Success: The Mono river (Togo, Benin) now has a 'River Basin Authority'
Signed by ministers of Togo and Benin, the transboundary Mono River will now have an institutional structure to discuss the management of this basin: the Mono River Basin Authority (MBA). Based on our Negotiated Approach, our partner JVE has from the start successfully engaged in the set up of this authority, advocating for the inclusion of all stakeholders in the future decision-making processes of the MBA.
Formation
A variety of authorities contributed to the formation of the MBA: the Minister of Environment of Benin, Raphael Edou; the Minister of Agricultural Equipment of Togo Bissoune Nabagou; the Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water of ECOWAS, as well as the directors of the Niger and Volta Basin Organisations. JVE has been the only civil society organization to be involved in the negotiation meetings.
Action plan
The ministers have signed the treaty, a plan of action, the budget and logistical support for the administration. The office of the MBA will likely be situated in Benin. The catchment area of the Mono River includes parts of Togo and Benin. The river is 148 kilometers long and covers about 25 thousand square kilometers.
Implementation
Now the MBA is officially set up, the key challenge is to ensure it will actually implement its expressed commitment to ensure pro-active inclusion of all stakeholders, so these stakeholders have a say in how water in the river is used and distributed, and how key challenges will be addressed. Think of preventing pollution, maintaining biodiversity and securing a fair share of water to be used by the poor fishermen, pastoralists and farmers. JVE, with Both ENDS support, will monitor the developments closely to ensure the Negotiated Approach can become a reality in the Mono River Basin.
More:
Read more about this subject
-
News / 27 March 2024
Changing of the guard: Paul Engel and Leida Rijnhout on the unique strength of Both ENDS
After eight years as chair of the Both ENDS Board, Paul Engel is now passing on the baton to Leida Rijnhout. In thus double interview, we look back and forwards with the outgoing and incoming chairs. Paul Engel sets the ball rolling on an enthusiastic note: “This organization decides itself what it is going to do, and does it very well. As the Board, we help and use our networks to provide support”. A conversation about taking the lead in systemic change and working with others around the world.
-
Press release / 25 March 2024
Dredging destruction; worldwide research into Dutch dredgers
Dredging Destruction: Report reveals how Dutch dredging companies are systematically destroying human lives and the environment around the world with the help of taxpayers’ money
The Netherlands is providing billions of euros in support for dredging projects by Boskalis and Van Oord around the world. All of these projects are destroying human lives and the environment. The Dutch government’s policy to protect people and planet is failing systemically. And after twelve years of studies and talking, there are no real improvements. It is time for a thorough clean-up of government support for the dredging sector.
-
Publication / 25 March 2024
-
News / 19 March 2024
Both ENDS – quite special
Both ENDS has no management team, hardly any team meetings and certainly no 'director who is boss over everyone'. Both ENDS has had a flat organizational structure since 2016, based on the principle of shared responsibility. This, too, reflects our goal of 'Connecting people for change'.
-
News / 12 March 2024
Equality as a key for international trade
Trade has been in the global spotlight once again in recent times. Recently, ministers from around the world gathered in Abu Dhabi at the WTO for negotiations on world trade in the coming years. However, participants from civil society were silenced. Never before has their freedom been so severely restricted at the WTO. In a time when geopolitical tensions are escalating by the day, it is crucial to prioritize equality in international trade. -
Event / 12 March 2024
From Policy To Practice: Funding Locally-led Gender-Just Climate Action
A discussion on the intersection of climate and gender justice - specifically on financing mechanisms for gender-just climate solutions!
-
News / 6 March 2024
Inspire inclusion at Women's day!
Happy Women's Day!
Friday March 8th we celebrate a gender equal world; free of stereotypes, bias, and discrimination. Around the world women are powers of change. We proudly present you; the voices of the next generation of environmental leaders of the JWH initiative. All our grantees are driving change in the environmental sector and have a strong say about the inclusive world.
-
News / 6 March 2024
Export Credit Agencies and development finance in the EU
We are seeing increased interest in the EU for blending different development financial instruments with export credits, even though export credits are not fit for this purpose. The European Commission is developing plans for using so-called export credits for financing everything from raw materials, to development projects, to weapons. A new report of Counter Balance is shedding light on the significant environmental and social impacts of projects financed by ECAs.
-
Press release / 4 March 2024
Dutch government calls for investigation into Malaysian timber certification
The Dutch government expects PEFC International to undertake an investigation into its own role as a forest certification system, using the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). "It is about time the Dutch government takes a leading role in ensuring Malaysian timber entering The Netherlands is not associated with deforestation and human rights abuses," states Paul Wolvekamp of Both ENDS. "Considering that the Dutch government has the ambition to build 900.000 houses in the immediate future, involving massive volumes of timber, such as timber from Malaysia for window frames, builders, contractors, timber merchants and local governments rely on the Dutch government to have its, mandatory, timber procurement better organised, i.e. from reliable, accountable sources'.
-
Blog / 27 February 2024
Partners fighting for rights within natural resource exploration in Uganda
A recent visit to Uganda highlighted the country as the latest example of ethical, environmental and human rights dilemmas brought forth by natural resource exploration.
Under the guise of economic prosperity and energy security, the future of Uganda’s forests, lakes, national parks, and by extension that of the people that depend on these resources, is increasingly endangered. Both ENDS partners in Uganda work with local communities to preserve these natural environments and the livelihoods that come from it.
-
Blog / 26 February 2024
Brumadinho: 5 years without justice
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.
-
Blog / 26 February 2024
Exploring sustainable farming practices with partners in Indonesia
From land regeneration to improving soil health – trees play a crucial role in almost all our ecosystems. Agroforestry makes use of these benefits by combining agriculture and forestry. Agroforestry, and the reforestation and conservation efforts that are part of it, improves biodiversity and climate resilience, as well as the livelihoods of the farming communities involved.
-
Blog / 26 February 2024
Impacts of the fossil fuel sector in Guanabara Bay
Last September, together with our Brazilian partner FASE, Marius Troost of Both ENDS visited Guanabara Bay (near Rio de Janeiro) to map the impacts of the fossil fuel sector there. During the trip, he was struck by the braveness and fearlessness of the local fisherfolk who protest the injustices faced by the people who live around Guanabara Bay and about the damage done to the environment.
-
News / 14 February 2024
Petition to protect the Saamaka people and the Amazon Forest
The Saamaka People, the Afro-descendant tribe of Suriname, have preserved close to 1.4 million hectares of the Amazon rainforest. They have for decades urged the government to recognise their ancestral territorial land rights.
-
News / 8 February 2024
The litmus test for the devastating race track in Lombok
A race track for international motor bike events in Lombok continues to worry human rights experts around the world. Both ENDS and its partners are increasingly concerned about the project’s implications for ethical standards in global development financing going forward for it continues to hurt the most basic social and environmental safeguards.
-
Event / 30 January 2024, 14:00 - 15:30
The environmental and human rights impacts of raw material extraction: Lithium in the High Andes, Argentina
Following the Raw Material Week in November 2023 and the provisional agreement on the Critical Raw Material Regulation, Wetlands International Europe together with Both ENDS and the EU Raw Materials Coalition have organised a session seeking an open discussion on the environmental and human rights impacts of raw materials extraction, in and around vulnerable areas.
-
News / 29 January 2024
Five climate projects of 2024 in a nutshell
Together with environmental justice groups from the Global South, Both ENDS works towards a sustainable, fair and inclusive world. Both ENDS gathers and shares information about policy and investments that have a direct impact on people and their livelihood, we engage in joint advocacy, we stimulate the dialogue between stakeholders and we promote and support sustainable local alternatives.
-
News / 25 January 2024
Uniting for change!
This year Both ENDS invites partners worldwide to collaborate on our new strategy. We remain committed to strengthen and connect inspiring initiatives that we encounter every day with our partners and in our projects.
-
News / 25 January 2024
'We can not have a transition when we do not talk about consumption patterns'
The parliamentary elections in the Netherlands are over, and the dust has somewhat settled. No matter what government emerges from the process, one thing is clear: in the Netherlands the main focus is on the Netherlands. Foreign affairs were hardly mentioned during the elections and the same applies to the process of forming a new coalition. More alarmingly, some of the winners in the elections want to cut themselves off even further from the world around us.
-
Letter / 24 January 2024
Letter to investors in Vale
January 25th, 2024 is the solemn 5-year mark of the Brumadinho upstream mining dam collapse, Brazil’s worst environmental and industrial disaster that killed 272 innocent people and unleashed 12 million cubic metres of ore tailing into the surrounding areas including the Paraopeba River – a crucial tributary of the second largest river in the country.