The Saudi Regime’s Other Victims

The murder of Jamal Khashoggi has focused attention on Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses. We need to remember all of the thousands in prison.

Costa Rica: First Country to Protect Sustainable Fisheries of Large Pelagics Species

Credit: UNDP

By Kifah Sasa
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Dec 13 2018 (IPS)

Twelve years ago, in a restaurant in Puntarenas on the pacific coast of Costa Rica, a group of long line fishermen met with three UNDP conservation specialists.

The conservationists wanted to understand how best to avoid illegal fishing inside Cocos Island Marine Protected Area, located off the shore of Costa Rica and now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

As part of their stakeholder engagement strategy, they decided to meet longline fishermen for dinner. It didn’t turn out quite as they had hoped – not many hands were shaken after dessert.

There was one table but two very different perspectives. The UNDP personnel were working on a project which saw illegal fishing on Cocos Island as a conservation issue.

On the other hand, the group of local entrepreneurs from Puntarenas were challenged by depleted resources and closed markets. Though some of them were indeed responsible for illegal fishing, none were big businessmen with major ambitions, but rather owners of a couple of long line vessels trying to make a living — with little access to credit and paying the highest social security costs in the region for every member of their expeditions.

The prospect of UNDP supporting the government to further restrictions on their livelihoods, was not taken lightly. A lot of mistrust turned the food, and the mood, sour.

According to data estimated by the Costa Rican Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture (INCOPESCA), the country’s fishing sector is made up of around 400 boats with each boat carrying between five and eight people, forming a working population of around 2,000 to 3,200 directly linked to the sector.

Together with the families that depend on this activity, the affected population reaches between 10 to 16 million people and this is without including those indirectly linked through the thousands of other indirect jobs which ensure fishing activity such as transportation, fishing supplies, food, mechanics, and others.

Credit: UNDP

Fast forward to the present day and twelve years later, the perspectives of both the conservationists and the fishermen have changed. Last November, not far from that restaurant in Puntarenas, Costa Rica was the first country in the world to launch a National Action Plan for sustainable fisheries of large pelagic species, using UNDP’s methodology.

Through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), the Costa Rican Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture (INCOPESCA) and the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the country officially presented a plan with three main areas of work: improving the fisheries of large pelagic species in Costa Rica such as tuna, swordfish and mahi mahi; increasing the supply of seafood from sustainable sources and ensuring the social welfare of the people linked to the fishing activity.

During the presentation of the plan, one of those same sector leaders from the restaurant took the opportunity to approach the same UNDP staff member he met all those years ago and said to him, “I wanted to thank UNDP for the trust it has given us and for helping us build a formal plan with institutions”.

A clear victory for UNDP’s firm confidence and strong commitment to multi-stakeholder dialogue as the key element to achieve systemic change for sustainable commodity production.

The National Action Plan for Large Pelagic Fisheries will run for ten years and will directly contribute to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Costa Rica.

Credit: UNDP

A model case study of successful convening and collaboration between different stakeholders, it is the result of a process of dialogue lasting twelve months and involving more than one hundred representatives of government, academia, civil society, international cooperation, fishermen, exporters, restaurants and supermarkets.

A group of people who were not likely to be happy in same room a few years ago but are now committed to working together towards a more sustainable, inclusive and promising future for Costa Rican fisheries.

Through 2019, we celebrate ten years of UNDP supporting multi-stakeholder approaches to the sustainability challenges of highly-traded commodities around the world.

Through the Green Commodities Programme, UNDP’s approach has been to build trust among stakeholders by facilitating neutral spaces where they can collaborate on a shared vision and agenda for action, coming to a collective agreement on the root of the sustainability problems of key commodities and on how they will work together to resolve them.

Through its multi-stakeholder National Commodity Platforms, the programme is currently working on palm oil, cocoa, coffee, beef, soy, pineapple and fisheries in Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Liberia, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

The post Costa Rica: First Country to Protect Sustainable Fisheries of Large Pelagics Species appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Kifah Sasa is Sustainable Development Officer at UNDP Costa Rica

The post Costa Rica: First Country to Protect Sustainable Fisheries of Large Pelagics Species appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Spanish party financing: Podemos chief grilled in Senate over Venezuela financing links | In English | EL PAÍS

“If the question is whether any foreign government, or any outside organization [funded the party], or if Podemos had any kind of illegal financing, the answer is no,” Iglesias continued. “And I have the proof here.” The head of the party brought with him reports from Spain’s Audit Court – responsible for monitoring party financing – and the audits that had been carried out on Podemos. He produced as many as 10 lawsuits that had been dismissed by the courts relating to accusations brought by the PP.

Source: Spanish party financing: Podemos chief grilled in Senate over Venezuela financing links | In English | EL PAÍS

Vegan diets are adding to malnutrition in wealthy countries

Medical Xpress disclaimer says it all: “The medical information on this website is provided without any representations or warranties, express or implied. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the medical information on this website. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing paragraph, we do not warrant or represent that the medical information on this website:
(a) will be constantly available, or available at all; or
(b) is complete, true, accurate, up to date or non-misleading.”

vegandietsar.jpg

Hidden hunger affects over two billion people, globally. The cause is a chronic lack of essential micronutrients in the diet, such as vitamins and minerals. The effects of these nutritional deficiencies may not be seen immediately, but the consequences can be severe. They include lower resistance to disease, mental impairment and even death.

President Trump, hostage taker? – Los Angeles Times

Trump’s statement that he may intervene in the case against Meng could be one of his most dangerous “break the norms” moments since he won the White House. By putting her arrest in play as a bargaining chip in trade talks, Trump has told the world that hostage-taking is now a part of his approach to international negotiations too.  It also is a further erosion of the independence of the Justice Department. Trump has already demanded that it investigate his political foes, including Hillary Clinton, though so far the department has refused to follow his lead. It’s unclear how much it could resist him in the Meng case, but to swap her prosecution for a trade deal tells the world that U.S. arrest warrants can be made to go away if Trump gets a trade concession. While Trump may have the legal authority to intervene in a specific case, that he is willing to do so not for reasons of justice, but for political gain, is an appalling blurring of policy goals and our concept of an independent and professional Justice Department.

Source: President Trump, hostage taker? – Los Angeles Times

Cybill Shepherd says Les Moonves thwarted her hit ’90s sitcom after she rejected his advances

Actress Cybill Shepherd said that her 1990s hit TV comedy “Cybill” was thwarted after she rejected inappropriate advances by CBS Chairman Les Moonves back then.

She’s now one of the highest-profile stars to denounce the disgraced mogul, who has been accused by multiple women of decades of sexual…

Senate votes to end US military support for Saudis in Yemen

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  • Resolution to curb military aid passes by 56 votes to 41
  • Measure reflects lack of confidence in Trump over Yemen

The Senate has passed a resolution calling for an end to US military support to the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemen war, and asserting Congress’s right to decide on matters of war and peace.

The measure, which passed by 56 votes to 41, marked the first time the Senate had invoked the 1973 War Powers Resolution to seek to curb the power of the president to take the US into an armed conflict. It marked a significant bipartisan rebuke to the Trump administration, which lobbied intensively against it.

Continue reading…

Legal Marijuana Or Not, Green Card Holders Caught With Pot Can Still Get Deported

Legal Marijuana Or Not, Green Card Holders Caught With Pot Can Still Get Deported

While state legislators throughout the country move to legalize marijuana and expunge marijuana convictions, the case of one New Jersey father now on a path to deportation points to a wrinkle in any state law involving legal weed: Old marijuana convictions will continue to get immigrants deported. [ more › ]

The untold story of how India’s sex workers prevented an Aids epidemic | Global development | The Guardian

At the height of Avahan’s activities, Alexander and his teams were providing HIV prevention services to more than 270,000 sex workers, working in 672 towns, and distributing over 13m condoms a month. The programme, which cost $375m (£297m), is credited with an important role in the subsequent decline in India’s HIV status. Today, 2.1 million Indians are living with HIV. The prevalence of HIV is 0.22%, lower than that of the US. The reason India’s sex workers never been praised for their contribution to this achievement, says Alexander, is that this was a success story no one wanted to author: “Their selfless contribution will never be recognised because of the stigma that still surrounds this disease.”

Source: The untold story of how India’s sex workers prevented an Aids epidemic | Global development | The Guardian

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