Search results

Today, on 20 November, is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Broader systemic inequalities still exist - especially in three crucial areas: gender identity/expression, sex work and migration.

Shortly before the coup, the offices of HBF partner Magamba Network were raided and a team member arrested. Magamba's Tongai Makawa provides an update and reflects on the implications of the military takeover.

The Zimbabwean military has apparently ended President Mugabes longlasting regime. Although unparalleled, the coup appears to pre-empt imminent threats to military interests, says political analyst and researcher McDonald Lewanika.

The Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC) was formed to strengthen civil society's active participation in decision making processes on climate change in Pakistan. As a proponent of collective action towards climate change Heinrich Boell Stiftung Pakistan thought it worthwhile to support CSCCC.

A coalition of Syrian civil society, activists and lawyers have filed criminal complaints in Germany against some high-ranking Syrian officials under the principle of universal jurisdiction. A first step towards justice for the victims and survivors of all crimes committed in Syria.

State capture by well-connected politicians and their recklessly proceeding patronage networks has been far reaching in the Balkans. How could citizens deal with very diffuse networks, if there are no intact correctives, no free, no independent justice?

In 2016, global spending on oil and gas projects was more than double the total spent on renewables. This imbalance can only be tackled by restructuring the mechanisms.

The Czech election results are a source of considerable concern. Nevertheless, it is worth taking a differentiated look at them and not panicking about warnings that all of Central Europe is bidding farewell to the principles of liberal democracy.

This year alone, the world has faced unprecedented floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts on virtually every continent. A safe climate future requires ending the age of Big Oil.

The 23rd meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 23) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will convene from 6 to 17 November in Bonn, Germany, under the presidency of the government of Fiji, the first time that a small island nation has served in this role. 

Up to five women are murdered every day in Turkey. Photographer Emine Akbaba collected evidence videos and took photos of the sites of crime. As for herself, she says that she is no longer sure how to come to terms with everything she has seen.

The UN climate summit COP 23 will convene from 6 to 17 November 2017 in Bonn, Germany, under the presidency of the government of Fiji. This article provides an overview of key issues at stake and a summary of our expectations for the COP 23.

Agroecology is a successful concept which promotes farming methods that are attuned to local ecosystems. It is already used for growing rice worldwide.

Industry says it can feed the world. But total food production is not the issue; access to food is. The key solution is to fight poverty.

In many countries, people are resisting agrarian and trade policies that boost the power of the multinationals. Individual companies also come in for criticism.

In the coming years, seed companies plan to use genome editing to produce crops with new characteristics – and market them without having to state that they are "genetically modified".

Mergers galore: Bayer wants to buy Monsanto and become the world’s largest producer of seeds and agrochemicals. All top rivaling companies are pairing up.

All graphs of the Agrifood Atlas are published under a Creative Commons License CC BY 4.0. and can be continued to be used, processed and published under the mentioned conditions. You can find all downloads available in various formats (png, pdf) here.

It is not always the lack of attention from policy makers but their capacities and knowledge on environment related issues that put environment on the back-burner. In Pakistan unfortunately there is less sensitivity about environment and ecological considerations in policy making circles.

The reclamation of seed as a common good has begun. Following the concept of open source, new approaches evolve that result in the cultivation of a large number of species and varieties.

Germany has been seen as a leader in renewable energy in the European Union, but there is still a long way to go. To revitalize both European and German energy transitions, Rebecca Bertram proposes three strategies for Germany’s new government to put in place at the EU level.

The World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) and Heinrich Bӧll Stiftung Pakistan (hbs) have been working together for the growth of Renewable Energy (RE) in Pakistan since 2013. In 2017 both partners are joining hands once more for holding RE Dialogues across Pakistan. Some of the main reasons of slower RE growth in Pakistan are lack of coordination between federal and provincial governments with regards to RE development, and lack of awareness among different federal and provincial agencies about their mandate relating to RE deployment especially, after 18th amendment to the Constitution. The RE dialogues assess institutional landscapes of RE at federal as well as provincial levels through engaging multi-stakeholders from government, civil society and the private sector.

The production of raw materials in Latin America leads to blatant human rights violations and conflicts. Without a strong civil society and the responsibility of European consumers, the settlement of resource-related conflicts becomes impossible.

The domestic media in Slovakia discussed especially the policy of the future German government towards the EU and the US, as well as the success of the right-wing AfD in Germany.

The results of the German general election were met in the Czech Republic with interest but not much excitement compared to the emotional responses which they evoked in Germany. 

Geoengineering technologies are not yet deployable globally, but support for them is advancing fast, thanks to backing by powerful advocates eager to start experiments. But no silver bullet for climate change exists, and we must not abandon proven methods for the sake of a promise that one will be found.

Viktor Orbán, facing an upcoming general election, may generate domestic political capital if the German government becomes more decisive in demanding that EU member states comply with the European Union’s migration-related regulations. 

Hungary’s liaison with the Kremlin has turned the economic “Eastern Opening” into the construction of a full-blown illiberal democracy. This goes hand in hand with Russia’s growing leverage over Hungary with respect to economic as well as soft power.