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Photo: Silk weavers of Sualkuchi in Assam, Promode Das and Dipti Das. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne | IDN-INPS.

Traditional Silk Weavers in India Losing Out To New Comers

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SUALKUCHI, Assam, India (IDN) – Silk weaving is an intrinsic part of Assamese culture and the "weavers' village" of Sualkuchi is famous for its silk products, especially the Muga silk made from the golden thread of the assama caterpillar. Situated about 30 km from Gauhati, the state capital, tourist brochures describe this as a weavers' paradise. But this is far from reality for the local weavers.

"The cost of production is going up, especially with an increase in the price of thread. We cannot feed the family with our loom," said Ninola Boruah, a local weaver in her 40s. She was particularly critical of the entrepreneurs who have set up what the industry calls "cluster" operations. These consist of a virtual factory with 8 to 12 looms packed into a small hut employing weavers on daily wages.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 18 November 2017

Photo: UNDP Resident Representative in Kenya, Siddharth Chatterjee

Kenya A beacon of Hope, says UNDP Representative Siddharth Chatterjee*

BERLIN | NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS | WION) - Major Siddharth Chatterjee (Retd), the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator and the UNDP Resident Representative in Kenya, a humanitarian and development professional, a feminist and a passionate advocate for youth empowerment who has served in many war-ravaged and fragile parts of the world spoke exclusively to WION about his passion for advancing gender equality, his impressions of Kenya, the UN reform, and his transition from the Indian Army to the UN.

Below is the full transcript of the interview, first published on WION on November 15, 2017. It is being reproduced with due permission.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 18 November 2017

Photo: Over 20,000 people were mobilized in Bonn on 4 November 2017.to demand an end to coal and dirty energy and call for climate justice ahead of COP23. Credit: Amelia Collins/Friends of the Earth International

Rich Countries Criticised For Lack of Serious Action on Climate Change

By Jaya Ramachandran

BONN (IDN) - As the UN climate talks in Bonn (COP23) drew to a close, Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) bashed the rich countries for once again showing poor leadership by not taking serious action on climate change – despite new evidence showing emissions are on the rise.

FoEI's Dipti Bhatnagar said: "Rich nations, including those calling themselves 'climate leaders', have brought crumbs to the table on pre-2020 climate action. But this is meaningless, as they continue to push dirty energy at home and overseas, and fail to support energy transformation in the South. As we learnt this week, emissions are set to rise again for the first time in three years. If nothing changes, then these so-called leaders have booked their spot on the wrong side of history."

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 17 November 2017

Photo: Timoci Naulusala from Fiji addressing UN Climate Conference. Credit: UNFCCC

Fijian Presidency Lends New Dimension to Climate Negotiations

By Ramesh Jaura

BONN (IDN) - Twenty-five years ago, governments came together at the Earth Summit in Rio driven by the idea that the world needed to change the way it was treating its environment.

From that idea, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted – "and a movement began. A movement that, two years ago, resulted in the Paris Agreement," said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa in her opening speech at COP23, the 23rd annual UN Climate Conference.

: Ramesh Jaura; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 16 November 2017

Photo: UN retary-General António Guterres addresses the UN Climate Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany. Photo: Video screen capture

Building a Secure World and a Healthy Planet for All

By António Guterres, UN Secretary-General

Following are extensive excerpts from UN Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks on November 15, 2017 at the Opening of the High-level Segment of COP23, the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). – The Editor

BONN (IDN-INPS) – It is fitting that this year’s conference is led by Fiji, a nation on the frontlines. Last month I visited other small islands facing the impacts of a warming world: Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica. The hurricane damage was beyond belief.

The catastrophic effects of climate change are upon us. Floods, fires, extreme storms and drought are growing in intensity and frequency. Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are higher than they have been for 800,000 years.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 16 November 2017

U.S. and Russia Should Avail of the Avalanche of Truth-Telling

By Alice Slater*

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – NATO’s recent provocative decision to build up its military forces across Europe by sending four new multinational battalions to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland, comes at a time of great turmoil and intense questioning of global security with new forces for both good and evil straining to make their mark on the course of history.

On November 10-11, at the Vatican, Pope Francis held an international conference to follow up on the recently negotiated treaty to prohibit the possession, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons leading to their complete elimination which was negotiated in the UN General Assembly this summer by 122 nations, although none of the nine nuclear weapons states participated.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 16 November 2017

Photo: UNESCO's General Conference. Credit: UNESCO

New UNESCO Director-General Aims to Bridge Divides

By A.D. McKenzie

PARIS (IDN) – “May the force be with you” was one of the comments by an ambassador at the investiture ceremony of UNESCO’s new director-general, Audrey Azoulay of France, on November 13.

The “Star Wars” quotation was meant to evoke the many challenges that lie ahead for Azoulay as she takes over management of the cash-strapped UN educational, scientific and cultural agency and tries to heal internal rifts.

In the absence of a magical lightsaber (a fictional energy sword featured in the Star Wars universe), she will have to rely on her experience, diplomatic skills and the backing of member states, many of which expressed support and encouragement after her election, although they did not all vote for her.

: A.D. McKenzie; UN INSIDER; 15 November 2017

107 Countries Call for Tangible Progress in Implementing the Paris Climate Accord

By Jaya Ramachandran

BONN (IDN) - The 28-nation European Union and 79 countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group have reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, which entered into force on November 4, 2016. They also urged all member states to ensure concrete progress at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23).

COP23 is an abbreviation for the 23rd session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the former West German capital city Bonn, from November 6 to 17.

Both the EU and the ACP Group acknowledge the importance of this year's conference to ensure the achievement of key milestones for the full implementation of the Paris accord.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 14 November 2017

More Steps Forward on Human Rights than Backwards

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) - When Donald Trump stretched his hand across our television screens on Sunday (November 12) to shake the hand of the Philippines’ president, Rodrigo Duterte, and then said he had “a great relationship” with him I felt my gorge contracting.

Having tasted the great, if sometimes flawed, (remember the totally counterproductive policy of arming the Afghani mujahedeen against the Soviet invaders) campaign of another U.S. president, Jimmy Carter, to put human rights at the centre of American foreign, to see this bald regression is a bitter fruit to swallow.

: Jonathan Power; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 14 November 2017

Photo: Iceberg in North Star Bay, Greenland. Credit: NASA's Earth Observatory

Climate Scientists Warn of Unprecedented Risks to Humanity

By Jaya Ramachandran

BONN (IDN) – Scientists are warning of a profound impact on human health and migration, leading to civil unrest and conflict. In a new statement to national representatives meeting in Bonn for the annual climate talks widely known as COP23, scientists said that Earth is approaching tipping points that threaten human security.

The warning that Planet Earth is coming close to a critical situation – when a series of small climate changes would become significant enough to cause havoc – comes as global emissions are projected to rise after three stable years.