1. Chile
Chilean fishers are creating their own grassroots marine reserves. Empowered by Chilean laws that grant exclusive coastal fishing rights to local fishing associations, five such groups – in Maitencillo, Ballenas, Zapallar, Cachagua, and Ventanas – have set aside marine protected areas where no catch is allowed. The reserves are allowing wildlife to increase and are intended to encourage fish populations in the protected areas to expand and spread out.
These small coastal reserves are important, conservationists say, because while Chile has some level of protection for 40% of its maritime territory, waters in the heavily populated coastal areas are at risk for overexploitation and degradation.
Why We Wrote This
In our progress roundup, two national governments are signaling the importance of certain groups by better recognizing their needs. Spain passed laws aimed at reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ people, and Pakistan’s census is trying to capture as many citizens as possible.
The decision to reduce fishing zones in favor of conservation can be a tough one. In small communities, the loss of harvesting territory affects fishers’ incomes. But residents can also embrace ownership of this decision and appreciate that solutions are coming from the community, not the government, said Rodrigo Sánchez, executive director of marine conservation nonprofit Fundación Capital Azul. “The paradigm that fishermen destroy the ocean has been broken. Now people perceive them as part of the solution and not part of the problem.”
Source: Mongabay
2. Spain
Women in Spain will be able to access paid menstrual leave. Employees struggling with disabling periods will be able to take three to five days of paid time off with a physician’s note, as part of a raft of legislation protecting reproductive and LGBTQ rights passed by Spain’s parliament. The state social security system will foot the bill for private companies.
Spain joins a small number of countries that offer leave to women dealing with menstrual pain if it affects their ability to work, including Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, and Zambia. There is debate around the policies, said Elizabeth Hill, an associate professor at the University of Sydney. Do they “recognise the reality of our bodies at work and seek to support them? Or is this a policy that stigmatizes, embarrasses, is a disincentive for employing women?”
The legislation in Spain also mandates that period products be offered for free in public institutions like schools and prisons.
Sources: Euronews, NPR
3. Cameroon
The expansion of ride-hailing apps in major cities is making travel safer for women and increasing their independence. Cameroonian women have long reported sexual harassment while using traditional public transportation, and robberies in taxis are common. But new ride app features include GPS tracking and panic buttons, as well as oversight and training of drivers. Companies have also sought to hire female drivers.
JOE PENNEY/REUTERS/FILE
“My passengers are mostly women. Riding with a female driver makes them feel comfortable and safe,” said Evelyne Nyagoua Tchouga, a part-time Yango driver. “It makes me feel confident about my job.”
Using the apps can be a challenge in the country, where only 38% of the population has internet access. For those women who can use them, the apps make it easier to commute to work and markets and to travel with children.
Source: Context
4. Pakistan
Pakistan’s census is employing tablets and mobile phones to make the count more accurate and transparent. Activists say the census, being conducted over the month of March, has in the past undercounted and excluded some groups. The digital system will allow for more reliable data, with real-time monitoring, quicker analysis, and easier ways to flag and fix errors, according to census organizers. A 24-hour complaint management system has also been implemented.
K.M. CHAUDARY/AP
The more accurate count will assist with better socioeconomic planning “because it will clearly show the access and deprivation picture,” said Naeem Uz Zafar, chief statistician at the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. “It will be a sea change enabling so many including [homeless people], the seasonal workers and nomads.”
Source: Context
5. Singapore
An old railway running through the heart of Singapore is being turned into a nature preserve. Fifteen miles of railway, built by the British colonial government, were tied up in land disputes between Singapore and neighboring Malaysia, which ceded the railroad in 2011. Following a proposal by the Nature Society, the government decided to keep the railway – 10 times longer than New York’s High Line, a park built on an unused elevated train track – intact, while rewilding the land around it and opening walking trails for residents to enjoy.
The railway passes through habitats from grassland to mangroves, and ecologists hope the rewilding will connect flora and fauna and promote greater species diversity. Land around the railway has not been sold off or developed. In February, a 5-mile stretch was opened for the public, part of a gradual opening of the railway as more sections are rehabilitated. Conservationists working on the project are reintroducing native plant species, with a focus on creating wilderness for both plants and animals, rather than the manicured green spaces that Singapore is known for.
Source: Bloomberg