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Oscar al mejor documental 2011 de Charles Ferguson y Audrey Marrs. La cinta refleja lo que nos ha llevado, a lo largo de la última década, a la crisis en la que nos vemos sumidos y de la que, cuando parecía que ya tendríamos que estar fuera, no hay atisbos de comenzar a salir.‘Inside Job’ es un documental necesario, pues, aunque muchas de las cosas que contiene ya las conocíamos por otros medios, sirve para explicarlas de manera más clara y añade muchas que se desconocían. Es un documental terrorífico, tanto por ver la situación en la que estamos y a la que podemos llegar, como por la constatación de las medidas absurdas que se han tomado y de las atrocidades que se han permitido. Es incluso un documental ameno, que invita en ocasiones a recurrir al humor aunque sea como alivio. Y es, sobre todo, un documental que te enciende, que te conmueve, que te sacude. Si a las películas de ficción les pedimos que no nos dejen indiferentes y que nos hagan sentir, con este film tenemos claro que nos satisfará en esos sentidos. Inside Job cuenta con el testimonio de inversores como George Soros y William Ackman, economistas como Nouriel Roubini, Raghuram Rajan y Simon Johnson y del director gerente del FMI, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, que tratan de dar un poco de luz sobre todo lo ocurrido en 2008 y que desembocó en una crisis financiera y económica internacional. Ferguson señala en su cinta a economistas, ejecutivos de los grandes bancos y políticos, que impulsaron la toma de riesgos para obtener mayores rentabilidades en los activos financieros. Cuando el director de la cinta recogió el premio de la Academia de Hollywood comenzó su discurso diciendo "discúlpenme, pero debo arrancar señalando que tres años después de que estallara nuestra horrible crisis causada por el fraude financiero masivo, ni un solo ejecutivo ha sido encarcelado, y eso está mal".
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Informe muy detallado del gobierno británico en el que han participado 400 expertos de 35 países sobre la actual situación de seguridad alimentaria mundial, vista desde el ángulo de la (insuficiente y poco sostenible) producción y desde el de los consumidores. Buen material de reflexión y referencia sobre la cuestión . Puedes encontrar el informe aquí.
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Interesante artículo sobre cómo una política de subsidios para la compra directa de insumos por parte de los agricultores, y la ayuda de la lluvia, claro, ha logrado que Malawi, uno de los países más pobres de África, esté saliendo de la inseguridad alimentaria crónica. La contrapartida: ¿es económica y medioambientalmente sostenible?
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En 2009, Cruz Roja Española publicó su "Estrategia de Intervención en Seguridad Alimentaria", un documento breve y conciso surgido al calor de la crisis alimentaria de aquel año. El documento pretendía presentar de manera articulada qué estaba haciendo -desde mucho antes- CRE en lo referido a seguridad alimentaria y cuáles eran las estrategias de actuación prioritaria. El pasado 22 de diciembre, dentro de las sesiones de la Reunión de Delegados 2010 celebrada en Madrid, se produjo un encuentro con aquellos delegados en activo que son miembros de esta comunidad, para explicar su funcionamiento y animarles a participar de manera activa en los primeros pasos. Para que todos vayamos aprendiendo cómo funciona Mundocruzroja y hacerlo con sustancia, la propuesta fue buscar un caso práctico que permita a todos los miembros -sea cual sea su actual vinculación con Cruz Roja y conocimiento sobre seguridad alimentaria- aportar su opinión y que todos nos beneficiemos de ello. Y el mejor caso práctico posible que hemos encontrado es la misma "Estrategia de Intervención en Seguidad Alimentaria de Cruz Roja Española, que podéis encontrar en formato pdf y word en la sección de Archivos de esta comunidad. Objetivos: - Que aprendamos todos a utilizar las herramientas que ofrece Mundocruzroja para las comunidades.
Revisar de un modo crítico -en el sentido positivo, claro- el documento de Estrategia, para ampliar, actualizar y afinar su contenido. El trabajo se distribuiría de la siguiente manera:
Aquellos que actualmente ejecutan o en el pasado han ejecutado proyectos de seguridad alimentaria: Buscamos ejemplos exitosos / buenas prácticas de las actividades que se incluyen en la página 2 del documento. Esto nos permitiría ampliar el contenido del documento y que aquellos que no están familiarizados con el trabajo en terreno sepan cómo se concretan los "conceptos". Aquellos que no estén involucrados en proyectos de seguridad alimentaria: cualquier sugerencia, comentario o referencia a tendencias y/o buenas prácticas en seguridad alimentaria que pudiesen ser de interés para Cruz Roja Española, es más que bienvenido.
Resultado de este ejercicio: Un nuevo documento de Estrategia para la consideración de la dirección de Cruz Roja Española, con el valor añadido de que sea el producto de muchos especialistas como vosotros y además vinculados con la organización. Mundocruzroja permite trabajar y editar documentos colgados en la sección de Archivos, por lo que se puede trabajar con un documento común para todos y que así estemos siempre utilizando la última versión. Por eso hemos colgado el documento de Estrategia en formato Word. Como primer paso, necesitaríamos a alguien con interés y tiempo para coordinar este ejercicio. Sois bienvenidos. Mundocruzroja es vuestro y debería ser algo más que un contenedor de archivos interesantes que consultar de vez en cuando. Vuestra participación es fundamental y esta es una buenísima oportunidad para que lo hagáis de manera estructurada. Saludos,
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GIEWS Country Briefs provide up to date information on the food security situation of developing countries. The Country Briefs include information on current agricultural season and the harvest prospects for main staple food crops and livestock situation. In addition, the briefs provide estimates and forecasts of cereal production and imports together with food price and policy developments. Other topical information may be included when relevant. The Briefs are updated no less than six times per year.
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Perspectivas Alimentarias se publica semestralmente por la FAO (en mayo/junio y noviembre/diciembre) y se centra en los factores que afectan a los mercados mundiales de productos alimentarios y de piensos. El subtítulo "Análisis de los mercados mundiales" refleja este enfoque en la evolución de los mercados internacionales, con pronósticos y evaluaciones exhaustivos para cada producto básico. Puedes acceder a la página de FAO donde se encuentra este informe y los anteriores aqui.
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Cancun, Tuesday 7 December 2010 - A major new publication issued at the UN climate conference in Cancun (COP-16) by DARA, a specialist humanitarian research organization, and the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a group of highly active most vulnerable countries, continues to expose major gaps in current understanding and responses to climate change. The report, Climate Vulnerability Monitor: The State of the Climate Crisis, analyses the vulnerability of 184 countries across four main areas of impacts caused by climate change to human health, extreme weather, loss of human habitat to desertification and sea-level rise, and economic stresses on the agricultural sector and key natural resources, including water. The report aims to keep track of evolving vulnerability and inform more effective responses to a rapidly changing climate and escalating impacts on vulnerable communities. Human Toll of Climate Change: Mainly Climate-Sensitive Diseases among Children Climate change already accounts for some 350,000 deaths each year due mainly to an aggravating effect on infectious diseases that react to climate change, discloses the report. That impact will build to nearly 1 million deaths per year by 2030 in absence of remedial actions, including around 5 million deaths over the next ten years. Nearly 80% of all climate-related mortality concerns children living in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, suffering from malnutrition, diarrheal infections and malaria. This contrasts against just 3% of prioritized adaptation programmes among least development countries that address health issues. Climate Impacts Affect High-Risk Development Goals the Most: Extreme Poverty, Hunger and Child Mortality The report makes clear that the impacts of climate change are most extreme in the areas of extreme poverty, hunger and child mortality. These are precisely the same areas where human development objectives are most at risk: the UN's Millennium Development Goals 1 (Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger) and 4 (Reduce child mortality) - currently far off track for achievement of the 2015 targets agreed by the international community. Human health impacts are highly concentrated among children and exacerbate malnutrition to significant degrees, driving hunger and child mortality. While the world's poorest countries are suffering the highest relative economic losses due to climate change, especially severe among rural communities reliant on agriculture and fisheries. The effects of climate change are therefore putting 2015 targets at further risk. Report Advisor, Jan Eliasson, member of the UN Secretary-General's Advocacy Group on the Millennium Development Goals, said: "The human development targets most at risk today concern hunger, child mortality and extreme poverty. The Climate Vulnerability Monitor provides compelling indications that the harmful effects of climate change are most detrimental in just these areas. Effective adaptation to changes in our climate, therefore, will bring benefits for human development, especially here. While sustainable development progress itself - and MDG 7 - is a key component in fighting vulnerability to climate change." Strongest Links of Development to Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change Across countries, climate vulnerability is found to increase steadily as human development levels drop - pointing to the need to reinforce human development efforts in most vulnerable countries. Effective and comprehensive climate change adaptation policies do boost development progress, including support to each of the different Millennium Development Goals. Other countries, like Maldives or Kazakhstan, have much higher vulnerability than nations with comparative human development levels due to greater exposure to climate stress, like sea-level rise or desertification. Climate Has Worst Impact on High Risk Regions - Africa, South Asia, Small Islands According to the report's findings, the impacts of climate change are also most extreme in Africa, South Asia and among small island states, which are also the regions most behind in development progress. Island Nations Already Heavily Impacted - Facing Existential Threats The report also singles out island nations, particularly low-lying states, as highly vulnerable to multiple impacts, especially sea-level rise, which seriously affect local economies through damages like salt intrusion of soil and water deposits, or lost and eroded land. Diverting resources away from productive sectors in order to protect coastal zones also implies costs to GDP. In the South Pacific region alone an annual average of more than 4% of GDP is already lost due to climate change. Longer-term "existential threats" due to sea-level rise are therefore already a serious stress. Climate Vulnerable Forum founder, President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives said: "What happens to the Maldives today, will happen to others tomorrow. The Monitor helps to bring that clarity of vision to the entire world." Fragile States under Extreme Climate Pressures The report also identifies among the worst affected countries a number of highly fragile states with some of the world's lowest levels of development, including Afghanistan and Somalia. Conflict and weak socio-political institutions will complicate effective adaptation to climate change that would otherwise attenuate the serious additional stresses now faced in these states. Basic peace and state-building initiatives together with strengthened human development efforts will be a crucial complement to any adaptation policies among fragile and conflict-stricken countries. DARA Chief Executive, Ross Mountain, former head of the UN's development and humanitarian operations in Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said: "What we have seen this year in Pakistan, in China - the flooding - in Russia - the fires - and what we see around the world. This is not just the future. This is today. How much more stress do we honestly think places highly vulnerable to climate change like Afghanistan or Somalia can take?" Effective Adaptation Readily Available to Limit Virtually All Climate Impacts The report's major review of adaptation responses details readily accessible and highly effective adaptation responses for every single type of climate impact seen today. Existing national planes are deemed "woefully inadequate" and require immediate reinforcement with nowhere near the necessary level of measures currently in place. As with actions addressing health effects, the levels of measures in place to reduce damage to coral reefs and marine fisheries are particularly inadequate in terms of current climate stresses. Particularly cost-effective are measures addressing human health impacts, such as oral rehydration therapies or bed nets that address diarrheal infections and malaria. Disaster prevention measures, such as emergency warning systems, or coastal defenses are also highly cost-effective in terms of reducing vulnerability and limiting climate impacts.
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From United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Forgotten Billion Reside in the Drylands, New Study Claims
Bonn, 17 September 2010. “It will be impossible to halve the world’s poverty and hunger by 2015 unless life is improved for the poor people of the drylands,” claims a new study titled The Forgotten Billion to be released at the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Summit in New York, next week.
The study, which maps the ‘forgotten billion’ drylands inhabitants from a natural endowments perspective, finds similar patterns at both the global and national levels. “In certain regions, human well-being, particularly female adult literacy and child mortality, decline in parallel with the aridity gradient,” which is related to water scarcity, according to the study jointly published by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Therefore, it is not a coincidence that as Ghana achieved the Goal of halving poverty and hunger and became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to do so in 2006 well ahead of schedule, the proportion of poor people in its driest and most remote Upper East and Upper West regions also increased, and got left behind. Similarly, five of the ten countries at the bottom of UNDP’s Human Development Index are the predominantly drylands countries of Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger, as well as Iraq, Somalia and Zimbabwe that are unranked due to a lack of data. The Forgotten Billion also underscores that drylands are “one of the most conflict-prone regions of the world, and some of the conflicts attract foreign intervention.”
“The message of this forward-looking study is clear. Poor soils result in poor people,” says Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD. “This study reinforces the assertions made by UN Secretary-General Ban on Monday on the need to target women and children, but it goes further. It points more specifically to the drylands regions as the location where women and children are most severely constrained in the attainment of the Goals. It is unequivocal that a ‘perceived remoteness’ has led to the political disadvantage and economic marginalization of the drylands, undermining the attainment of the MDGs,” he added.
“By finding that drylands are one of the world’s granaries and support half of the world’s livestock, the study explodes the myth that all drylands are empty, barren places with little economic value, and makes plain the conditions for success. The policy implications are clear. To achieve the Goals set for 2015 will require a strong coalition pursing five drylands-focused policy approaches. These are, first, country-led development and effective governance addressing the specific needs and conditions of drylands populations. Second, inclusive and pro-poor economic growth polices that improve farming systems and soil productivity. Third, climate adaptation to help small holder farmers to manage risk and reduce climate-driven shocks. Well-tailored and targeted interventions for social assistance, and for investment in education, health and basic services are the other two approaches,” Mr. Gnacadja stated.
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7 September 2010
By Amanda George, British Red Cross, Port-au-Prince |  |
Marie Elide Mimgot, 60, resident of Automeca camp in Port-au-Prince, has just received a text message from the British Red Cross to say that she is entitled to a 9,750 Haitian gourde (HTG) – approximately USD 250 - cash grant. To collect it, Marie must go to one of many Unitransfer bank points across the capital. When she shows her ID and the SMS message she will be able to collect the money. This is the first of one of three planned instalments that 3,000 households in Automeca camp will receive from the British Red Cross ... (read more) |
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La decisión del primer ministro ruso, Vladímir Putin, de prolongar la prohibición sobre las exportaciones de cereales hasta que se recoja la cosecha del próximo año (noviembre de 2011) ha desatado el temor a una nueva crisis alimentaria mundial. La Organización de Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO) convocó ayer una reunión, que se celebrará en Roma el 24 de este mes de septiembre, para tratar de controlar los precios de los alimentos básicos. "En las últimas semanas, el precio del trigo en el mercado global de cereales ha experimentado un súbito incremento ante el temor a que se produzca escasez", dijo un portavoz de la FAO, al anunciar que el objetivo de la reunión es que los países exportadores y los importadores busquen "soluciones constructivas" a la tensión que viven los mercados. >> leer más
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