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- Volume 2021, Issue 1, 2021
The UNESCO Courier - Volume 2021, Issue 1, 2021
Volume 2021, Issue 1, 2021
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Wide angle: Oceans: Time to turn the tide: A state of emergency
Author: Agnès BardonGlobal warming, acidification, pollution, and overfishing are threatening marine ecosystems. This decline, which started at the beginning of the industrial age, is accelerating – putting the very survival of the planet at risk. By proclaiming a Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), the United Nations intends to promote research and strengthen international scientific co-operation to encourage a better understanding of the complex universe that is the ocean. It also aims to find more sustainable ways to exploit its resources. But time is running out. Sixty-six per cent of the marine environment has already been severely altered by human activity.
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Scott Kulp: “Sea level rise is a near-term danger”
Author: Shiraz SidhvaThe number of people at risk from rising sea levels could be three times higher than previously estimated, according to research by Climate Central, an independent climate science and news organization based in Princeton, New Jersey. Scott Kulp, Senior Computational Scientist and Senior Developer for Climate Central’s Program on Sea Level Rise, and lead author of the 2019 study, used artificial intelligence to analyse this phenomenon – which could push millions of people into exile as early as in 2050.
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Ghana’s coastline, swallowed by the sea
Author: Kwasi Addo AppeaningWith a coastline of 550 kilometres and a quarter of its population living by the sea, Ghana is particularly affected by coastal erosion. Human activities that amplify the rise in water levels linked to global warming are largely responsible for this.
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Twenty thousand sounds under the sea
Author: Laetitia KaciFor a long time, we believed the ocean was a silent world. On the contrary, sounds play a crucial role for many marine organisms. But the noise generated by human activities is jeopardizing the survival of certain species. Michel André, acoustician and director of the Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB) at the Technical University of Catalonia in Barcelona, warns of the dangers of this noise pollution.
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Rebuilding marine life
Author: Carlos M. DuarteConservation measures to protect marine life are already paying off. These actions have made it possible to halt the decline of some species and re-establish degraded marine ecosystems. But restoring the health of the ocean on a large scale requires a more active fight against pollution, overfishing and the effects of climate change.
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Latin America declares a war on plastic
Authors: Rodrigo Torres and Samila FerreiraAcross the continent, a growing number of projects are encouraging a better understanding of marine environments, and helping to develop a form of “citizenship of the ocean”.
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China: A mobile laboratory to explore the ocean floor
Author: Yu WeidongChina’s RV Zhong Shan Da Xue, is a gigantic state-of-the-art floating laboratory that will help scientists discover the deep seas. One of its first missions is to study a whale fall that was recently discovered.
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In Tahiti, a lagoon rescued by tradition
Author: Esther CunéoOn Tahiti’s southern tip, the traditional practice of rahui – which temporarily prohibits fishing and the harvesting of resources from the sea – was recently reintroduced. This has allowed marine life in the surrounding ocean to regenerate and thrive again.
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Africa: The rush for blue gold
Author: Adam Abdou HassanViewed as a strategic sector by a growing number of African countries, the blue economy, which involves the sustainable use of ocean resources, could become an important lever for development in the years to come. But this will only work if efforts to combat the impacts of climate change and overfishing are intensified.
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The making of an intergovernmental ocean commission
Author: Jens BoelIn the aftermath of the Second World War, some countries advocated the sharing of oceanographic knowledge on a global scale. However, it was not until December 1960 that the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO – the first body responsible for strengthening intergovernmental co-operation in the marine sciences – was created.
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Zoom: New Orleans: Black neighbourhoods pay homage to Native Americans
Author: Katerina MarkelovaThe tradition of the Mardi Gras Indians is one of the least known in the southern United States. Every year in February or early March, over forty “tribes” with names such as Wild Magnolias, Golden Eagles and Washitaw Nation join the New Orleans Carnival* to compete in symbolic jousting, outdoing each other with their ritual songs and dances. The exuberance of their outfits is inspired by the ceremonial clothing of the indigenous people of the Plains. This is one way for the city’s African-American communities to pay homage to the Native Americans who took in runaway slaves in the bayous of Louisiana.
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Ideas: Who profits from ethnic labels?
Author: Marta TurokEthnic motifs are very much in style. Revived by designers and major brands, they adorn fashion items sold all over the world – often without the permission of the communities from which they originate. The author, a Mexican anthropologist who specializes in traditional textiles, advocates taking better account of the rights and interests of indigenous communities.
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Our guest: Camille Ammoun : “Beirut is a city that is fighting, a wounded city, a tired city”.
Author: Laetitia KaciAn expert in sustainable urban development, Camille Ammoun’s work aims at making cities more liveable and more resilient. He is also an author, who explores ways to address urban issues through literature. His latest book, Octobre Liban – which takes readers on a walk through the streets along the port of Beirut – is an uncompromising portrait of a city with a convulsive history. The story ends with the August 2020 explosion that destroyed entire districts of the capital and has caused lasting trauma to its inhabitants.
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In depth: The pandemic: Culture and tourism in the eye of the storm
Author: Mila IbrahimovaThe Covid-19 health crisis has plunged the global economy into recession. Among the hardest hit are travel and tourism, one of the world’s largest industrial sectors, and culture.
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