EarthAction

2018 EarthAction Report & Request

December 2018

 

Dear Friend of EarthAction,

Our current President and his allies, with their domestic and foreign policies, judicial appointments, rhetoric, insults, and name-calling have set our country and the world on a very dangerous course.

EarthAction has a key role to play in limiting the damage and getting the world back on track to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. That's why we need your support now, more than ever.

With your contributions over these last 26 years, EarthAction has made real progress in finding solutions to many of the world’s most pressing issues. Our work has helped to educate children around the world, provide health care to women, protect the lives of indigenous peoples and immigrants, stabilize our climate, and reduce the risk of chemical, biological and nuclear wars.

As one of our generous friends, you have—and will continue to play—a critical role in changing our national and global political landscape forever. I urge you to make a donation that will enable us to continue and expand our work in 2019.

There is so much more we can do, with your help. This is the time of year when many of us make our most meaningful donations to help change the world. I hope you’ll include EarthAction on your list of causes to support. Click here to contribute on our website, or send a check to EarthAction, PO Box 63, Amherst, MA 01004. Please make the most generous gift you can.

EarthAction remains unique in its ability to build global political will and create positive solutions on such a wide diversity of issues. Whenever there are opportunities to make change towards a world with more peace, justice, and environmental protection, we are at work making sure people understand the issues, appreciate what’s at stake, and know how to add their voice for change.

Your support is what makes it possible.

With gratitude for your generosity,

Lois Barber
Co-Founder & Executive Director

 

P.S.  Can't help spilling the beans a little … as you'll read in our EarthAction 2018 Campaign Report, Best Climate Solutions has given its 2018 International Award to our Climate Scorecard Spotlight Project for our “effectiveness in Communicating Climate Change Threats and Opportunities.” I'm very proud and very grateful for your help to make this possible. This is one more example of what we're doing together for democracy, peace, and the environment. Your donation today will help us continue that critical work in 2019. Click here to donate. Many thanks.

Strengthen local forest rights for best climate solutions

A group of tribal voluntary forest guards in Thengapalli forest in Odisha (Photo by Ranjan K Panda)

India needs to proactively include indigenous communities and forest dwellers in its efforts to restore and expand forest cover to sequester carbon, and not exclude them from forestry management

In India, a new wave of admiration about our traditional knowledge has emerged in public discourse, but it is not reflected in the ways the State wants to manage our forests. Politicians, bureaucrats and intellectuals are holding forth on importance of indigenous knowledge and practices. For instance, the Indian government has been championing the cause of Yoga in the international arena, and has successfully put it on the global map by pushing for an International Yoga Day. Similarly, traditional medicines including Ayurveda have become a buzzword among policymakers.

In this rush to promote India’s traditional knowledge and practices, policymakers have seemingly forgotten another longstanding, rich tradition of India. Indians, especially the indigenous communities living in and around forests, have been living with and protecting India’s biodiversity-rich forests for thousands of years, with a vast repository of lived and traditional knowledge about forest ecosystems.

Most importantly, many of them have demonstrated scientific methods of conservation much before modern forest science emerged. Thousands of villages across India have been protecting natural forests for decades. For example, over 10,000 communities in Odisha have been protecting state-owned forests, often through voluntary labour, and have a deep understanding and commitment to conservation. The vast number of scared groves across the country remains a living testimony to the traditional conservation ethics of Indian tribal communities and forest dwellers.

Ranjan K. Panda, from India Climate Dialogue

READ MORE

IPHRDs Are Not Terrorists

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance in cooperation with the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club held a press conference last March 31st to condemn the DOJ's terrorist proscription of past and present CPA leaders, environment defenders, indigenous rights activists and human rights advocates.

Members of the Baguio City Council also presented the resolution expressing their support for the 7 Baguio activists saying that they are actually fighting for noble causes that benefit the people.

The CPA also announced the upcoming celebration of the 34th Cordillera Day in Baguio City that aims to spread awareness of issues that affect the region. Specifically, they aim to highlight the issue of government's tyranny against the people. #IPHRDsNotTerrorists

Sign the Petition

Philippine President seeks to have 600 Indigenous leaders "tagged" as terrorists! Emergency Response Needed!

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz. Image Credit: Eco-Business

The human rights situation in the Philippines is deteriorating with the widespread cases of extrajudicial killings and ongoing attacks against voices critical to the government.

A petition was recently filed in court by the Philippine State Prosecutor of the Department of Justice (DOJ), that seeks to have a number of indigenous peoples' leaders and human rights defenders declared as terrorists and outlaws pursuant to the National Security Act of 2007.

The list of alleged terrorists includes the following renowned indigenous leaders and human rights defenders from the Cordillera Region:

1. Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, former Chairperson of the UN Permanent Forum of Indigenous Issues;
2. Ms. Joan Carling, Co-convener of the Indigenous Peoples Major Group on the Sustainable Development Goals, former Secretary General of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) and member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues;
3. Ms. Joanna Cariño, member of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) Advisory Council and SANDUGO co-chairperson
4. Mr. Windel Bolinget, Chairperson of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA);
5. Atty. Jose Molintas, human rights lawyer and former member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP);
6. Ms. Beverly Longid, global coordinator for the Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation;
7. Ms. Jeanette Ribaya Cawiding, Regional Coordinator of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers - Cordillera; and
8. Mr. Sherwin De Vera, Regional Coordinator of DEFEND- Ilocos and member of the Save The Abra River Movement (STARM)

An estimate of around ten (10) indigenous peoples' leaders and human right advocates from Mindanao are also included in this list.

TAKE ACTION:

ORGANIZATIONS: Add your name to a letter to President Duterte (see below). Email your organization's name and country to: communications@indigenouspeoples-sdg.org and to robie@indigenouspeoples-sdg.org. The deadline for endorsements is MARCH 18, 2018.

INDIVIDUALS: Sign on to this letter at Change.Org using this link: 1. H.E. Rodrigo Duterte President of the Republic Malacañang Palace, JP Laurel St., San Miguel : STOP THE HARASSMENT & INTIMIDATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' LEADERS / HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS.

EVERYONE: Send letters of concern to the Philippine Embassies in your respective countries and the government officials listed in the letter of concern below. 

Kindly inform the Indigenous group <communications@indigenouspeoples-sdg.org> of any actions you have undertaken so they can share this as part of their campaign.

Thank you!

Download FINAL Letter of Concern Phils-March12-2

7 Days in the Life of Avaaz...

Colombian Deputy Minister receives Avaaz petition delivery last week :)

We may have won our campaign to stop Colombia’s massive deforestation!

The team and members brought a million-strong petition (and several cute kids) to a key minister this week, and got 42 election candidates signed on to our 5-point forest pledge! After satellite pictures we obtained showed massive deforestation in Colombia, the President flew over the land we were campaigning for, and it looks like we’re going to win! Here's an update (in Spanish) from Ana Sofia.

Who wouldn't want to protect this?

We might help win the largest ocean reserve in the Atlantic!

Last week we met with the key official pushing this ocean-saving plan at the Ministry of Environment in Brazil. As we entered the room, they were looking at the final draft of the project and the official told us: “We need Avaaz to win this! When are you launching this campaign?!” The minister actually wanted our help to win over the rest of the Cabinet and the President! Video update from Diego (in Portuguese) here.

Our fake far-right leader on his fake tour of southern Italy got over 100 media hits!

We worked our hearts out to stop a far-right win in Italy!

With a fascist-led coalition close to winning the election on Sunday, we were flat-out for a month -- reaching millions of voters in close races over email, on Facebook, and in the media, asking them to cooperate across a splintered opposition, and vote for the candidate most likely to defeat the far-right. Our polling showed our impact, and Avaaz was constantly attacked in the right-wing press (e.g. here and here) and our Senior Campaigner Luca got threatening phone calls.

The election largely turned on the South, so last week we also staged a hilarious fake tour of the South by the far-right leader -- who once said Southerners smelled worse than dogs -- that generated over 100 media articles! Examples here, here and here, and here’s an update from Luca (in Italian). The media likes to hype the fascists, but the result was a clean sweep of the south and the far-right coalition is FAR short of the majority we feared!

READ MORE

Handcarts vs. Drudgery

Photo from KoruCarts Facebook Page

Some 40 million people (mostly women and children) frequently carry heavy loads, often to the detriment of their health, security, education and development (UNDP). 37% of Africa's population is at least 30 minutes away from a water source (WEDO).

Many organisations are drilling for water, and providing pumps closer to communities, though this can produce mechanical and social problems of its own. The water must still be contained and carried, often more frequently than before.

What can we do to reduce the load-carrying drudgery that is impeding progress for so many?

Supermarkets provide us with shopping carts so we can easily gather and carry our goods. Would it not be reasonable and appropriate, if the load-carriers were provided with their own form of shopping cart, a durable handcart?

Unfortunately, such handcarts are rarely available in areas where they are most needed, and wheelbarrows make a poor substitute.

Non-profit KoruCarts were created to - 

• Design and test a range of suitable and acceptable handcarts.
• Provide handcart-related advise and technical services.
• Promote the concept of handcart distribution for developmental purposes.
• Establish partnerships with governments and humanitarian organisations.

We now offer a range of handcart designs that you can import or have made locally.

This is the steel KoruCart Alpha model, which can be made in four capacities and wheel sizes -

Other styles and materials are available, including sheet-metal and wickerwork.

Please consider how EarthAction and KoruCarts could defeat drudgery, using handcarts.

You can contact KoruCarts at korucarts@gmail.

READ MORE

 

The 99 Best Things That Happened in 2017

Photo Credit: Reuters/Kevin Coombs

If you’re feeling despair about the fate of humanity in the 21st century, you might want to reconsider.

In 2017, it felt like the global media picked up all of the problems, and none of the solutions. To fix that, here are 99 of the best stories from this year that you probably missed.

An incredible year for global health

1. This year, the World Health Organisation unveiled a new vaccine that’s cheap and effective enough to end cholera, one of humanity’s greatest ever killers. New York Times

2. Cancer deaths have dropped by 25% in the United States since 1991, saving more than 2 million lives. Breast cancer deaths have fallen by 39%, saving the lives of 322,600 women. Time

3. Zika all but disappeared in 2017. Cases plummeted in Latin America and the Caribbean, and most people in those places are now immune. Science Mag

4. A new report showed that the world’s assault on tropical diseases is working. A massive, five year international effort has saved millions of lives, and countries are now signing up for more. STAT

5. Soft drink sales in the United States dropped for the 12th year in a row, thanks to consumer education and new sugar taxes aimed at stemming obesity and diabetes. Reuters

6. Trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, was eliminated as a public health problem in Oman and Morocco, and Mexico became the first country in the Americas to eliminate it. NBC

7. Meet Sanduk Ruit and Geoff Tabin, two eye doctors responsible for helping restore sight to 4 million people in two dozen countries, including North Korea and Ethiopia. CBS

8. Premature deaths for the world’s four biggest noncommunicable diseases­ — cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory — have declined by 16% since 2000. World Bank

9. Global abortion rates have fallen from around 40 procedures per 1,000 women in the early 1990s, to 35 procedures per 1,000 women today. In the United States, abortion rates have reached their lowest level since 1973. Vox

10. In July, UNAIDS, revealed that for the first time in history, half of all people on the planet with HIV are now getting treatment, and that AIDS deaths have dropped by half since 2005. Science Mag

From Quartz.com

READ MORE

Why the Haitians Should Stay: These longstanding residents are valuable assets to the U.S.

Children in Miami hold signs in support of renewing Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from Central America and Haiti, Nov. 6. PHOTO:LYNNE SLADKY/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Trump Administration announced last month that it will rescind the visas of almost 59,000 Haitians who are legally documented under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. The visas were granted after an 8.0 earthquake in 2010 demolished the Caribbean country. The migrants have until July 2019 to leave unless they can qualify for another visa status.

The decision is no surprise given Donald Trump's views on immigration, and it's false advertising to call a program "temporary" and never end it. Yet if the Administration and Congress are putting America first, they ought to let these productive people stay in the U.S.

The TPS program began in 1990 to help undocumented foreign nationals who would face unsafe conditions upon return home due to natural disasters, armed conflict or other extraordinary conditions. It is available for individuals living in the U.S. before the event occurs. It doesn't open the U.S. to a flood of migrants after a crisis.

Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan also have TPS designation. Last month the administration announced that Nicaragua's TPS protection - granted in January 1999 after Hurrican Mitch - will end in January 2019.It covers migrants who have been here almost two decades and number around 5,300.TPS for Salvadorans, which began in March 2001 and has been extended through March 2018, covers 262,000 migrants. For 58,500 Hondurans protection has been extended to July 2018. Many of these immigrants are likely to stay in the U.S. illegally.

The Haitian difference is that it's far from clear that the country has recovered from the earthquake or recurring outbreaks of cholera brought to the country by a U.N. peacekeeping unit in 2010. In 2016 Hurrican Matthew (Category 4) set the country back again.

With almost a decade of legality under their belts, the Haitian migrants have put down roots in the U.S. Returninglikely would plunge them into poverty. Given that choice they are more likely to revert to living in the shadows as they did before the earthquake. That won't be good for tax collections or national security, which benefits from knowing the U.S. population.

Haitian global remittances amount to some 25% of Haiti's annual GDP and about half of that money comes from the U.S., according to the World Bank. This is the best kind of foreign aid because it doesn't go through the hands of corrupt politicians. It boosts economic stability, strengthens civil society and reduces the risk of refugee crises.

Yet retaining the TPS migrants is not about charity. Although the 676,000 Haitians living in the U.S. make up less than 2% of the foreign born population, they are an important part of the services workforce, especially in tourism and healthcare.

As the general manager of the InterContinental Miami - where about a dozen Haitians with TPS visas work - told The Wall Street Journal: "It's going to be difficult to replace all of those positions in the short term. The labor force in South Florida is already pretty tight." The U.S> educational investment in thousands of Haitian children over almost a decade also would be lost if families are returned.

Sometimes it's easy to identify the end of a crisis and halt TPS protection, as with the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. But more often with recurring catastrophes, national recovery can take years.

Mr. Trump has discretion over when to end the program for any one country. Alternatively, Congress could alter the 1990 statute so that proven contributors to the U.S. economy would receive special consideration to stay permanently. Both decisions depend on whether these immigrants are viewed as assets or liabilities for America. We think they're assets.

Credit: The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board

Win! The UN Acts to End Slavery in Conflict

Photo Credit: freedomunited.org

We're delighted to join our partners in the win! The UN is taking action to secure justice for victims of modern slavery in conflict.

Finally, after impressive efforts in the pursuit of justice, especially by our partner Yazda and Nadia Murad, strengthened by more than three years campaigning and 287,451 actions from Freedom United supporters, the UN Security Council has passed resolution 2379. This paves the way for securing justice for victims of modern slavery and crimes against humanity, perpetrated by ISIS in Iraq.

Yazda and Nadia Murad have sent us this message:

"We thank each and every one of the many thousands of Freedom United supporters who joined this effort. Knowing we had your support gave us strength."

We launched our first campaign back in August 2014. We could not ignore the horrors experienced by the minority Yazidi population following the fall of Mosul in Iraq. Our campaign called for ISIS to be held accountable for modern slavery, including forced marriage and sexual slavery, in Iraq. Seeing the dire lack of protection for those in conflict zones, in December 2015, we launched a second campaign calling for the creation of a UN special representative to tackle slavery in conflict, collecting 185,010 signatures.

Since then we’ve climbed lots of steps to reach our goal:

• The first ever UN debate on slavery in conflict at the Security Council
• We handed in 89,254 signatures to the President of the UN Security Council
• We brought together 2,837 people on social media, reaching 1,374,341 to raise awareness and build support for the UN Security Council debate
• Over 20 supporters joined us in New York and watched the UN Security Council unanimously pass resolution 2331 calling for member states to take action
• Nadia Murad and our partner Yazda addressed the UN Security Council

Resolution 2379, tabled by the UK, was passed unanimously last Thursday. It calls on the UN Secretary-General to establish an Investigative Team, headed by a Special Adviser, to support efforts to hold ISIS to account in Iraq.

Even when success is slow to achieve, our partners don’t give up and neither should we.

Please share the news on Twitter and Facebook!

In solidarity,

Joanna, Miriam, Kat and the whole Freedom United team

READ MORE ON FREEDOM UNITED

Basel Declaration on Trans-Generational Crimes of Nuclear Weapons & Nuclear Energy

Participants of the Basel Conference on Human Rights, Future Generations, and Crimes in the Nuclear Age. Credit: IPPNW.org

The participants in the international conference Human Rights, Future Generations and Crimes in the Nuclear Age, held in Basel from September 14-17, 2017, affirm that the risks and impacts of nuclear weapons, depleted uranium weapons and nuclear energy, which are both transnational and trans-generational, constitute a violation of human rights, a transgression of international humanitarian and environmental law, and a crime against future generations.

READ MORE