The Dutch news programme Netwerk will be broadcasting two items called 'Stroom stinkt!' (Power stinks) today and on Thursday about the origin of coal used in the Netherlands. Many Dutch energy companies use coal from developing countries like South Africa and Colombia to generate electricity. The working conditions in mines are often very bad and coal mining has tremendous impact on the environment and local living conditions. Farmland is destroyed and ground- and drinking water become polluted with chemicals used in the mines. Both ENDS' partners from South Africa and Colombia tell their story in the broadcast.
Large-scale soy production is causing continuous problems in South America such as land seizure, public health issues and loss of valuable natural areas. The Ecosystem Alliance - a cooperation of Both ENDS, IUCN NL and Wetlands International - enabled twenty South American civil society organisations to compose a plan together. The organisations are all directly or indirectly involved in soy issues. Both ENDS attended a meeting in Brazil at the end of March: participants from Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and the Netherlands gathered to identify communal problems and work towards a combined strategy to combat these.
The Netherlands is a major player in the global water sector, but our investments can quite often lead to human rights violations and environmental problems in the countries where they are made. What can a new Dutch government do to reduce the Netherlands’ footprint beyond our borders? Ellen Mangnus spoke to various experts about this issue: today, part 3.
On December 15th 2008, Both ENDS organizes together with the Society for International Development (SID) the first Joke Waller-Hunter lecture. Both ENDS partner Professor Vijay Paranjpye will talk about `The contribution of agriculture and rural development to inclusive growth'.
How can we more effectively implement FPIC-legislation and ensure the fundamental community rights of indigenous peoples are protected? Both ENDS' Wiert Wiertsema explores this question in an article in the newsletter of our partner NTFP-EP.
At the Goed Geld Gala 2012, a National Lottery benefit ball, Both ENDS received money for the project 'an unheard story'. For this project, we'll be working together with five networks of environmental organisations in South-Africa, Brazil, India, South-East Asia and Eastern Europe. Together we reinforce small local organisations and help them share their stories about the changes they would like to see. These stories show what consequences political and industrial decisions in the North have for people living alongside the Mekong river, or in the Brazilian forests. That way we jointly take action in search for a more sustainable world.
On January 25, 2019, Brumadinho region witnessed a tragedy-crime that claimed 272 lives, including two unborn children, affectionately called "Jewels" in response to VALE’s declarations that the company, as a Brazilian jewel, should not be condemned for an accident. However, the investigations about B1 dam collapse, at Córrego do Feijão Mine, showed that the scar left on the community and environment was not an accident, but VALE negligence.
We are concerned about the results of the Dutch Parliamentary elections on November 22, 2023. The Netherlands is in danger of turning its back on the rest of the world and hiding itself behind its own dikes. Meanwhile, within our national borders, people are being excluded and their place in society is being questioned.
Non Timber Forest Products-Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP), one of Both ENDS' partners, won first prize at the Philippine Web Awards. It was the eleventh edition of this awards event. They were awarded first prize in the category 'best website by a non-profit organisation'. The NTFP EP network has long been helping local forest-dwelling communities who have found a sustainable way to make a living from the forest.