Africa

The false belief that body parts of people with albinism bring wealth or luck have driven attacks.

By CIVICUS
Oct 24 2025 (IPS)

CIVICUS speaks about the disappearance of Turkmen activists Abdulla Orusov and Alisher Sahatov with human rights defender Diana Dadasheva from the civil movement DAYANÇ/Turkmenistan and with Gülala Hasanova, wife of Alisher Sahatov.

On 24 July, Turkmen activists Abdulla Orusov and Alisher Sahatov were abducted in Edirne, Turkey, after being labelled a ‘threat to public order.’ Despite applying for international protection, they were unlawfully deported to Turkmenistan. Orusov and Sahatov, prominent voices in the diaspora through their YouTube channel Erkin Garaýyş, are now being detained, starved and denied a fair trial, while authorities are deliberately delaying proceedings to exclude them from an upcoming amnesty. Their cases highlight the growing risks faced abroad by Turkmen activists, who are being targeted beyond their country’s borders. The international community must push to secure their immediate release and end such abuses.

What happened to Abdulla Orusov and Alisher Sahatov?

Abdulla Orusov and Alisher Sahatov are Turkmen civil activists and bloggers who reported on human rights violations, corruption, migrant issues and social hardships faced by people in Turkmenistan. They were among the few who dared to speak when most were forced into silence.

Last April, Turkish police came to their home under the pretext of checking their documents. Acting on Turkmenistan’s request, they detained both men on false terrorism charges, claiming they posed a threat to Turkey’s national security. They were taken to a deportation centre in Sinop and later transferred to Edirne.

The Turkish Supreme Court ruled that returning them to Turkmenistan would put their lives in danger and ordered an end to the deportation process. But on 24 July, immediately after their release, they disappeared. Reliable sources told us they had been secretly flown to Turkmenistan on a cargo plane, under the supervision of Officer Amangeldiyev Amangeldy, who was later awarded a medal for the operation.

To this day, we don’t know where they are or in what condition. Their abduction is a serious crime and a blatant violation of international law.

Are there other examples of such human rights violations?

Over recent years, many Turkmen activists who were brave enough to speak up have disappeared in Turkey and Russia, including Malikberdy Allamyradov, Azat Isakov, Rovshen Klychev, Farhad Meymankuliev and Merdan Mukhammedov. Activist Umida Bekjanova is currently detained in a Turkish deportation centre and we fear she may face the same fate.

Turkmen authorities are carrying out a systematic campaign to eliminate independent civic voices. In today’s Turkmenistan, anyone who refuses to stay silent risks being branded a terrorist or enemy of the state. These labels have become tools of repression, used to justify abductions, fabricate criminal charges and force people to return to Turkmenistan.

What risks do Abdulla, Alisher and other activists face after being forcibly returned?

Their lives are in danger. We receive reports of torture, starvation, humiliation and psychological abuse. They are held in isolation, denied legal defence and a fair trial.

In Turkmenistan, there are no independent courts, lawyers or free media. People disappear into secret prisons for years, cut off from their families and the world. We don’t know where they are or if they are still alive. For their relatives and loved ones, this means endless waiting and despair, a slow, silent form of torture.

How has this affected your families?

Having my husband abducted has destroyed our lives. I am raising four children who ask every day when their father will return. We live in pain and fear, under constant surveillance and threats.

Being a Turkmen activist means facing harsh living conditions. Some, like Diana, live without documents or means of subsistence or social protection, caring for small children under the constant fear of being abducted.

Still, we refuse to stay silent; if we did, others would disappear too. Together with the DAYANÇ/Turkmenistan Human Rights Platform, we have declared a hunger strike until Abdullah and Alisher return home safely. We have also launched a campaign ‘If I Disappear – Don’t Stay Silent’ where we publicly name those who will be responsible if we too disappear. This is how we protect ourselves and our loved ones, because today it’s Abdulla and Alisher but tomorrow it could be any of us.

What do you expect from the international community?

The international community must act urgently to secure the release of Abdulla, Alisher and other disappeared activists. They must also demand Turkmenistan put an end to the criminal practice of labelling people as terrorists for simply speaking the truth.

But statements aren’t enough. We need real action. We call for an independent investigation into illegal deportations and abductions, and for those responsible for abductions, torture and repression, in Turkmenistan and Turkey, to be held accountable for their actions. We also demand the creation of a ‘Green Corridor’ for at-risk activists and families and the issuance of emergency documentation and financial support for migrants left without legal status and vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking and recruitment by criminal networks or extremist groups.

The world has no right to remain silent or look away. The international community must stand with Turkmen activists deprived of their basic rights to identity, movement and freedom of expression. Their silence only empowers the perpetrators and fuels impunity. Every moment of inaction breaks another life. The international community must act now.

GET IN TOUCH
Twitter/Diana Dadasheva
Twitter/Gülala Hasanova

SEE ALSO
Forced loyalty, fear, and censorship: Turkmenistan’s relentless assault on civic freedoms CIVICUS Monitor 26.Jun.2025
Turkmenistan: tyranny mutates into dynasty CIVICUS Lens 18.Mar.2022
Turkmenistan: ‘There is nothing resembling real civil society – and no conditions for it to emerge’ CIVICUS Lens | Interview with Farid Tukhbatullin 10.Mar.2022

 

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Time2Graze will use Sentinel-2 satellite data to track pasture biomass and support farmers and land managers to make informed decisions about grazing management, resource allocation, and sustainable land use.

By Lindsey Sloat
LANCASTER, PA, Oct 24 2025 (IPS)

Thousands of years ago, we looked to the stars for guidance — constellations like Taurus and the Pleiades signalled the changing of the seasons and the best times to plant, harvest and move animals.

Today, we may soon turn skyward once again, but this time to satellites that reveal in near-real-time when and where grasses are most nutritious and digestible. Feeding livestock at these peak moments not only boosts growth but also cuts methane, since animals release the most methane during digestion, a process known as enteric fermentation.

Globally, enteric fermentation from livestock accounts for nearly one third of methane emissions generated from human activities. This matters because methane has 86 times the heat-trapping power of CO2 over a 20-year period; yet it breaks down much faster. This means that methane reduction is one of the fastest ways to slow down the rate of global temperature rise.

Smarter grazing is a major opportunity. Farmers already rotate herds so pastures can recover but often rely on guesswork. When cattle graze younger, more digestible grasses, they produce less methane per unit of milk or meat. Yet in many regions, farms capture only 40 to 60 percent of their pasture’s potential. Unlocking this potential would improve productivity and cut emissions.

Two thirds of all agricultural land worldwide is devoted to livestock grazing, so even small efficiency gains can have a big impact. A 10 percent improvement in feed digestibility, for example, can reduce methane emissions per unit of feed or product by 12 to 20 percent.

Closing this pasture productivity gap by optimizing grazing would not just significantly reduce methane emissions, but also improve livestock keepers’ livelihoods, because increases in livestock productivity translate into more milk and more meat per animal.

The newly launched Time2Graze project, funded by the Global Methane Hub and in partnership with Land & Carbon Lab’s Global Pasture Watch research consortium, will apply Sentinel-2 satellite data and modelling to track pasture biomass.

This near-real-time data, combined with rancher observations and digital decision support tools, will provide important information for farmers and land managers, helping them to make informed decisions about grazing management, resource allocation, and sustainable land use.

This new data will offer free, open, up-to-date information that will be available on Google Earth Engine and other platforms to guide when and where animals should graze to consume the most abundant and digestible forage. To ensure usefulness to livestock farming and pastoralism, Time2Graze partners will conduct on-farm trials at more than 100 sites across eight countries in Latin America and Africa.

Alongside other livestock sector advances — improved feed additives, manure management, and animal health and genetics included — digital and data-enabled livestock management is essential to delivering climate solutions at the necessary speed and scale. Within the food system, these advances sit alongside improvements to rice production, reducing food loss and waste, and shifting high-meat diets toward plants.

Livestock management data innovations arrive at a pivotal moment in the development of international policies around methane emissions. More than 150 countries have signed the Global Methane Pledge, committing to cut methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030. Livestock enteric fermentation is the single largest source they must tackle. Likewise, the UN COP28 climate talks’ Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems and many countries’ climate strategies, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), now emphasize methane mitigation and climate-smart agriculture as cornerstones of their strategies.

Yet, climate finance dedicated to global livestock systems languishes at just 0.01 percent of total spend, equivalent to a US$181 billion funding gap, lagging far behind the ambition demonstrated by these international initiatives.

Innovations in satellite-based grassland and forage monitoring are emerging as powerful tools to cut methane while improving productivity. Governments, climate finance institutions, and development banks should prioritize and expand support for these kinds of solutions to accelerate their impact across the livestock sector.

Redirecting a fraction of agricultural subsidies and climate finance toward such efficiency gains could not only unlock rapid, measurable methane reductions, but also additional co-benefits, such as reducing deforestation and ecosystem conversion, safeguarding future food security, and strengthening rural livelihoods. Realizing this potential will depend not only on data, but also on farmer adoption, political will, and the ability to scale solutions across diverse grazing systems.

For generations, the stars helped farmers decide when to move their animals. Today, satellites can do the same, but with far greater precision. With more investment and adoption, these new guides can help agriculture deliver on its climate promises.

Lindsey Sloat, Research Associate, Land & Carbon Lab and World Resources Institute

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Cameroon opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary is adamant that he's the winner of the presidential election.

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In Hela Province, in the distant interior of the PNG mainland, rural women would need to travel considerable distances by road or air to reach a hospital that provides breast screening mammograms. Credit: Catherine Wilson/IPS

By Catherine Wilson
SYDNEY, Australia , Oct 24 2025 (IPS)

The burden of breast cancer, the most common cancer among women, is global, and the projected increase in cases in the coming decades will affect women in high- and low-income countries in every region.

That includes the Pacific Islands, where it is the top cause of female cancer mortality. Now, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, islanders talk about tackling the disparities they face and reversing the trend.

“Breast cancer is a significant health concern in Madang Province,” Tabitha Waka of the Country Women’s Association in Madang Province on the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea told IPS. “Most of our women residing in urban centers have access to enough information and facts about cancer, but at least half who live in rural areas don’t.”

Current global trends indicate that new breast cancer cases could reach 3.2 million every year by 2050, reports the World Health Organization (WHO). In the Pacific Islands, which comprise 22 island nations and territories and 14 million people, more than 15,500 cases of cancer in general and 9,000 related deaths were recorded in 2022. But experts warn that the true numbers are unknown.

“It is currently not possible to accurately estimate the true burden of breast cancer in the Pacific Islands due to significant challenges in cancer data collection and the incomplete coverage of population-based cancer registries,” Dr. Berlin Kafoa, Director of the Pacific Community’s Public Health Division in Noumea, New Caledonia, told IPS, adding that it was an issue that countries were working to rectify.

Lack of cancer data is one sign of the funding and resource constraints experienced by national health services. And women are being affected, especially in rural communities where they have less access to knowledge about breast cancer and live far from urban-based health clinics and hospitals. These are major factors in global disparities, and while 83 percent of women in high-income countries are likely to survive following a breast cancer diagnosis, the likelihood of survival declines to 50 percent in low-income countries.

Breast cancer occurs when cells in the breast change, multiply and form tumors. Symptoms can include unusual lumps or physical changes in the breasts. If the cancer is detected early, the chances of successful surgery and treatment are high. At a more advanced stage, it can spread to other parts of the body. Risk of breast cancer increases after 40 years and with a family history of the disease, as well as lifestyle factors, such as tobacco and alcohol use and lack of physical exercise. However, this is not prescriptive and about half of all breast cancers are diagnosed in women with no significant risk criteria, apart from their age.

Importantly, being diagnosed with breast cancer today is not fatal and many women can enjoy long and productive lives. The key to this outcome is early detection, but one of the hurdles for women in the Pacific is that specialist services are centralized in main cities. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), women can seek mammograms, the main method of breast screening, in hospitals in the capital, Port Moresby, and the cities of Lae and Kimbe on the northeast coast of the mainland. But most of the 5.6 million women, who make up 47 percent of the population, live in rural areas, whether densely forested mountains or far-flung islands. And it could entail a long and costly journey by road, air or boat for many to reach a hospital with a mammogram machine.

But it is also not uncommon for women to hold back from seeking medical advice or proceeding with treatment because of cultural and community taboos.

“There is evidence to suggest that cultural and community taboos, personal inhibitions and fears surrounding medical examinations are significant factors contributing to the low levels of early breast cancer diagnosis and treatment among women in Pacific Island societies,” Kafoa said.

Modesty and privacy are important to many women in traditional Melanesian societies. In Palau, for example, a study published by Australia’s Griffith University in 2021 revealed that ‘low screening rates were, at least in part, explained as being due to women feeling uncomfortable during examinations due to its personal nature.’

There can also be pressure from families that may encourage or dissuade women from taking treatment. “If the family disagrees with the treatment, women might comply due to cultural norms,” and concerns about mastectomy and how it changes women’s bodies “can cause resistance to surgical procedures,” reports a breast cancer study in Fiji published last year.

Taking action now is imperative to save women’s lives across the region and, globally, achieve Sustainable Development Goal No. 3 of good health and well-being. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) predicts that breast cancer cases could increase globally by 38 percent and mortality by 68 percent by 2050. Experts project that cancer incidence in the Pacific Islands could rise by 84 percent between 2018 and 2040. Kafoa says that the “Pacific Island governments are not yet sufficiently prepared to confront the projected surge in breast cancer by mid-century.”

The PNG government’s national health plan includes strengthening health services to reduce cancer morbidity and mortality, but a population-wide breast screening program is yet to be rolled out. Waka says there is a need for more investment in breast cancer services. “One or two facilities is not enough to cater for the large numbers of women living with breast cancer,” she stressed.

But efforts to transform the quality and outreach of healthcare in the country, through the ‘glocal’ approach of combining global technology and local pathways to action, have begun. “This process is already underway,” Dr. Grant R. Muddle, ML, a global healthcare expert who has worked to assist health system transformation in Australia, the Pacific and other regions, told IPS. He is now working with health services in PNG.

Two years ago, a collaborative project was set up with an Australian health agency that “is providing PNG with proven cancer registry software and technical support, while local officials adapt it to PNG’s context. The result is a win-win: PNG quickly gains a modern data system and trained personnel, rather than building from scratch,” Muddle explained.

Mobile technology could also be used to help expand the recording of cancer cases. “Village health workers or clinic nurses, even in isolated areas, could be trained to input basic patient and tumor details into tablets or smartphones,” he continued.

A major step in improving rural health services occurred this year when a new public hospital opened in the remote Highlands province of Enga. It is expected to have an operational mammography unit by the end of this year. But there is also a need to “take the screening technology to women, rather than expecting women to travel to the technology,” Muddle emphasized. “Globally mobile mammography clinics in vans or portable units have been used to bring breast cancer screening to underserved communities…these could be truck-mounted clinics or portable equipment that can be flown by small plane or ferried by boat to regions with no road access.”

And telemedicine, another proven strategy, can link isolated clinics to specialist doctors at provincial hospitals via video consultations.

As PNG celebrates its 50th anniversary of Independence this year, these initiatives support better outcomes for women’s breast cancer survival and the long journey ahead of meeting the nation’s healthcare goals.

“What needs to be done, we must do. Let us not compromise basic healthcare but at the same time provide specialist care. Together, let us secure a functioning health system for the 10 million people of PNG,” Prime Minister James Marape advocated to the Medical Society of PNG in September.
IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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On 10 October 2025, thousands of Palestinian families are moving along the coastal road back to northern Gaza, amid the extreme devastation of infrastructure. Credit: UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 23 2025 (IPS)

Since the declaration of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on October 10, families in the Gaza Strip have begun returning to previously inaccessible areas, as humanitarian organizations work to scale up aid operations to meet growing needs on the ground even amid security risks, including unexploded ordnance.

Displacement shelters across the enclave continue to bear the brunt of the crisis, with most severely overcrowded and resources stretched to their limits after two years of conflict. Displacement has surged since the implementation of the ceasefire, with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recording roughly 13,800 displacements toward Gaza City and north Gaza, and approximately 4,100 movements toward the eastern region of the enclave.

As the winter season threatens to exacerbate already harsh living conditions, the United Nations (UN) and its partners are working to expand winterization support through the distribution of makeshift tents, warm clothing, hygiene kits, blankets, and other essential bedding materials. A spokesperson for OCHA stated that winterization support is currently limited by the number of humanitarian deliveries that have been authorized by Israeli authorities, with only a select few UN agencies and partner organizations receiving clearance.

“We need thousands of trucks getting in every day, we need all the crossings open, and we need the bureaucratic obstacles lifted,” said Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “Aid must never be a bargaining chip, we shouldn’t have to ask for access, we shouldn’t have to make deals to make aid go through.”

As of October 19, the UN and its partners have collected over 10,638 metric tons of essential humanitarian supplies from the Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings through the UN2720 mechanism. Between October 17 and 19, humanitarian groups have offloaded over 6,455 pallets of aid—two-thirds of which being food and a fifth being water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies.

Concurrently, UN partners working on a food security assessment in the enclave reported that food parcels have been distributed across more than two dozen locations in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, reaching over 15,000 families. The parcels include essential items that Gazans have been deprived of for months—such as rice, lentils, beans, tomato paste, and sunflower oil.

Humanitarian groups have also prepared and distributed more than 944,000 meals through 178 community kitchens, marking an increase of over 286,000 daily meals compared to three weeks ago. The UN and its partners are now working to expand distribution points to improve accessibility and ensure that families can access food closer to their homes.

On October 20, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that it had transported four pallets of essential medical supplies from its southern warehouse to health facilities across the enclave, including medications for diabetes, chronic illnesses, infections, malnutrition, and pain management. Another UN partner agency also delivered reproductive health kits to patients in southern Gaza, assisting more than 8,300 people. Additionally, 1,500 postpartum kits were distributed to Al Awda Nuseirat Hospital to support maternal health services for the next three months.

That same day, Australian philanthropic organization Minderoo Foundation announced its pledge of AUD 10 million to humanitarian efforts in Gaza. Minderoo’s founder, Dr. Andrew Forrest, said that this pledge would have an “urgent focus on care environments for Palestinian children and the huge psycho-social needs caused by the war.”

“This is more than a donation: it’s a vote of confidence in the lifesaving work of the United Nations and our partners, and in humanity’s ability to act when it matters most,” said Fletcher. “Dr. Forrest and the Minderoo Foundation are helping us scale up in response to the ceasefire. We will match their commitment with every ounce of effort to get food, water, medicine, shelter and dignity to families in Gaza.”

Maternal and newborn health has suffered dramatically without essential food and health supplies, with 11,500 pregnant women facing catastrophic starvation conditions. Addressing this in the immediate sense, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has brought in aid through the Kerem Shalom crossing and distributed medical supplies, including incubators and fetal monitoring machines. UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Andrew Saberton told reporters on October 22 that much more assistance was waiting at the borders, such as supplies for safe births and hygiene items, and this would require all border crossings to be opened and for all impediments to be removed to bring aid into the north and south of Gaza.

“Looking ahead to recovery, we need to restore Gaza’s healthcare and protection services for women and girls. This means rebuilding maternity wards for the 130 births that happen every day,” said Saberton.

Despite ongoing humanitarian efforts, the security situation in Gaza remains highly volatile, with experts underscoring continued hostilities and vast amounts of explosives on the ground that pose daily threats to thousands of Palestinians. On October 21, Luke David Irving, Chief of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told reporters that the agency has identified more than 560 explosive remnants of war in areas now accessible to civilians, emphasizing that “the full extent of contamination in Gaza will not be known until a comprehensive survey can take place.”

As of October 21, UNMAS has recorded approximately 328 fatalities as a direct result of contact with explosive ordnance, noting that the true number is projected to be much higher. According to Irving, these risks are projected to exacerbate as recovery and reconstruction efforts begin, with increased movement setting off ordnance hidden in rubble.

It is estimated that 50 to 60 million tons of debris may have been contaminated with explosive ordnance over the past two years. Irving stated that UNMAS has reached over 460,000 people with risk-education services, including communities in displacement shelters and health facilities, and has produced over 400,000 informational materials, including flyers and stickers. Irving also stressed the need for increased funding for clearance efforts, estimating that over 14 million to 15 million USD will be needed to continue operations for the next six months.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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A vendor speaks to a customer at a second-hand clothes market in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS

By Farai Shawn Matiashe
MUTARE, Zimbabwe, Oct 23 2025 (IPS)

Shamiso Marambanyika assists a male customer in selecting a pair of jeans on a Saturday morning in Mutare, a city in the eastern part of Zimbabwe.

The 38-year-old mother of three showed the customer a brand of Marks and Spencer, commonly known as M&S, a British retailer based in London.

“I can give you this for 5 dollars,” Marambanyika screamed to the customer, who later picked out a different pair of jeans. She is a vendor at a popular market for secondhand clothes in Sakubva, a densely populated suburb in Mutare, near the border with Mozambique.

Some of the popular brands of jeans Marambanyika had in her stock include Hennes & Mauritz, known as H&M from Sweden, and Levi’s and Old from the United States. These secondhand clothes are dumped in Western countries like the United Kingdom, shipped to Africa, and smuggled into Zimbabwe through Mutare, the gateway to the Indian Ocean in Mozambique.

The clothes are so cheap that one can get three T-shirts for USD 1. This has had repercussions not only on the local textile industry but also on the environment in Africa.

Pushing Local Clothing Manufacturers and Retailers Out of Business

Some clothing companies left by the British are struggling because of secondhand clothes and Zimbabwe’s ailing economy. Truworths Zimbabwe, a fashion retail chain established in 1957, closed about 34 of the 101 stores it operated in the late 1990s. To cut its operating costs, Truworths also reduced its workforce at its manufacturing division in the capital, Harare.

Bekithemba Ndebele, chief executive officer at Truworths Zimbabwe, confirmed to IPS that the company was sold because it was struggling. After going insolvent, Truworths was sold for USD 1 and officially delisted from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in July 2025.

Last year, Truworths released a statement that the company could not compete with cheap imports. Ndebele declined to give further details. These formal clothing businesses cannot compete with thousands of individuals who sell smuggled secondhand clothes at markets in cities across the country, in the streets and from car boots.

At Marambanyika’s market in Sakubva, there are more than 1000 vending stalls, each vocally advertising their goods to attract potential customers. In Mutare city center, tens of vendors pay USD 6 per day to sell secondhand clothes on weekends. Unlike these vendors who do not pay taxes, retailers like Truworths pay taxes and are forced to use volatile local currency.

Rashweat Mukundu, a social commentator based in Harare, says economic hardship forces many to resort to secondhand clothes. “This is an overall economic challenge. Many people have no choice but to go and buy secondhand clothes because they cannot afford the new clothes sold in the organized retail sector,” he says.

In retail outlets, a pair of jeans costs at least USD 20.

Marambanyika, who hails from Buhera in Manicaland Province, was pushed into the secondhand clothing trade in 2023 after failing to secure a job. She pays USD 115 to a middleman known as a transporter who will buy a bale weighing 45 kilograms from Beira, a city and one of the business ports in Mozambique. “Prices vary with the quality of the jeans. There are about 100 pairs of jeans in a bale. I make a profit of USD 55 from each bale, and it takes two weeks to sell them all,” Marambanyika says, adding that she pays USD 22 monthly to the local authority.

Anesu Mugabe, a clothing designer and manufacturer based in Harare, says these secondhand clothes are often sold at extremely low prices, making it impossible for local manufacturers to compete.

“For instance, you can find a pair of jeans for as little as USD 2. This is unheard of in local retail stores. This has led to a significant decline in sales for us, forcing us to scale down our operations or even shut down altogether,” says Mugabe, who is now targeting corporates as a survival strategy.

Threat to the Environment 

Across Africa, from Kenya to Nigeria, cheap secondhand clothes are polluting the environment, according to a new report, Trashion: The Stealth Export of Waste Plastic Clothes to Kenya, published in February 2023.

Other recycling companies argue that the trade reduces waste in the Global South, but some environmental experts believe the trade is doing the opposite. Research shows that in Kenya, secondhand clothes are dumped in rivers and landfills. “What we are seeing is not recycling but dumping second-hand clothing from the West,” says Nyasha Mpahlo, executive director at Green Governance. “Unfortunately, there is no mechanism to dispose of the waste from secondhand clothes. Secondhand clothing is found in landfills. The industry is also causing carbon emissions.”

Amkela Sidange, an environmental education and publicity manager at the state’s Environmental Management Agency, says the textile waste is very minimal in Zimbabwe, contributing an estimated 7% to the total waste generated on an annual basis.

“An analysis of the source of the textile waste indicates it is coming from various sources, mostly coming from the textile industry and nothing on record is linked to secondhand clothes,” she tells IPS, citing a Solid Waste survey conducted in 2023.

Attempts to Ban Secondhand Clothes

Other countries, like Rwanda, successfully banned secondhand clothes in 2016 to protect the local textile industry. Zimbabwe did the same in 2015 but introduced import taxes in 2017 after pressure from the locals. But these measures and arrests by police did not tame the smuggling of secondhand clothes.

Local textile industry players are calling for the government to ban the importation of secondhand clothes and to reduce taxes on local suppliers to protect the local textile industry. In August, Local Government Minister Daniel Garwe instructed local authorities to enforce the ban on the sale of secondhand clothes. But traders have defied the minister’s efforts.

Marambanyika says if she is forced to pay import duty and other taxes, she will go out of business. “I feed my one son and two daughters and pay school fees for them using proceeds from this business. I cannot afford to pay those punitive taxes,” she says. “I will close and relocate to the village.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Drone photo of nickel mine in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Courtesy Gecko Project

By Stephanie Dowlen
MALMO, Sweden, Oct 23 2025 (IPS)

Even amidst the regressive resistance of the current U.S. administration, the world is shifting toward a green energy future. As governments pledge to phase out fossil fuels, companies tout electric vehicles, and financiers pour billions into solar, wind and batteries, it seems the necessary transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is finally picking up pace.

But beneath the celebratory headlines lies a darker, inconvenient truth: the race to extract “transition minerals” widely used in current clean energy technology — is unleashing a new wave of destruction.

And unless we change course, this mining boom will push us closer to collapse as it entrenches poverty, inequality, exploitation, violence and destruction. Expecting the same “extraction at all costs” model that created the planetary crisis we face today to solve it is a fallacy.

In a new report from the Forests & Finance Coalition, analysts found that banks and investors are rewarding bad behaviour by financing some of the worst polluters and human rights offenders in operation.

Over half of the $493 billion in loans and underwriting provided between 2016 and 2024, and over 80% of the $289 billion held in bonds and shares went to just ten transition mineral mining companies. Among the winners are Glencore, Vale and Rio Tinto.

Proponents argue transition minerals are indispensable for renewable energy. But focusing on raw extraction rather than reducing demand, recycling or reuse, has fueled a rapid expansion of new mines. Too often, the narrative of “green” or “clean” energy obscures the real costs and justifies an extractive model mirroring the worst parts of the fossil fuel era.

The harms linked to mining are extreme. In Brazil, Vale has caused two catastrophic dam collapses killing hundreds and destroying the environment as toxic waste spilled. Undeterred, banks increased their financing since Vale’s second dam collapsed in 2019.

In Indonesia, Harita Group’s nickel complex is powered by coal, increasing emissions and damaging public health. Local communities on Obi Island have been poisoned as carcinogenic waste has leached into the island’s drinking water.

Recent investigations show that Harita’s executives knew about this contamination and covered it up for over a decade while financiers backed its expansion and successful Initial Public Offering in 2023.

These are not isolated scandals but symptoms of a system where corporations are unaccountable, and where financiers choose profit over life again and again. Consider this: nearly 70 percent of transition mineral mines overlap with Indigenous or community lands and over 70 percent are located in high-biodiversity regions already facing climate stress.

Meanwhile, wealthy countries are demanding more minerals to produce EVs for affluent markets, while 600 million people in Africa and 150 million in Asia still lack basic access to electricity.

This is not the blueprint for a just energy transition. It’s a new extractive frontier – powering Teslas for the rich while leaving behind exploited workers, poisoned rivers, and displaced communities. Urgent reforms are needed to ensure the energy transition addresses the climate crisis instead of greenlighting destructive practices.

There needs to be a transformation of how minerals are sourced, financed, and governed. Banks and investors must respect human rights by requiring Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for Indigenous Peoples, protecting defenders, and ensuring remedy for harmed communities.

They must protect nature through enforceable zero-deforestation safeguards, strict toxic waste controls, and bans on high-risk practices like deep-sea mining. They must strengthen accountability by disclosing financing, enforcing ESG policies across corporate groups, and ensuring grievance mechanisms are fit for purpose.

And they must align finance with climate goals by ending reliance on coal-powered smelters, phasing out harmful practices, and demanding credible transition plans from mining companies.

Governments must also step up with strong regulations to equitably reduce mineral demand, prevent overconsumption in wealthy countries, and prioritize renewable access for the billions still excluded. International frameworks — like the UN’s emerging principles on critical minerals — must be strengthened and enforced.

We can still choose a just energy transition – one built on equitable access to clean power and respect for people and ecosystems. A just transition requires just finance: capital that flows toward equity, accountability, and sustainability, not deeper extraction and harm.

Such a transition would not just cut emissions but also break from the exploitative model that created today’s crisis.

If banks and investors refuse to change course, they will be remembered as champions of the next great wave of environmental destruction and human rights abuses. The choice is stark: a clean energy revolution that delivers justice, or one that repeats the mistakes that brought us to the brink? The time to decide is now.

Stephanie Dowlen is Forest Campaigner with Rainforest Action Network which is part of the Forests & Finance Coalition

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Brazil has become a major producer of ethanol, a biofuel that competes with gasoline. Monocultures of sugar cane form a monotonous landscape in the southern state of São Paulo and in the country's central-west region, but they help decarbonize transport in the country. Credit: Mario Osava / IPS

By Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 22 2025 (IPS)

Quadrupling the production and use of sustainable fuels by 2035 is the goal of a new international initiative to drive energy transition and mitigate the climate crisis, which will be launched during Brazil’s climate summit in November.

The Belem Commitment on Sustainable Fuels, led by Brazil with the support of India, Italy, and Japan, awaits the support of other countries after its official launch during the so-called Climate Summit on November 6 and 7 in Belem, northern Brazil.

The meeting of heads of state and government will this time precede the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) on climate change, which will be hosted by Belem from November 10 to 21. The unusual separation between the COP and the summit aims to mitigate the accommodation problems of the Amazonian city.

The commitment, nicknamed “Belem 4x,” is based on a report by the International Energy Agency that points to the possibility of quadrupling the volume, adding new alternatives such as green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), and shipping and synthetic fuels to ethanol and biodiesel.

At COP28, held in 2023 in Dubai, it was agreed to initiate “a transition away from fossil fuels” as an indispensable measure to contain global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In Belem, the goal is to implement that consensual decision.

“Brazil was careful not to limit the initiative to biofuels in order to include various sustainable fuels, an important distinction because there are countries, especially in Europe, that oppose biofuels,” warned Claudio Angelo, international policy coordinator for Climate Observatory, a Brazilian coalition of 133 social organizations.

Objections to biofuels include potential environmental damage, land conflicts, and competition with food production, he said by phone to IPS from Brasilia.

Extensive cattle ranching has degraded 100 million hectares in Brazil. One third of this area can be recovered for the cultivation of sugar cane, corn, and oilseeds to double biofuel production, according to a study by the Institute for Energy and Environment. Credit: Mario Osava / IPS

Biofuels market

It is an old Brazilian dream to create a large international biofuels market, due to its large ethanol production and its potential to expand it.

Brazil tried, unsuccessfully, to promote this market in the 1990s and early 21st century, based on the existence of many sugar cane producing countries, the crop with the highest productivity for this biofuel.

Cuba, once the world’s largest sugar exporter, rejected the proposal with the argument of prioritizing food, despite the decline of its sugar industry and its lack of energy, due to its dependence on imported oil, which became scarce after the fall of the Soviet Union, its major supplier, in 1991.

Brazil became the largest sugar exporter in the mid-1990s, two decades after launching its National Alcohol Program to replace part of its gasoline with ethanol.

It sought to mitigate the economic crisis caused by the rising oil prices, which tripled in 1973 and doubled again in 1979. At that time, the country imported about 80% of the crude oil it consumed; today it exports oil and ethanol.

Many countries use ethanol, blended into gasoline, as a way to reduce pollution. In Brazil, the blend already reaches 30%, and pure ethanol is also used as automotive fuel.

But most passenger cars in the country today are “flex,” consuming gasoline or ethanol and blends in any proportion.

In 2023, the Global Biofuels Alliance was born in New Delhi during the annual summit of the Group of 20 (G20) most relevant industrial and emerging economies, in a new attempt to promote its production.

The City Park, under construction in January, in the Amazonian city of Belem, which will host the debates and negotiations among government delegations and the United Nations at COP30, from November 10 to 21. Credit: Rafa Neddermeyer / COP30

Ambitious goal

Now, at COP30, the aim is to expand the attempt to replace fossil fuels with an ambitious goal: to quadruple the current production of alternative fuels within 10 years.

This follows the path charted at COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, where it was agreed to initiate “a transition away from fossil fuels” as an indispensable measure to contain global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In Belem, the goal is to implement that consensual decision.

Currently, this production, basically of biofuels, reaches 175 billion liters, about two-thirds ethanol and one-third biodiesel. The United States surpasses Brazil as the largest producer.

Brazil produced 36.8 billion liters of ethanol and 9.07 billion liters of biodiesel in 2024. In recent years, production of corn-based ethanol has grown, utilizing the surplus of this grain in the country’s central-west region. Its share is already close to 20% of the total.

A study by the Institute for Energy and Environment (Iema), released on October 9, states that Brazil will be able to double this production by 2050 without deforesting new areas. The utilization of degraded pastureland would be sufficient to achieve the goal.

The country has about 100 million hectares of such pastureland, almost entirely abandoned. This is equivalent to twice the territory of Spain and is set to increase, as Brazil has 238 million cattle, far exceeding its 213 million human inhabitants.

From this total, the cultivation aimed at doubling biofuels could occupy 25 to 30 million hectares. Plenty of land would remain for the expansion of food agriculture, emphasized Felipe Barcellos e Silva, a researcher at Iema and author of the study.

According to his calculations, a portion of the pastureland would be allocated to reforestation for biome restoration and environmental protection areas, another part to the recovery of the pasturelands themselves for more productive cattle ranching.

Between 55 and 60 million hectares would remain for energy and food agriculture, with about half for each.

The area for biofuels would vary depending on the choice for more biodiesel, which requires the cultivation of oilseeds, or more ethanol, in which case expanding the area of sugar cane or corn.

The alternatives comprise six scenarios that combine priorities for different raw materials and the option to produce other fuels, such as SAF and green diesel, which is different from biodiesel.

Soy is another monoculture that occupies vast expanses of land in central-western and southern Brazil. Its oil fuels the biodiesel industry by offering surpluses at a low price, since soybean bran is the most in-demand byproduct for livestock feed. Credit: Mario Osava / IPS

Persistent alternatives

“Biodiesel has a problem because it is a degradable organic compound,” unstable, while green diesel is a product of the same vegetable oil but subjected to hydrotreatment and has “physicochemical properties similar to mineral diesel,” explained Roberto Kishinami, a physicist and strategic specialist at the non-governmental Institute for Climate and Society.

Green diesel, he assured, fully replaces fossil diesel without damaging vehicles and has the advantage of emitting fewer urban pollutants than biodiesel, such as fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide.

“The dozens of biodiesel plants (installed in Brazil) will disappear at some point. They were a temporary solution, favored by the soybean oil surplus, when soybean bran had growing demand,” as livestock feed, Kishinami told IPS by phone from São Paulo.

In his assessment, the energy transition and the decarbonization of transport and industry need sustainable fuels, since electrification is not economically viable for all activities. A combination of the two solutions will have to prevail.

The creation of an international market for these fuels, especially biofuels, depends on standardizing norms and patterns worldwide, a difficult task especially given the rigid European demands.

Furthermore, it faces geopolitical issues, such as “the US-China trade war that will dominate the coming decades,” concluded Kishinami.

Biofuel production in Brazil is growing not only through the expansion of crops but also through technological advances and the utilization of waste.

Second-generation ethanol is already being produced from cane straw, and biomethane, which is equivalent to natural gas, is produced through the biodigestion of vinasse generated in ethanol production, noted Silva.

There is also the beginning of cultivation of the macauba palm (Acrocomia aculeata), which has different names in Latin America and has high oil productivity.

Electrification will take time. It is relatively fast for light vehicles but slow for heavy vehicles, whose useful life reaches about 20 years. This is where decarbonization is achieved through biofuels, argued Silva.

“The transition in transport will continue until at least 2050,” after which biofuels will be able to meet other demands, including power generation, he concluded in a telephone interview with IPS from São Paulo.

The commitment to quadruple sustainable fuels is positive, but it cannot in “any way” dominate the energy debate at COP30, warned Angelo.

“The success of COP30 depends on promoting the implementation of a just, orderly, and equitable transition to eliminate fossil fuels, which are the main cause of global warming,” he concluded.

By External Source
Oct 22 2025 (IPS-Partners)

 
We are in a climate emergency.

The Earth is already over 1.3 °C warmer than pre-industrial times.

2024 was the hottest year ever recorded.

More than 150 climate disasters struck the world last year.

Extreme weather displaced over 800,000 people.

Wildfires and floods now define the new normal.

We are failing the 1.5 °C goal unless we act now.

COP30 is coming to Belém, Brazil, in November 2025.

But talk is not enough.

We must shift systems, not just carbon.

From blind targets to equitable transitions.
From fossil lock-in to regenerative energy.
From climate policy at arm’s length to climate justice at the core.

Every fraction of a degree matters; now more than ever.

Women, Indigenous Peoples, and low-income communities pay the highest price.

We need mass decarbonization, climate finance, and rights-based adaptation.

We need unity across sectors, borders, and generations.

The choices we make today will decide the severity of tomorrow.

October 24 | International Day for Climate Action.

Act now. For Justice. For Survival.

 

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Achraf Hakimi and Mohamed Salah lead the contenders on the 10-man shortlist for the 2025 African footballer of the year award.

Mike Tyson was a hit with boxing fans in Kinshasa after embracing his African roots as part of ongoing celebrations for the iconic Rumble in the Jungle.

Members of the elephant response team (ERT) in the Inani forest range under the Ukhiya upazila of Cox’s Bazar. Credit: Rafiqul Islam/IPS

By Rafiqul Islam
COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Oct 22 2025 (IPS)

When wild elephant herds come down from the hills in search of food, Sona Miahm, with community volunteers, steps forward to help prevent human-elephant conflicts.

Miah is leading a 14-member elephant response team (ERT) in the Inani forest range under the Ukhiya upazila of Cox’s Bazar, one of the last natural elephant habitats in Bangladesh.

“For lack of food in reserve forests, wild elephants often rush to localities and damage crop fields. And, once we get informed, we go to the spot and try to return the elephant herd to the forest,” he said.

According to the Forest Department, there are now about 64 wild elephants in the reserve forests in Ukhiya and Teknaf in Bangladesh’s southeastern coastal district, Cox’s Bazar.

Community volunteers often risk their lives in returning the wild elephants to the forests, but they do so to protect the country’s last wild mammoths.

He explained how they mitigate human-elephant conflicts in their locality in the Inani area.

“The elephant response teams use hand-mikes and torches to encourage the elephants to return to the forest,” he said.

Members of the elephant response team (ERT) examine an elephant believed to be electrocuted.

With a small grant from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Arannayk Foundation, a Dhaka-based conservation organization, formed four elephant response teams (ERTs) in Inani and Ukhiya forest ranges in Cox’s Bazar, comprising 40 men.

Working alongside the Bangladesh Forest Department, these ERTs aim to minimize human-elephant conflicts and support wildlife rescues. The ERTs have helped prevent 127 potential human-elephant conflicts in the past two years.

Dr. Mohammed Muzammel Hoque, national coordinator of UNDP’s GEF Small Grants Program, said the UNDP provided a small grant of USD 39,182 in September 2023 to the Arannayk Foundation to implement its two-year Ecosystem Awareness and Restoration Through Harmony (EARTH) project.

Programme coordinator Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal said the project was implemented to restore forest ecosystems and involve local communities in wildlife conservation.

Human-Elephant Conflicts Rise

Due to the destruction of their natural habitats caused by deforestation, hill-cutting, and unplanned industrial expansion, the wild elephants come into localities in search of food, resulting in the rise of human-elephant conflicts.

Conflicts have resulted in the deaths of both community members and elephants.

Elephants are often being killed by electrocution in the Bangladesh southeast region since farmers install electric fences around their crop fields to protect crops from damage.

The most recent incident of an elephant being killed occurred in the Dochhari beat within the Ukhiya forest range in Cox’s Bazar on September 17, 2025. Mozammel Hossain, a resident of Ukhiya, said farmers had used electrified traps around their croplands and this electrocuted the elephant

He said food shortages push elephant herds to enter crop fields, while some farmers resort to illegal and lethal methods against the mammoths.

The Ukhiya and Teknaf regions have reported at least four elephant deaths in the past year.

Abdul Karim, an ERT member in the Boro Inani area of Cox’s Bazar, said elephants often attack human settlements and damage crops and orchards, increasing their conflicts with humans.

“We try to mitigate human-elephant conflicts and save both humans and mammoths. But, since 2021, four people have been killed in elephant attacks near the Inani forest range,” he said.

According to the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division of the Bangladesh Forest Department, from 2016 to January 2025, 102 elephant deaths were recorded alone in Chattogram.

Retaliatory killings, electrocution, poaching, and train collisions have caused many of these deaths.

Saiful Islam, a resident of the Inani area, said wild elephants have been trapped within their habitat too after the influx of Rohingyas there in 2017.

Introduce Elephant Non-Preferred Crops

Crops typically eschewed by elephants, including citrus, pepper, bitter gourd, chili, cane, and okra, should be introduced around the elephant habitats.

“We are encouraging farmers to start such crops to avoid conflicts with elephants. We are also making them aware of elephant conservation,” Saiful Islam, also a community volunteer at Choto Inani, told IPS.

Firoz Al Amin, range officer of the Inani forest range in Ukhiya, said the Forest Department arranged 12 awareness programmes on elephant conservation in the Inani range.

Arannayk Foundation identified elephant non-preferred plots adjacent to high human-elephant conflict zones within the buffer area. With community involvement, five demonstration plots were created on portions of land belonging to five beneficiaries to mitigate elephant crop raiding.

It established four chili-coated rope bio-fences: two at Mohammad Shofir Bill and one each at Boro Inani and Imamerdeil to reduce crop damage caused by elephants. These bio-fencing interventions have benefited 85 vulnerable households in these locations. The fences consist of coconut ropes coated with a deterrent blend of chili powder, tobacco, and grease, suspended at human height between trees to prevent elephant access to agricultural and residential areas.

Urgent Measures Needed to Save Elephants

A 2016 survey by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said that there were only 457 elephants left in Bangladesh, of which 268 were wild, 93 were migratory, and 96 were captive.

However, about 124 wild elephants died across Bangladesh’s main elephant habitats—Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Mymensingh—over the last decade.

Experts suggest a comprehensive strategy for restoring elephant habitats to prevent their extinction, which requires long-term planning, reducing encroachment on forest areas, and removing unlawful occupants.

Dr. Monirul H. Khan, a zoology professor at Jahangirnagar University, said forests and elephant habitats must be protected at any cost to save the mammoths, as their number is dwindling day by day in Bangladesh.

Many new settlements and crop cultivations have taken place inside the country’s elephant habitats, he said, accelerating human-elephant conflicts.

Growing crops that elephants typically do not prefer, improving bio-fencing with trip alarms, and creating salt lick areas can all help reduce human-elephant conflicts.

The experts say implementing beehive fencing not only safeguards crops but also generates job and income opportunities for the local community. Therefore, it is possible to achieve elephant conservation while simultaneously minimizing human-elephant conflicts.

Monirul said the Bangladesh government has taken on an elephant conservation project with its own funding for the first time. “I hope the project will help conserve the mammoths in Bangladesh,” he added.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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