only hot meal anyone among family members would get in a day.</p><p>Already before the coronavirus crisis, more than 820 million people went to bed hungry. This is an enormous number to grapple with, not just morally but from a policy perspective. The world has, after all, committed to <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/" target="_blank">ending all forms of hunger and malnutrition</a> by 2030.</p><p>Across the globe, the public policy response to the pandemic has been guided by the imperative to preserve life and health, and rightly so. But an unwanted repercussion could be to deepen hunger even further – possibly very soon.</p><p>Unlike in the crisis of 2007/2008, and despite anecdotal reports of empty supermarket shelves, the risk today is not one of immediate shortages. The global supply of food remains strong. The big question mark hangs over supply chains.</p><p>There is evidence that quarantine regulations and partial port closures are causing slowdowns and logistical hurdles in the <a href="https://www.nepia.com/industry-news/coronavirus-outbreak-impact-on-shipping/" target="_blank">shipping industry</a>. Amid border restrictions, trucking faces similar threats.</p>
<p>The concern is not all about ready consumables: transport constraints can drastically affect the supply of fertilizers, veterinary drugs and other agricultural inputs. The shuttered restaurants and less frequent shopping trips are meanwhile curbing demand and will ultimately depress output. In the West, reduced labor mobility threatens to leave <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/03/26/world/europe/26reuters-health-coronavirus-germany-food.html" target="_blank">some seasonal crops</a> rotting in the fields and deprive producers of their livelihoods. In Africa, during the Ebola crisis, food production plummeted by 12%.</p><p>Much like in the public health sphere, where the virus's impact explodes into view weeks after the initial contagion, the cumulative effects of such market disruption, while not dramatic yet, will likely become apparent as early as this month. Yes, well-nourished citizens in wealthy countries may weather a couple of months without some fresh or imported produce. But in the developing world, a child malnourished at a young age will be <a href="https://www.who.int/nutrition/healthygrowthproj_stunted_videos/en/" target="_blank">stunted for life</a>.</p>
<p>This is why there is no time to waste. Governments, even as they prioritize public health goals, must do everything in their power to keep trade routes open and supply chains alive. Policymakers should without delay convene food industry and farmer representatives to identify bottlenecks and work out ways to smooth them out. They must decide which categories of agricultural laborers should be designated as critical staff and – while in no way undermining due protective measures – allow them to continue moving and working as needed. Systems must be aligned to ensure that global information on food prices, consumption and stocks flows widely and in real-time.</p><p>Blanket closures, tighter commercial controls and inward-looking policies are a default setting in times of crisis. Such measures tend to be short-sighted. Now more than ever, we need international co-operation and supple arrangements to preserve the fluidity of global food markets. Coronavirus is threatening to shut down the world as we know it. We should not make its job any easier.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-worsen-hunger-developing-world?fbclid=IwAR0Z31X3cumlA2nHyBaplhxKgV0BFH2fhte2YZPK8TYNuDkXfAe8NBbzJxg" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A Unicef social mobilizer uses a speaker as she carries out public health awareness to prevent the spread and detect the symptoms of the COVID-19 coronavirus by UNICEF at Mangateen IDP camp in Juba, South Sudan on April 2. ALEX MCBRIDE / AFP / Getty Images
By Eddie Ndopu
- South Africa is ground zero for the coronavirus pandemic in Africa.
- Its townships are typical of high-density neighbourhoods across the continent where self-isolation will be extremely challenging.
- The failure to eradicate extreme poverty is a threat beyond the countries in question.
<p>As soon as the novel coronavirus criss-crossed the planet, defying borders and rooting itself in our daily lives, public health officials started singing from the same song sheet – warning those of us with underlying health conditions to be especially careful. I was in New York to see my neurologist when the Centres for Disease Control first publicly announced that the COVID-19 pandemic would disproportionately impact the elderly and people with serious underlying health issues.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/covid-19-south-africa-developing-countries/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>
<p>As a young disabled man living with spinal muscular atrophy – a degenerative, motor-neuron condition that makes the immune system more susceptible to acute respiratory infections – I took heed of the call for vigilance and cut my trip short. With support from my US-based medical team, I fled New York before the dramatic surge in state-wide cases and returned home to Johannesburg on the eve that President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national disaster. At the time, South Africa had fewer than 100 confirmed cases.</p><p>That was just over two weeks ago.</p><p>As I write this on 31 March, 15 days into self-quarantine since my safe return home, our confirmed cases stand at nearly 1,500. We are now five days into a nationwide lockdown for 21 days in a desperate bid to flatten the curve.</p><p>Flicking through the news channels, I just heard President Ramaphosa address the South African National Defence Force in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief. Clad in full military camouflage, his directive was clear: "You are called upon to defend the people of South Africa against this virus."</p><p>For the first time since the dark days of apartheid, South Africans are bearing witness to the marshaling of the armed forces to restrict freedom of movement as part of a dramatic intervention to enforce social distancing on a mass scale. With winter fast approaching and with the highest number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Africa, South Africa is ground zero on a continent that has been all but forgotten in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
Self-Isolation in the Townships
<p>While I worry about the risk of exposure to myself as a young disabled man, I worry more about the risk of exposure to a continent that is completely ill-equipped to deal with this approaching tsunami. I shudder to think what would happen if South Africa – or the continent at large – became the epicentre of the pandemic.</p><p>For public health officials around the world, density control is proving to be the most effective tool in their arsenal to slow down the rate of transmission. But in townships across South Africa where millions of people live in crammed, makeshift houses perched on top of burst sewage pipes, telling people to stay at home and hunker down seems like a callous and potentially counter-intuitive prescription from a public health standpoint. In these densely populated communities, where there's no access to running water and where a single family must share one mobile toilet with at least 10 other families, how on earth do we expect this segment of society to diligently practice hand-washing with soap and water?</p><p>In addition to the concerns linked to containment and mitigation, I worry about the state's capacity to accord its citizens the economic safety net to weather the storm. South Africa – like the rest of the continent – is deeply indebted. In this context, the state is not in a position to craft the kind of economic rescue packages required to soften the blow from the havoc wrecked by the novel coronavirus.</p>Entrenched Inequalities
<p>To grapple with these challenges, we must accept that in many ways the chickens have come home to roost in terms of persistent global inequalities and the monstrous neglect of the most marginalized segments of society. Because of our continued failure to invest in the eradication of extreme poverty and in the creation of economic and social safety nets for the most vulnerable among us – actions that underpin the SDGs – we have arrived at a historical moment in which entire populations face the very real possibility of being killed because of their own vulnerability.</p><p>The novel coronavirus is certainly a crisis, but alongside this crisis, we face a deeper crisis of solidarity and international cooperation. In the context of doing everything we can to flatten the curve, the case for self-isolation is clear. But when it comes to the broader context of global health and sustainable development, countries operating in isolation from one another threatens progress and prosperity for humanity as a whole.</p><p>It was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr who said that a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Now more than ever, what happens to Iran affects Italy and what happens to Spain affects the United States. What I fear might happen to Africa will most certainly affect the world.</p><p>May this moment serve as a reminder that not only are we in this together, we are in actual fact bound by a shared trajectory. What happens over the next 21 days in South Africa might very well affect the trajectory of humanity moving forward, so we better pay attention.</p>From Your Site Articles
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