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Responsible Consumption and Production
Current trends in private financing of water and sanitation in Asia and the Pacific
The present paper shows the current trends in private sector investment in the water and sanitation sector. After peaking in 2007 private investment in the water and sanitation sector has been volatile. The decline in private investment has also been accompanied by a shift in the type and size of investments taking place. Post-2007 private investment is increasingly concentrated in a few large and wealthy countries and municipalities; and are bankrolled and developed by smaller regional-based investors. This is especially worrying for low-income countries which stand to benefit the most from private investment but have been receiving less than 1 per cent of the total project allocations in the sector. The huge financing gap requires more innovative financing that can only come by attracting private sector capital to improve water and sanitation services in the Asia-Pacific region especially for the least developed and low-income emerging economies.
Tapping capital markets and institutional investors for infrastructure development
The present paper is focused on using capital markets in the Asia-Pacific region to channel more resources for infrastructure development while mobilizing assets managed by institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies. To this end the paper is structured as follows. First an analysis of the level of capital market development in the region is conducted which indicates that markets remain at a nascent stage in many economies. Banks continue to dominate private financing in the region. Second a review is carried out on the size of institutional investors from which it is suggested that prudential regulation might need to be adjusted to enable greater infrastructure investment. Third different modalities for investors seeking infrastructure exposure are highlighted and initiatives launched by different countries to support the development of infrastructure-related instruments are presented. Fourth a review is made on the actions to support capital market development which is critical for greater involvement of institutional investors. Fifth ways to address constraints hindering infrastructure investments are presented. Finally the paper concludes with proposals of strategies that are adapted to each country’s circumstances and designed to further tap this source of financing for infrastructure development.
Impact of food inflation on headline inflation in India
A commonly held belief in the 1970s was that price indices rise because of temporary noise and then revert after a short interval (Cecchetti and Moessner 2008). Accordingly policy should not respond to the inflation because of these volatile components of the price indices. This led to the development of the concept of core inflation (Gordon 1975) which is headline inflation excluding food and fuel inflation. It was strongly believed that in the long run headline inflation converges to core inflation and that there are no second round effects (that is an absence of core inflation converging to headline inflation). In recent years however major fluctuations in food inflation have occurred. This has become a major problem in developing countries such as India where a large portion of the consumption basket of the people are food items. Against this backdrop in the present paper an attempt is made to measure the second round effects stemming from food inflation in India using the measure of Granger causality in the frequency domain of Lemmens Croux and Dekimpe (2008). The results of empirical analysis show significant causality running from headline inflation to core inflation in India and as a result the prevalence of the second round effects. They also show that food inflation in India is not volatile and that it feeds into the expected inflation of the households causing the second round effects. This calls for the Reserve Bank of India to put greater effort in anchoring inflation expectations through effective communication and greater credibility.
Valuing the digital economy of New Zealand
The present paper provides estimates of the value of the digital economy of New Zealand through the use of the supply-use tables. By design no changes are made to the production boundary as the products being assessed are already included within the production boundary and gross domestic product (GDP). The approach is a practical attempt at using the framework first presented in the paper entitled “Measuring digital trade: towards a conceptual framework” and in particular the “nature” component of the framework. This is extended to the whole economy to identify “digital” transactions in the country’s National Accounts Commodity Classification. The main finding from this paper is that the “digitally ordered” and “digitally delivered” aspects of the framework were able to be broadly applied. However the significant material assumptions and the broad nature of the product classification at the aggregate level meant that our estimates were not of high quality. For the year ending March 2015 the estimate of the value of gross output of New Zealand that can be delivered digitally was 27.9 billion New Zealand dollars (NZ$) (US$18.8 billion) while for digitally ordered gross output it was NZ$109.2 billion
Petroleum consumption and economic growth relationship: Evidence from the Indian States
This paper reveals that over the period 1985-2013 the wealthier states of India experienced a prevalence of the feedback hypothesis between real gross domestic product growth and petroleum consumption in the short run and the long run. Over the short term the whole (major) 23 Indian state panels show support for the conservative hypothesis. Regarding the panels comprising low- and middle-income Indian states although there appeared to be significant bidirectional effects in the long run none of the results suggest that energy consumption increases economic growth. This implies that growth in energy demand can be controlled without harming economic growth. The results however indicate that for the low- and middle-income states increases in petroleum consumption could adversely affect economic activity in the short and long run. These findings relate to the aggregate data on petroleum. Examining the short-run and long-run energy-growth linkages using disaggregated data on petroleum consumption reveals that only a few types of petroleum products have stable long-run relationships with economic growth. In fact with disaggregated petroleum data the vector error correction model (VECM) and cointegration results support the neutral hypothesis for high-incomes states. For the low- and middle-income groups while the conservation effect is found to prevail in the short run and the long run higher economic growth appears to reduce consumption of selected types of petroleum products.
China’s international investment strategy by Julien Chaisse (editor)
Chinas international investment law and policy have been the subject of detailed study since the liberation endeavour of the late 1970s which was a landmark change in the countrys development path and integration into the global economy. The countrys active participation in the global economy is mirrored by its evolving profile of cross border capital flows with China both a prominent source of and destination for foreign investment. Indeed Chinas rise as a global investor has made its approach to international investment an important issue on which a considerable amount of literature has already been published. The recent past has nevertheless seen several important events within China as well as bilateral regional and global events influencing Chinas approach towards international investment and adding new perspectives thereto.
Estimating the fiscal effects of base erosion and profit shifting: data availability and analytical issues
The multilateral efforts led by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to address base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) have attracted much attention from tax policy makers practitioners and academics. In 2012 the OECD/G20 BEPS Project was launched to address BEPS through a range of international tax policy measures. A key part of the BEPS package was the Action 11 report which considered the fiscal and economic impacts of BEPS and produced an empirical estimate of the global corporate income tax (CIT) revenue losses arising from BEPS of between 4 per cent and 10 per cent of global CIT revenues. This research note highlights some of the data-related and methodological challenges facing researchers attempting to estimate the fiscal impacts of BEPS discusses some of the methodological approaches that have recently been applied to this end and provides a preview of the forthcoming release of the first edition of the OECD Corporate Tax Statistics.
Transfer pricing and state aid: The unintended consequences of advance pricing agreements
An advance pricing agreement (APA) is a formal arrangement between a tax authority and a multinational enterprise (MNE) in which the parties jointly agree on the MNE’s transfer pricing methodology estimated taxable income and tax payments for a fixed period thus reducing the likelihood of an income tax dispute. We argue that APAs which were developed by governments to solve MNE-state problems in one realm (international taxation of related party transactions) have had unintended consequences for both parties due to the spillover impacts of APAs into other policy realms. We explore this argument in the European Union state aid cases where in the context of competition policy APAs can be viewed as hidden discretionary policies that can be misused by lower-tier governments to attract or retain inward foreign direct investment by offering individual MNEs preferential tax treatment. Our paper contributes to this literature by analyzing the unintended consequences of APAs and recommending policy changes to reduce these negative spillovers.
Keeping faith with nature
Three childhood experiences set me on the course to working to restore degraded land through helping to connect people to nature. My mother’s strong and unwavering faith helped me to appreciate that life was about more than what we could accumulate in the present and that we could trust a loving heavenly father for all our needs. The abuse of beautiful forests and mountain streams seemed to be an expression of greed and disregard for future generations. Watching news programs showing children just like me going hungry seemed mad in a world of plenty.
Book review: Navigating Global Business: A Cultural Compass by Simcha Ronen and Oded Shenkar
The world has changed dramatically over the last two decades moving through two distinct phases of globalization. Tapping into the rapid growth of goods and services trade (WTO 2016a) the first wave of globalization was propelled by value chains enhancing specialization productivity and access to markets (Reeves and Harnos 2017; OECD 2017). The second is marked by digitalization and it is characterized by the flow of ideas information and innovation which has further enabled the exploitation of global business opportunities through internet applications.
Research methods in international business by Lorraine Eden, Bo Nielsen and Alain Verbeke
Neighbours with different innovation patterns: The implications of industrial and FDI policy for the openness of local knowledge production
This article shows evidence that FDI policies during the catch-up process may leave a trace in the openness of innovation activities in latecomer economies based on a comparative analysis between the Republic of Korea and China. The past industrial policies of the Republic of Korea favoured creating local technological competence based on the transfer of foreign knowledge in codified form leading to a low level of global connection in local knowledge creation. By contrast Chinese policies encouraged the entrance of foreign firms in the Chinese market leading to a higher level of global interaction in innovation activities. Based on the findings the article presents policy recommendations and suggests avenues for future research.
Does tax drive the headquarters locations of the world’s biggest companies?
In recent years policy-makers have given paramount attention to “competitiveness” working to ensure that domestic economies attract investment jobs and tax revenues. Toward this end countries have steadily lowered corporate tax rates in an attempt to attract mobile international businesses. This paper discusses the desirability of this policy stance in light of data on the world’s biggest companies. Using Forbes lists of the top “Global 2000” companies over the period 2003–2017 the paper analyzes companies’ headquarters locations focusing on economic geographic and policy determinants. The paper then relates these findings to larger policy questions.
How subsidiaries influence innovation in the MNE value chain
As multinational enterprises increasingly disaggregate their value chains and assign functional responsibilities to foreign subsidiaries they are increasingly focused on augmenting spatially distant activities and resources. At the same time despite subsidiary managers operating at the “middle” of the organization and having awareness of operational and strategic contexts they have received significant criticism for hindering the successful coordination and integration of value chain activities. This appears counterintuitive as on the one hand MNEs are increasingly disaggregating their value chains and on the other subsidiary managers act as frontline managers at the intersection of their local context and the MNE. We examine the resource stocks of six subsidiaries and the activities of subsidiary managers locally and across global value chains. The results indicate that integration responsibilities are decentralized as properties of subsidiary mandates and that the subsidiary managers’ connectivity activities significantly affect the strategic influence that they subsidiary can exercise locally and globally. The results also contain important information for policymakers.
UNCTAD insights: FDI in the digital economy: A shift to asset-light international footprints
The digital economy is becoming an ever more important part of the world economy. It is revolutionizing the way we do business and it has important implications for foreign direct investment (FDI). However little systematic analysis has been done to investigate the investment patterns of digital multinational enterprises (MNEs). This study conducted in the context of UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2017 (WIR17) is an attempt to fill some of the gap in knowledge and to provide an impetus for future research. It proposes a new interpretative framework for the digital economy builds an extensive sample of digital and ICT MNEs and profiles their international operations. Its main findings are that MNEs in highly digitalized industries have a “lighter” FDI footprint than traditional MNEs; they tend to concentrate their operations in a few highly developed countries and their investment patterns are shaped by fiscal and financial motives more than those of traditional MNEs. As digital technologies and business models tend to disseminate across the broader economy this may suggest the onset of a new era of international production and MNE internationalization paths. This paper sheds light on the methodology underpinning the analysis in WIR17 to ensure full replicability and to prepare the ground for further work in the area. It also builds further on the discussion in WIR17 proposing broader implications for international business and new avenues for future research.
An FDI-driven approach to measuring the scale and economic impact of BEPS
This paper explores the link between foreign direct investment (FDI) and the BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting) practices of multinationals (MNEs). It puts the spotlight on the outsize role of offshore investment hubs as major players in global corporate investment a role that is largely due to MNEs’ tax planning although other factors contribute. The paper shows that tax avoidance practices enabled by FDI through offshore hubs are responsible for significant leakage of development financing resources. In policy terms these findings call for enhanced cooperation and synergies between international tax and investment policymaking.
Sharing the corporate tax base: Equitable taxing of multinationals and the choice of formulary apportionment
How can academic-policy collaboration be more effective? A stewardship approach to engaged scholarship in the case of SME internationalization
In response to calls for more policy-relevant academic research this paper undertakes a stewardship approach to examine an engaged scholarship policy programme targeted at supporting the internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Scotland namely the Global Companies Development Programme (GCDP). The study was undertaken by academics and included a combined formal evaluation and research study a follow-up workshop and group interviews over a ten-year-period. This study extends the stewardship approach to the engaged scholarship context. The findings suggest that stakeholders view their collaboration as a “supra-organizational” formation through which they can identify and empathize with its objectives; require skilful boundary spanners who consistently promote the objectives of the collaboration in the participating organizations; and accentuate effective knowledge generation and transfer to SME internationalization activities that reflect the outcomes of their collaboration. We discuss policy implications for the development of private-public and inter-agency partnerships.
Trade, investment and taxation: Policy linkages
International trade investment and tax policies are inextricably linked. Tax is a key investment determinant influencing the attractiveness of a location or an economy for international investors particularly those heavily engaged in international trade. Taxation tax relief and other fiscal incentives are key policy tools to increase exports and attract investors. Investors once established add to economic activity and the tax base of host economies and make direct and indirect fiscal contributions. And international investors and MNEs by the nature of their international operations and intra-firm trade have opportunities for tax arbitrage between jurisdictions and for tax avoidance.
Making the most of FDI for development: “New” industrial policy and FDI deepening for industrial upgrading
This article examines the theoretical and empirical links between a new generation of industrial policy which is rapidly emerging as a dominant paradigm in development economics and foreign direct investment (FDI). It finds that thus far the theoretical role of FDI in “new” industrial policy has been vague despite openness to FDI being one of the characteristics which sets it apart from an “old” generation of industrial policy which advocated protectionism. Based on primary and secondary research the article argues that a set of interventions into the economies of low- and lower-middle-income countries combined with an in-depth understanding of the complex interactions involved in TNC subsidiary upgrading the internationalization processes within TNCs and TNC strategies and objectives on the part of policymakers offers such countries the opportunity to maximize the benefits of FDI and move further up in global value chains.
The blurring of corporate investor nationality and complex ownership
Recent years have seen a significant increase in the complexity of multinational enterprise (MNE) ownership structures. Complex corporate structures raise concerns about the effectiveness of national and international investment policies based on the notion of investors nationality. This motivates this research effort aimed at analysing the ownership structures of some 700 000 foreign affiliates (FAs). A new methodology the bottom-up approach is introduced. The main objective is to empirically map the shareholder space of FAs along the vertical dimension from the direct shareholders to the ultimate owners. We find that FAs are often part of transnational investment chains; more than 40 per cent of foreign affiliates have direct and ultimate shareholders in different jurisdictions (double or multiple passports). Based on shareholders nationality we then propose and empirically analyse the salient features of four main archetypes of FAs ownership structure: plain foreign conduit structures round-tripping and domestic hubs. Each poses specific challenges to policymakers.
Why do African multinationals invest outside their home region? Should they?
This study draws on preliminary case evidence to explore the motivations and advisability of engagement by African multinational enterprises (MNEs) in outward foreign direct investment (FDI) activities outside their home region. It complements recent research on MNEs from emerging markets focused on the BRICS (Brazil the Russian Federation India China and South Africa) economies with virtually no attention to potentially important players from rising Africa. The MNEs explored in this study are active in the energy manufacturing construction chemicals agribusiness extractive/mining and financial services sectors and they have investment footprints both in countries in the North and the South. Their investment decisions are motivated by the search for market opportunities strategic assets/resources and performance-boosting relationships though more advanced economies appear to attract more strategic asset-seeking FDI from African MNEs. The paper argues that intra-regional investments by African MNEs should continue to be prioritized but selective and strategic extra-regional FDI undertaken with an eye on furthering global competitiveness also requires appropriate policy support. This seems even more sensible given that the acceleration of borderless digital internationalization and the increasingly blurred nationality of MNE affiliates are lessening the relevance of regional distinctions.
Why do western SMEs internationalize through springboarding? Evidence from French manufacturing SMEs
This study applies both the internationalization and regulatory focus theories to understand what motivates SMEs to implement springboard strategies i.e. to invest in a country to re-export to third countries. While some academics emphasize the importance of free trade agreements and cost differentials others highlight the role played by the individual and network dimensions. We conducted 66 in-depth interviews and five days of non-participant observations with five French manufacturing SMEs and ten investment promotion agencies. Our analysis revealed the existence of firm network and country-related motivations springboard strategies being mainly firm-driven as well as common partially-shared and specific motivations. Public policy to promote and/or attract springboard-oriented foreign direct investment (FDI) should look at developing dedicated support and educational programmes for SMEs offering better access to promising markets by removing barriers and enforcing transparency and trade agreements.
Substituting expats with locals: TNCs and the indigenization policies of Saudi Arabia
Owing to rising unemployment among Saudi nationals the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has instituted Saudization a localization policy that strives to induce the employment of more Saudi nationals in the private sector. A major gap in the literature is the lack of empirical investigation regarding the relationships between indigenization and the underlying principles of its process. This study seeks to fill this gap. The study assesses the success or otherwise of the Saudization initiative empirically and uncovers several features. It finds that TNCs that experience the external pressures to localize their workforce and those that wish to enhance their social legitimacy are more likely to comply with Saudization. Furthermore TNCs do not believe that the process of localization provides them with economic gains. Legal coercion to adhere to the Saudization initiative turns out to be a highly significant instrument in making TNCs adhere to the localization process. The study also finds that neither age nor the size of the firm have an impact on the Saudization programme. Implications for theory and practice are drawn out.
Covid-19 and investment — an UNCTAD research round-up of the international pandemic’s effect on FDI flows and policy
The shuttering of commercial activity in the face of the Corona (Covid-19) pandemic will have a dramatic effect on the global economy. UNCTADs Division on Investment and Enterprise has been monitoring the impact on investment as well as its implications for development.1 In the face of the unprecedented circumstances this issue of the Transnational Corporations furnishes a brief overview of this work notably from the perspective of foreign direct investment (FDI) and investment policy. UNCTADs World Investment Report (forthcoming June 2020) will provide an expanded and in-depth analysis of FDI trends and investment policy developments that also accounts for the impact of the pandemic.
How TNC subsidiaries shine in world cities: Policy implications of autonomy and network connections
The study examines the relationship between performance and patterns of autonomy and the network relationships used by the foreign subsidiaries of transnational corporations (TNCs) in world cities compared to those subsidiaries outside these locations. This is done by exploring if these patterns differ in foreign subsidiaries in Greater Copenhagen compared to elsewhere in Demark. The findings reveal that there are important differences in the relationships between performance and the autonomy and network structures in foreign subsidiaries. These findings are discussed and policy implications distilled. The study finds that the scope of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) policy could be usefully extended to encompass urban development thereby helping cities develop assets institutional support and infrastructure that can enhance agglomeration benefits and global connectivity. The findings indicate policies aimed at helping subsidiaries embed in host location networks and incorporate these networks into other parts of the parent company could be beneficial. The paper also discusses economic and social inequality that can stem from network patterns and the inclination of subsidiaries to operate autonomously in world cities. It proposes policy options that can lead subsidiaries to undertake high-value activities and innovation in world cities.
The cornerstone of life
We are at a crossroads in human history. Our actions are changing the planet in unprecedented ways and if we carry on as at present the consequences could be disastrous. But right now we still have an opportunity to change course. If we come together to take the decisive steps needed we could chart the way toward a sustainable future where people live in harmony with nature.
Reflections
The Norwegian countryside is a magnificent playground for a kid. Swing-sets and slides are fun. But for a child nothing beats striking out into rolling hills and mysterious towering forests. There is adventure everywhere. I have always lived in a city but I was lucky growing up to have ample opportunity to explore these treasures of Norway.
Stepping up action
Canada is proud to host this year’s World Environment Day. The United Nations General Assembly first designated June 5 as World Environment Day 45 years ago. Today it remains a chance to connect with our environment and each other and to continue to build a more sustainable world for our kids and grandkids.
Telling a powerful tale
To change a society as the philosopher Ivan Illich wrote “you must tell a more powerful tale one so persuasive that it sweeps away the old myths and becomes the preferred story one so inclusive that it gathers all the bits of our past and present into a coherent whole one that even shines some light into our future so that we can take the next step…”
Conserving the world’s roof
It was a chilly February day. Dangwen and his wildlife monitoring team from the village of Yunta patrolled along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The river was frozen solid easy for poachers to walk over. That day they encountered 220 blue sheep five white-lipped deer and a line of otter footprints. On the infrared camera traps that they had set up throughout the valley three snow leopards appeared a mother and two cubs – and the cubs had grown much bigger than three months before.
Alive to solutions
In 2015 engineering student Jorge Zapote and his team from the University of Calgary decided to take on a problem that affects millions of poor rural families around the world – and one whose solution could be key to remedying climate change. They wanted to find a low-cost way of keeping fruit and vegetables cool and fresh in low-resource settings without using electricity.
Natural cure
This amazing spinning ball of rock and water hurtling through space at more than 100000 kilometres an hour provides us with everything we need to live and be healthy. It’s a delicate balance with various interconnected natural systems — hydrologic and carbon cycles ocean and atmospheric currents among them — creating ideal conditions for human life.
If you eat, you’re in!
What wouldn't we do for our kids? We play in the park cut down on sugar walk them home from school talk around that all-important dinner table - the stuff of everyday life that shows we care.
Connecting in nature
Canada has 46 national parks and reserves 171 national historic sites and four national marine conservation areas adding up to 300000 square kilometres of protected areas. They represent the country's massive yet varied landscapes from the towering mountains of Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta to the sparkling sands of Sable Island National Park Reserve off Nova Scotia to the lush rain forest of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve on the coast of British Columbia. All these places tell Canada's ecological and cultural story. As its population becomes increasingly urban – and with the average park over two hours from a city – the need is to make more visiting opportunities available.
The rights of rivers
History was made recently when a court recognized the rivers Ganges and Yamuna as a living entity. This affords opportunities to tackle problems related to water and climate change sustainably amid the rapid melting of Himalayan glaciers the depletion of groundwater resources pollution of ground and surface water resources erratic rainfall patterns that wreak havoc with human lives and property and calamities like flash floods landslides avalanches and famines.
Nature of risk
Conditions are conducive to human life in most inhabited areas much of the time but nature can strike at almost any moment. When severe natural catastrophes hit densely populated and economically developed areas these rare events bring large economic costs. They can also hurt a sovereign credit rating a reflection of a national government’s ability and willingness to honor its financial obligations on time and in full.
Attention! That’s a precious resource
There was no need to implore our forebears to get outdoors and be in nature. Presumably these ancestors also rarely experienced any gap between what was interesting in their environment and what was important to attend. But the times are ever-changing. Today these two vectors – the important and the interesting – are often at odds as inordinate amounts of information and the ease of accessing it dominate our swirling world.
UN environment at work. Cutting poverty by fostering environmental sustainability
Forests lakes rivers and fertile land provide income and employment for many men and women living in Africa. But unsustainable use of these resources can trap them in poverty. One way to reduce poverty and catalyse change is by producing and using evidence that brings together the environmental economic and social dimensions of development. This is the so-called integrated approach to sustainable development.
Recreating the commons
When I presented core concepts and findings on local economic development as a possible report to the Club of Rome under the title "The Blue Economy: 100 innovations 10 years 100 million jobs" in April 2009 I sketched out a vision. This was based on an understanding that nature in general – and a wide range of ecosystems in particular – has overcome nearly every imaginable challenge over the past millions of years and therefore provides an inspiration for how society can chart a pathway towards the future.
Small and beautiful
World Environment Day is very important for Bhutan. We take advantage of it to further enhance awareness of environmental conservation and to bring together communities from all walks of life to show solidarity towards keeping our environment beautiful and healthy. Our small Himalayan kingdom while pursuing economic development has taken strong steps to maintain our environment for this and future generations.
Innovation. A serious game for serious issues
The Aqua Republica game combines game mechanics and hydrological simulations to help people better appreciate the inter-linkages between water resources social and economic development and environmental sustainability.
Environmental champion
Some 30 years ago the celebrated author Annie Proulx was driving through the backroads of Michigan's Upper Peninsula when she came to a highway junction marked only by an apparently closed laundromat. “Across the road” she told Our Planet “was a large sign announcing that in that place in the nineteenth century had grown the finest white pine forest in the world. There was not a single white pine in sight”.
UN environment at work. The tricky business of measuring a country’s true wealth
Human well-being and wealth are not only determined by economic activity but also by the services we get from nature. Gross Domestic Product measures economic transactions regardless of whether they are positive or negative for human well-being or a nation’s wealth. It cannot measure the sustainability of economic activities and it doesn’t capture the contribution of nature to our welfare.
Protecting Cetaceans In The Yangtze
As part of my work at the Institute of Hydrobiology in Wuhan since 1982 I spent twenty years with Qi Qi [pronounced chee-chee] the world’s only captive baiji Yangtze River Dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer “the flag-bearer who was left behind”).
En Afrique, la menace s’éloigne pour les gorilles de montagne
Hier encore les habitants des zones limitrophes du Parc national de la forêt impénétrable de Bwindi et du Parc national des gorilles de Mgahinga en Ouganda étaient les pires ennemis des gorilles de montagne. Ils sonnaient le tocsin lorsque ces hôtes des forêts tropicales voisines perçus comme une menace pénétraient dans leurs jardins. Avec des conséquences souvent fatales pour cette espèce en péril.
Our Guest: The History Of Europe’s Blacks Has Been Struckby A Partial Amnesia
Les populations autochtones, vigies éclairées de la biodiversité
Les habitants du village karen de Hin Lad Nai niché au coeur des forêts luxuriantes de la province de Chiang Rai au nord de la Thaïlande pratiquent depuis des siècles l’agriculture itinérante par rotation. Cette technique agricole durable de défrichement et de brûlis – un temps critiquée à tort pour sa contribution au changement climatique – est utilisée pour régénérer les terres.
Species Migration: A Silent Revolution
There are changes taking place all over the planet at all latitudes. Most often we are unaware of them. And yet they are altering the distribution ranges of the species on which we depend directly. This redistribution of living things is the tangible manifestation of the invisible movement of isotherms – imaginary lines of the same mean temperature that move towards the poles and mountain peaks like waves driven by global warming.
Zoom: Titicaca : le lac sacré livre ses secrets
Il gisait par six mètres de fond depuis près de cinq siècles. Pourtant le coffret d’offrande inca trouvé dans le lac Titicaca en 2014 est sorti quasiment intact de l’eau. À l’intérieur de celui-ci se trouvaient un lama miniature et un cylindre d’or signes de religiosité et de pouvoir dans l’Empire inca.