Land grabbing - neo-colonialism in Africa

I remember listening to a programme on P1 approximately 3 years ago when there was a new food crisis worldwide, riots in Haiti and Cameroon among others. I especially remember this interview because the person (don't remember who it was) claimed that there was actually a silver lining here. The need for food and biofuel and increasing oil prices worldwide could lead to increased and improved farming in Africa. That farmers in Africa finally would get paid for what they produced. And then I read this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/07/food-water-africa-land-grab & also in DN http://www.dn.se/ekonomi/kontinent-till-salu-1.1213018

Land grabbing is when foreign companies, mainly Gulf States (Saudi, Qatar, Dubai...) and China move in and buy or lease large amount of agricultural land in Africa and by doing so are causing massive displacement of small farmers, with little or no compensation for the land they've lost.

Ethiopia (what a shocker) is one of the countries where much of the land grabbing is take place, very often at a very low cost for foreign investors. A country where millions are dependent on food aid sell off some of their best agricultural land. The Government in Ethiopia claims that it is a good deal since foreign direct investment and job opportunities are increasing. But couldn't the land be more wisely used, especially considering the water and food scarcity that will be the result of global warming?

Gentrification and redevelopment in Beirut...

....might be destroying the soul of Beirut. I was Beirut in 2002 and was stunned by the beauty of the rugged city. The only part that didn't impress me was the Solidere, the refurbished old town of Beirut. The city was in ruins after the war, and of course needed to be rebuilt, but the way that Solidere was rebuilt felt fake. In this article in Newsweek http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/29/the-battle-over-turning-beirut-into-the-next-dubai.html# the author expressed a concern that Beirut was planning on becoming the Dubai of the Mediterranean, tearing down the remaining historical buildings of the city. The refurbishment of old run-down buildings is called gentrification (or urban renewal). It has been proven to be a delicate task to refurbish old areas so that it keeps it original status. There are both social and economic issues that needs to be adressed, one of these is the relocation of the low class/poorer population that can't pay for the higher rents in the neighbourhood. Should poor people be able to live anywhere?

Phosphorus running out

The reason behind the incredible increase in food production across the planet is dependent on fertilizers. The problem is that phosphorus are running out, reserves only found in Morocco and China are diminishing rapidly as the demand is increasing.
How do find any good news here!? Maybe that the phosphorus is creating pollution and eutrophication in our oceans and lakes, so I decrease in the use could be good news for the environment (but bad for starving people....)

Slum tourism - good or bad (for IB08)

Next topic is settlements, and to connect with the previous tourism topic, here's a task that I would like to have a look at. Especially important since a Swedish woman was murdered in a slum just recently. She and her husband went into a Township at night, she was abducted and murdered.

It is becoming increasingly common and popular to take guided tours through slums, especially in Cape Town, Joburg, Rio, Nairobi and Bombay. The aim is to bring in tourism revenue and enhance the situation for the population of the slums. Read this article and discuss if slum tourism is good or a bad thing! http://www.victoriasafaris.com/kenyatours/kiberaslumtours.htm

Very good, and highly disturbing article on Berlusconi...

...and his terribly sexist view on women. Discusses inequity issues on highest levels in Italy and the reasons for why Italian women have fewer and fewer kids. As always, interesting when Kristina Kappelin writes about Italy. http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/berlusconi-och-kvinnorna-1.1208142

A very good wiki on gender inequality in Bangladesh

http://www.wikigender.org/index.php/Gender_Equality_in_Bangladesh Here you can find articles from a wide variety of countries (on gender issues) http://www.wikigender.org/index.php/Most_popular_articles

The lazy person's guide to eco-friendliness

Quite often it seems like a hassle to go green, that we think it is time or money consuming to be environmentally friendly. This article from Newsweek tells us differently... http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/08/the-lazy-person-s-guide-to-being-ecofriendly.html