Bee fences and women taxi drivers to protect people
Puerto Rico has a new marine protected area, thanks to local organizing
The Vega Baja and Manatí Underwater Gardens will protect 77 square miles of ecosystems that include mangroves and seagrass beds, part of a safe corridor stretching from Puerto Rico to Cuba.
Over a dozen endangered species live in the area, including the Greater Caribbean manatee, several species of turtles, and one of the largest assemblies of elkhorn coral in the region. The designation follows a 16-year campaign. “We rallied neighbors, knocked on doors, and engaged local and national leaders,” said Ricardo Laureano, of a local sustainable development organization.
Why We Wrote This
In our progress roundup, out-of-the-box thinking yields sometimes surprising results: There are countries achieving economic growth while reducing carbon emissions, and in Bolivia, women are taking charge of their safety with their own successful taxi businesses.
Small-scale fishing and ecotourism projects will be allowed to operate, and the coalition is working on a plan for continued co-management. Over 30 marine protected areas, 27% of the waters around Puerto Rico, bring the territory itself close to the international goal of protecting 30% of the world’s land and water by 2030 – a target set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022.
Sources: Mongabay, EcoWatch
Women-run taxi companies are offering safer rides to wary travelers
Gabriela Strauss founded Mujeres al Volante, or Women at the Wheel, a taxi service in the Bolivian capital of La Paz exclusively for women, children, and older people in 2017. The idea has taken off in a country with one of the highest rates of sexual violence and femicide in the region.
Thirty-eight women work with Ms. Strauss as drivers, including Jacqueline Díaz, who joined the team after her 12-year-old escaped from kidnappers on the way to school. While prices are slightly higher than for a regular taxi, riders get customized care. Drivers never leave children alone, even if they have to wait for someone to meet them. “A normal driver wouldn’t do this,” says Ms. Strauss.
Other taxi services have since formed, giving women the independence of an income. One company in El Alto, near La Paz, also offers training on the effects of domestic abuse, legal advice, and women’s rights.
Source: The Guardian
Beehive fences are protecting elephants and boosting farmers’ income
To prevent human-elephant conflict, conservationists are using fences of live beehives strung between posts to deter elephants, which are afraid of being stung. In a nine-year study across 26 farms in Kenya, elephants avoided farms protected by these fences up to 86% of the time during peak crop seasons.
While farmers have to spend some time tending to the beehives, they also benefit by selling honey and wax, and the bees pollinate local plants. Over 14,000 beehives have been installed across Africa and Asia to date.
Sources: University of Oxford, Mongabay
A government deal with 30 publishers gives millions of students access to scientific journals
Research institutions often cannot afford subscriptions to the very journals in which their scholars publish. Under India's One Nation One Subscription, some 18 million students, faculty, and researchers will have access to nearly 13,000 journals for the next three years.
The $715 million deal, negotiated over two years, marks the largest agreement of its kind globally, surpassing similar efforts in Germany and the United Kingdom. Currently, just over a third of India’s 6,300 publicly funded institutions have access to some 8,000 journals.
Critics say the deal does not address the underlying issue of gatekeeping scientific knowledge, while proponents see it as a way to spur scientific discovery. One study estimates the deal could boost research publication by 38%.
Source: Science
Nearly one-third of the world’s regions are growing their economies while reducing carbon emissions
While most research has focused on cities and nations, a study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research analyzed 1,500 subnational regions over the past three decades. Together, these areas account for 85% of the world’s emissions.
The study points to significant “decoupling,” a term used for economic growth achieved without a corresponding increase in carbon emissions. Europe is credited with consistently outperforming other regions. Without more climate action, fewer than half of the regions are on track to reach net zero by 2050.
Sources: ScienceDaily, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
