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THIRD WORLD RESURGENCE #216 (AUGUST 2008) This issue’s contents:
Sustainable
agriculture: Meeting food security needs, addressing climate change
challenges Agriculture is at a crossroads. It has to find ways to feed the world while being environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. Stressing that current agricultural practices are a threat to the future of agriculture itself, Lim Li Ching highlights, in this article, some of the critical issues that need to be resolved to meet the many challenges facing it, including climate change. Impacts
of climate change on traditional family farming communities Although the adverse effects of climate change are likely to be borne disproportionately by the small farmers of the developing world, it is the traditional farming systems with their high degree of biodiversity which are best equipped to withstand the shocks of climatic extremes. Organic
Colonialism
and To
be truly sustainable, agriculture must, in the final analysis, be based
on a sustainable source of irrigation. Unfortunately, the penchant for
huge dams in developing countries, especially among advocates of the
'Green Revolution' model, has resulted in large-scale social, economic
and, most critically, ecological disaster. In this analysis of *This article is reprinted from Monthly Review. Click here to read the full article on the Monthly Review website.
Environmentalists
fear that a proposed agreement between
30
years after It was the 1978 Alma Ata Declaration which proclaimed the goal of 'Health for All' and identified primary health care as the key to its attainment. Thirty years on, a veteran health activist reflects on the significance today of this historic milestone in public health.
The
financial crisis which erupted in the UNCTAD
urges prompt government action in 'crisis of a century' The market-fundamentalist argument against stronger regulation of financial markets based on the idea that market discipline alone can most efficiently monitor banks' behaviour has clearly been discredited by the current global financial crisis, says the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). No
'bailout' for the world's poorest While the rich nations tend to be parsimonious when it comes to funding world poverty reduction programmes such as the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), there seems to be no shortage of money when it comes to bailing out their big banks and financial conglomerates in distress. The
paradox of capital flows from South to North The phenomenon of developing countries exporting capital to the rich countries continues to intrigue mainstream economists who have long postulated the flow of capital from rich to poor countries. In challenging the prescriptions of these economists that developing countries should rely on such capital inflows, UNCTAD has suggested that they focus instead on financing development from enterprise profits and domestic bank credit.
How
Europe underdevelops Across
the continent, there is seething anger against the unbridled exploitation
of Israeli
bestseller breaks national taboo A
book which argues that the idea of a Jewish nation is a myth invented
little more than a century ago has topped the bestseller list in
Aside
from the Iraqi people, nobody knows what the
Destroying
the social order Sexualised violence perpetrated by soldiers and militiamen in wartime does more than harm the physical and mental health of women. It also has an impact on the honour and self-image of the male relatives who should protect them. Strategically used rape serves to destroy community cohesion. For good reason, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution in June to criminalise sexualised violence in wartime more strictly.
The International Criminal Court (ICC)'s 'responsibility to protect' is being turned into an assertion of neocolonial domination, says Mahmood Mamdani. For subscription and enquiries: THIRD WORLD NETWORK Tel: 60-4-2266728/2266159; Fax: 60-4-2264505; Email: twnet@po.jaring.my
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