Category: State

The Aral Sea desiccation is a textbook example of the anthropocene. Children around the world learn about this ecological disaster in schools. The consequences of the desiccation are well-known the world over: the destruction of a fishing industry that sustained local communities for hundreds of years, the appearance of salt-laden dust storms, the spread of fertilizers and pesticides heavily used in the cotton industry over hundreds of kilometers around the sea, soil salinization, and the detrimental effects on the health of local populations.… Read More

The 21^st Century is rife with narratives of threats and opportunities arising out of dramatic climate shifts. Contemporary transfiguration of the Arctic marinescape attest to this trend: for perhaps the first time in 100,000 years, the northern extremities are traversable by deep sea fishing vessels.… Read More

For centuries, mining has been an important economic activity to many people in the world. And its impacts, economic, environmental or social may leave an irreversible mark on the landscape and on the lives of the people affected by it.… Read More

Colombia’s economy is rising. The country is experiencing a mining boom, particularly of coal. The coal-rich areas are often found in rural areas where indigenous communities live.In 1976 one of the largest open-pit coal mines of the world was built in the department La Guajira, in the Northeast of Colombia after signing a partnership agreement between the state (Carbones de Colombia SA), Carboncol and Intercor (subsidiary of Exxon).… Read More

Cepal (Economic Commission for Latin Americ and the Caribbean) launches study  that investigates the tax planning of companies and other actors in the mining sector in the Andean countries, providing estimates of illicit capital outflows associated with mining exploitation and of tax resources that are not collected due to this type of practices.… Read More

The Graduate Institute Geneva hosted an event during the 2017 United Nations Business and Human Rights Forum on November 28th under the title „Social Conflict in the Extractive Sector: Developing Good Security Practices“.… Read More

I would like to provide an English summary of an interview with Simonetta Sommaruga, Minister of Justice of the Swiss Federal Council, by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) published on November 12th 2017.… Read More

History of CSR:

• Many local and foreign firms support community activities, ranging from sponsoring the Tour de Timor bicycle race and other high-profile events to investing in education and rural employment
• A Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been established and there is an active Rotary Club, but general awareness of corporate social responsibility is low.

History of CSR:

A quick search reveals there is little to no CSR currently active in the Solomon Islands. Some activity has been seen via international companies, but otherwise CSR is almost non-existent.… Read More