1. United States
The Navajo Nation Council is being led by a woman for the first time. Crystalyne Curley was elected speaker in January, which elevated her to the top position for the Navajo legislative body.
The move comes as women have made progress in the leadership of the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American reservation in the U.S., whose members are also known as the Diné. In November, Richelle Montoya became the first woman elected as vice president, and nine women were voted onto the Council, made up of 24 members.
Why We Wrote This
In our progress roundup, the scale of change being pursued is wholly different – from a ban on hunters’ lead shot around wetlands, to a broad program to help save endangered pangolins. But modifying human behavior is key to both efforts.
Ms. Curley has said her priority is securing better infrastructure from the federal government, including roads, internet, and wastewater services.
“It hasn’t completely sunk in,” Ms. Curley said. “Knowing that my colleagues and the delegates are ready for that next step in history … that they support us women, us sisters, a mother, a grandmother, it’s just overwhelming.”
Sources: Source New Mexico, NPR
2. Bolivia
Survivors of sexual violence are gaining legal protections in Bolivia. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered Bolivia to reform its criminal codes after a landmark case brought about by a survivor of incestuous rape, attorney Brisa De Angulo. The ruling states that the government is guilty of institutional violence and gender-based discrimination against the then-teenager, that it failed to properly investigate the case, and that it then revictimized Ms. De Angulo throughout court proceedings.
According to the World Health Organization, 70% of Bolivian women report being victims of violence or sexual abuse sometime in their lifetime. As part of the binding decision by the human rights court, Bolivia must improve protocols for investigating sex crimes and include lack of consent as sufficient for a rape charge. The government must also implement an awareness campaign for all Bolivians to address the trivialization of incest.
David Mercado/Reuters/File
The January decision can be used as precedent for similar cases across Latin America, according to experts.
“I’ve been in this fight for 20 years … only to feel victim-blamed,” Ms. De Angulo says. “But the court decision makes that fight worth it.”
Sources: The Guardian, Axios, The Inter-American Court of Human Rights
3. The European Union
The European Union is curbing the use of lead shot in bird hunting. Hunters are now banned from using lead shot in or within 100 meters (328 feet) of wetlands. Ingestion can poison the birds but also the water and soil where the shot lands – killing 1 million water birds in the EU each year. Predators that eat contaminated birds are also at risk.
“It’s such a huge milestone,” said Julia Newth, from the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. “Lead shot has been contaminating wetlands for more than a century.”
Some 44,000 metric tons of lead ends up in the environment each year in the EU, from sport shooting (57%), hunting (32%), and fishing (11%). In the United Kingdom, pushback from trade and shooting associations has delayed the next stage of decision-making on whether to ban lead in all shotgun, rifle, and air rifle ammunition. Some EU members, like Denmark and the Netherlands, have banned lead ammunition completely. Alternatives include shot made from steel or other nontoxic metals.
Sources: The Guardian, The European Commission, Shooting UK
4. Cameroon and Gabon
Scientists are increasing monitoring and research of pangolins, considered the world’s most trafficked yet least studied animal. Operation Pangolin is a wide-ranging conservation initiative launched in Cameroon and Gabon to study pangolin populations, better understand the pangolin trade, collect data, and prevent trafficking. Plans are underway to expand the initiative to Nigeria and later to Asia.
Petr David Josek/AP
The scaly, anteaterlike mammals are hunted for their meat and also for their scales, which are used in some traditional medicinal practices. In the last decade, officials have seized enough remnants to account for at least 1 million pangolins.
Poaching in both Africa and Asia – for buyers across the world – has sent populations plummeting. Members of Operation Pangolin, which includes Oxford University and funding from the nonprofit Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, will work with local conservation groups, governments, and Indigenous peoples to develop monitoring and conservation programs.
“By taking an interdisciplinary approach and using novel technology and artificial intelligence methods, the project will give pangolin populations in these regions the best chance of survival,” said Dan Challender, a conservation scientist at Oxford University.
Sources: Treehugger, University of Oxford
5. China
China is using solar panels to extend electricity to places that have never had it before. While the country has increasingly hooked up rural villages to the power grid, it has also built stand-alone solar power plants and home photovoltaic systems where grid connections are unprofitable and poverty alleviation is a priority. By 2019, 26 gigawatts of solar power had been installed in poorer regions, reducing the need to burn wood for cooking and heating. Rural citizens with solar installations can also sell excess electricity back to the grid.
The world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, China is expanding new coal-fired power plants, which in 2021 produced 55% of the country’s electricity. But China is also rapidly adding more solar and wind power per year than many countries use annually. In 2021, China generated an additional 255 terawatt-hours of solar- and wind-powered electricity, the equivalent of one year of electricity use in Australia.
Sources: Bloomberg, Hannah Ritchie, The Washington Post