The Human Consciousness Now...Our World in the Midst of Becoming...to What? Observe, contemplate Now.
SRINAGAR, India & BELÉM, Brazil, Nov 8 2025 (IPS) - A report by the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC) and Earth Insight paints a stark picture of how extractive industries, deforestation, and climate change are converging to endanger the world’s last intact tropical forests and the Indigenous Peoples who protect them.
The report, ‘Indigenous Territories and Local Communities on the Frontlines,’ combines geospatial analysis and community data to show that nearly one billion hectares of forests are under Indigenous stewardship, yet face growing industrial threats that could upend global climate and biodiversity goals.
Despite representing less than five percent of the world’s population, Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPs and LCs) safeguard more than half of all remaining intact forests and 43 percent of global biodiversity hotspots.
These territories store vast amounts of carbon, regulate ecosystems, and preserve cultures and languages that have sustained humanity’s relationship with nature for millennia. But the report warns that governments and corporations are undermining this stewardship through unrestrained extraction of resources in the name of economic growth or even “green transition.”
One of the main report authors, Florencia Librizzi, who is also a Deputy Director at Earth Insight, told IPS that the perspectives and stories from each region are grounded in the lived realities of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and come directly from the organizations from each of the regions that the report focuses on in Mesoamerica, Amazonia, the Congo Basin, and Indonesia.
Across four critical regions—the Amazon, Congo Basin, Indonesia, and Mesoamerica—extractive industries overlap with millions of hectares of ancestral land. In the Amazon, oil and gas blocks cover 31 million hectares of Indigenous territories, while mining concessions sprawl across another 9.8 million.
In the Congo Basin, 38 percent of community forests are under oil and gas threat, endangering peatlands that store immense quantities of carbon. Indonesia’s Indigenous territories face 18 percent overlap with timber concessions, while in Mesoamerica, 19 million hectares—17 percent of Indigenous land—are claimed for mining, alongside rampant narcotrafficking and colonization.
These intrusions have turned Indigenous territories into sacrifice zones. From nickel extraction in Indonesia to oil drilling in Ecuador and illegal logging in the Democratic Republic of Congo, corporate incursions threaten lives, livelihoods, and ecosystems. Between 2012 and 2024, 1,692 environmental defenders were killed or disappeared across GATC countries, with 208 deaths linked to extractive industries and 131 to logging. The report calls this violence “the paradox of protection”—the act of defending nature now puts those defenders at deadly risk.
Yet the report also documents extraordinary resilience. In Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve, Indigenous forest communities have achieved near-zero deforestation—only 1.5 percent forest loss between 2014 and 2024, compared to 11 percent in adjacent areas. In Colombia, Indigenous Territorial Entities maintain over 99 percent of their forests intact.
The O’Hongana Manyawa of Indonesia continue to defend their lands against nickel mining, while the Guna people of Panama manage autonomous governance systems that integrate culture, tourism, and ecology.
In the Congo, the 2022 “Pygmy Law” has begun recognizing community rights to forest governance, a historic step toward justice.
The report’s findings were released ahead of the 30th UN Climate Conference (COP30), emphasizing the urgency of aligning international climate and biodiversity frameworks with Indigenous rights.
The 2025 Brazzaville Declaration, adopted at the First Global Congress of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities from the Forest Basins, provides a roadmap for such alignment.
Signed by leaders from 24 countries representing 35 million people, it calls for five key commitments: secure land rights, free and informed consent, direct financing to communities, protection of life, and recognition of traditional knowledge.
These “Five Demands” are the cornerstone of what the GATC calls a shift “from extraction to regeneration.”
They demand an end to the violence and criminalization of Indigenous leaders and insist that global climate finance reach local hands.
The report notes that, despite the 2021 COP26 pledge of 1.7 billion dollars for forest protection, only 7.6 percent of that money reached Indigenous communities directly.
“Without financing that strengthens territorial governance, all global commitments will remain symbolic,” said the GATC in a joint statement.
Reacting to the announcement of the The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) announced on the first day of the COP Leaders’ Summit and touted as a “new and innovative financing mechanism” that would see forest countries paid every single year in perpetuity for keeping forests standing, Juan Carlos Jintiach, Executive Secretary of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC) said, “Even if the TFFF does not reach all its fundraising goals, the message it conveys is already powerful: climate and forest finance cannot happen without us Indigenous Peoples and local leadership at its core.
“This COP offers a crucial opportunity to amplify that message, especially as it takes place in the heart of the Amazon. We hope the focus remains on the communities who live there, those of us who have protected the forests for generations. What we need most from this COP is political will to guarantee our rights, to be recognized as partners rather than beneficiaries, to ensure transparency and justice in climate finance, and to channel resources directly to those defending the land, despite growing risks and violence.”
Deforestation in Acre State, Brazil. Credit: Victor Moriyama / Climate Visuals
Jintiach, who is also the report’s author, told IPS the Global Alliance has proposed establishing clear mechanisms to ensure that climate finance reaches Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ initiatives directly, not through layers of external actors.
“That’s why we have established our Shandia Platform, a global Indigenous-led mechanism designed to channel direct, predictable, and effective climate finance to our territories. Through the Shandia Funds Network, we ensure that funding is managed according to our priorities, governance systems, and traditional knowledge. The platform also includes a transparent system to track and monitor funding flows, with a specific indicator for direct finance to Indigenous Peoples and local communities,” he said.
The report also warns that global conservation goals such as the “30×30” biodiversity target—protecting 30 percent of Earth’s land and sea by 2030—cannot succeed without Indigenous participation. Policies under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement must, it says, embed Indigenous governance and knowledge at their core. Otherwise, climate strategies risk reinforcing historical injustices by excluding those who have sustained these ecosystems for centuries.
Jintiach said that based on his experience at GATC, Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’-led conservation models are not only vital but also deeply effective.
“In our territories, it is our peoples and communities who are conserving both nature and culture, protecting the forests, waters, and biodiversity that sustain all of us,” he said.
He added, “Multiple studies confirm what we already know from experience: Indigenous and local community lands have lower rates of deforestation and higher biodiversity than those managed under state or private models. Our success is rooted in ancestral knowledge, collective governance, and a deep spiritual connection to the land, principles that ensure true, lasting conservation.”
According to Jintiach, the GATC 5 demands and the Brazzaville Declaration are critical global reference points and we are encouraged by the level of interest and engagement displayed by political leaders in the lead-up to COP 30.
Map highlighting extractive threats faced by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities across the Amazon basin. Credit: GATC
“We are hopeful that these principles will be uplifted and championed at COP 30, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, CBD COP 17 and on the long road ahead,” he said.
When asked about the rising violence against environmental defenders, Jintiach said that the Brazzaville Declaration calls for a global convention to protect Environmental Human Rights Defenders, including Indigenous Peoples and local community leaders.
According to him, the governments must urgently tackle the corruption and impunity fueling threats and violence while supporting collective protection and preventing rollback of rights.
“This also means upholding and strengthening the Escazú Agreement and UNDRIP, and ensuring long-term protection through Indigenous Peoples and local communities-led governance, secure land tenure, and accountability for human rights violations.”
Earth Insight’s Executive Director Tyson Miller described the collaboration as a call to action rather than another policy document. “Without urgent recognition of territorial rights, respect for consent, and protection of ecosystems, global climate and biodiversity goals cannot be achieved,” he said. “This report is both a warning and an invitation—to act with courage and stand in solidarity.”
The case studies highlight how Indigenous governance models already offer proven solutions to the climate crisis. In the Brazilian Amazon, Indigenous organizations have proposed a self-determined Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to reduce emissions through territorial protection. Their slogan, “Demarcation is Mitigation,” underlines how securing Indigenous land rights directly supports the Paris Agreement’s goals. Similarly, in Central Africa, communities have pioneered decolonized conservation approaches that integrate Indigenous leadership into national park management, reversing exclusionary models imposed since colonial times.
In Mesoamerica, the Muskitia region—known as “Little Amazon”—illustrates both crisis and hope. It faces deforestation from drug trafficking and illegal logging, yet community-based reforestation and forest monitoring are restoring ecosystems and livelihoods. Women and youth play leading roles in governance, showing how inclusive leadership strengthens resilience.
The report’s conclusion is unequivocal: where Indigenous rights are recognized, ecosystems thrive; where they are ignored, destruction follows. It argues that the fight for land is inseparable from the fight against climate change. Indigenous territories are not just sources of raw materials; they are “living systems of governance, culture, and biodiversity” essential to humanity’s survival.
The Brazzaville Declaration urges governments to ratify international human rights conventions, end deforestation by 2030, and integrate Indigenous territories into national biodiversity and climate plans. It also calls for a global convention to protect environmental human rights defenders, whose safety is central to planetary stability.
For GATC’s leaders, the message is deeply personal. “Our traditional knowledge is the language of Mother Earth,” said Joseph Itongwa, GATC Co-Chair from the Congo Basin. “We cannot protect the planet if our territories, our identity, and our livelihoods remain under threat.”
This feature is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.
IPS UN Bureau Report
IPS UN Bureau, IPS UN Bureau Report,
Excerpt:
A new report, 'Indigenous Territories and Local Communities on the Frontlines,' calls for secure land rights, free and informed consent, direct financing to communities, protection of life, and recognition of traditional knowledge.
Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance, argues that there is a real appetite in countries around the world to decarbonize at pace, but most developing country NDCs are conditional on financing. This is the crucial challenge to address.
United Nations Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap Report 2025: Off Target concludes that even with full implementation of all existing pledges, global temperatures are projected to rise between 2.3°C and 2.5°C this century. Should current policies persist, global warming could potentially reach 2.8°C.
NEW YORK, Nov 7 2025 (IPS) - The New York City mayoral elections captured the world’s attention with an excitement normally reserved for the United States presidential elections. It all culminated on Tuesday night with Zohran Mamdani’s decisive victory, signaling that hope was emerging after a period of anxiety and uncertainty for the United States. Zohran Mamdani will represent and govern New York City, one of the world’s wealthiest and most high-profile cities.
Since Wednesday morning, my social media has been full of posts from friends and family that don’t live in New York or even in the U.S. celebrating Mamdani’s win as if he had won the mayoral race in their city. Thanks in large part to his successful outreach on social media, Mamdani’s brand and the principles of authenticity that serve as its foundation resonated with people beyond New York’s borders.
Mamdani’s campaign and victory were like a fairytale unfolding in real time. Beginning as a little-known state assemblyman even within his own state, he became a global household name in one year.
Through grassroots efforts and new tactics eschewed by the establishment, his campaign gained traction with a growing coalition defined by its demographic diversity. He was the underdog challenging the current administration with his principles and convictions and even facing resistance from the old guard in his own political party.
In a way, his win reaffirms the myth of the American Dream, where anyone has the freedom and opportunity to pursue a better life. He has done this while presenting a conviction in his beliefs rooted in unity and empathy. He has achieved several historic firsts for the city: the first Muslim mayor, the first South Asian mayor, and the youngest mayor in more than a century.
While his policies for affordable living are integral to his appeal, Mamdani’s background as a Muslim man of Indian-Ugandan origin has resonated with immigrants who made sacrifices to move away from their home in pursuit of a better life. The ideal of the American Dream posits that America is the land where prosperity is still something to be gained, not just inherited. A land that promotes economic prosperity and the protection of civil liberties.
Those sacrifices must otherwise feel in vain; they must also struggle to pay for basic necessities given the high cost of living in New York City. That is perhaps where people connected with Mamdani and his message of hope; people could see that he genuinely recognized their struggles and would have witnessed them himself.
Even in the face of vitriolic rhetoric that targeted his experience, or comparative lack thereof, in relation to his faith, Mamdani did not back down or diminish his identity. Where immigrants may learn to assimilate, Mamdani showed why it is more important than ever to embrace authenticity and all facets of one’s identity.
Now that he will be the next mayor, Mamdani will have the task ahead of him of delivering on his promises to make the city more affordable. But he will also have to prove that his convictions were not just for the campaign. This world capital, the host of the United Nations, could not have asked for a more internationalist mayor.
He is a domestic politician with an international outlook. One can see even within his own family. He is married to a Syrian-American immigrant. Both his parents are cultural and academic figures in their own right.
His father, Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani, has taught political science and post-colonialism subjects across universities in Uganda, South Africa, Senegal, and even here at Columbia University.
His mother, Mira Nair, is an Indian filmmaker who has directed popular movies like Monsoon Wedding and Mississippi Masala but has also worked on projects like Still, the Children Are Here, a documentary about the Garo indigenous communities in northeastern India. She produced this film in collaboration with the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
While this reveals the level of privilege that Mamdani descends from, this may also shed light on his awareness of social justice issues. This may also reveal how he defined his campaign with the promise of change and authenticity as an embodiment of New York’s demographic and cultural DNA.
Recent times have been marked by division and uncertainty, which make pre-existing problems much harder to deal with. Even an institution like the UN, which purports to include all communities to set the common agenda for development and prosperity, has been forced to make difficult compromises.
It is struggling within the constraints of limited funding and political will without follow-through due in part to the conflicting interests between member states and other stakeholders. The UN is defined by a principled impartiality. It platforms a diverse range of issues of global interest and advocates for peaceful, inclusive dialogue. Yet it is also restrained from taking firmer principled positions due to member states’ individual interests.
In that respect, the UN and New York have something in common. They are shaped by the member states/communities that make them, and they work as those groups see fit, even if at times it seems that a small percentage holds the greatest influence and determines the fate of the majority.
Perhaps the UN could stand to benefit and learn from a mayor like Mamdani, who has demonstrated that a global outlook on domestic affairs can be conducive. He may remind us that channeling hope and expecting—not just pursuing—the dignity of life can make a difference.
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BRUSSELS, Belgium, Nov 7 2025 (IPS) - President Prabowo Subianto welcomed his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil to Jakarta recently to strengthen ties between the fast-growing economies.
The timing is significant. The meeting was just weeks before Brazil hosts the COP30 climate change talks in Belém, a bustling port city at the mouth of the Amazon River.
Like Brazil, Indonesia is home to expansive rainforests that attract intense international scrutiny because of their rich biodiversity and globally-important role as carbon sinks. And like Brazil, Indonesia has implemented new policies designed to boost biofuel use.
The leaders, who agreed to expand cooperation as two of the world’s largest biofuel producers, contend that the energy sources are needed to reduce reliance on imports and cut emissions.
But Indonesia has been down this road before.
Cian Delaney
The gold rush for the oil displaced indigenous communities, smallholder farmers, and destroyed vital ecosystems that critically endangered species like orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and the Javan rhinoceros depend on to survive.
In Borneo alone, far from reducing carbon pollution, slash and burn agriculture caused the largest single-year global emissions increase seen in 2,000 years, according to NASA.
Falling demand and the introduction of conservation measures helped slow deforestation over the subsequent decade, however, the Subianto-Lula meeting reflects a troubling resurgence of biofuels as a global commodity.
Brazil will ask the international community at COP30 to sign a pledge calling for a quadrupling of so-called “sustainable fuels”—biofuels chief among them—over the next decade.
The proposed pledge rests heavily on a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report that shows a fourfold increase can be achieved through innovative fuel developments and a doubling of biofuel use. In the fine print, however, the IEA notes that no additional land should be needed to meet the goal.
Brazil’s COP30 pledge makes no such distinction—raising concerns that growing demand will incentivize deforestation and heighten competition for land that is already scarce.
In August, Brazil lifted a soy moratorium that environmentalists credit for the significant conservation gains made over the past two decades to make way for more cultivation.
There is also the question of food.
Globally, about 90 percent of biofuel production relies on food staples. In 2023, the biofuel industry used around 200 million tonnes of corn, 8 million tonnes of wheat, 40 million tonnes of vegetable oil and enough sugarcane and sugarbeet to make 50 million tonnes of sugar.
By one estimation the energy stored in these crops could satisfy the minimum caloric requirements for 1.3 billion people, while it takes nearly 3,000 litres of water to produce enough biofuel to drive a car only 100 kilometers.
Biofuels also have serious implications for the atmosphere. Litre for litre it is estimated that, when the full impact of land use change caused by biofuel production is accounted for, they emit an average of 16% more carbon than the fossil fuels they replace.
But transitioning away from biofuels cannot ignore social and economic realities on the ground. Indonesia’s new policies, for example, stem from the country’s palm oil surplus and a need to maintain rural employment.
In response, Indonesian NGOs have increasingly been advocating for a holistic solution that would put caps on expansion, improve traceability, and invest in community-based governance, including a decentralized energy system.
At the beginning of the year, Indonesia formally joined the BRICS, an influential bloc of developing nations that make up almost half of the global population and conduct nearly a quarter of all trade.
The countries also account for 51 percent of emissions. In recent years, the bloc has made statements that suggest climate change is its top foreign policy priority and last July committed to increasing peer-to-peer climate finance.
If Indonesia and its new partners are serious about building a new kind of economy that works for the Global South without undermining progress made toward cutting emissions, they will need to match their lofty rhetoric with tangible action. Starting an honest conversation about biofuels in Belém would be a good place to start.
Cian Delaney is Campaign Coordinator, Transport & Environment
IPS UN Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 7 2025 (IPS) - “Has the world given up fighting climate change?” was a rhetorical question posed recently by the New York Times, perhaps with a degree of sarcasm.
It might look that way, says Christiana Figueres, a founding partner of the nongovernmental organization Global Optimism, “as US president Donald Trump blusters about fossil fuel, Bill Gates prioritizes children’s health over climate protection, and oil and gas companies plan decades of higher production.”
But that’s far from the whole picture, said Figueres, pointing out that the overwhelming majority of the world’s people — 80 to 89%, as Covering Climate Now partner newsrooms have been reporting — want stronger climate action.
Clean energy technologies are attracting twice as much investment as fossil fuels, and solar power and regenerative agriculture are surging across the Global South, she said.
Meanwhile, the United States will not send any high-level officials to the COP30, according to the White House.
John Noel, campaigner with Greenpeace International, told IPS the current administration is ceding leadership and leverage over the clean energy future to other countries.
“It is tragic, but not surprising. But for those of us heading to Belem from the United States, we are on solid ground with public opinion in broad support of the Paris Agreement and are more committed than ever.”
There are avenues, he pointed out, for climate ambition at the subnational level, such as ‘polluter pay’ mechanisms and state incentives for clean energy during the federal lapse in support.
“Global leaders at COP30 must move forward to adopt ambitious climate targets, end global deforestation by 2030, and advance a just energy transition and climate action must continue on” Noel declared.
Addressing the plenary of leaders at the Belem Climate Summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said November 6 “the hard truth is that we have failed to ensure we remain below 1.5 degrees.”
“Science now tells us that a temporary overshoot beyond the 1.5 limit – starting at the latest in the early 2030s – is inevitable. We need a paradigm shift to limit this overshoot’s magnitude and duration and quickly drive it down”.
Even a temporary overshoot will have dramatic consequences. It could push ecosystems past irreversible tipping points, expose billions to unlivable conditions, and amplify threats to peace and security.
Every fraction of a degree means more hunger, displacement, and loss – especially for those least responsible. This is moral failure – and deadly negligence, he warned.
The United Nations, however, will not give up on the 1.5 degrees goal, he declared.
While clean energy technology is rapidly progressing, political will is seen as weakening, and current efforts are insufficient to prevent significant warming. For example, despite a pledge to cut methane emissions, a new U.N. report indicates the goal will likely not be met.
Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director, The Oakland Institute, told IPS people must be very concerned that governments, especially Western countries that bear most of the responsibility for the climate crisis, are far from fulfilling their commitments in terms of decreased reduction of GHG, and far from assisting countries with adequate levels of financial assistance for mitigation and adaptation.
“It should be as concerning that the same governments, and prominent financial institutions like the World Bank, are promoting false climate solutions such as carbon markets, which have been proven to be totally ineffective at reducing emissions” she said.
Moreover, it must be clear for everyone that the new mining rush “we are witnessing for so-called critical minerals has nothing to do with the energy transition but rather with the global competition over minerals for various industries such as military, communication technologies, as well as electric vehicles”.
The massive amount of minerals such as lithium and cobalt will be impossible to supply without creating another environmental and human crisis. It is time for governments to make responsible choices towards a real energy transition and stop expanding sectors such as the military that divert public resources and contribute greatly to emissions, she pointed out.
It is widely documented that simply replacing existing gas-powered cars with electric vehicles is impossible. If today’s demand for EVs is projected to 2050, the lithium requirements of the US EV market alone would require triple the amount of lithium currently produced for the entire world.
“We need aggressive policies to reduce the number and size of personal vehicles and deploy effective public infrastructures and other low-carbon means of transportation” declared Mittal.
Speaking a press conference in Qatar November 4, Guterres said governments must arrive at the upcoming COP30 meeting in Brazil with concrete plans to slash their own emissions over the next decade while also delivering climate justice to those on the frontlines of a crisis they did little to cause.
“Just look at Jamaica” he said, referring to the catastrophic devastation caused last week by Hurricane Melissa.
The clean energy revolution means it is possible to cut emissions while growing economies. But developing countries still lack the finance and technologies needed to support these transitions.
In Brazil, countries must agree on a credible plan to mobilize $1.3 trillion annually in climate finance by 2035 for developing countries, he said.
“Developed countries must honour their commitment to double finance for adaptation to at least $40 billion this year. And the Loss and Damage Fund needs to be capitalized with significant contributions.”
COP30 in Belém must be the turning point – where the world delivers a bold and credible response plan to close the ambition and implementation gaps, he said.
“To mobilize the 1.3 US trillion dollars a year by 2035 in climate finance for developing countries; And to advance climate justice for all. The path to 1.5 degrees is narrow – but open.
Let us accelerate to keep that path alive for people, for the planet, and for our common future,” declared Guterres.
Meanwhile New research by Oxfam and CARE Climate Justice Centre, finds developing countries are now paying more back to wealthy nations for climate finance loans than they receive- for every 5 dollars they receive they are paying 7 dollars back. 65% of funding is delivered in the form of loans.
This form of crisis profiteering by rich countries is worsening debt burdens and hindering climate action. Compounding this failure, deep cuts to foreign aid threaten to slash climate finance further, betraying the world’s poorest communities who are facing the brunt of escalating climate disasters, says the joint report.
Some key findings of the report:
• Rich countries claim to have mobilized $116 billion in climate finance 2022, but the true value is only around $28-35 billion, less than a third of the pledged amount.• Nearly two thirds of climate finance was made as loans, often at standard rates of interest without concessions. As a result, climate finance is adding more each year to developing countries’ debt, which now stands at $3.3 trillion. Countries like France, Japan, and Italy are among the worst culprits.
• Least Developed Countries got only 19.5% and Small Island Developing States 2.9% of total public climate finance over 2021-2022 and half of that was in the form of loans they have to repay.
• Developed nations are profiting from these loans, with repayments outstripping disbursements. In 2022, developing countries received $62 billion in climate loans. We estimate these loans to lead to repayments of up to $88 billion, resulting in a 42% “profit” for creditors.
• Only 3% of finance specifically aimed at enhancing gender equality, despite the climate crisis disproportionately impacting women and girls.
“Rich countries are treating the climate crisis as a business opportunity, not a moral obligation,” said Oxfam’s Climate Policy Lead, Nafkote Dabi. “They are lending money to the very people they have historically harmed, trapping vulnerable nations in a cycle of debt. This is a form of crisis profiteering.”
This failure is occurring as rich countries are conducting the most vicious foreign aid cuts since the 1960s. Data by the OECD data shows a 9% drop in 2024, with 2025 projections signalling a further 9–17% cut.
As the impacts of fossil fuelled climate disasters intensify —displacing millions of people in the Horn of Africa, battering 13 million more in the Philippines, and flooding 600,000 people in Brazil in 2024 alone – communities in low-income countries are left with fewer resources to adapt to the rapidly changing climate, according to the study.
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FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, Nov 6 2025 (IPS) - The Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, is the name given by the Taliban to their religious police, tasked with enforcing strict Islamist rule on the people of Afghanistan. But for Afghan women, the name evokes only fear and terror, as they bear the harshest consequences of its actions.
Women and girls know too well that venturing intro streets risks artitrary arrest, humiliation, and even torture. The mere mention of the religious police makes them tremble and, fearing for their lives, try to hide wherever they can.
The story of Fahima in the city of Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, show how easily women can become victims of this brutality.
Fahima was on her way to her aunt’s home to give Eid greetings and check in on her. On the way, she ran into her aunt’s young son who she casually greeted him, and as courtesy to a known relative, stopped for a brief chat. They had barely exchanged a few words when a white vehicle belonging to the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, pulled up beside them. Inside were armed men with fierce expressions.
They jumped out of the vehicle, shouting insults and threats, and demanded to know Fahima’s relationship with the young man. She told them he was her cousin. Nevertheless, the armed Taliban, seized both of them and forced them into the vehicle before speeding away.
I was there and saw it happen, I later located Fahima’s family after the incident and asked what happened to her. Badakhshan is a small province and people talk about many things that easily upset the mind.
Fahima was detained from noon until eleven at night. Her father went to the station and managed to convince the Taliban of the true relationship between the cousins, and she was eventually released.
The ordeal left Fahima deeply traumatized. She struggles to sleep, wakes trembling with fear, and refuses to leave the house under any circumstance, not even to seek medical help.
Fahima’s case is far from unique. During Eid, dozens of girls and women in Badakhshan faced threats, insults, and beatings from Taliban gunmen patroling the roads. Such incidents are a grim routine for Afghan women, whether it is Eid or an ordinary day.
Women in Afghanistan do not have the right to go to entertainment venues, women do not have the right to go to parks, women do not have the right to go shopping for clothes alone, and they must be accompanied by a male family member. Women do not have the right to study and get an education, and women do not even have the right to go to a male doctor for treatment.
Since the Taliban regained power in August 2021, they have issued at least 118 decrees imposing restrictions on women, dictating how they dress, banning them from employment, education in specialized and technical fields, and even presence in the media.
The increasing pressures and restrictions have led many women in Afghanistan to experience various mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, and psychological issues. Moreover, despair, poverty, and unemployment among women have contributed to a disproportionate rise in the suicide rate compared to previous times.
The Taliban do not admit it stems from their brutal attacks on women, and there are no official statistics available. But when people gather at weddings or funeral occasions, these issues very often come up in discussions. There is always someone who knows someone else, who has either had mental breakdown, or whose behavior has worryingly changed, or has been subjected to violence.
These pressures have had severe impact on the morale of women, many of whom live in challenging conditions at home. Under these circumstances, any attempt by women to protest these restrictions is always met with serious threats, of imprisonment, sexual assault in prison, and, in extreme cases, women can lose their life for protesting. Afghan women have lost even the ability to speak out or demand their rights.
Excerpt:
The author is an Afghanistan-based female journalist, trained with Finnish support before the Taliban take-over. Her identity is withheld for security reasons
BELÉM, Brazil & JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Nov 6 2025 (IPS) - Political courage is the biggest obstacle to limiting the rise in global average temperature to no more than 1.5°C, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
“The obstacle is political courage. Too many promises are stalling. Too many corporations are making record profits from climate devastation. Too many leaders remain captive to fossil fuel interests, rather than protecting the public interest,” Guterres said at the opening plenary of the COP 30 Leaders’ Summit in Belém, Brazil.
He called out those who are still making record profits from “climate devastation.” With billions spent on lobbying, deceiving the public, and obstructing progress, too many leaders remained captive to these entrenched interests.
Guterres quoted Prof. Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, who earlier told the plenary that the “alarming streak of exceptional temperatures continues.
“2025 is set to be either the second or third warmest year we have ever observed. The past three years have been the warmest on record. This is the world that my two-year-old grandson was born into.”
She listed the problems associated with this temperature rise, including ocean heat at record highs, affecting marine ecosystems and economies, sea level rise, and Antarctic and Arctic sea ice are tracking at record lows
“And, on a daily basis, we see destructive weather: Months’ worth of rainfall in a matter of minutes, and our rivers on the ground are evaporating into atmospheric rivers in the sky. We have seen extreme heat and fire and supercharged tropical cyclones—as with Hurricane Melissa last week.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said it was also necessary to change the conditions that led to climate change.
In his opening address, Lula said, “Climate change is the result of the same dynamics that, over centuries, have broken our societies and split our societies between rich and poor and split the world between developed countries and developing countries.
“It will be impossible to contain climate change without overcoming inequalities within and between nations.
“Climate Justice is an ally of fighting hunger and poverty, in the struggle against racism and gender inequality and the promotion of a global governance that will be more representative and more inclusive.”
Lula said it had been a bold decision to hold the climate talk in Belém, within the Amazon.
“Humanity has been aware of the impact of climate change for more than 35 years since the publication of the first report from the IPCC, but it took 28 conferences to recognize, for the first time in Dubai, the need to get rid of fossil fuel and to stop and reverse the deforestation,” Lula said.
Referring to the Baku to Belém Roadmap, he said it took another year to admit in Baku how climate finance should be scaled up to “at least $1.3tn” a year by 2035.
“I am convinced that although we will face difficulties and contradictions, we need the roadmaps to plan in a fair way, reverse the deforestation, overcome the dependency on fossil fuel, and mobilize the necessary sources to reach these objectives,” Lula said.
Guterres and Saulo both said that the science that tells us about the temperature also has the solutions.
“Science is not only warning us; it is equipping us to adapt. Renewable energy capacity is growing faster than ever. Climate intelligence can ensure that clean energy systems are reliable, flexible, and resilient,” Saulo said.
Guterres reiterated the urgency of addressing the climate crisis.
“Too many countries are starved of the resources to adapt and locked out of the clean energy transition, and too many people are losing hope that their leaders will act. We need to move faster and move together, and this talk must ignite a decade of acceleration and delivery.”
NOTE: This feature is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.
IPS UN Bureau Report
Excerpt:
Climate change is the result of the same dynamics that, over centuries, have broken our societies and split our societies between rich and poor and split the world between developed countries and developing countries— President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
PORTLAND, USA, Nov 6 2025 (IPS) - Dating websites, mobile apps, social networks, and cell phones offer numerous opportunities for dating, developing relationships, having encounters, and finding partners with more and more people relying on these platforms. However, modern technologies with their scale, speed and easy have also brought about dating challenges for both men and women.
These challenges include unrealistic expectations, emotional disconnection, feelings of inadequacy, superficiality, choice paralysis, decision fatigue, misrepresentation, privacy concerns, harassment, stalking, threats, scams, situationships, catfishing, orbiting, benching, pocketing, love bombing, cushioning, ghosting, submarining, and breadcrumbing.
Dating has evolved significantly from face-to-face social encounters, often within a family-centric process, to today’s technologically driven individualistic experiences. In much of the past and continuing in some traditional societies, courtship was typically a structured process focused on finding a suitable marriage partner for the purpose of family building.
The estimated total number of people worldwide using dating apps, which has become the most common way couples meet, is approximately 400 million, or about 5% of the world’s population. On an average day, over 25 million people are actively using dating apps, which includes casual browsing and engaging in online conversations
In contrast, many people now view dating as a means to discover themselves and experience personal growth, rather than solely as a path to marriage and starting a family. These individuals prioritize personal development, career advancement, and diverse experiences before thinking about settling down. With casual dating becoming more common and accepted, there is also a greater focus on authenticity and forming connections with others, including potential partners.
Dating apps, websites, and mobile phones, combined with the growing use of generative artificial intelligence, chatbots, and virtual reality, have contributed to the rapid rise of online dating. It has become an increasingly mainstream and popular way to meet someone and potentially find a significant other. These modern technologies offer unprecedented access to a diverse array of people, breaking down geographical and social barriers.
These developments have made dating and courtship both easier and more complicated. In particular, modern technologies are contributing to new dating norms, behaviors, expectations, benefits and frustrations.
Among the growing numbers of dating app users are those desiring a romantic relationship and others seeking a long-term companion or marital partner. In contrast, many individuals simply want to date casually or “hook up” with someone, meaning they have informal encounters without emotional ties but leading to sexual involvement.
Many men and women often struggle to form genuine connections with others when their interactions are confined to online messaging. The abundance and convenience of available dating options can also make it difficult to commit to one individual, leading to a cycle of constantly searching for the next best person to date.
Social media platforms encourage users to showcase or highlight the best parts of their lives. These enhanced presentations often create unrealistic expectations and disappointments in dating.
The estimated total number of people worldwide using dating apps, which has become the most common way couples meet, is approximately 400 million, or about 5% of the world’s population. On an average day, over 25 million people are actively using dating apps, which includes casual browsing and engaging in online conversations
The dating app market reportedly made more than $6 billion in revenue in 2024. North America remains the largest dating app market, contributing 50% of global revenue in 2024, followed by Europe at 23%, with adoption levels climbing in the Asia-Pacific and Africa regions. Financial projections for the dating app market show that its global revenue could reach nearly $9 billion by 2030.
Globally, the total number of dating app platforms is estimated to be in the thousands. The global market is diverse, with various dating apps attracting and catering to different interests ranging from serious long-term relationships to casual hookups.
Among the most popular dating apps downloaded are Tinder, Badoo, Bumble, and Momo. In 2024, Tinder was reported to be the most downloaded dating app, with more than 6.1 million user downloads during the month of June. Other popular dating apps include eHarmony, Hinge, Match, OkCupid, and Plenty of Fish, each with its unique user base and focus (Table 1).
Source: Business of Apps and Statista.
The number of dating app users, their usage, and the social norms surrounding them vary considerably among countries due to cultural attitudes towards dating, relationships, and technology. Each country has its favorite or most popular dating app in terms of the number of downloads.
The numbers of men and women using dating apps also differ significantly across countries. In 2024, China had the largest number of dating app users, with nearly 83 million. The United States followed with approximately 61 million dating app users. India came in third place with about 27 million dating app users, followed by Brazil with 17 million dating app users (Figure 1).
Source: Statista Market Insights.
In 2024, the United States had the highest percentage of its population using dating apps, at around 18%. Following the US was France, with over 11% of its population using dating apps. South Korea came in third place among these selected countries, with nearly 11% of its population engaging in dating apps, followed by Germany at 9% (Figure 2).
Source: Statista Market Insights.
However, among single populations, the usage of dating apps is significantly higher. For instance, the proportions of single individuals using dating apps in North America, Europe and Asia are 45%, 30%, and 25%, respectively.
Guidelines, rules, and general behavior for dating through modern technologies vary based on gender, age, experience, and social norms. According to the most popular dating apps in 2024, approximately 62% of users are men.
The percentage of male users is notably higher in most countries and regions. For instance, in the United States and India, about 70% of dating app users are men, while in Europe, the percentage rises to 85%.
A disparity in what men and women seek while using dating apps complicates finding the right match. Because of this gender imbalance, men often express dissatisfaction with low match rates and lack of messages. In contrast, women frequently report feeling overwhelmed by too many choices, an abundance of messages, and disrespectful comments.
When it comes to motivation for using dating apps, men are more inclined towards casual encounters and easy communication, while women tend to prioritize safety and seek long-term relationships, aiming to avoid harassment.
Gender roles in dating have undergone changed significant changes. Shifting societal attitudes and the feminist movement have resulted in more egalitarian relationships. While these changes have led to more balanced relationships, they also require navigating new expectations and social dynamics.
In terms of the age of dating app users, the largest group, accounting for around 35%, consists of relatively young individuals, typically under the age of 25. These young users often have more time to explore various dating options before committing to a long-term relationship. Older users, aged 55 and above, represent a smaller but increasing percentage of users, typically around 10%.
Some dating apps estimate that approximately one third of relationships now begin through the use of a dating app. In the US, 10% of partnered adults met their spouse or partner on a dating site or app, with the proportion at 20% among those aged 18 to 29. In the UK, more than one-quarter of couples who married between 2017 and 2023 are said to have met online.
Moreover, there is a growing trend of partnered adults, particularly in Latin America and Western countries, choosing to cohabit without officially getting married.
Dating patterns today are significantly different from practices in the recent past, which relied mainly on face-to-face social encounters and family-centric processes. Dating in the modern era is a complex and multifaceted experience influenced by culture, technology, and norms.
Dating apps and websites accessed through cell phones have become a mainstream method for meeting new people. This new method has surpassed traditional avenues, such as meeting through friends or at social gatherings.
These modern technologies offer numerous opportunities for dating, developing relationships, finding partners, and even engaging in casual encounters. However, they have also presented challenges for both men and women, leading to the establishment of new dating norms, expectations, privacy concerns, benefits, and frustrations.
Joseph Chamie is a consulting demographer, a former director of the United Nations Population Division, and author of many publications on population issues.