The Indian Ocean, once a centre of gravity for the trading nations of Asia, the Gulf and coastal Africa, is on the cusp of a revival of its substantial commercial status and geo-strategic prospects. This is manifested in a number of ways.
The effective management of the coastal zone is linked directly to the long-term development and wellbeing of coastal populations. Its importance warrants a dedicated management approach to balance its development, use and protection.
The global economy loses $50 billion every year as a result of poor management of global fish stocks. That figure doesn’t tell the full story of how overfishing, illegal fisheries and environmental degradation impact the livelihoods of coastal and riparian communities, particularly in developing states.
Every year, the United Nations Environment Programme celebrates the World Environment Day on 5 June to raise awareness about environmental issues, reflect on what has been accomplished and call for sustained action globally.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been a hot topic in South Africa, following the government’s unilateral cancellation of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with the European Union and the release of the draft Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill. But what is FDI, and why is it important? What are the other issues at play in the region when it comes to investment?
On the sidelines of this week’s OECD meetings in Paris, South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies and US Trade Representative Mike Froman will try and overcome the protracted dispute between the two countries on chicken exports.
This policy insights paper contends that the ‘reaction pillar’ of the responsibility to protect (R2P) makes a specific statement about the residual responsibility of the international community to intervene when states are unable or unwilling to protect their citizens from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
The theme for World Health Day, held on 7 April 2015, was ‘From farm to plate – make food safe.’ The main motivation for the theme was the alarming amount of bacteria borne diseases across the globe, transmitted by eating food which is contaminated by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances.
A few weeks ago, forces loyal to President Pierre Nkurunziza stymied a coup d’état in Burundi. A few months earlier, last October to be precise, the exact opposite occurred when an army officer in Burkina Faso, Lt Col. Isaac Zida, dislodged in a bloodless coup d’état West Africa’s former strong-man and president of that country, Blaise Compaoré.
Studies of major hydropower projects such as that at the Grand Inga Dam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) stress generation capacity and call for regional integration.
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