Kenya, Benin, and Chad are among the Africans; Bahamas, Jamaica, and Barbados are among the Caribbeans; and Bangladesh.
New York – Seven countries from Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia expressed on Friday their willingness to contribute agents for the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), which will be deployed in Haiti to assist the Haitian police.
According to a UN source, these countries are Kenya – which offered months ago to lead the mission – Benin and Chad among the Africans; Bahamas, Jamaica, and Barbados among the Caribbean countries, and Bangladesh, and so notified the Secretary-General.
Some countries, such as Chad and Bangladesh, have experience in international deployments as blue helmets in peacekeeping missions. However, the UN has always made it clear that the mission in Haiti will not be for peacekeeping but merely for support, being subordinated to the Haitian National Police.
It does not seem that there would be any problems obtaining the estimated 2,000 agents needed for this mission, but its formation faces another major drawback: the trust fund opened to finance it has only managed to raise 18 million dollars when it is estimated that the mission will need 240 million dollars a year for its operation.
Of those millions raised, Canada has provided the most ($8.7 million), followed by the U.S. ($6 million) and France ($3.2 million), so the spokesperson’s office once again urged member states to be more generous and fill the gap to cover all the needs.
While the MSS is being finalized, the Caribbean country is sinking into chaos, with large parts of the capital in the hands of criminal gangs, the port and airport closed to international traffic, hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons, and more than 5 million Haitians dependent on humanitarian aid.
Kenya prepared
On the other hand, Kenyan President William Ruto assured that his country “is ready and willing” to send police to help restore order in Haiti after the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) was installed on Thursday. The Caribbean country has plunged into a severe violence crisis.
“Kenya assures Haiti’s CPT of its full support as it guides the country through this complex interregnum,” Ruto said in a message posted on his X profile late Thursday.
Kenya, he stressed, is “ready and willing, in concert with a broad alliance of African and CARICOM nations committed to Haiti’s stability, to swiftly execute the security support infrastructure envisioned” in UN Security Council Resolution 2699.
]]>A regulation prepared by the Superintendency of Electricity would significantly hinder investment in solar panels due to the obstacles it imposes, said yesterday RD 100% Renewable, a coalition of cooperatives, solar system installers, and environmental organizations.
Ramón Antonio Díaz of the Maimón Cooperative, who acted as spokesperson, said that the regulation discourages the installation of solar panels on roofs, as it imposes a fixed cost and charges for power, installation requests, and inspection visits.
He explained that the regulation establishes a complicated procedure that those interested in installing solar panels on roofs must comply with before the electricity distributor accepts their application and installs the bi-directional meter.
In a press conference at the Vizcaya restaurant, Diaz said that the regulation is a “real obstacle course” that discourages investment in solar panels.
Díaz said that with the regulation, the Superintendence of Electricity is doing the opposite to stimulate the self-consumption of electricity.
He expressed that, contrary to what happens here, in the United States and Spain, families are encouraged to install solar panels on their roofs, providing them with money or credit for acquiring the equipment and paying for the installation.
The spokesman pointed out that in the United States, the Government considers solar panels as an essential part of the strategy to face inflation because it allows the family to use the savings from the payment of the electricity bill to meet their food, education, and health needs.
It was further noted that in Bangladesh, a massive solar panel installation program is being developed to dismantle the electricity subsidy that is stifling its economy and generating indebtedness as it is happening in this country.
He explained that in many countries, the interested party installs solar panels on the roof of their home and then contacts the electricity distribution company to install the bi-directional meter without any prior formalities.
Díaz wondered if the country wants to expand solar panels on roofs if it forces interested families to pay a fixed fee for the panels.
He further stated that the approval and application of the regulation would make practically impossible the realization of the project elaborated by RD 100% Renovable together with the Ministry of Energy and Mines, with the purpose of installing in three years solar panels on the roofs of 180,000 houses to the installation of 600 megawatts. He pointed out that this project seeks to reduce the distributors’ electricity subsidy and the millionaire losses.
Díaz also called on the Superintendence of Electricity to align itself with the whole Government in the fight against climate change and with the zero carbon policy proclaimed by President Luis Abinader on April 21 at the National Palace.
Santo Domingo, DR
A survey of rice prices in 81 countries of the world carried out this month determined that the lowest cost per pound of rice is in Paraguay, where the price per kilogram is US$0.64, and while in the United States, it is US$3.77 in the Dominican Republic it is US$1.61.
One kilogram is equivalent to 2.2 pounds, so calculating with an exchange rate of RD$54 to one dollar, the average price of a pound of rice in the Dominican Republic is now RD$39.52 in March, which is more expensive than in Paraguay, slightly more expensive than the average price of US$1.88 per kilogram in the 81 countries, but cheaper than how it is being sold this month in the United States.
If the purchase price of the U.S. currency at RD$57 to one is taken as a reference, the price per pound of rice in the Dominican Republic would be RD$41.71.
If a kilo of cereal is worth US$3.77, a pound would cost RD$101.79.
The prices correspond to a survey published on the 14th of this month by Global ProductPrices.com.
The countries in the sample where the cereal is sold most expensively are Serbia and Japan, with prices of US$4.51 and US$41 per kilogram.
In addition to the United States, Nigeria, Israel, Uruguay, and Russia have prices above US$3 per kilogram.
Above US$2 per kilogram are Saudi Arabia, Latvia, Chile, Zambia, Switzerland, Malaysia, Slovakia, Sweden, Zazaztan, Bulgaria, Canada, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and Hungary.
Countries with prices of less than one dollar per kilogram of long-grain white rice are Singapore, Argentina, Egypt, Colombia, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Paraguay.
Main food
Rice is a cereal of great importance in the diet of many countries around the world, but in the case of the Dominican Republic, along with chicken, it is the main staple of the diet.
The cereal and seven other agricultural products are protected under the tariff scheme known as the CBI or ICC (Caribbean Basin Initiative) and entered into the negotiation of the free trade agreement signed by the country with five Central American nations (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala), and the United States, known as DR-Cafta, which maintained the protection for 25 years.
The eight agricultural products are protected by the Agreement on Agriculture with the Technical Rectification followed in the DR-Cafta, which ends in 2025.
By 2024, the rice import quota will be only 11.8%, meaning the local market will be practically open to rice imports.
In 2031 there will be no tariffs on imports from the United States because the agreement came into force in 2006 for customs purposes since that year was when El Salvador put it into effect as the first country of all the signatories.
Experts in agricultural matters have suggested that the Dominican Government appeal to several instruments provided by the agreement to reduce the pressure on the sector that employs thousands of people in the countryside.
In addition to measures that, although prohibited by the World Trade Organization (WTO), such as agricultural subsidies, advanced countries, including the United States and Europe, apply them.
Final route
Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of DR-Cafta. According to the tariff dismantling schedule, only 13 lines (agricultural products) are pending entry into total free trade. Among these are chicken thighs in part or united, polished, husked, and whitened rice, with husk will enter with 11.88% in 2024.
]]>Santo Domingo, DR.
The worst global food crisis in a decade was one of the main issues discussed at the twelfth ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) last month, according to an article published on the World Bank blog authored by Mari Elka Pangestu and Axel Van Trotsenburg.
The authors point out that this crisis is exacerbated by the growing number of countries that ban or restrict exports of wheat and other commodities in a misguided attempt to curb rising domestic prices.
They note that the price of wheat, an essential commodity in many developing countries, has risen 34% since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, and prices of other foodstuffs have also increased.
They note that in response, as of early June, 34 countries had imposed restrictions on food and fertilizer exports, close to the 36 countries that used such controls during the 2008-2012 food crisis.
They indicate that these measures are counterproductive because they reduce global supplies, driving higher food prices. Other countries respond by imposing their restrictions, causing a growing cycle of trade actions that have a multiplier effect on prices.
They explain that measures to limit exports significantly affected food prices in the 2008 crisis, worsening the situation.
The publication notes that this time, the war in Ukraine is accelerating a price spike that began earlier due to unfavorable weather conditions in major producing countries, rapid economic recovery after the COVID-19-induced slump, and rising energy and fertilizer costs.
“The war has severely disrupted shipments from Ukraine, one of the world’s largest food suppliers. The country is also a major supplier of corn, barley and sunflower seeds, which are used to make cooking oil, products that cannot reach world markets because Ukraine’s ports are blocked,” the authors analyze, noting that export restrictions are not the only trade measures governments are taking in response to rising prices.
They argue that some countries are reducing tariffs or eliminating import restrictions. Chile, for example, increased duty discounts on wheat. “Normally, a permanent reduction in import restrictions would be welcomed. However, in a crisis, temporary reductions in import restrictions put upward pressure on food prices by boosting demand, just as export restrictions do by reducing supply,” they say.
Affected
The article states that among those most affected by trade restrictions (PDF) are developing economies in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. For example, Bangladesh imports 41% of its wheat from the Black Sea region. In the case of the Republic of Congo, the figure is 67% and 86% in the case of Lebanon.
He refers that given the magnitude of dependence, people in these countries are likely to be affected immediately, as alternative suppliers will not be available in the short term. “Higher prices will eventually incentivize major agricultural exporters to expand their production and replace part of the exports from the Black Sea region, but this will take time,” they point out.
]]>Mexico City, AP.- Authorities found 366 migrants of 16 nationalities aboard a truck in southern Mexico, sources said Thursday.
The vehicle was transporting migrants from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Yemen, Uzbekistan and South Africa, the National Migration Institute (INM) said.
There were also people from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, El Salvador and Venezuela.
Of the total number of migrants, 249 are men, 55 women and 62 minors, of which 25 were traveling alone, the INM reported on Twitter.
Agents found the truck parked on the side of a highway in the southern state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala.
The migrants have been desperate to leave Tapachula, another city near Guatemala, where authorities have made them wait for their visas. Due to this delay, many of them try to walk or hitchhike north.
]]>Dominican Republic, Haiti, Venezuela, and Colombia are some of the nations that do not meet the requirements of the contest to obtain permanent residence
Santo Domingo, DR.
The United States Department of State that administers the Diversity Visa Program, better known as the “green card lottery,” issued a statement listing the countries that do not qualify to receive permanent residency through the program by 2023.
Dominican Republic, Haiti, Venezuela, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland), and Vietnam are the countries listed as “ineligible” to apply for the program.
According to the regulations, the native people of these countries cannot apply because more than 50,000 individuals had already emigrated to the United States in the last five years.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1990, which originated the program, establishes that the so-called “diversity immigrants,” people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States, are those who can apply to the “lottery.”
How are they chosen?
The entity chooses those selected through a random computer algorithm.By 2023,up to 55,000 visas will be available for this concept.
The State Department distributes diversity visas among six regions worldwide, and no country can receive more than 7% of the visas available for each year.
Registration in the programis entirely free.
Apply?These are the requirements.
The first requirement is to be a native of a country with a historically low migration rate.In case you are not a native of a country that possesses this characteristic, then you could consider qualifying through the following route:
–If your spouse is a native of a country that does meet the program’s migration rate. In that case, you can claim the country of birth of your husband or wife as long as they are both listed on the selected entry and enter the United States simultaneously.
You must also complete at leasta secondary education or its equivalent, qualified as “successful completion,” or two years of work experience in the past five yearsin an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to carry out.
Registration of requests
Applicants must submit program tickets electronically via dvprogram.state.gov between12:00 noon on Wednesday, October 6, and 12:00 noon on Tuesday, November 9, 2021.
90% of new smokers become addicted before the age of 25.
London.- Tobacco caused almost eight million deaths in 2019, when the number of smokers increased to 1.1 billion globally, reveals a study published Thursday by “The Lancet” and “The Lancet Public Health.”
The researchers, who analyzed 3,625 reports from 204 countries under the auspices of the Global Burden of Disease collaborative program, found that 90% of new smokers become addicted before 25.
Preventing young people’s access to tobacco would be an effective measure to reduce the vice in future generations, say the experts, who recognize that interference by the tobacco industry is one of the main factors preventing the end of this health “epidemic.”
According to the study, released on the eve of “No Tobacco Day,” May 31, one in five male deaths is caused by tobacco, which causes cardiovascular, pulmonary, and tracheal diseases, among others.
The authors point out that, although the prevalence of smoking has generally declined since 1990 (by 27.5% for men and 37.7% for women), smoking has increased significantly among men in about twenty countries and women in twelve.
In half of the countries examined, the reduction in prevalence has not kept pace with population growth, increasing the absolute number of smokers.
The ten countries with the highest tobacco users in 2019, comprising nearly two-thirds of the world’s smoking population, are China (with 341 million), India, Indonesia, the United States, Russia, Bangladesh, Japan, Turkey, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
The places with the highest consumption per person are located mainly in Europe, notes the report, which adds that, in 2019, some 155 million smokers between the ages of 15 and 24 were registered globally, with 19 being the average age to start smoking regularly.
The study also detects an increase in the number of people who chew tobacco, up to about 273 million, especially in Southeast Asia (with India leading the way), where at least 25% of males over 15 years of age consume it.
The authors, who did not analyze the incidence of tobacco substitutes such as e-cigarettes, call on governments to adopt effective policies to reduce the prevalence of smoking in society and prevent initiation among young people, including eliminating flavored nicotine products.
“The persistently high prevalence of smoking among young people in many countries, coupled with the expansion of new tobacco and nicotine products, underscores the need for increased control,” says one of the researchers, Emmanuela Gakidou of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at Seattle University (USA).
Her colleague Marissa Reitsma adds that if access to tobacco is not reduced for young people on an annual basis, which would reduce the number of adult smokers, “the tobacco epidemic will continue for many years to come.”
The authors lament that after 182 countries ratified the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005, in 2018, only 62 had comprehensive anti-smoking programs that included cessation aids; health warnings; and bans on advertising and sponsorship, and only 38 had the recommended levels of taxation.
According to the authors, increasing tobacco taxes is an “efficient and cost-effective” measure, especially if the revenue is invested in tobacco control programs and other social and health support services.
]]>Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Republic has become the 119th country to ratify the Kigali amendment to phase down HFC refrigerants, https://www.coolingpost.com reports.
Under the agreement, the Dominican Republic commits to cut the production and consumption of HFCs by more than 80% over the next 30 years.
The countries to have ratified the Kigali Amendment in date order:
- Mali 31/3/17
- Micronesia 12/5/17
- Marshall Islands 15/5/17
- Rwanda 23/5/17
- Palau 29/8/17
- Norway 6/9/17
- Comoros 16/9/17
- Chile 19/9/17
- Tuvalu 21/9/17
- North Korea 21/9/17
- Australia 27/10/17
- Canada 3/11/17
- Maldives 13/11/17
- UK 14/11/17
- Finland 14/11/17
- Germany 14/11/17
- Laos 16/11/17
- Luxembourg 16/11/17
- Slovakia 16/11/17
- Sweden 17/11/17
- Trinidad and Tobago 17/11/17
- Malawi 21/11/17
- Côte d’Ivoire 29/11/17
- Ecuador 22/1/18
- Netherlands 8/2/18
- Gabon 28/2/18
- Togo 8/3/18
- Ireland 12/3/18
- Benin 19/3/18
- Samoa 23/3/18
- France 29/3/18
- Barbados 19/4/18
- Vanuatu 20/4/18
- Niue 24/4/18
- Bulgaria 1/5/2018
- Costa Rica 23/5/18
- Grenada 29/5/18
- Belgium 4/6/2018
- Uganda 21/6/18
- Portugal 17/7/18
- Lithuania 24/7/18
- Burkina Faso 26/7/18
- Latvia 17/8/18
- Niger 29/8/18
- Senegal 31/8/18
- Uruguay 12/9/18
- Hungary 14/9/18
- Tonga 17/9/18
- Mexico 25/9/18
- European Union 27/9/18
- Estonia 27/9/18
- Czech Republic 27/9/18
- Austria 27/9/18
- Sri Lanka 28/9/18
- Panama 28/9/18
- Greece 5/10/18
- Guinea-Bissau 22/10/18
- Kiribati 26/10/18
- Paraguay 1/11/18
- Switzerland 9/11/18
- Denmark 6/12/18
- Croatia 6/12/18
- Slovenia 7/12/18
- Japan 18/12/18
- Nigeria 20/12/18
- Poland 7/1/19
- Albania 18/1/19
- Andorra 23/1/19
- Honduras 28/1/19
- Chad 26/3/19
- Montenegro 23/4/19
- Armenia 2/5/19
- Namibia 16/5/19
- Cuba 20/6/19
- Ethiopia 5/7/19
- Cyprus 22/7/19
- South Africa 1/8/19
- Ghana 2/8/18
- Peru 7/8/19
- Seychelles 20/8/19
- Cook Islands 22/8/19
- Vietnam 27/9/19
- Bhutan 27/9/19
- Mauritius 1/10/19
- New Zealand 3/10/19
- São Tomé and Príncipe 4/10/19
- Lesotho 7/10/19
- Jordan 16/10/19
- Argentina 22/11/19
- Somalia 27/11/19
- Guinea 5/12/19
- Mozambique 16/1/20
- Lebanon 5/2/20
- North Macedonia 12/3/20
- Bangladesh 8/6/20
- Sierra Leone 15/6/20
- Fiji 16/6/20
- Holy See 17/6/20
- Romania 1/7/20
- Liberia 12/7/20
- Turkmenistan 31/8/20
- Kyrgyzstan 8/9/20
- Liechtenstein 16/9/20
- Botswana 19/9/20
- Nicaragua 30/9/20
- Russian Federation 3/10/20
- Bolivia 9/10/20
- San Marino 20/10/20
- Malaysia 21/10/20
- Cape Verde 28/10/20
- Angola 16/11/20
- Eswatini 24/11/20
- Iceland 25/1/21
- Colombia 25/2/21
- Zambia 15/3/21
- Burundi 26/3/21
- Syrian Arab Republic 5/4/21
- Cambodia 8/4/21
- Dominican Republic 14/4/21
It is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India together with AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.
Yesterday (Monday), the Dominican Republic received its first batch of vaccines against the coronavirus. It is a cargo of 110 kilos from India, onboard Iberia flight IB6501.
Covishield was produced by the Serum Institute of India,with technology transfer fromAstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, who developed the same vaccine but known under AZD1222.
The country bought110,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine due to the other suppliers’ delays with whom agreements have been made.
Already last week, the Ministry of Public Health granted a special permit forthe vaccine’s import and emergency use. This means that the vaccine will not follow up in detail to obtain authorization and sanitary registration.
This vaccine is given in two doses, four to 12 weeks apart. Contrary to the other vaccines that need to be in frigid temperatures, Covishield can be safely stored at 2 ° C to 8 ° C.
Also, it is cheaper than Pfizer or Moderna and more accessible to developing countries.
The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine protects on average 70% of people, which is still good and effective against COVID-19.
The international trial reported 62% and another 90% efficacy; the latter percentage is reached when people received a half dose and a total dose. More studies are still being done to define this.
Unpublished data suggest that leaving a longer gap between the first and second doses increases overall effectiveness.
The Indian manufacturers of the vaccine claim that Covishield is “highly effective.”
Countries that already use it
India’s first countries that provided its vaccines were Bhutan and the Maldives, through a diplomatic campaign to their neighboring countries.
According to the Efe news agency, the campaign was dubbed “Vaccine Maitri” (the friendship of the vaccine) and is part of the Indian policy of prioritizing the closest nations.
The dose, distributed free of charge to its neighbors, is also for Burma, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, and Afghanistan.
In America, Argentina authorized “on an emergency basis” the use of Covishield;Nicaragua also authorized its use.
]]>WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic threatens hard-won gains in health and education over the past decade, especially in the poorest countries, a new World Bank Group analysis finds. Investments in human capital-the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate over their lives-are key to unlocking a child’s potential and to improving economic growth in every country.
The World Bank Group’s 2020 Human Capital Index<https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/34432> includes health and education data for 174 countries – covering 98 percent of the world’s population – up to March 2020, providing a pre-pandemic baseline on the health and education of children. The analysis shows that pre-pandemic, most countries had made steady progress in building human capital of children, with the biggest strides made in low-income countries. Despite this progress, and even before the effects of the pandemic, a child born in a typical country could expect to achieve just 56 percent of their potential human capital, relative to a benchmark of complete education and full health
“The pandemic puts at risk the decade’s progress in building human capital, including the improvements in health, survival rates, school enrollment, and reduced stunting. The economic impact of the pandemic has been particularly deep for women and for the most disadvantaged families, leaving many vulnerable to food insecurity and poverty,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “Protecting and investing in people is vital as countries work to lay the foundation for sustainable, inclusive recoveries and future growth.”
Due to the pandemic’s impact, most children – more than 1 billion – have been out of school and could lose out, on average, half a year of schooling, adjusted for learning, translating into considerable monetary losses. Data also shows significant disruptions to essential health services for women and children, with many children missing out on crucial vaccinations.
The 2020 Human Capital Index also presents a decade-long view of the evolution of human capital outcomes from 2010 through 2020, finding improvements across all regions, where data are available, and across all income levels. These were largely due to improvements in health, reflected in better child and adult survival rates and reduced stunting, as well as an increase in school enrollment. This progress is now at risk due to the global pandemic.
The analysis finds that human capital outcomes for girls are on average higher than for boys. However, this has not translated into comparable opportunities to use human capital in the labor market: on average, employment rates are 20 percentage points lower for women than for men, with a wider gap in many countries and regions. Moreover, the pandemic is exacerbating risks of gender-based violence, child marriage and adolescent pregnancy, all of which further reduce opportunities for learning and empowerment for women and girls.
Today, hard-won human capital gains in many countries are at risk. But countries can do more than just work to recover the lost progress. To protect and extend earlier human capital gains, countries need to expand health service coverage and quality among marginalized communities, boost learning outcomes together with school enrollments, and support vulnerable families with social protection measures adapted to the scale of the COVID-19 crisis.
The World Bank Group is working closely with governments to develop long-term solutions to protect and invest in people during and after the pandemic:
* In Ethiopia, Haiti and Mongolia, the Bank has been supporting the acquisition of vital medical equipment.
* In Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, and Nepal, the Bank is supporting the development of school safety and hygiene protocols while working with Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene teams to provide basic sanitization and hygiene supplies.
* In Jordan and Turkey, through recently approved new operations, the Bank is supporting the development of TV and digital content for blended teaching and learning for the new academic year, as well as psycho-social counseling and remedial courses.
* In the Sahel region, the Bank is backing the Sahel Women’s Economic Empowerment and the Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) project aimed at creating a favorable environment for women and girls’ empowerment through programs to keep girls in school, and to expand economic opportunities and access to quality reproductive health services. .
* The Bank is also helping India immediately scale-up cash transfers and food benefits, using a set of pre-existing national platforms and programs, to provide social protection for essential workers involved in COVID-19 relief efforts; and benefit vulnerable groups, particularly migrants and informal workers, who face high risks of exclusion.
Ambitious, evidence-driven policy measures in health, education, and social protection can recover lost ground and pave the way for today’s children to surpass the human capital achievements and quality of life of the generations that preceded them. Fully realizing the creative promise embodied in each child has never been more important.
The World Bank Group<https://www.worldbank.org/>, one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, is taking broad, fast action<https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/news/coronavirus-covid19> to help developing countries strengthen their pandemic response. We are supporting public health interventions, working to ensure the flow of critical supplies and equipment, and helping the private sector continue to operate and sustain jobs. We will be deploying up to $160 billion in financial support over 15 months to help more than 100 countries protect the poor and vulnerable, support businesses, and bolster economic recovery. This includes $50 billion of new IDA resources through grants and highly concessional loans.
]]>Santo Domingo, DR
“Those little plastic bags that they give us in the supermarket, in the store, in the butcher shop… that will leave the market no later than five years.Just as polyester came out, which was a fashion in the 70s ”.
The statement is made by the renowned geologist and environmentalistOsiris de León.His forceful approach is based on thegrowing global trend to ban the use of plastic.
More and more countries are taking steps to restrict the use of plastic sleeves, straws, and other plastic materials, the improper handling of which is wreaking havoc on the environment.
In 2018, the United Nations (UN) dedicated World Environment Day to the issue ofplastic pollutionand revealed alarming data.
The agency warned that each year around 500,000 million plastic bags are used in the world and that every minute one million plastic bottles are bought and disposed of almost immediately.
Millions of tons of this waste end up in rivers and seas, endangering the lives of these ecosystems and in turn that of humans who consume many of the species that inhabit them.
“Our planet is awash in harmful plastic waste.More than 8 million tons end up in the oceans every year.There are already more microplastics in the seas than stars in our galaxy ”, warned then the secretary-general of the organization, António Guterres.
Since then, the UN warned that at the rate we are going in 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans so much has been released.
Measurements
Faced with this bleak outlook, more and more countries are taking measures to restrict the use of plastic materials, mainly bags and straws.Some have definitively prohibited it and others have limited its use through the application of taxes.
Among the countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa that have taken initiatives in this regard are Bangladesh, France, Kenya, the United Kingdom, among others.
Several nations in Latin America have been joining this trend and others are in the process of doing so.Among them are Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Argentina, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Chile, and many more.
This is why De León argues that the days of most plastics, except for PVC (which he says is mainly in construction pipes), have their days numbered in the world.
“Dismantling the intensive use of plastic will also be imposed in the Dominican Republicbecause when there is an international wave there is no way for a country to remain isolated,” he says.
The expert predicts thatwithin four or five years, between 70% and 80% of the current plastic volume will have disappeared from the local market.because the global trend will force the country to seek alternatives to replace it with other materials.What goes out of style in other countries also happens here, he says.
To achieve this, De León points out, itis necessary to gradually dismantle its use, fine the businesses that distribute it,and all contribute, as a society, to make this possible.
Recycling: the great challenge
But reducing plastic pollution is not just about restricting its use because this material is essential for the production of many products.It is also necessary to implement mechanisms that facilitate recycling.
In this regard, businessmanJorge Rizek, who has more than ten years of experience in waste management and recycling, is not as optimistic as De León.
The reason is simple:in the country, there is no logistics or infrastructure to recycle.In addition, the state and local plastic manufacturers support little to the recycling sector, he says.
Rizek explains that due to these difficulties, recyclers, who exceed 150, have a difficult time becausethe municipalities do not even contribute to the segregation of waste.That is why they have to turn to divers.
“The first thing is to invest in infrastructure … No city council has deigned to carry out the logistics of placing containers, to build a collection center …,” he complains.
Regarding manufacturers, the vast majority prefer to import the raw material than to buy it from local recyclers.He adds that they also make materials that cannot be recycled, such as brown or gray bottles.
“Those are bottles that will remain in the environment for a lifetime because nobody can collect them because nobody buys or recycles them,” he says.
About the waste law
Rizek has few expectations that the recently approved solid waste law will contribute to solving the problem because, in his opinion, it benefits the producer sector more, it does not prohibit the use of PVC in plastic food packaging (which he assures is very harmful) and discourages recycling.
Unlike those of other countries,this regulation does not prohibit the use of fonts, bottles, or plastic covers, with respect to these only free delivery in commercial establishments is prevented.
It is for this and other reasons thatRizek hopes that the law will not be enacted as it was passed.
Like De León, Rizek proposes that a national strategy be defined so that some manufacturers migrate to other technologies, another packaging, or other types of materials. He also stresses that we must work together and promote the plastic recycling industry because it is very profitable if done in the right way.
Santo Domingo.- The US government began on Wednesday the registration of 55,000 visas for the Immigrant Visa for Diversity Program, which grants residence for work, marriage and even family ties to immigrants who belong to countries with minimum immigration rates to U.S. territory.
The Dominican Republic is excluded, as are Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macao, Brazil, Canada, China, Bangladesh, Nigeria, the United Kingdom and their dependent territories, with the exception of Northern Ireland.
The countries that may participate are Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Argentina, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, San Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.
]]>New York.- Mexican, Dominican and Salvadoran nationals figure among the 91 detainees in various raids in the state of New Jersey, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) revealed on Mon.
The foreigners were detained last week in sweeps carried out in several counties, ICE said in a statement.
Among the detainees are 14 Dominicans, 12 Mexicans and 10 Salvadorans, the agency said, adding that other foreigners being held hail from Anguilla, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana and Guatemala.
]]>New York.- The Mayor’s Office of Immigration Affairs (MOIA) this week released its first annual report: State of Our Immigrant City” and notes that of the Big Apple’s 3.1 million immigrants, 560,000 are undocumented.
It also notes that one million of those immigrants live in mixed-status homes, making it the most inclusive city in the US.
Since the last census (2010), the metropolitan area’s population has grown by 400,000 people, from 8.2 million to 8.6 million inhabitants and the increase stems from the tens of thousands of new immigrants from the Dominican Republic, China and Bangladesh.
The current official estimate is that 850,000 Dominicans live in the city, mainly in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan.
]]>Washington, October 3, 2017 – Remittances to low- and middle-income countries are on course to recover in 2017 after two consecutive years of decline, says the latest edition of the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief, released today.
The Bank estimates that officially recorded remittances to developing countries are expected to grow by 4.8 percent to $450 billion for 2017. Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, are projected to grow by 3.9 percent to $596 billion.
The recovery in remittance flows is driven by relatively stronger growth in the European Union, Russian Federation, and the United States. As a result, those regions likely to see the strongest growth in remittance inflows this year are Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, fiscal tightening, due to low oil prices, and policies discouraging recruitment of foreign workers, will dampen remittance flows to East and South Asia.
Among major remittance recipients, India retains its top spot, with remittances expected to total $65 billion this year, followed by China ($61 billion), the Philippines ($33 billion), Mexico (a record $31 billion), and Nigeria (($22 billion).
In keeping with an improving global economy, remittances to low- and middle-income countries are expected to grow modestly by 3.5 percent in 2018, to $466 billion. Global remittances will grow by 3.4 percent to $616 billion in 2018.
The global average cost of sending $200 remained stagnant at 7.2 percent in the third quarter of 2017.This was significantly higher than the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 3 percent. Sub-Saharan Africa, with an average cost of 9.1 percent, remains the highest-cost region.
Two major factors contributing to high costs are exclusive partnerships between national post office systems and any single money transfer operator (MTO), which stifles market competition and allows the MTO to raise remittance fees, as well as de-risking by commercial banks, as they close bank accounts of MTOs, in order to cope with the high regulatory burden aimed at reducing money laundering and financial crime
“Remittances are a lifeline for developing countries; this is particularly true following natural disasters, such as the recent earthquakes in Mexico and the storms devastating the Caribbean. It is imperative for the global community to reduce the cost of remitting money, by eliminating exclusivity contracts, especially in the high-income OECD countries. There is also an urgent need to address de-risking behavior of global banks,” said Dilip Ratha, lead author of the Brief and head of KNOMAD.
In a special feature on forced and voluntary return migration, the Brief notes that the surge in refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants arriving in Europe is slowing. Even as European countries grapple with refugee and migrant flows, low- and middle-income countries continue to host more than 90 percent of refugees.
It highlights the challenges of return and reintegration of migrants. Policies that promote voluntary return and successful reintegration back home include: recognition of skills and qualifications acquired abroad; the possibility of securing a permanent residency in the host country; anti-discrimination and equal access programs in the countries of origin; and portability of social benefits.
“The fundamental drivers of the ongoing migration crisis – conflict, economic deprivation, demographic pressures and environmental change – need to be addressed. The World Bank is looking into policies and programs that will help tackle these issues,” said Michal Rutkowski, Senior Director of the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice at the World Bank.
The Brief presents the results of a survey, conducted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD), on recruitment costs paid by low-skilled migrant workers. Reducing recruitment costs is a part of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of promoting safe, regular and orderly migration.
Such costs can be exorbitantly high in some corridors. For example, a significant number of Pakistani construction workers in Saudi Arabia reportedly paid over $5,000 to recruitment agents, an amount equivalent to 20 months or more of earnings. Efforts to reduce recruitment costs would require curtailing the abuses and exploitation by illegal recruitment agencies, cooperation with bona fide overseas employers, and stronger bilateral coordination between labor sending and destination countries.
Regional Remittance Trends
Remittances to the East Asia and Pacific region are expected to rebound by 4.4 percent to $128 billion in 2017, reversing a decline of 2.6 percent in 2016. Remittances to the Philippines continue to remain resilient despite declining inflows from Saudi Arabia. Remittances to Vietnam, largely sourced from the United States, are also anticipated to recover this year, while flows to Indonesia will continue to shrink due to a government ban on female domestic workers to the Middle East. Growth in remittances to the region will be a modest 3.4 percent in 2018 to $132 billion.
After declining for three consecutive years, remittances to countries in the Europe and Central Asia region are expected to grow by 8.6 percent to $43 billion this year. The recovery is mainly due to the appreciation of the Russian ruble against the dollar. Going forward, the economic recovery in Russia, continued recovery in Kazakhstan, and increased employment in the Euro Area imply a more positive outlook for remittances for the region, which are expected to grow by a robust 6.8 percent to $46 billion in 2018.
Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to increase by 6.9 percent to $79 billion in 2017. Economic growth and improvement in the labor market in the United States is having a positive impact on the outlook for remittance flows to Mexico, which will receive a record $31 billion this year. Growth in remittances has been particularly strong in Central America. However, growth in remittances to the region will moderate in 2018 to $82 billion.
After two years of decline, remittances to the Middle East and North Africa region are expected to grow by 4.6 percent to $51 billion this year, largely driven by strong flows to Egypt, the region’s largest recipient, in response to the devaluation of the Egyptian pound. The growth outlook is, however, dampened by lower growth in the GCC due to oil production cuts and fiscal consolidation. Remittances to the region will grow by 2.9 percent to $53 billion in 2018.
Remittances growth to the South Asia region will be moderate at 1.1 percent to $112 billion this year, due to continuing impact of lower oil prices and ‘nationalization’ polices leading to constrained labor market conditions in the GCC. Remittances to India, the world’s largest remittance recipient, will grow by 4.2 percent in 2017 to $65 billion, following a decline of nine percent in 2016. Flows to Pakistan are expected to remain flat this year, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal will see a decline. Remittances to the region will grow by a weak 2.6 percent to $114 billion in 2018.
Buoyed by improved economic activity in high-income OECD countries, remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa are projected to grow by a robust 10 percent to $38 billion this year. The region’s major remittance receiving countries, Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana, are all set for growth. The region is also host to a number of countries where remittances account for a significant share of GDP, including Liberia (26 percent), Comoros (21 percent), and the Gambia (20 percent). Remittances will grow by a moderate 3.8 percent to $39 billion in 2018.
The Migration and Development Brief and the latest migration and remittances data are available at www.knomad.org<http://www.knomad.org>
Interact with migration experts at http://blogs.worldbank.org/peoplemove/
Contacts
In Washington: Indira Chand +1 (202) 458-0434, +1 (703) 376-7491, ichand@worldbank.org<mailto:ichand@worldbank.org>
For Broadcast Requests: Huma Imtiaz +1 (202) 473-2409, himtiaz@worldbankgroup.org<mailto:himtiaz@worldbankgroup.org>
Alejandra De La Paz Melo
Communications Associate
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Latin America and the Caribbean
]]>By David Jessop, Dominican Today senior Op-Ed contributor
Last month, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) produced a worrying ‘situational update’ on the implications of the accelerating numbers of Venezuelans arriving in Trinidad, Brazil and Colombia.
The Geneva based body said that over 40,000 Venezuelans are now present in Trinidad and Tobago, and there are around 20,000 to 30,000 in Brazil’s Roraima province which borders Venezuela. It also noted that 100,000 Venezuelans have sought refuge in Colombia in the previous six months, with vastly larger numbers having arrived previously. The report did not include Guyana, or Curacao where local media coverage and anecdotal evidence indicates a rapid increase in the number of arrivals.
The UNCHR went on to observe that while it was difficult to predict whether there will be massive cross border movements of persons ‘the “drip-drop” arrival of Venezuelans has now become a steady flow; (and) current trends suggest that out-flows are unlikely to subside in the near term’.
Its situational report also noted that there was no consistent effort to register the number of Venezuelan nationals entering or leaving any of the three nations; indigenous groups were being displaced; and ‘in certain areas, armed groups and illicit trade interests’ were exploiting newly arrived persons, and the local population.
In Trinidad’s case, the UNCHR said that it is now working on programmes aimed at addressing the capacity needs of the immigration authorities. It had also identified the need for training the country’s security and law enforcement authorities in the requirements of international law; has noted the need to improve the technical capacity to address the potential response that might be required; and has said that there is a need to tackle incidents of xenophobia. It indicated too that dedicated donor support may become necessary ‘should additional arrivals increase dramatically’.
What is more generally apparent, from recent comments made by UNCHR representatives and others, is that the Caribbean region and civil society is unprepared to deal with the humanitarian crisis that would follow a flood of refugees, should there be any further deterioration in the internal situation in Venezuela.
Although by global standards the numbers of those presently seeking a safe-haven in the Caribbean is relatively small, arrivals on any more significant scale in small island states has the capacity to generate social tension, especially where there are already significant numbers of disadvantaged citizens.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that many CARICOM nations and the Dominican Republic lack relevant laws, have no organised approach to processing economic migrants or asylum seekers, and see government agencies taking what might be described as an ad hoc approach to arrivals who have been able to obtain entry illegally.
Responding to such concerns, Trinidad’s Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Faris Al-Rawi, recently told the Trinidad Guardian that while he recognised there was a need for specific legislation to assist foreigners seeking refugee status, the country’s first focus must be on ensuring that its most disadvantaged citizens have utilities and social services, despite the growing pressure on resources.
None of which is to ignore the individual human tragedy, or the suffering of the tens of thousands of women, children and men who feel they have no option other than to flee, but to try to illustrate the complexity of the humanitarian crisis that the Caribbean now faces.
In Venezuela itself, there is little end in sight to the continuing civil unrest. After months of anti-government street protests, detentions, escalating violence, at least 70 deaths, shortages of almost all basic necessities, and hyperinflation, there is no sign of resolution.
In the last weeks alone, images have appeared of National Guardsmen shooting at demonstrators; Venezuela’s Supreme Court has allowed proceedings against the country’s Chief Prosecutor, Luisa Ortega, who has become an outspoken critic of the country’s socialist government; and President Maduro has reorganised his government in a manner that appears to give greater influence to the country’s military.
These and other developments threaten to make worse the already severe crisis that followed the Venezuelan government’s decision in April, to create a constituent assembly, with the ability to rewrite the country’s constitution. Although President Maduro argued that it was a necessary step to restore peace and avoid the danger of a civil war, opposition critics and many ordinary citizens regard it as an attempt to side-line the elected opposition-controlled National Assembly and take absolute power.
Unfortunately, the resulting political polarisation within Venezuela carries with it unpredictable consequences for rest of the region, especially for those nations that are geographically close.
Worryingly, as if this was not enough, the UNHCR says that more generally and in parallel, the region is also confronted with mixed migration; a relatively new and complex phenomenon involving individuals who may be asylum-seekers, refugees, victims of human trafficking and stateless persons.
In a report addressing global resettlement needs for 2018, the UN body said that the Caribbean was not just witnessing movements of persons from Venezuela, but was also experiencing a sharp rise in arrivals from Cuba and Haiti, and from extra-continental countries including Syria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria and several other African countries.
The Caribbean is justifiably proud of its humanitarian record, its willingness to provide assistance to sister nations at times of need, and of the many unmentioned charitable acts delivered by organisations and individuals.
However, if the crisis now unfolding cannot be resolved and ever greater numbers of Venezuelans flee their country, the help provided by the UNCHR, the Red Cross, NGOs and citizens will not be enough, and the region will be hard pressed to address the scale and type of difficulties that will arise.
Whatever the circ*mstances or their origins, the implication is that any surge in arrivals will create significant pressure on resources, and raise new and challenging social, political, logistical, legal and security issues that are likely to remain with the region for many years.
David Jessop is a consultant to the Caribbean Council and can be contacted at
david.jessop@caribbean-council.org
Previous columns can be found at www.caribbean-council.org
]]>New York.- Dominican women living in New York City lead nearly all countries in giving birth, with 8,039 newborns in 2015, reveals a Health Dept. study released Tuesday.
The Dominican mothers are followed by the Chinese who advance with 7,911 newborns; Mexicans with 2,725; Ecuadorians brought 2,646 babies to the world, and Bangladeshis 2,646.
The report notes that the birth of Chinese babies was 15% until 2010, and those of Bangladesh 50%.
]]>Santo Domingo.- 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus, will give a lecture at the Foreign Ministry’s Convention Center, at 12:30pm Thursday.
Yunus, considered the father of microcredit, is a social entrepreneur, banker, economist and Bangladeshi social leader honored for developing the Grameen Bank.
He was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord in 1998, the Simón Bolívar International Prize in 1996 and the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize “for his efforts to encourage social and economic development from below.”
Yunus received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 and the Congressional Medal in 2010.
]]>The United Nations recently claimed that the MillenniumDevelopment Goal that focused on primary education increased global enrolmentfrom 83% to 91%. Despite these gains, today it is estimated that 124 million children do not attend school and 757 millionadults are illiterate.
The nearly one billion people without a proper education isdistressing as a good education is a proven foundation for alleviating poverty,sustainable economic progress, healthier lifestyle and enhanced socialdevelopment. Inexplicably, the international community continues to fail theglobal poor by not creating access to legitimate education programs that allowthem to conquer poverty.
The UN’s Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) on education mayhave achieved some progress but overall it was ineffective as it concentratedmore on the quantity of children attending classes rather than the quality ofeducation at every age group.
Substandard education was highlighted in an UNESCO report that stated over 29 million children dropped out of school inSub-Sahara Africa each year. The reason can be attributed to the children notreceiving a high level of education as in most cases classroom sizes are toobig and teachers are unpaid, inexperienced or have no training.
As a result, of the poor quality of education, an uneducatedparent is more focused on their short-term needs and neglects the long-termbenefits of education and thus pulls their children out of school to work. Thiscan be seen as a result of the UN not making great gains in improving adulteducation. Since the parents have not personally experienced education bettertheir quality of life, they miss the advantages for their children and thusremain trapped in the cycle of poverty.
Other education problems include; ineffective, outdated, orirrelevant curriculum that does not teach students the most essential skillsfor success where they live. Plus, many children have the impossible task ofconcentrating without having the correct nutrition to properly think as schoolslack funding for food programs. Such food programs can also be an addedincentive for parents to enroll their children, as they will receive free food.
Fixing Education in the Developing World
In September 2015, the UN announced that one of the newSustainable Development Goals (the new MDGs) would be improving the ‘Quality’ of global education. This time around the new goal is morebroadly focused on all levels of education and aims to eliminate gender andwealth inequalities.
While this is a step in the right direction, ultimatelyachieving quality education, will involve increased investment ininfrastructure, teacher training, curriculum development, classroom materials,technology, food programs and lowering schools fees. Most importantly theultimate goal should be ensuring any program is focused on learning and notjust attendance.
Today no universal education model will work for every country,as each education system must be adapted to the local and cultural dynamicsthat exist in every unique location. This means that national governmentsshould give local leaders, parents and teachers greater educational autonomy, includingincreased input in setting the curriculum in their region.
More emphasis needs to be put on teaching skills that areapplicable for obtaining jobs in each specific region. For example, a placelike Palawan Island in the Philippines, which was voted the most beautifulisland in the world but is also one of its poorest regions in the country,should focus more on tourism skillsets, such as learning languages. Mineralrich countries like Peru or the Democratic Republic of the Congo should putmore value into teaching skills aimed at securing legitimate jobs in industriesby developing better math, science or geography programs that can produceengineers or geologists (one of Peru’s highest paid professions).
Education Innovations Can Be part of the Solution
There is hope for improving global education as successfulinnovative ideas are being used by many organizations, such as One Laptop per Child,who have developed and distributed millions of durable, economical, low poweredlaptops that allows rural children to digitally access updated textbooks,classes and information.
Also, isolated rural areas Internet problems have been solved byAlphabet’s Loon project (Google’s holding company) as they have developed technologythat can supply Wi-Fi access to isolated rural areas by launching balloons intothe sky. In fact, India is attempting such a project to combat their low Internet user rate and fighttheir weak education level.
Plus, Bangladeshi based NGO BRAC, has been successfullyproviding quality education to the poor with their non-formal primary educationprogram, which has a dropout out rate of less than 5%. In addition they have a thriving adult education program thatputs emphasis on women by teaching them to read, write, and share theirresources so they so can successfully run businesses.
Another great innovator is The Economist 2015 innovation award winner Bridge International, who hasdeveloped a low cost model for building nurseries and primary schools thatdelivers high quality education in East Africa.
These innovations can advance global education but need to becombined with increased global investment into the education sector. Corruptionand the lack of knowledge of the importance of education means that governmentsare not investing enough money into their education sector and sometimes evenspend more on their military.
Moving Forward
Developed countries can also take some of the blame as KevinWatkins from Overseas Development Initiative has previously stated that only two percent of yearly internationalglobal aid given to developing countries isinvested into education. To combat this, countries such as the USA, Canada,Australia and EU countries must put stricter conditions on their aid and makesure that it is invested effectively in the education sectors of developingcountries.
Obviously, education is not the only solution to achievesustainable human and economic development, but it is undoubtedly thefoundation for true progress. In the next decades, with the help of increasedinvestment and utilizing advances in technology, we have a great opportunity togive the world’s poor a quality education and with it the tools to alleviatepoverty.
We can use South Korea as an example, as in the 1960s, they werea poor country with a horrendous education system and today they havetransformed into an economic powerhouse by having one of the best educationsystems in the world.
This article was originallypublished with Global Policy Journal on January 4th, 2016.
Brad L. Brasseur is a Canadian international developmentspecialist who has traveled to over 80 countries in the world, while working inseveral NGOs, including extended time on education programs in Peru andUkraine. You can follow him on twitter at: @brbrasseur.
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Ed. Note: DominicanToday welcomes Mr. Brad L. Brasseur to its select group of Op-Ed contributors
]]>Washington.- A World Bank report released today that asks “Hhich Coastal Cities Are at Highest Risk of Damaging Floods?” lists Santo Domingo among cities at great risk by the effects of climate change.
It says climate change, rapid urbanization, and subsiding land are putting the world’s coastal cities at increasing risk of dangerous and costly flooding, a new study calculating future urban losses from flooding shows.
The study, led by World Bank economist Stephane Hallegatte and the OECD, forecasts that average global flood losses will multiply from $6 billion per city in 2005 to $52 billion a year by 2050 with just social-economic factors, such as increasing population and property value, taken into account. Add in the risks from sea-level rise and sinking land, and global flood damage could cost $1 trillion a year if cities don’t take steps to adapt.
Most coastal cities’ current defenses against storm surges and flooding are designed to withstand only current conditions. They aren’t prepared for the rising sea levels accompanying climate change that will make future floods more devastating, the authors write. Protecting these cities in the future will take substantial investment in structural defenses, as well as better planning.
The findings add to a series of recent studies, led by the World Bank’s Turn Down the Heat reports, that have looked closely at expected rises in sea level and their impact on vulnerable regions around the world.
Coastal defenses reduce the risk of floods today, but they also attract population and assets in protected areas and thus put them at risk in case of the defense fails, or if an event overwhelms it. Close Quotes
The new study, part of an ongoing OECD project, examined maps and databases of population and world assets, flood-prone regions, storm frequency data, and cost of damage models for 136 large coastal cities. For the first time, it took into account existing coastal defenses and their level of protection.
In terms of the overall cost of damage, the cities at the greatest risk are: 1) Guangzhou, 2) Miami, 3) New York, 4) New Orleans, 5) Mumbai, 6) Nagoya, 7) Tampa, 8) Boston, 9) Shenzen, and 10) Osaka. The top four cities alone account for 43% of the forecast total global losses.
However, developing-country cities move up the list when flood costs are measured as a percentage of city gross domestic product (GDP). Many of them are growing rapidly, have large populations, are poor, and are exposed to tropical storms and sinking land.
The study lists the 10 most vulnerable cities when measured as percentage of GDP as: 1) Guangzhou; 2) New Orleans; 3) Guayaquil, Ecuador; 4) Ho Chi Minh City; 5) Abidjan; 6) Zhanjing; 7) Mumbai; 8) Khulna, Bangladesh; 9) Palembang, Indonesia; and 10) Shenzen.
In most of these cities, the poor are most at risk as rapid urbanization has pushed them into the most vulnerable neighborhoods, often in low-lying areas and along waterways prone to flooding.
Taking action now
One warning from the study’s findings appearing in the journal Nature Climate Change is that the cities where flood risk will increase most are not the cities where the risk is particularly high today. Port cities that haven’t been highly vulnerable in the past are among those facing the greatest increase in risk by 2050. Leading the cities with the greatest increase in risk are Alexandria, Egypt; Barranquilla, Colombia; Naples, Italy; Sapporo, Japan; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
“Coastal defenses reduce the risk of floods today, but they also attract population and assets in protected areas and thus put them at risk in case of the defense fails, or if an event overwhelms it. If they are not upgraded regularly and proactively as risk increases with climate change and subsidence, defenses can magnify – not reduce – the vulnerability of some cities,” Hallegatte said.
With better defenses, more people will be dependent on dikes and sea walls, and losses when those defenses fail to protect the city will get bigger. Along with better structural defenses, cities will need better crisis management and contingency planning, including early warning systems and evacuation plans, Hallegatte said.
In cities where flood damage hasn’t been common, spending money on flood defenses can be politically unpopular. The challenge facing government officials today is investing in protection before the damage occurs.
For small countries, protection and preparation are especially important. A devastating flood in a key city can stall the entire economy of a small country, making recovery and reconstruction even more difficult. For all of the cities, the preparation will save lives and money in the future.
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