Chris Milton : Independent Journalist & Writer

The Ecologist

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A group of pioneer cities from around the World have pledged to protect and increase the biodiversity found within their urban areas.

Each of the cities has signed the Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) Durban Commitment and will now compile long term plans to promote biodiversity in five different ecological areas.

These plans will be finalised during 2009 and the first progress reports from the cities will be published in time for 2010, the Year of Biodiversity.

The pledge launches the final phase of the LAB pilot project before it is officially opened to all comers next year.

There are 21 pioneer cities in total, including Leicester, Zagreb, Durban, São Paulo, Edmonton and Seoul. Each became a pioneer because of the different forms of urban climate and environment they represent.

They will act as trailblazers within their regional communities and provide advice and support to other cities that join as the numbers increase exponentially.

Current plans include curbing the spread of invasive species, ensuring all municipality sourced wood is local and certified and making ecological design principles a staple of the urban planning process.

LAB is run by the ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, an association of nearly 1000 municipal areas in 68 countries who use local initiatives to create sustainable urban environments.

Korbie Brand, Regional Director of ICLEI Africa, said: “We still need to shift towards long-term, sustainable thinking and unlock the potential for economic growth and job creation through environmental initiatives.”

For more information visit the LAB website: http://tinyurl.com/lab0001

IM Magazine

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Think of Africa and what images spring to mind? Starvation and poverty? Subsistence farming and political corruption? Violence and war? Few would realise it’s a hotbed of scientific genius and mathematical prowess.

Young Africans were once exceptionally lucky to receive a basic education, and far too many are still left out of the loop. Those that are able to pursue an academic path often disappear to Europe or North America, leaving their continent as intellectually impoverished as it’s ever been.

Now, thanks to the vision of a Cambridge Professor and the generosity of a little known international group, all this is about to undergo a dramatic change for the better.

For over twenty years a group of some of the most powerful people on the planet has shaped and changes our lives and the lifestyles we follow.

This is no semi-mythical group nor is it a gathering of the rich or the powerful. Its proceedings are in the public domain and videos of its proceedings are freely available under the Creative Commons Licence.

This is TED.
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The Ecologist

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A Colombian community leader known for fighting for the rights of subsistence farmers has been assassinated by paramilitaries while under the protection of the government.

Walberto Hoyos Rivas was well known for leading protests against the expropriation of farmers’ lands into industrial plantations and ranches. Just hours before his murder he had been called to give evidence at a trial of two paramilitaries accused of a similar killing in 2006.

In 2007 he was placed under the protection of Colombia’s Ministry of Interior and Justice following an unsuccessful assassination attempt. However at the time of the attack he was undefended as his bodyguard’s car had broken down.

Walberto is the most well known of three community leaders who were murdered during October, all of whom were active in fighting the continuing growth of agri-business in the country.

Paramilitary activity has increased in the two years since a Free Trade Agreement was reached between Colombia and the USA, despite the proposal receiving a 98% No vote in a referendum.

In early October farmers organised a mass march upon the capital Bogotá to protest against the agreement. This led to clashes with the police and in one incident several of the protesters were killed and over a hundred injured.