Progress Toward MDGs in Water in LAC
Saturday, August 16th, 2008One of my first posts here on The Temas Blog concerned the 2006 World Health Organization (WHO) progress report on reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) regarding drinking water and sanitation. So it’s probably fitting as I approach the second anniversary of the The Temas Blog to be discussing the latest update just released by […]
Eliminating Vertical Transmission of HIV & Syphilis in the Caribbean by 2015
Saturday, August 9th, 2008From the Pan American health Organization (PAHO): Caribbean public health authorities propose to eliminate vertical transmission of HIV and syphilis by 2015 Public health authorities, HIV and Maternal and Child Health experts concluded that it is feasible to eliminate the vertical transmission of HIV and syphilis in the Caribbean by 2015. The conclusion was reached […]
Climate Change May Slam the Caribbean
Friday, June 13th, 2008The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and Tufts University have just released a report commissioned by the group Environment Defense (EDF) on the potential economic impact of global climate change on the Caribbean. The report comes soon after another by the Andean Community (CAN) on climate change’s economic impact on four Andean nations. One of the […]
Past as Prologue for Caribbean Reefs?
Friday, June 13th, 2008Earlier this year the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) published a report by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) assessing the state of the Caribbean’s coral reefs after their toughest year in recent history, 2005. The IOC is the lead international entity assessing and reporting […]
Cheaper HIV/AIDS Treatments for LAC Nations
Thursday, June 7th, 2007In May former US President Bill Clinton announced that his foundation had negotiated new agreements to substantially reduce the price of 15 so-called “second-line treatments” for HIV/AIDS, plus a new, “next generation” once-a-day pill, for 66 poor and middle-income countries. The 66 (chosen because they represent about 90% of the world’s AIDS cases) includes many […]
Eco-Certification for Tourism: The Role of Blue Flag, Part I
Friday, October 13th, 2006In my friend Jaime's essay on realizing sustainable tourism, he said: It is necessary to change, tighten and to enforce the parameters of environmental requirements. In addition to sanctions, the creation of an environmental movement should be encouraged, in association with private international organizations like Green Globe or Blue Flag that conduct independent audits and establish […]
Is Meeting the MDGs for Water & Sanitation Good Enough?
Wednesday, September 27th, 2006This month the World Health Organization (WHO) released a progress report on meeting the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as they apply to access to “improved” water and sanitation, using data collected by the WHO/UNICEF joint Monitoring Programme (JMP). As the WHO report I recently reviewed on the linkage between environmental conditions and health […]
Eco-Certification for Tourism: The Role of Green Globe, Part II
Thursday, September 14th, 2006In Part I, I explained what Green Globe (GG21) is, what must be done to win its certification, and what are the benefits derived therefrom. Here I focus in on the program’s relationship with hotels/resorts/inns in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), current and prospective. In Part III I’ll look at what is happening with […]
Coral Reef Protection, Part II: The Current Situation
Tuesday, September 5th, 2006In the first part of my primer series on coral reefs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), I examined why it is important to protect coral reef systems, what sort of things threaten their survival. Here in Part II, I look at what coral reefs LAC has, what condition they are in currently, and a brief overview of what currently […]