Company to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050

One million metric tons of plastic to be collected, reused or recycled by 2030

100% of Dow products sold into packaging applications to be reusable or recyclable by 2035

Issued 2019 Sustainability Report demonstrating commitment to accountability and transparency

MIDLAND, Mich., Jun. 18 /CSRwire/ - Dow(NYSE: DOW) on June 17, 2020announced aggressive new commitments to address both climate change and plastic waste on its path toward becoming the most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world. The Company also issued its 2019 Sustainability Report for the 17thconsecutive year, outlining progress and results aligned to its2025 Sustainability Goals.

Todays announcement is the next step in our sustainability journey that began more than 30 years ago. Climate change and plastic waste are among the greatest technical, social, and economic issues the world has ever faced, and our products and technology are critical to addressing both, said Jim Fitterling, Dow chairman and chief executive officer. At Dow, we have a responsibility and an opportunity to lead in addressing these global challenges. A sustainable future is attainable, but only if we continue to tackle these issues head-on, hold ourselves accountable, and work together to enable new science- and technology-based solutions that directly address both climate change and plastic waste.

Dowsnew sustainability targets, which align to and build upon its 2025 Sustainability Goals, include:

Protect the Climate:By 2030, Dow will reduce its net annual carbon emissions by 5 million metric tons, or 15% from its 2020 baseline. Additionally, Dow intends to be carbon neutral by 2050, in alignment with the Paris Agreement. The Company is committed to implementing and advancing technologies to manufacture products using fewer resources and that help customers reduce their carbon footprints.

Stop the Waste:By 2030, Dow will help stop the waste by enabling 1 million metric tons of plastic to be collected, reused or recycled through its direct actions and partnerships. The company is investing and collaborating in key technologies and infrastructure to significantly increase global recycling.

Close the Loop:By 2035, Dow will help close the loop by having 100% of its products sold into packaging applications be reusable or recyclable. Dow is committed to redesigning and offering reusable or recyclable solutions for packaging applications.

In addition to numerous actions Dow has already taken around the world to achieve its sustainability targets, Dow confirmed today it has entered into newrenewable power agreementsfor its manufacturing facilities in Argentina, Brazil, Texas, and Kentucky, securing 338 more megawatts of power capacity from renewable sources, representing an expected reduction of more than 225,000 metric tons of CO2e. The Company is on track to exceed its target to source 750 MW of renewable power capacity by 2025.

Many Dow products lower customers emissions more than the carbon emissions used to produce them, through lighter and more fuel efficient autos; more energy efficient buildings; and food that stays safe and fresh longer all critical for a world set to add 2 billion people by 2050.

Today Dow also introduced a new line ofmechanically recycled plastic resinsfor flexible and rigid plastic packaging applications which have the potential to reduce carbon and energy footprints of applications by up to 20-30 percent.

Dows plastic waste goals are designed to ensure that its investments and collaboration, including its commitments to and investments in theAlliance to End Plastic WasteandCirculate Capital, have clear targets to stop waste from getting into the environment and to lead the materials science industry toward a circular economy.Click herefor more examples of Dows actions to advance recycling technologies, help customers design products for recycling and support infrastructure and education projects.

Reducing the impact of climate change and eliminating plastic waste are societal challenges that are closely linked. As a producer of technologies that are essential to a low carbon economy, we are developing and investing in new production processes that are low-emission and optimally efficient. And were now looking at waste as a resource that will enable us to continue to innovate sustainable materials,said Mary Draves, Dow vice president and chief sustainability officer.

Dow will also collaborate with leading academics, NGOs, auditing experts, technology partners and others in industry to incentivize the development and commercialization of low-carbon products and technologies that ultimately lower global GHG emissions and to ensure that companies are able to account for those GHG reductions. Dow intends to share more information about this collaboration later this year.

As outlined in Dows 2019Sustainability Reportreleased on June 17, the Company has made significant progress against its 2025 Sustainability Goals. For example, since 2006, Dow has:

Reduced its GHG emissions by 15 percent,

Incorporated a carbon price into its business planning,

Invested in renewable power capacity Dow is the number one user of clean energy in the chemicals industry and ranks among the top 25 global corporations in terms of renewable power use.

View the full reporthere.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused innovation and leading business positions to achieve profitable growth. The Companys ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company. Dows portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure and consumer care. Dow operates 109 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 36,500 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $43 billion in 2019. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visitwww.dow.comor follow@DowNewsroomon Twitter.

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Dow Sets Targets to Reduce GHG Emissions, Stop Plastic Waste, and Drive Toward a Circular Economy - CSRwire.com

One of the most puzzling things Ive seen over the past few weeks is the immense outpouring of racial justice support from brands. Between the corporate statements and the Black squares on Instagram, my hopeful self is working to reconcile what Im seeing online with what Im seeing in the workplace.

While its important to see such support, I wonder: will our workforce look any different in one, two, and 10 years from now because of it? Will anything have changed? Will Black people still represent less than 1 percent of all Fortune 500 CEOsnone of whom are female? Will Black women continue to earn 61 cents for every one dollar their white male colleagues earn? Will they continue to represent less than 0.2 percent of venture-backed founders?

If we are truly as outraged as we say we are on social media, then its time we fix the structural inequities plaguing corporate America. Perhaps instead of focusing on how to reopen the economy, we need to focus on how to restructure it. What can we do to create an economic ecosystem that values Black women equitably?

That is the question CEOs, myself included, must answer. It is a calling we must answer to. At a time when 69 percent of Americans say that the reaction of CEOs to Black Lives Matter will permanently affect their buying decisions, when 71 percent of Americans want to see CEOs lend their help to the dual pandemic, and when 83 percent of Americans believe that CEOs actions speak louder than their words, its time to call on our better angels and commit to fixing a broken system. Its time to change history, not repeat it.

When we talk about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, we often do so by grouping people into broad categories based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation and ability. We have our womens employee resource group, our Black employee resource group, our LGBTQ group, and so on. This approach to DEI is counterproductive. It silos people into buckets of identityignoring the overlapping, or intersecting, nature of our identities.

The intersection of our identities matters for several reasons. First, it directly impacts our lived experiences, our perspectives, and the biases we face. It recognizes that DEI is more than just a race problem here, a gender problem here, and a class or LBGTQ problem there because we all represent a unique combination of identities.

Second, intersectionality impacts how we view power and privilege. As such, it influences the types of policies (systems) we create. When we view issues through the lens of intersectionality, our workplaces begin to look much different than before. We start seeing blind spots and uncover previously-invisible roadblocks that have prevented us from reaching true DEI.

The April and May jobs reports provide a practical example of this.

In April, while the overall unemployment rate had soared to 14.7 percent, the unemployment rate for women had jumped even higher, up to 16.2 percent. And it jumped even higher still for Black women, who were facing a 16.4 percent unemployment rate in April.

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A month later, when the May jobs report came out, many people cheered the drop in unemployment, which for women had declined to 13.9 percent. Black women, on the other hand, had less to be excited about. Their unemployment rate had risen to 16.5 percent.

By taking an intersectional approach to DEI, CEOs can capture critical dimensions of the employee experience. Thats step one. Step two requires us to use these dimensions to create equitable systems that lead to more inclusive workplaces.

How many of us believe that our likely successor will be a woman or person of color? Fourteen months ago, when Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas asked that question to the CEOs from seven big banks, the response was bleak. Not one CEO indicated that their successor would be a woman or a person of color.

Thats a structural problem. And we can fix it, but not with words or donations. We must fix it by doing the hard work of embedding equity and inclusive into our organizational operating systems. Start by looking at the data. Where are Black women falling out of our talent pipelines? For the average American company, the leaky pipeline starts early, at the very first promotion. Research shows that there are only 58 Black women promoted from entry-level to manager for every 100 men promoted.

If we dig further into the current state in corporate America, we find that Black women are not only promoted less frequently, they are also not provided the same level of resources, trainings, and opportunities as their colleagues. In fact, 19 percent of Black women have received job or executive leadership training in their careers compared to 30 percent of white women and 33 percent of white men.

These statistics reveal a lot about how we value our talent. Clearly, not equitably. As CEOs, we must be brave and acknowledge that our organizations are perpetuating cycles of bias and exclusivity. We are operating on broken systems.

We must also be brave and deploy resources to rebuild these systems so that they value all talent equitably. This includes:

1,Creating a diverse leadership pipeline by committing to equitable rates of promotion.

2. Ensuring equitable representation on every step of the corporate ladder and in every boardroom.

3. Using advanced technologies to eliminate unconscious bias from talent decisions including performance reviews.

4. Providing employees with equitable access to resources, sponsorships and opportunities for career development.

Final actions CEOs should take to cement progress toward inclusion

Im a breadwinner mom who fought to be paid equitably (twice) and won. In my fight for pay equity, I had to use my time and my resources to research my rights so that I could receive rightful compensation. It shouldnt be this way. It doesnt have to be this waynot on our watch.

As CEOs, we already have a seat at the table. We must use our power, privilege, and platforms to guarantee the rights and dignity of Black women in the workforce. Here are some final recommendations to further cement progress toward inclusion in our workplaces.

1. Commit to closing pay gaps. Black women earn 39 percent less than white men, or 61 cents for every one dollar their white male colleagues earn. That adds up to over $950,000 in lost wages over a lifetime. The pay gap is even worse for Black breadwinner moms, who earn 44 cents for every dollar white breadwinner dads earn. Excuses for pay inequity are running thin. We have the tools and technology to close pay gaps, so lets close them.

2. Adopt a no-tolerance policy for racism. For nearly half of Black women in the US, the workplace is where they most frequently experience racism. We must follow in the footsteps of Franklin Templeton, whose quick termination of Amy Cooper revealed their no-tolerance policy for racism. Our workplaces should not be the epicenter of racial injustice.

3. Provide paid caregiver and sick leave. Over a third of Black women do not have access to paid sick leave. This poses problems because more than 51 percent of all Black households with children in the US are headed by breadwinner moms. And within this 51 percent, 37 percentage points represent households with a sole breadwinner mom. Black women should not have to choose between their and their families economic well-being and caring for themselves or a loved one.

Its on us to change the system. CEOs, lets step up.

Katica Roy is a gender economist and the CEO and founder of Denver-based Pipeline, an award-winning SaaS company that leverages artificial intelligence to identify and drive economic gains through gender equity. Pipeline launched the first gender equity app on Salesforce's AppExchange. The Pipeline platform was named one of TIME Magazines Best Inventions of 2019 and Fast Companys 2020 Worlds Most Innovative Companies

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Gender economist Katica Roy: How to create a workplace that truly values Black women - NBC News

The third and final day of the Canadian Mining Symposium (CMS) closed with a panel discussion featuring the Hon. Ranj Pillai, Deputy Premier, Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources and Minister of Economic Development for the Government of Yukon, and mining experts fromStrategic Metals(TSXV:SMD),Alexco Resources(TSX: AXR; NYSE-MKT: AXU), andWestern Copper and Gold(TSX: WRN; NYSE-MKT: WRN).

Moderating the session, building a mining ecosystem from exploration to production, was Trevor Hall, President of Clear Creek Digital, a Colorado-based social communication, and media agency specializing in digital content strategies for mining and exploration companies.

Hall kicked off the discussion by first introducing the panellists and then opening the conversation by asking Pillai to say a few words.

I just wanted to welcome everyone to the panel today and to thank The Northern miner for organising the symposium, Pillai said. Im here on a beautiful day in the Yukon on the traditional territory of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation and the Taan Kwachan Council, Id like to recognise that and want to acknowledge those who are joining us today.

Pillai acknowledged that mining has and continues to be a key industry for the Yukon and has been the driver for our modern economy. He also touched upon the many advantages of the Yukon, with its abundant mineral potential, including world-class deposits, and a competitive regulatory regime.

He also drew attention to the territorys support for early-stage exploration through the Yukon Mineral Exploration Program. The program helps to shoulder a portion of the risk capital required for individuals and companies to explore and develop projects to an advanced exploration stage.

We recently announced an extra $2.5 million for the program, which leverages us to around $9 million, but more importantly, were funding 97 grassroots projects for this year, Pillai noted.

The extra funding, Pillai noted, was in recognition of the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Yukon government, he added, is also working on a new transmission line that would benefit some of his fellow panellists, and $500 million in funding for new strategic infrastructure investments, including energy technologies like microgeneration, that will benefit exploration and mining companies operating in the territory.

Over and above that, we continue to work on our $500 million portfolios around the Yukon gateway resources projects that will help people, particularly in the northwest part of the Yukon as well as those in the southeast, he noted.

Several agreements, he said, have been signed with the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation for companies that are sequestering copper. And a $71 million agreement with the River Ross Dene Council First Nation, announced at PDAC in March, will upgrade roads around Fireweeds Macmillan Pass Project, including bridge replacement and safety improvements on the North Canal Road and resurfacing of 59.5 km of the Robert Campbell Highway.

We continue to ensure that we have strong government-to-government relations with the First Nation people, Pillai said. You have to be at the table with your partners, and its something that we continue to focus on.

He concluded by re-affirming the Yukons mineral potential, not only for precious metals such as gold and silver, but also other minerals, including copper, zinc, nickel, tungsten, tin, and cobalt.

Hall then introduced Clynton R. Nauman, chairman and CEO of Alexco Resources, to discuss the companys background and highlight some of its recent activities.

We own the Keno Hill Silver District, around 350 km north of Whitehorse in the traditional territory of the Na-Cho Nyak Dun First Nations, Nauman said.

The company, he added, is currently advancing the project to renewed silver production with an anticipated feed grade of approximately 800 grams silver per tonne and about 7% combined lead and zinc. The mine, he said, will produce around four million ounces of silver per year once it reaches its designed capacity of 400 tonnes per day through an existing mill.

More recently, Alexco has been working on the final permit assessment and authorisation to proceed to production, Nauman noted, and is hoping to secure their water license in the near term.

Since 2019, weve been advancing key infrastructure at site, which once the water license is issued and assuming a final decision by the board of directors, will allow us to produce our first concentrate in quarter four of this year, with plans to reach full capacity in the first quarter of 2021, he added.

He concluded by adding that, as the company is a pure silver producer, is one of the few companies in the world that has an average hit-grade of more than 800 grams silver per tonne. He expects more than 75% of the companys revenue will come from silver and will be the only primary silver producer in Canada.

Hall then turned to W. Douglas Eaton, president, CEO, and director of Strategic Metals for an update on the company.

Weve been around for many years as a project generator, but last summer we made one of the most exciting gold discoveries in a long time in the Yukon, Eaton said. Our flagship property is called Mount Hinton, which is directly south of the Alexco ground in the Keno Hill district.

The property, Eaton added, has bonanza-grade gold values, with assays from a soil sample containing native gold grading 2,340 grams gold per tonne. The discovery, he noted was made at a new part of the property called the Granite Creek basin.

Although Mount Hinton is located within the world-famous Keno Hill silver mining camp, Canadas second-largest primary silver producer, gold is the most significant component of the bedrock showings and occurrences to date, he noted.

Around three years ago, very spectacular gold nuggets were discovered under an area covered about by 10 centimetres of glacial till, Eaton said. The glaciers that deposited the gold in the underlying creeks that were buried by the glacial till are draining right off the centre of the property.

The company, he added, started work at the property a couple of days ago. Activities over the first few months will focus on improving road access, further exploration, and detailed mapping, with a 7,000 metre drilling campaign slated to begin in mid-July.

Next, Hall spoke with Paul West-Sells, Western Copper and Golds president and CEO.

We have one asset, the Casino copper-gold project located very close to Newmonts copper project in the Yukon, West-Sells said. Weve been developing this project for well over a decade now and is a large copper-gold porphyry with a total of 18 million ounces of gold and 10 billion pounds of copper.

The project, he added, is a significant copper-gold deposit with current copper prices at over US$2.50 per pound and gold prices high as well, the project has an after-tax internal rate of return over 25% and a net present value of around $3 billion, he said.

Last year we ran an infill program that hit over 3 metres grading 55 grams gold per tonne, which was in addition to a couple of historic intercepts, with one hitting 50 grams gold and another intercepting 70 grams gold, West-Sells said.

The company also acquired the Canadian Creek property, which is directly to the west of Casino and has several untested targets, with one another porphyry target, West-Sells noted.

We now have a district with copper porphyry targets as well as high-grade gold, he said. Drilling at the property started this morning, so were pretty excited to see the drill first results coming soon.

Hall then started the panel discussion with a question on the various political risks associated with operating in the Yukon.

From a geopolitical standpoint, were a very secure area, with eleven of our First Nations all holding modern treaty agreements, Deputy Premier Pillai said. So thats a great advantage for companies looking to come into the area and for those looking to invest in the territory.

The territory, he added, also has a very strong regulatory regime, which the government is looking to improve upon by updating the policy framework around water quality standards, improving adaptive management plans, and reclamation enclosure policies for quartz mining.

He also mentioned the Yukon Minerals Development Strategy. The strategy, which is being developed by the Government of Yukon and the eleven self-governing Yukon First Nations, will look to drive the long-term responsible management of Yukons mineral resources and support a healthy mining industry that adheres to high environmental and social standards.

Hall then asked Alexcos Nauman to expand on his experience of the water permitting process, and when a decision will be made on production.

Before I address that question, I think its important to understand the bigger context,Nauman said. Capital will always flow to places with the lowest sovereign risk.There is no question that Canada and the Yukon fit squarely in that category, and that sanctity of title is everything.

He added that were many examples in the world where that sanctity is often violated and suggested that in places such as Mexico, Peru, and China that sanctity had been disrespected too many times.

Nauman then pivoted back to Halls question on the water licensing process.

The water licensing process in the Yukon is a judicially fair process, he said, and ensures that arguments from both proponents and interveners are heard.

However, although the timelines are well understood, the process is not as efficient it could be, he noted, but recognised that the Deputy Premier had acknowledged this and was attempting to improve it.

Hall then asked Eaton of Strategic Metals that, with all the exploration going on in the Keno Hill district, how was the deposit at Mount Hinton missed?

Thats a good question, Eaton said. First and foremost, up until the last few years, the access into the Granite Creek basin has been somewhat restricted and would require four-wheel-drive vehicles. However, this has now significantly improved.

More fundamentally, he added, the districts host rocks are mostly tough quartzites and form huge blocks of talus that tend to be recessive and hidden by the overburden, making surface discoveries throughout the whole district very difficult.

Also, for most of the history of the Keno Hill district, the focus was very much on silver, Eaton noted. It was until the 1970s that gold became the focus for prospectors.

The final reason, he added, is that the two historic mills operating in the district were distal to the Mont Hinton property even though they were part of the same hydrothermal system. So, he said, it would have been hard for previous miners to ship materials from the property to the mills.

Hall then turned to West-Sells of Western Copper and Gold, asking him that, in light of their sizeable gold-copper deposit, was the company currently trading as a gold or copper company?

We were certainly a gold company when gold was trading at US1,700 [per ounce] and copper at US$2.50 [per pound], but with copper trading at over US$2.60 [per pound], its probably 50:50 now.

He then also pivoted back to the question of the geopolitical risks of operating within the Yukon.

if you look at copper, a significant proportion of the worlds copper comes from Chile and Peru, he noted. So, a lot of the conversations we have around copper are that people like the fact that theres copper in tier-one jurisdictions like the Yukon.

West-Sells also noted that being both a copper and gold property provides a hedge.

When economies are booming, copper prices tend to be high while gold prices are depressed, but when economies are struggling, copper prices hold back while gold prices are rising, he said.

He also added that the large gold producers, such asNewmont Goldcorp(TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM)Barrick Gold(TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD), are significant copper producers too.

Hall then turned to Eaton and asked what the summer exploration at Mount Hinton will involve.

Traditionally, weve followed the project generator model and been very successful at it, Eaton said. But the reason were reluctant to farm it out to other operators is that there are around 75 known vein occurrences with nearly none of them having been drilled.

The conversation closed with the panellists discussing the possibility of the Keno Hill district becoming another high-grade mineral resource jurisdiction, and agreed that, given the districts underexplored nature, it could give rise to some very significant mining operations.

Then, Anthony Vaccaro, Group Publisher with The Northern Miner and Head of Global Mining for Glacier Resource Innovation Group, closed the symposium with some final thoughts on the industry and the past three days.

The mining and exploration industry is both simultaneously vast and small, Vaccaro noted. Its vast in its geographic reach and its impacts on the products that we all rely on in our everyday lives, yet for an industry that matters so much to the global economy, its a small industry relative to other sectors.

However, Vaccaro added, as a small industry it is remarkably accessible.

That accessibility is thanks, in large part, to the personalities of leaders youve met here over the last three days, he said. And it permeates throughout the entire industry, which a is a big checkmark in our favour.

He closed the symposium by once again thanking the sponsors and all those who took part in this years Canadian Mining Symposium.

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Canadian Mining Symposium closes with panel discussion on mining in the Yukon featuring the Deputy Premier, the Hon. Ranj Pillai - The Northern Miner

The need for increased fiscal space in the budget for fiscal year (FY) 2021, which is the Covid budget, had been pronounced loudly way before the budget was announced on June 11, 2020. Domestic resource mobilisation by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is the major source of financing the budget. The other sources are borrowing from the banking system, sale of national savings certificates, foreign loans and assistance.

In the upcoming budget for FY 2021 revenue income is set to be Tk 378,000 crore which is 11.9 percent of GDP. This is an increase from Tk 348,069 crore which is the projected amount in the revised budget for FY20. However, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) projects that revenue collection by the NBR will be Tk 252,811 crore in the outgoing year. So, to achieve the targeted revenue in FY21, revenue mobilisation will have to increase by 49.5 percent. This is an unachievable target given that resource mobilisation effort has been so low in Bangladesh for decades. Therefore, with revenue mobilisation target in the current fiscal year remaining unfulfilled, the revenue-GDP ratio will be even lower than the projection. For an economy which has been growing fast defying all challenges, low revenue collection poses a real predicament for the fulfilment of the objectives set in Bangladesh's short, medium- and long-term plans and programmes.

In the proposed budget for FY21 a number of revisions have been made in the tax structure, some of which are in the right direction. For example, annual tax-free income threshold for personal income has been raised from Tk 2.5 lakh to Tk 3 lakh. In case of female and elderly taxpayers the increase has been from Tk 3 lakh to Tk 3.5 lakh. In its budget recommendations before the budget announcement, CPD had proposed to raise the threshold to Tk 3.5 lakh and reduce the first three slabs of tax rates by 5 percentage points. Increase in tax-free income threshold and reduction in the tax rate by 5 percent under each slab is a welcome move during Covid period. Due to this change, the lowest segment of income earners whose monthly income is between Tk 30,000 and Tk 60,000 will gain the most. It is hoped that this additional income will provide some room for people to spend which in turn will help the economy.

The proposed initiative to provide rebate of Tk 2,000 for the first online return submission is likely to encourage digital transformation in the tax department. In the same vein, the introduction of one-page tax return form for small taxpayers will simplify submission of tax return. There are several other proposals in the budget in relation to the tax regime. Some of those are welcome initiatives, others are not. While tax rationalisation for individuals and businesses are essential for both mobilisation of tax and providing incentives to them, the major issue related to the tax regime lies somewhere else. This is the issue of reform of the whole revenue mobilisation system.

There is a need for change in the tax structure. While it is a widely known fact that direct tax is a progressive measure which establishes tax justice, NBR has not been able to change the composition of tax in Bangladesh. Higher dependence on indirect tax is a burden on all citizens, especially the poor. The poor and the rich pay the same amount of tax for goods and services. There is no difference between a daily wage earner and a millionaire when it comes to buying a good. So, the main source of tax is collected at the point of sale. In the budget for FY21 the major source of tax will be value added tax (VAT) which is projected to be 33 percent of total collection whereas tax on income and profit is 28 percent. Among other sources, the amount of import duty is 10 percent, supplementary duty is 16 percent and of non-NBR tax is 4 percent.

The reasons for low share of direct tax have been widely discussed. Narrow tax base, high level of tax avoidance and high volume of illicit financial flow are the most important ones. Why is the tax base so narrow in a country where the middle class is flourishing fast? The number of people who earn Tk 3 lakh and above in a year is large but they all cannot be brought under the tax net. Moreover, in a country where the growth of super rich people is faster than even China, several of them evade tax. Even though many of them are well known, NBR is unable to bring them to pay their due taxes.

Another large source of tax evasion is performed through illicit financial flow from the country through trade. According to Global Integrity Report 2015 an amount of USD 5.9 billion has been taken out of Bangladesh illicitly through mainly trade mis-invoicing. In a welcome move, the budget for FY21 announces the introduction of a new section in the Income Tax Ordinance to prevent money-laundering. According to the ordinance 50 percent tax will be imposed on the proven amount of over-or under-invoicing, or on the proven amount of false declaration of investment. However, for this measure to be effective forensic capacity of the Transfer Pricing Cell is needed. Banks which deal with foreign trade will also have to cooperate in making this measure successful.

Taxation based on lifestyle is a common and successful practice in many countries. In Bangladesh there is a huge mismatch between declared income and visible expenditures among many people. While a large section of people hide their income, they spend on expensive houses, cars, valuables, etc. They also spend on expensive services, for example, healthcare in private hospitals and children's education at private institutions at home and abroad, and travel to exotic places for holiday. By making such expenditures they also show off and take pride. However, when it comes to paying taxes, many do not pay their due shares. This is no secret to the NBR.

The proposed budget has neither given any clear direction on how the projected revenue increase in FY21 can be materialised nor any guidance on the reform of the tax administration. In the past there have been a number of reform initiatives within NBR with the objective to have a simplified, transparent, efficient and effective tax administration. Some of these include, Reforms in the Revenue Administration (RIRA) in 2002, Income Tax Management System in 2004, Tax Administration Capacity and Taxpayers Services (TACTS) in 2010. Unfortunately, most of those reform initiatives have either been discontinued or remained dysfunctional for unknown reasons. Covid-19 situation calls for introduction and initiation of reforms in the tax regime. An overhauling of the tax system is a crying need at this point in time when the country desperately needs more resources.

Human resource for tax administration plays an important role in improving tax compliance. The shortage of human resources in the NBR may also have been a reason for tax compliance and tax collections. Broadening tax net is the key. Automation of the NBR will help identify the tax evaders and new areas of tax collection. The transfer pricing cell needs to be strengthened. The unfinished task of VAT online services ought to be completed. Streamlining various types of corporate tax is also an area to work on. On the whole, interim adjustments in tax proposals here and there without any structural change will not help in achieving the voluminous growth target in revenue collection.

Dr Fahmida Khatun is the Executive Director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue.

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Tax reform is the key to creating fiscal space - The Daily Star

ABU DHABI, 20th June, 2020 (WAM) -- The foreign ministers and high-level officials who participated in the Belt and Road Initiatives videoconference, called for by the Peoples Republic of China on Thursday, issued a statement at the close of their meeting, which was held under the theme of "Belt and Road International Cooperation: Combating COVID-19 with Solidarity".

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, headed the UAEs delegation to the meeting, which discussed ways of combating COVID-19 and strengthening cooperation among the initiatives partner countries.

Following is the joint statement:1. We, the foreign and other ministers of the Belt and Road cooperation partners*, held a video conference under the theme of "Belt and Road International Cooperation: Combating COVID-19 with Solidarity" on 18 June 2020. We welcome the participation of the Director-General of World Health Organization and the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.

2. The COVID-19 pandemic poses a serious threat to human health, safety and well-being as well as the socio-economic development of our countries and the world at large. Our first priority is to contain the spread of the virus, save lives and safeguard global public health. We offer our sincere condolences to the families and societies of the victims of the pandemic. We also express our gratitude and support to all frontline health-care workers, medical professionals, scientists and researchers as well as other essential workers around the world who are working under difficult and challenging conditions to deal with the pandemic.

3. The COVID-19 constitutes a global challenge that calls for global response based on unity, solidarity, mutual support and multilateral cooperation. We recognize the central role of the United Nations system in catalyzing and coordinating the comprehensive global response to control and contain the spread of COVID-19 as well as the efforts of Member States therein, and acknowledge in this regard the key leadership role of the World Health Organisation.

4. We agree that there is no place for any form of discrimination, stigmatization, racism and xenophobia in our response to the pandemic.

5. Recalling the spirit and principles reflected in the Joint Communique of the Leaders' Roundtable of the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, we will continue our efforts in promoting international cooperation, including high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. Such equal cooperation will continue to be open, green and clean, based on extensive consultation, joint efforts, shared and mutual benefits, as well as pursuit of high-standard, people-centered and sustainable development.

Towards a Health Silk Road.

6. We support mutual efforts in combating the COVID-19, and will cooperate to address, control and overcome the pandemic through the sharing of timely and necessary information, experiences and best practices for diagnosis and treatment of the COVID-19, strengthening and upgrading the capacity of public health system, promoting joint scientific research and international dialogues among health professionals, and providing assistance to countries in need. We encourage bilateral, regional and international mechanisms to jointly counter the COVID-19, where necessary.

7. We underscore that an equitable access to health products is a global priority. We are committed to enhancing the availability, accessibility and affordability of health products of assured quality, particularly vaccines, medicines and medical supplies, which are fundamental to tackling the pandemic. Along these lines, we welcome and appreciate mutual support and assistance offered among partner countries. We welcome the United Nations' efforts to strengthen global humanitarian response depots, and welcome relevant countries to explore the possibility to set up regional reserve centers or units for rapid deployment of medical supplies or personnel. We believe that COVID-19 vaccines should be recognized as global public goods.

8. We call for investment in building sound and resilient health related infrastructures, including the development of telemedicine. We will provide necessary healthcare support for each other's citizens affected by COVID-19 in our territories including the frontline health workers and those working for Belt and Road and other programmes within available national capabilities in line with respective national laws and regulations.

Boosting Connectivity.

9. We believe that promoting global partnership on connectivity based on openness, transparency, and inclusiveness, provides an opportunity for all and will contribute to combating the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigating its impacts and promoting socio-economic recovery. We support comprehensive and multi-modal infrastructure connectivity and sustainable transport system. We encourage countries to enhance their air, land and sea links through interoperable and multi-modal transport. We recognize the importance of cross-border and trans-regional transport and logistic passages, which include land, air and sea routes as well as transport infrastructure projects, in delivering vital medical supplies, equipment, food, critical agricultural products, and other essential goods, securing supply chains and promoting international trade, and meeting the needs of people's livelihood and economic development. We will cooperate to keep those passages open or resume operation as soon as the situation permits.

10. We reiterate our support to build high-quality, reliable, resilient and sustainable infrastructure, ensuring its viability, affordability, accessibility, inclusiveness and broad benefit over its entire life-cycle, and contributing to sustainable development of partner countries and the industrialization of developing countries.

11. We welcome efforts to resume, in an orderly and step-by-step manner, normal cross-border movement of people while strictly following necessary epidemic prevention and control measures. We support the efforts by countries in need to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation, including through the establishment of relevant networks, such as the voluntary development of express passenger channels for cross-border flow of business personnel, professionals and technical experts involved in international development cooperation projects, and green passages for cross-border trade in goods at the earliest convenience. We encourage relevant measures which include but are not limited to communication and coordination on mutual recognition of health testing results and quarantine arrangements agreed among relevant ministries in respective countries.

Promoting Economic Recovery.

12. We support a universal, rules-based, open, transparent and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system with WTO at its core. We call for stabilizing the regional and the global industrial chains and supply chains, ensuring the continued flow of goods, services and personnel, as well as assisting the industries and economies adversely affected by COVID-19. We also highlight the importance of fair competition and the protection of intellectual property.

13. Our measures to promote economic recovery particularly the orderly resumption of productive activities and re-connection of the global value chain, will draw upon the professional advice of the relevant international organizations including WHO, based on our efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. In view of the global economic and social disruption caused by the COVID-19,it is important for countries to enhance cooperation in such areas as digital economy,health care industry and food security,and explore new sources of growth by promoting e-commerce,smart cities and other applications of digital technology, as well as the use of artificial intelligence and big data technology, helping narrow the digital divide while drawing on international good practices.

14. We support dialogues and exchanges in areas of major development strategies, plans and policies, including through the coordination between the Belt and Road Initiative and other national, regional and international development strategies, programmes or initiatives. We encourage and support business friendly policies, particularly for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the vulnerable economic sectors. We also take note of the efforts of certain countries to gradually restore tourism while ensuring sufficient epidemic prevention and control measures. We emphasize the importance of strengthening cooperation in human resource development, education, vocational and professional training to build up the capacity of our peoples to better adapt to the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. We remain committed to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Change Agreement while giving due consideration to the special needs and requirements of the LDCs and LLDCs. We welcome the UN system's continued support to the Belt and Road cooperation.

15. We welcome the G20's initiative on suspension of debt service payments for the world's least developed countries for promoting their economic recoveries and sustainable development.

Deepening Practical Cooperation.

16. Building on the progress already made, we will move forward with our cooperation on economic and transport corridors, economic and trade cooperation zones and other Belt and Road practical cooperation, in accordance with respective national development agenda, to further boost economic growth, social development and the improvement of people's livelihood.

17. We emphasize the importance of economic, social, fiscal, financial and environmental sustainability of projects. We call on all market players in the Belt and Road cooperation to respect corporate social responsibility and follow the principles of the UN Global Compact.

18. We will continue to implement the consensus reached during the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation together with other partners, and promote bilateral, trilateral and multilateral cooperation in areas such as development policy synergy, increased infrastructure investment, economic corridors, economic and trade cooperation zones, industrial parks, finance, trade, innovation and technology, maritime cooperation, business-to-business ties, people-to-people and cultural exchange. We encourage all parties to create an enabling business environment for trade and investment promotion and industrial cooperation.

19. We will advance our cooperation in a people-centered approach. We reiterate that promoting peace, development and human rights, mutually-beneficial cooperation, and honoring the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law are our common responsibilities; achieving strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth and improving people's quality of life are our common goals; creating a prosperous and peaceful world with shared future is our common aspiration.

* The following countries are represented by their foreign or other ministers at the video conference: the Republic of Belarus, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Chile, the Peoples Republic of China, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Hellenic Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kenya, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Nepal, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Singapore, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Kingdom of Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation delivered a written statement.

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Ministers of 'Belt and Road Initiative' issue joint statement on combating COVID-19 - WAM EN

In recent years, environmental challenges such as climate change, water scarcity, food security, and land degradation have increased competition over resources in the Levant. Environmentalist peacebuilders in the region, however, view these environmental issues as an opportunity for cooperation rather than conflict. The work of organizations such as EcoPeace Middle East highlights how environmental peacemaking can serve as a bridge between sustainable resource management and the peacebuilding process in the region. EcoPeace Middle East, a Jordanian, Palestinian, and Israeli environmental peacemaking organization, aims to protect their shared ecosystem through the promotion of cooperative, cross-border, and grass roots efforts. The trilateral organization incorporates resource management into local peacebuilding strategies to support security, humanitarian, and development objectives. EcoPeace is based on the principle of environmental peacebuilding, which views common dependency on natural resources and the need for a healthy environment as a facilitator for joint collaboration, and ultimately, a way to foster lasting and sustainable peace in conflict regions. According to Gidon Bromberg, the organizations Israeli director, the environmental challenges in the Middle East offer the potential for mutually beneficial cooperation between Israel and its Arab neighbours, especially with regards to their shared water resources.

EcoPeace was co-founded in 1994 by Gidon Bromberg of Israel, Munqeth Mehyar of Jordan, and Nader Al-Khateeb of Palestine. Since its founding, the region has undergone significant turmoil and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has only continued to heighten. Yet even as the Oslo agreement deteriorated and the prospect of peace unraveled, the partnership within EcoPeace has sustained. Non-governmental organizations have had the unique ability to build foundations for peace through their own grassroots initiatives and bottom-up approaches. In the midst of the unprecedented violence following the Second Intifada, EcoPeace undertook a leading role in peacebuilding through integrative cross-border dialogue, confidence building and cooperation activities within communities. The key challenge the organization faces today is their ability to demonstrate that political, economic, and social cooperation is both possible and beneficial to all parties amid the ongoing conflict.

Palestinian involvement within EcoPeace and the broader international environmental movement evokes important questions of statehood and the transboundary nature of climate change. Although the State of Palestine signed and ratified the Paris Agreement on April. 22, 2016, its ability to take climate action within its borders is severely limited due to Israeli military occupation. Situated in one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world, Palestines lack of sovereignty over its natural resources and national borders has hampered its ability to adapt to climate change and implement climate plans and strategies. The Palestinian Authority thus plays a peculiar role; it is tasked with mitigating climate risks yet its actions are impeded by a lack of capacity building, finances, and independent political will.

In spite of the challenges the Palestinian government faces in taking climate action, the environmentalist peacebuilders of EcoPeace argue that solving the climate crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict go hand in hand. The organizations main efforts have centered around water diplomacy, referring to the use of diplomatic instruments for disagreements and conflicts over shared water resources with the aim of using water resource management to promote regional stability and peace. The primary focus has been the Jordan Rivera water source bordered by Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians which is of significant cultural, religious and geographical importance to billions in the region. The river, which flows between the Golan Heights and Jordan to its east and Israel and the West Bank to its west, serves as one of the main sources of water for the surrounding territories. Unfortunately, in recent years, water diversion for domestic and agricultural uses, sewage runoff, and pollution have threatened irreversible damage to the River Valley. In the last fifty years, the Jordan Rivers annual flow has dropped from more than 1.3 billion cubic meters per year to less than thirty million cubic meters, which has had environmental, health, social, and economic repercussions. As the river is situated in a conflict zone, attempts to rehabilitate it are especially complicated.

EcoPeace has played an essential role in leading the effort to restore the River through developing treatment plans at the municipal level, launching a multi-faith based advocacy campaign, and founding the Good Water Neighbors Youth Education Program. The Good Water Neighbors project is a regional grassroots program that seeks to raise awareness of shared water problems and is carried out in fourteen cross-border Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian communities along the Jordan River. The project utilizes the mutual dependence on shared water resources as a basis for developing dialogue and cooperation and empowers youth and municipal leaders through various environmental campaigns; these activities aim to engage communities in sustainable efforts and simultaneously break down preconceived notions and prejudices about their neighbors.

EcoPeaces initiatives have produced a healthier and more sustainable Lower Jordan River. After a decade of work, in 2013, the Israeli Water Authority permitted the release of fresh water into the Jordan River for the first time in 49 years. Israel allocated nine million cubic metres (mcm) and committed to 30 mcm per annum in the near future, setting important precedents for future allocations. While these numbers fall short of the 400 mcm needed to maximize the rivers economic benefits, it was an important move towards ecologically rehabilitating the river. In 2015, EcoPeace released the first Regional NGO Master Plan for the Sustainable Development of the Jordan Valley, which lays out scientifically and economically feasible policy recommendations behind the NGOs vision for the Jordan Valley. The document also highlights the essential nature of the Jordan Valley for Palestinian prosperity; the valley offers food security, access to water, and the potential for tourism. A rehabilitated Jordan River thus is essential to a developing Palestinian economy. EcoPeace aims to gather the support of the Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian governments, as well as the broader international community, and utilize this plan as the blueprint for the strategic revival of the Jordan River.

Recent political moves such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus plan to annex the Jordan Valley threaten to intensify conflict over water resources. Netanyahus pledge to bring the Jordan Valley under Israeli sovereignty would comprise almost a third of the West Bank. The Jordan Valley is territory which Israel captured during the 1967 ArabIsraeli War and since has controlled. Currently, the West Bank as a whole is under varying degrees of Israeli control, with some areas governed by the Palestinian Authority. With annexation, Netanyahu would be making the Jordan Valley an official part of Israel. The annexation would cut off the West Bank and thousands of Palestinians from the River Jordan, which feeds over 80,000 hectares of agricultural lands and fish farms. The move would not only impact the livelihood of the Palestinians living in the territory, but it could threaten Israel-Jordan relations and their relatively long-standing peace. Additionally, the annexation would effectively destroy any remaining hopes for a two-state solution. In light of Israels potential annexation policy, grassroots initiatives are more important now than ever before in order to continue fostering cross-border understanding and collaboration between Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian communities from the bottom-up. Rather than being viewed as an issue which heightens conflict, environmental challenges such as resource scarcity and the impacts of climate change should be understood as a bridge to build collective environmental action and peace across the Middle East.

Edited by Jacob Lokash

The featured image, FoEME directors on the Jordan River, by EcoPeace islicensed under CC0.

Link:

Environmental Peacebuilding in the Middle East: The Bridge Between Climate and Conflict - The McGill International Review

A hiker marvels at Douglas Falls in the Big Ivy section of Pisgah National Forest.

On any warm summer day in the heart of Pisgah National Forest, dozens of swimmers of all ages are usually lined up and ready to plummet on their rear ends down a 50-foot natural granite water slide into a pool of eye-poppingly cold water. The slick rock, on the Davidson River near Brevard, is steep enough for a thrill but not sheer enough to be recklessand an impressive signifier of natures ability to not only devise complex ecological systems but also provide world-class recreation.

This water park is free from the usual trappings of a tourist draw. No piped-in music. No sticky snacks, trinkets, or adult beverages for sale. Still, the nature-built slide requires serious resources: lifeguards, trash collectors, and parking attendants, just for starters. In fact, the Sliding Rock Recreation Area is among the most-popular destinations in one of the most-visited national forest systems in the United States.

Venture beyond the roadside attractions and youll find huge swaths of wild terrain and towering hardwoods, rare wildflowers, sparkling streams, and fish and wildlife in Western North Carolinas two national foreststhe Pisgah and the Nantahalawhich together encompass over one million acres and span 18 mountain counties.

Driving through the area, hiking a trail, casting for trout, or sliding down a creek on your fanny, youd have little indication that these forests are nearing the completion of an unprecedented planning processone that will have decades of impacts. In February 2020, nearly 40 years after legislation stipulated that the public be engaged in national forest planning and almost a decade after the launch of this planning process, the USDA Forest Service unveiled the Proposed Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests Land Management Plan to steward these precious resources.

Is the plan a voluminous bureaucratic opus destined to be read only by an exclusive circle of specialists and authorities? Perhaps. But the hundreds of pages of analysis and public opinion were devised not only by scientists and government experts, but by an unprecedented outpouring of public interest from the very people that live near and use the forests.

In fact, the future stewardship of the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests will not rest solely on the shoulders of a century-old federal government agency; it will be aided by a network of organizations made up of horseback riders, hunters, climbers, and wilderness lovers, to name a few. Their missions vary, but all of their values are deeply tied to the public forests of Western North Carolina.

This planning revision process has set the stage for a meaningful private and public partnership of groups and people who are deeply invested in providing manpower and resources to get more accomplished in our national forests, says Lang Hornthal of EcoForesters, a nonprofit forestry organization based in Asheville.

And it couldnt come at a more crucial time. In the early part of the 20th century, the resurrection of Western North Carolina forests, long plundered by timber companies, was heralded by some as an enormous environmental victory. Today, however, the struggle to protect the land from industrial-scale logging is over. Instead, attention is focused on how to manage public forests for a wide range of uses, including sustainable timber harvesting, recreation, conservation, and wildlife habitat, among many others.

Yet given the historical, ecological, and economic importance of the two forests, deciding exactly how to manage their future is no simple task. Whether you harvest wild plants or timber for a living, hike trails, hunt for turkey, or enjoy wildflowers or mountain views, you have a stake in how the national forests are managed, and you should pay attention to this process.

Gifford Pinchot (inset) was an early advocate of practicing scientific forestry in WNC and around the nation; in 1905, he became the first chief of the new United States Forest Service. Right, a Forest Service bridge above Sunburst Falls in Pisgah National Forest. Bottom left, Forest Service surveyors scope out a road project in the mid 1960s. Pisgah, established in 1916, was one of the first national forests in the eastern US.

Pinchots vision

In 1892, Gifford Pinchot arrived at the train depot in Asheville to oversee the wooded domain of George Vanderbilts vast estate, stretching from his castle-in-the-works to the conical apex of Mount Pisgah 20 miles uplandmuch of it damaged, heavily grazed by free-range cattle, and burned by wildfire. The high-minded, Yale-educated forester believed that scientific forestry could not only produce timber for a rapidly industrializing nation, but that forests could be managed for future generations, too.

Pinchot didnt stay in Asheville long. But, in the following decade, he would again oversee portions of North Carolinas timberland, including forests once owned by Vanderbilt and sold to the government, only this time as the nations first chief public forester. Among President Theodore Roosevelts most-trusted advisers, Pinchot led a crusade to protect against what the two considered the plundering of the nations vast natural resource. The forests of the US, Roosevelt asserted, should be set apart forever for the use and benefit of our people as a whole.

Those words formed a prelude to the formation of a federal forest agency. Organized in 1905 and led by Pinchot, the US Forest Service was created to manage 21 million acres of forests in the West. Soon, the agency looked east, where forests were in dismal shape due, in part, to industrial-scale timber harvests and a blight that erased the American Chestnut from the landscape.

Today, the region and its land managers face an entirely novel set of challenges that were unimaginable to Pinchot and Roosevelt, from global warming to escalating recreational demands.

A big opportunity

Wherever you are in Western North Carolina, public lands are always in the backdrop, forests are always in view, says Jill Gottesman of the The Wilderness Society. Were the next generation of people stewarding the land, and this is one of our biggest opportunities to guide the management of our backyard.

In 2013 Gottesman helped form the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Partnership, which included an array of recreational, economic, government, and conservation organizations eager to discuss a range of forest issues in preparation for the start of the plan-revision process that began in November 2012. (Each national forest is required to have a management plan renewed every two decades; a single plan for WNCs two forests was approved in 1994.)

The NPFPs objective has been to provide guidance in creating the best forest plan possible and to restore the two forests ecological health and economic sustainability. It is one of several collaborative entities that have formed or been active during the planning process, including the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Council, the Pisgah-Nantahala Stakeholders Forum, and I Heart Pisgah.

But bringing people together with conflicting interests is never easy. Hornthal acknowledges that managing conflict among special interests is ever present in forest planning, but says that disagreements and alignments of various users and interests is far more nuanced than youd expect. For example: you probably wouldnt suspect that those wishing to extract timber for profit and those that desire the protection of old-growth forests actually agree on something, but they do.

In fact, despite the presence of discord, there is at least one crucial zone where multiple groups with conflicting interests meet: the ecological restoration of the forests. That is, using science and techniques to direct the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded or damaged by creating conditions that plants and animals require to thrive. In some cases, restoration may involve leaving a forest completely alone; in others, it entails prescribed fire or timber clearings to replace spontaneous natural disturbances once caused by wildfire.

Theres a lot of interest in making parts of the forest younger and making parts of the forest grow older for many different reasons and values, says Kevin Colburn, a member of the NPFPs leadership team and stewardship director of American Whitewater. One of the nuances we found is that ecological restoration as a concept meshes with pretty much everyones values whether you shop at REI, Cabelas, or both.

Tradition and transition

Of course, there are a few groups that were here long before Pinchot and his lofty ideals about how to manage forests. Tommy Cabe represents one of them: the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. We may be tucked in this corner of Western North Carolina, but we are still here. Weve survived, says the EBCIs forest resource specialist and partner of the NPFP. Theres an opportunity for us to engage and to demonstrate our philosophy on landscape management.

A chief example is how to harvest and sustain ramp populations, a wild onion that Native Americans have harvested for thousands of years. Its just one of many nontimber forest products, from ginseng to galax, that Native Americans and others gather for food, medicine, and crafts, or for spiritual or commercial reasons. Over the last several years, the bold-tasting green has become wildly popular among foodies, and its rising economic worth has increased pressure on harvesting.

Of course, other rural communities throughout the mountains rely on the national forests and its precious bounty to sustain their economies, too. Take Graham County and its seat, Robbinsville, nestled in the states far southwestern corner. The county has struggled to find an economic foothold since its worst setback in decades, when Stanley Furniture shuttered its plant and shed over 300 jobs in 2014, a devastating hit for a town of around 600 residents.

Sophia Paulos, the countys economic director, says that lumber production helps to maintain the cultural tradition of working with the forest to earn a living. While other rural western counties have attempted to influence the forest plan revision, most have operated at the fringes of the planning process. Paulos however, jumped on the opportunity and joined the NPFP. I immediately saw the forest plan as crucial to Graham County, says Paulos. Whether its tourism or timber, our economy is dependent on the forest. Its a part of us. So I felt like it was very important for us to be at the table.

While county leaders hope to revive the timber economy, the future of the countys nearly 9,000 residents remains heavily linked to the resources within Nantahala National Forest, with or without lumber production. Increasingly, tourism and recreation may drive it.

However, recreational demands are pressing down hard on points in many parts of the forest, whether its crowded mountain bike trails near Asheville and Brevard, campgrounds, popular streams, or other heavily used recreational assets. The crux, says Hornthal, who serves as the chair of the NPFP leadership team, is how to add and manage more infrastructure when the agency is having a tough time maintaining what they have now due to shrinking federal budgets and staffing.

One approach, for instance, is a management strategy promoted in the plan by the Forest Service that divides the region into 12 geographic units that highlight specific uses and focused management practices as they relate to the three themes of the plan revision: restoration and resiliency, providing clean and abundant water, and connecting people to the land.

Another approach in the draft forest plan is to identify special interest areas, a designation that recognizes places with significant public interest. Among the proposed areas is acreage in Buncombe County near the Blue Ridge Parkway that includes the Big Ivy watershed and the peaks of the Craggy Mountains. The group I Heart Pisgah wants the Forest Service to take it a step further and is proposing the area be protected as the Craggy Mountain Wilderness and National Scenic Area, encompassing 16,000 acres. Additions to the National US Wilderness Preservation System and national scenic area designations offer a higher level of land protection, requiring a recommendation from the Forest Service and approval by Congress and the president.

Having a national scenic area 15 miles from Asheville would be an exciting development for the entire region and protect the values people have for this area, asserts Will Harlan, an organizer of I Heart Pisgah. The area has a great mountain biking trail network, hundreds of acres of old growth, clean water, rare species, and is arguably one of the most valued viewsheds in the nation. Their proposal, says Harlan, is based on the public comments of hundreds of people who wish to see the area protected forever.

While the final plan will not be unveiled until 2021, the draft includes four potential alternatives to manage the forests. By law, the draft requires a 90-day public comment period featuring public meetings that were postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Forest Service planning officer Michelle Aldridge says the alternatives were designed based on shared values we heard from our partners and the public to offer win-win solutions and minimize polarization. Collaborators specifically asked the Forest Service to design alternatives that would unite interests, building upon shared values, rather than send folks back to their corners to advocate for single interests.

Among the innovative structures of the plan is the adoption of tiered objectives. The strategy initially targets modest goals for each forest plan objective, such as the number of miles of trail improvements, and only stretches to more ambitious objectives once the needs of other stakeholders, such as timber-harvesting interests, are met. The hope is to incentivize forest users to collaborate rather than fight, and nurture future partnerships.

Hornthal points out that the focus of the collaborative work during the planning process has been, in large part, to reduce conflict. Ultimately, however, he and others have a desire to rise above the fray and focus energy on resolution of some of the forests most pressing challenges, such as battling exotic plants and pests, repairing a backlog of damaged trails and roads, nurturing local economies, restoring delicate habitats, and adapting to a changing climate.

By the time the plan is finalized in 2021, its creation will have spanned a decade. While a bureaucratic document 10 years in the making may seem excessive, on an ecological timeline, its faintly perceptible.

In fact, how we steward the land now will matter for a long time to come, says Cabe of the EBCI, whose ancestors championed a sweeping view of nature. Were taught not to decimate the landscape, otherwise it will affect our bloodline for seven generations. Thats a long time, but thats how we regard the land. Thats how weve always regarded it.

Drafting an effective plan that encourages harmony is more crucial than ever, says Hornthal, in order to sustain the transformation of the mountain forests from an ecological apocalypse to an indisputable environmental triumph.

Our forests have been neglected, and now is the time to do something, he says. Were all in this together.

(Clockwise from left) Dry Falls in Macon County, one of Nantahala National Forests renowned scenic spots; Mountain biking and fly fishing are but two of the outdoor pursuits that help draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to the national forests each year. Top, biking in Pisgah; above, fishing near Pisgahs Davidson River Campground

Whats Next?

The forest planning process is winding down but far from over. The release of the proposed plan was accompanied by a draft environmental impact statement, which evaluates the impact of each proposed management alternative and presents the possible trade-offs of what might come with them.

A 90-day public comment period followed the release of the draft EIS. That process commenced in February, but was delayed by the pandemic and has been extended to June 29. In addition, several public meetings were cancelled, but the Forest Service has created a virtual open house online to share vital information (find it at bit.ly/WNCforests).

Moving forward, the Forest Service will respond to public comments in the fall of 2020, and present an updated plan and final EIS in the spring of 2021. Following a five-month objection period, the agency will review any unresolved objections, and it estimates the release of a finalized plan in late 2021.

Editors note: This feature was sourced in part from the writers extensive reporting for Carolina Public Press, an Asheville-basednonprofit news service.

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Future of the Forests : As the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests face a historic turning point, the planners are impassioned and the stakes are...

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "HospeTrack Hospital Intelligence for Indonesia" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Indonesia Total Hospital & Medical Installed Base Mapping report was updated in 2020 and includes over 2,764 hospitals from the country with their health infrastructure detailed out.

With Less than 5% of the Total Beds in the Country Equipped to Provide Intensive Care Services, Indonesia's Developmental Policies may Aid Medical Equipment Manufacturers

Indonesia has been striving to contain the dual impact caused by COVID-19 on public health as well as its economy. Amidst rapidly weakening of Rupiah against US dollar, the country has been among the worst-hit in South-East Asia. In addition to its existing challenges around providing equitable access to healthcare, hospitals in few provinces are expected to be inundated with critical COVID-19 cases. Provinces such as DKI Jakarta, West Java, East Java, Banten, Central Java and South Sulawesi have been bearing the brunt of the highest number of COVID-19 cases.

However, these six provinces have only about 4,500 ICU beds - representing about 53% of the total ICU beds in the country. The number of ventilators in Indonesia are considered to be insufficient and their distribution remains disparate. However, despite the challenges in logistics and supply chain caused due to COVID-19 crisis, Indonesia has been looking to procure additional ventilators and boost local production of portable ventilators to fulfil the increasing demand.

As of 2019, about 2,764 hospitals were functioning in Indonesia. Around 70 of them were equipped to provide tertiary care services. Indonesia is expected to focus on improving tertiary care services, to bridge this gap in the immediate term while improving distribution of healthcare services. With the Universal Health Coverage Policy now committing to serve 80% of the population, load distribution will be a factor that will need continuous attention. For the aforementioned reasons, the country's bold $400BN total infrastructure development plan for 2020-2024 is expected to focus on healthcare as one of the key areas of investment.

According to the HospeTrack Hospital Intelligence for Indonesia, the largest opportunity in the immediate term is likely to be around infrastructure build-up necessary for expanding tertiary care services. This may include growth in anaesthesia machines, ventilators, operating rooms, CT and MRI scanners. As of 2019, penetration of advanced imaging modalities like MRI and CT was less than 30-40% in the 70 tertiary care hospitals. The data in the report also shows that there are approximately 150 Cath Labs, 750 CT scanners and a much lower installed base of MRI scanners between the country's 2,764 hospitals. Both the public sector hospitals and the private health sector could potentially focus on bolstering the above-installed base in the next 3-4 years.

In terms of intensive care services, there are close to 8,000 total ICU beds in the country - estimated to be lower than 5% of the total inpatient beds - another area that could witness improved efforts and investments, especially from the public sector. Procurement in terms of patient monitoring systems, ventilators and hospital information technologies to improve intensive care services is expected to be a key investment area for the country in the next five years.

The dataset provides account-level directional detail on total beds, ICU beds, ORs, ventilators, incubators, etc., along with Anaesthesia Machines, C-Arms, Cath Labs, PET, Nuclear, SPECT, CT, MRI scanners, Ultrasound and X-Ray machines, making it the only source of hospital-level intelligence for medical equipment installed base in Indonesia. This dataset is a valuable tool for any organization that is in the process of optimizing sales targets, estimating market potential or building an account management plan in Indonesia.

The report is a craftily designed dataset that provides a graphical summary of the health infrastructure in the country apart from an account-level view of resources, directional information on medical device installed base, hospital demographic and care services. The report commits itself as a tool to understand, visualize, and identify opportunity pockets at the hospital-level for medical devices manufacturers, and digital healthcare companies.

Contents

1. Visualize and Map the Total Installed Base of the Country by Hospital

2. Generate Targeted Leads Based on Current Care Area Focus of a Hospital

3. Visualize the Current Health Resource Status of a Hospital

4. Comprehend Medical Services Potential Using Bed and Operating Rooms Data

5. Understand and Identify Types of Hospitals

6. Create Opportunity Heat Maps

7. Estimate Medical Device Penetration and Potential in the Country

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/48vqbk

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Indonesia 2020: Total Hospital & Medical Installed Base Mapping with COVID-19 Updates - Less Than 5% of the Total Beds in the Country Equipped to...

Groundswell was founded in 2016 and is home to a diverse network of high-tech foundersGroundswell Startups, a nonprofit high-tech incubator and coworking space in Melbourne, Florida announced a partnership with Orlando-based StarterStudio to bring Idea & Build Stage Startup Programming to Brevard County. (Groundswell Startups image)

BREVARD COUNTY MELBOURNE, FLORIDA Groundswell Startups, a nonprofit high-tech incubator and coworking space in Melbourne, Florida announced a partnership with Orlando-based StarterStudio to bring Idea & Build Stage Startup Programming to Brevard County.

Groundswell, founded in 2016, is home to a diverse network of high-tech founders, creatives, and innovators who work together in a collaborative environment to scale their companies.

The heart of Groundswells mission is to connect founders with their vetted mentor and subject-matter expert network to assist companies in getting ready for funding, and then using their network to help open the door to those opportunities.

Over the past four years, Groundswell has assisted over 20 companies gain access to funding with over 25 million collectively raised in venture capital funds.

The partnership will allow Groundswell Startups to utilize StarterStudios well-respected and results driven programming and facilitators to provide additional support to startups in Brevard County.

We are all about coordinated collaboration at Groundswell, said Jarin Eisenberg, COO of Groundswell Startups.

StarterStudio is a regional partner who is leading the way with their virtual programming. Instead of duplicating an established resource, we look to this partnership as an opportunity to bring high-quality programming to Brevard County and to expand our ecosystem which will benefit all of the companies we serve.

To start, the two organizations will partner on bringing Idea & Build Stage acceleration programming to the area. The Idea Stage program is a 10-week evening series with classes once a week.

It is focused on helping entrepreneurial-minded individuals validate their tech business idea, collect feedback from potential customers, develop a sustainable revenue model, and learn how to effectively communicate about their business.

The Build Stage accelerator program is a 12-week, part-time offering for very early companies that have a minimum viable product and need the fundamentals of go-to-market strategy, selling, customer relationships, finding and managing technical resources, basics of business law, financial models, and ultimately, information on all types of funding sources to speed them toward a sustainable tech or tech-enabled business.

We are so excited to extend our accelerator programs to the heart of the Space Coasts tech economy, said Lilian Myers, executive director at StarterStudio.

We have collaborated with Groundswell on putting later-stage companies in front of investors for some time. What we know from having over 120 startups come through our various programs in the greater Orlando market, is that there is often a big education gap between having an idea and then knowing how to get it validated, built, and into the hands of actual paying customers.

Filling that gap quickly means more entrepreneurs have a better shot at contributing to local economic vibrance and were so pleased to be joining Groundswell to make that happen in Brevard.

Since COVID-19, we have experienced an increased demand for services and support. People want to take their destiny into their own hands, and we want to do everything we can to support them.

The program has received support from TSS Solutions, Rossway Swan, Flavin and Nooney, and Lowndes, each stepping up to provide partial scholarship opportunities for participants.

We are excited for this partnership, and for the impact, it will make on the companies we serve. Applications are open now and the first class of cohorts is expected to start July 27.

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Groundswell Startups Partners with StarterStudio to Bring Idea & Build Stage Startup Programming to Brevard - SpaceCoastDaily.com

Several Vatican Dicasteries team up to release a document entitled Journeying for the care of the common home, which offers a guide to all Christians on how to maintain a healthy relationship with Creation.

By Isabella Piro

The Vatican released a document on Thursday that offers a guide to Catholics, and all Christians, regarding our relationship with Gods Creation.

Entitled Journeying for the care of the common home, the document coincides with the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis encyclical Laudato s, which was signed on 24 May 2015 and published on 18 June of that same year.

The document was drafted by the Holy See Interdicastery Table on Integral Ecology, created in 2015 to evaluate ways to best promote and implement integral ecology.

Institutions linked to the Holy See, along with several Bishops Conferences, and Catholic organizations, make up the committee.

The text was written prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it highlights the main message of Laudato s: Everything is connected; each particular crisis forms part of a single, complex socio-environmental crisis that requires a true ecological conversion.

The first part of the document opens with a reminder of the need for ecological conversion.

This involves a change in mentality leading us to care for life and Creation, dialogue with others, and an awareness of the deep connection between the worlds problems.

Initiatives such as the Season of Creation, it says, should be enhanced, along with monastic traditions that teach contemplation, prayer, work, and service. These initiatives can help educate people about the link between personal, social, and environmental balance.

The document then reaffirms the centrality of life and the human person, because nature cannot be defended without the defence of every human life. From this fact derives the need to develop the concept of sin against human life among younger generations, which can help contrast the throwaway culture with a caring culture.

The text also places strong emphasis on the family as a protagonist of integral ecology. When grounded in the basic principles of communion and fruitfulness, the family can become a privileged place for education where one learns to respect human beings and Creation. States, therefore, are urged to promote smart policies for family development.

At the same time, schools are invited to acquire a new centrality, in other words, to become a place to develop the capacity for discernment, critical thinking, and responsible action. The document offers two suggestions in this regard: (1) to facilitate links between the home, the school, and the parish; and (2) to launch training projects for ecological citizenship, which should promote among young people a new model of relationships that goes beyond individualism in favor of solidarity, responsibility, and care.

Universities are invited to centre their curricula on a backbone of integral ecology. Through their three-fold mission of teaching, research, and service to society, universities need to encourage students to engage in professions that facilitate positive environmental change. The document suggests specifically that students should study the theology of Creation, which consists in the relationship of the human being with the world, while remaining conscious of the fact that caring for Creation requires ongoing education and a true educational pact between all institutions involved in education.

The document also reaffirms that the commitment to caring for our common home is an integral part of Christian life, and not a secondary option. Further, care for our common home is an excellent area to build ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and collaboration. The wisdom found in various religions, it says, can encourage a contemplative and sober lifestyle that leads to overcoming the deterioration of the Planet.

The first part of the document concludes with a chapter dedicated to communication and its profound analogy with the care of our common home. Both, in fact, are based on communion, relationship, and connection.

In the context of an ecology of the media, the media are urged to highlight the links between human destiny and the natural environment, while empowering citizens, and combating fake news.

The second part of the document opens with the subject of food, referring to Pope Francis words: whenever food is thrown out it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor (LS, 50). Food waste, therefore, is condemned as an act of injustice.

The document calls for the promotion of diversified and sustainable agriculture, defence of small producers and natural resources, and the urgent need for healthy food education, both in quantity and in quality. There is also a strong call to combat phenomena such as land grabbing and major agro-industrial projects that pollute the environment, as well as an appeal to protect biodiversity.

Echoes of this appeal can also be found in the chapter devoted to water, access to which is an essential human right. Here, too, there is a call to avoid waste and to go beyond the utilitarian criteria that lead to the privatization of this natural good.

Along the same lines is an invitation to reduce pollution, to de-carbonize the energy and economic sectors, and to invest in clean and renewable energy, making it accessible to all.

The seas and oceans also cut to the heart of integral ecology. They are the blue lungs of the planet, and require governance focused on the common good of the entire human family and founded on the principle of subsidiarity.

The document also stresses the urgent need to promote a circular economy that does not aim at over-exploitation of productive resources, but at their long-term maintenance, so that they can be reused. We must overcome the concept of rejected waste, it says, because everything has value. This, however, will only be possible through positive interaction between technological innovation, investment in sustainable infrastructure, and growth in resource productivity.

The private sector is called upon to operate transparently in the supply chain. The document goes on to call for the reform of fossil fuel subsidies and the taxation of CO2 emissions.

In the field of labour, the document expresses hopes for the promotion of sustainable socio-economic development, so that poverty might be eradicated and the marginalized might find paths toward socio-professional advancement. It also calls for decent work, fair wages, efforts to combat child labour, and an inclusive economy which promotes the value of the family and motherhood, along with the prevention and eradication of new forms of slavery, such as human trafficking.

The document says the world of finance needs to play its part, by aiming for the primacy of the common good and working to put an end to poverty. The Covid-19 pandemic, reads the document, shows how elements of the system are being questioned, when it reduces welfare, allows speculation even in misfortune, and oppresses the poorest people.

The document urges government to close tax havens, sanction financial institutions involved in illegal operations, and bridge the gap between those who have access to credit and those who do not. It exhorts everyone to promote a style of management of the Churchs goods that is inspired by transparency, coherence, and courage, based on a perspective of integral sustainability.

Within civil institutions, the document stresses the primacy of civil society, which politics, governments, and administrations must serve. It calls for the globalization of substantive, social, and participatory democracy, and a long-term vision based on justice, morality, and the fight against corruption.

The document says an important aspect is the promotion of access to justice for all, including the poor, the marginalized, the excluded. It also encourages governments to rethink prudently the prison system, in order to promote the rehabilitation of prisoners, especially young people serving time for their first conviction.

The text then dwells on healthcare systems, calling it a question of equity and social justice. It reaffirms the importance of the right to care. As ecological networks are degraded, it reads, social networks are also broken down. In both cases, it is the poorest who suffer the consequences. The document offers concrete suggestions, including an examination of the dangers associated with the rapid spread of viral and bacterial epidemics, and the promotion of palliative care.

Finally, the interdicasterial document examines the issue of climate change, saying it has a profound environmental, ethical, economic, political, and social relevance which impacts the poor above all. Therefore, we first need a new model of development that links the fight against climate change to the fight against poverty, in tune with the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Recalling that no one acts alone, the document calls for a commitment to low carbon sustainable development to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Proposals made in this area include the reforestation of areas such as the Amazon rainforest, along with support for the international process aimed at defining the category of climate refugee to ensure them necessary legal and humanitarian protections.

The last chapter of the text is dedicated to the commitment of Vatican City State.

There are four operational areas in which the implications of Laudato s are applied are: (1) environmental protection (e.g. sorted waste collection already established in all Vatican offices); (2) protection of water resources (e.g. closed circuits for fountain water); (3) care for green areas (e.g. progressive reduction of harmful phytosanitary products); (4) reduced consumption of energy resources (e.g. in 2008, a photovoltaic system was installed on the roof of the Nervi Hall, and new energy-saving lighting systems were installed in the Sistine Chapel, St. Peters Square, and the Vatican Basilica, reducing costs by 60, 70, and 80 percent, respectively).

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Vatican document on integral ecology: Safeguarding Creation is everyone's responsibility - Vatican News

At the heart of Papatoetoes town centre is The Food Hub. The bustling, community-driven kitchen, cafe and meeting place is a place where locals can enjoy homegrown and indigenous food options, that are both healthy and sustainably sourced.

The Food Hub has reached some key milestones over the past months and the evolution of this initiative has been staggering, from its inception to the fully licensed caf and commercial kitchen onsite today.

As part of its urban regeneration strategy for the area, the team at Panuku saw potential in an under-utilised netball club in Papatoetoe which neighbours the central New World Papatoetoe supermarket.

Panuku managed the site management and provided resource consent before handing over management of The Food Hub to The Southern Initiative and Healthy Families in September 2018.

Connie Clarkson, Panukus Head of Commercial Place Operations, says:

Panuku played a vital role in connecting The Food Hubs key people, like the New World supermarket and the Washer Family.

"Max Washer owns the iconic White Lady food truck, which recently retired after 45 years of being based in the CBD. The White Lady now proudly resides at the Food Hub for new cooking and catering initiatives. These strong relationships had to be forged otherwise the project would never have been able to go ahead.

The vision for The Food Hub was to explore whats possible when you bring the resources of local government, traditional knowledge, local food production and healthy principles together.

Some of the major successes have been:

The long-term goal is for The Food Hub to replicated in other urban centres. As Julio Bin from The Southern Initiative says:

The Food Hub helps alleviate food insecurity and influences behaviours by making a healthier and sustainable local food system.

"The concept has evolved to become a community-led enterprise focused on providing good and affordable food to the local community, while upcycling surplus food into meals and juices.

"The Food Hub is now, post COVID-19, an example of an alternative model to enhance community food resilience and support a sustainable and local food economy.

Excerpt from:

A year of good and affordable kai in Papatoetoe - OurAuckland

A lone person stands in pedestrian overpass in downtown Calgary on March 18, 2020.

Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

Bruce Graham is a senior adviser with Osborne Interim Management and the founding president and CEO of Calgary Economic Development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating and has left Canadians feeling desperate. Albertans, especially, have been shaken by the continued plunge of the price of oil. But now, as we look at how we can safely reopen our economies, we should start seeking inspiration in the many opportunities that will present themselves.

Thats more of an uphill climb when it comes to major energy projects, which have had trouble getting built in this country. Even before the pandemic, resource-based projects were either being abandoned or languishing under bureaucratic and legal delays. As a result, Canada has been developing a worrying reputation among foreign corporations as a place where major projects cant happen.

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The challenges dont exist solely at the national level. They transcend to more routine projects that often require myriad municipal and provincial approvals. It is often local communities that wind up being branded as business-friendly or hard to deal with."

All businesses that contemplate making a major capital investment evaluate risks as they relate to regulator approvals that is, how much time it will take before work can get under way and how much it will ultimately cost. Similarly, decision-making authorities in the development-approval process need to find the right balance between supporting community benefits and the impact on the feasibility of new development projects.

It can be expected that in periods of strong economic growth, the demands for increased community benefits tend to occur through the development approval process. While in periods of slower economic growth, it can be expected that municipalities would be more accommodating for improved economic development outcomes.

When it comes to the global recession we are now experiencing, virtually all jurisdictions will be rolling out the red carpet and hanging up their open for business signs. However, when we begin the process of rebuilding Albertas economy, we will need to be far more aggressive and creative to attract business growth and reduce the risks for investors, while acknowledging the structural changes that have taken place. These changes have been amplified by controversial oil-and-gas divestment campaigns, exemplified by this weeks decision by Norways sovereign wealth fund the largest in the world to exclude four of Canadas largest oil-sands producers from its portfolio.

Jurisdictions that can safely emerge from physical-distancing measures to rebuild their economies earlier will have an advantage. The economies of Singapore, Taiwan and Germany have been touted at different times as being able to ramp up capacity; other economies, including Canadas, are still emerging from the pandemic. That doesnt mean Canadian jurisdictions cant compete globally, but surmounting the obstacles will require a more nimble regulatory environment to make up for that lost ground.

While businesses may see local expansion as lower-risk due to familiarity and the potential for closer management oversight, investing globally may still be necessary to address speed-to-market and cost-competitiveness issues in an increasingly protectionist world. What is even more important to local jurisdictions coming out of the pandemic is the fact that foreign investors will likely validate their investment decisions by the activity that has been initiated by local businesses and community-infrastructure projects. In other words, Canada cant hope to attract foreign investment if local businesses are still sitting on the sidelines.

Jurisdictions with superior customer service and a reputation as being business-friendly, cost-sensitive and tax-competitive will be rewarded with increased business investment, along with the jobs that go with it. For municipal economic developers, targeted industry-sector development strategies will need to take a back seat, at least in the short term, to focus efforts on supporting the growth of any local businesses that have the ambition and the financial wherewithal to invest if we hope to generate the momentum needed to kick-start the economy.

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There will be many lessons coming out of this pandemic, and one is that where you live, where you work and where you need to be to do business will be less relevant. This will put increased stress on those communities that generate a disproportionate amount of their property-tax revenue from their commercial-assessment base, particularly office and retail properties that may see reduced demand after the crisis.

Work forces of the future that are not location-sensitive will be increasingly mobile and dispersed, with cost-sensitive warehouse and distribution location choices driven by market access. For those jobs that are location-sensitive, people and migration will increasingly follow businesses not the other way around. Vibrant communities will follow the jobs and the opportunities created by growing businesses.

The vibrancy of the communities we live in and the opportunity to prosper after COVID-19 will initially have to come from within, generated through robust business-retention rates and the expansion of communities of all sizes. Jurisdictions that have efficient, streamlined development processes that businesses can bank on and that effectively foster business growth will be better positioned to attract new jobs and investment. And the pandemic has put these facts into stark relief its now or never to rebalance Albertas economic priorities.

Most of Alberta was given the green light to open stores, salons and restaurants Thursday. But those in Calgary and Brooks were told they must wait until May 25 because of their high number of coronavirus cases. The Canadian Press

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Opinion: To kick-start Alberta's return to the global economy, we need to think local first - The Globe and Mail

First, I would like to thank all the folks who have offered their prayers and support due to a severe injury to my spinal cord, surrounding nerves and vertebrae. I am the type of guy who gets up and goes to work no matter how much it hurts. If I can walk, Im working. Just another hard-working Alaskan with worn body parts. I knew that it would come back to haunt me, but I have responsibilities to my family and employer, the people of my district.

Over the last two years I have worked with Governor Dunleavy and his administration to find more opportunities to diversify our economy as we continue to struggle with funding our state budget. It appears that most legislators can only depend on folks pockets for more government, well folks pockets arent that deep. I feel the best way to solve our financial problems is to follow the plan that Governor Dunleavey has laid out based upon developing the vast array of natural resources and turning our resources into jobs. By turning our resources into jobs companies make a profit when there is a favorable business environment and pay corporate taxes to the state and a royalty share to the state. It is what we promised Congress we would do to fund our government when we became a state.

I have been working with Governor Dunleavy and his commissioners to create an economic development plan for short, mid, and long-term financing for our state based upon developing our resources, not taking needed cash out of our economy.

Currently, there is more than $16 billion available in an earnings reserve account which has averaged 10.74% since it was created in 1981. Mostly from the money that current legislators took from Alaskans permanent fund that was supposed to go to the people in dividend checks. I support Governor Dunleaveys permanent fund dividend plan to fully fund dividend checks and back-owed dividends to get desperately needed cash to our residents and into our economy as soon as possible.

Infrastructure projects like the Kink Arm Crossing, which is a state DOT project, is ready to go and would only require $5 million in state funds and put a $750 million project out for construction and thousands of jobs into our community. And most importantly, reduce accidents on Alaskas deadliest road. All stopped because of politics.

I have been working with the folks at the Department of Natural Resources and our legislative legal department to get the necessary information that could lower cost by over an estimated 25% for state projects like the Amber Road project, which connects to a new port in Northwestern Alaska, the Gateway to the Arctic, or hydroelectric dams in Southeast, and a railroad to through Canada. I presented this information to Governor Dunleavy and he has asked me to continue working with his team of commissioners.

I have also worked to develop a plan to reduce the number of prisoners committing re-offenses, while at the same time grow our agriculture industry using the Point Mackenzie prison farm. Prisoners could learn a trade by processing every bit of food that our farmers can grow to be used in our state facilities, such as schools and the pioneer homes, as well as feed the 6000 prisoners across the state. Commissioner Dahlstrom continues to fully support this project. We should never throw away perfectly good food.

Any well thought out business plan needs to look at least 20 years out. With that in mind, I feel that Alaska should be positioning itself to be the next Panama Canal, the Northern Canal of the arctic. This would require building and retrofitting vessels to use clean high-grade synthetic fuel and lubricant made from Alaskas natural gas. Engineered and operated by Alaskans. Our university would never be for want again. Trying to build a natural gas pipeline so we can try to be competitive in a world awash with natural gas is not feasible. We should be converting it to environmentally safe synthetic motor fuels and lubricants that is so clean it is considered benign, meaning that if there is a fuel spill and arctic there would be no environmental impact. Made by Alaskans from Alaskas natural gas. The world continues to spend billions of dollars trying to remove carbon. We have a natural gas resource with minimal carbons to start with. We also have the technology. This is another project I continue to work on.

It will take vision to get out of the huge financial problems we face. More politics as usual, lies and falsifications need to be gone.

I would love to talk to anyone who would like to learn more about how we could solve our financial problems by turning our jobs into resources and diversifying our economy. By creating a good working environment for industry to thrive and infrastructure to support them.

I would be welcome to share my ideas and as usual just call my office at 376-2679 and let us know that you would like to visit. I would be glad to talk and share my thoughts.

Mark Neuman is a State Representative for District 8: Meadow Lakes, Big Lake, Knik, and Point MacKenzie.

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Working to find more opportunities to diversify economy | Opinions - Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal urged the management of Assam based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) to play a proactive role in promoting agro based economy in the state and take steps for skill development of youth of the neighbouring areas.

The Chief Minister made this call during a review of the Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project (NREP) and Bio Refinery Plant at the NRL Head Quarter in Numaligarh. Chief Minister Sonowal also visited the construction sites of both the projects and took stock physical progress of the projects.

Sonowal said that in the industrial landscape of Assam, NRL is playing an important role and has generated much hope for the states economy especially in view of its expansion project and the bio fuel plant. However, it is time that NRL should come out of its conventional area of expertise and focus on promotion of agro economic fundamentals in the state, he said adding that the bamboo based ethanol plant is a big opportunity for NRL to venture into the field of agro economy by engaging maximum number of local people in bamboo production which is now an agricultural product. He further observed that the new bamboo and cane policy of the state government would significantly help the NRL and local farmers in this regard.

The Chief Minister said that the NRL with its wide resources should also give a thought to strengthen the local economy including setting up of cold storages and providing succour to the horticulturists who suffered huge loss during the coronavirus induced lockdown.

He said that establishing cold storages would not only help the farmers but also go a long way in boosting rural economy. Sonowal further said that concentrating on developing skilled men power that could also be a strong force to catapult industrial growth in the state should also constitute a core area of importance of the NRL and urged the management to take up skill development initiatives of the youth of neighbouring areas.

NRL MD S. K. Baruah informed the Chief Minister that the expansion project which involves capacity enhancement of the refinery from 3 MMTPA to 9 MMTPA with project cost of Rs. 22,594 crore is being carried out with completion time of 48 months. Moreover, consultancy job has already been awarded and 200 acres land has been taken on lease at Paradeep Port for laying crude pipe line connecting Numaligarh.

The NRL MD further informed that the bio refinery plant which is being executed with a project cost of Rs. 1750 crore will use 5 lakh MT bamboo per annum as raw material and produce 49000 MT ethanol per annum as main product. Other major bio products from this plant will include acetic acid and furfural besides production of biodegradable plastic out of furfural in collaboration with IIT Guwahati.

The plant is scheduled to be commissioned by December 2021, he informed. For successful implementation of the project, the MD made several requests to the Chief Minister and sought his help on issues related to Forest, PWD and security related matters. The Chief Minister assured to look into all the requests positively, so that NRL continues to be a leading force in the industrial landscape of the state.

Sonowal inspected the construction work of embankment by Water Resource Department from Morihula to Agoratoli range as a protection measure for Kaziranga National Park (KNP). While surveying the work, he directed the department to complete the embankment project within May 30.

The embankment project, funded by Asian Development Bank, would cover a total length of 23.38 kms and with a width of 7.5 m would protect the KNP from floods and erosion.

Chief Minister informed that even though embankment work could not be started on time due to COVID-19 lockdown, State Government had started the construction work of embankments so that all these projects could be completed by May 30. In view of the impending floods from the month of June, the State Government was taking all steps to complete the embankment construction works within this month so that the people and property could be protected from the annual onslaughts of floods in the state. He opined that if the projects were completed on time, a lot of people and their farming lands would be saved from the devastation caused by major rivers.

He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package for reenergizing Indias economy in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic and said that State Government would continue to strive for Assams economic development in parallel to the fight against coronavirus.

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Assam CM asks Numaligarh Refinery to play proactive role in promoting agro-based economy - Economic Times

A couple of years ago, I had expressed strong reservations about the governments flagship project for transforming India with industrial corridors and clusters of smart cities. Animated by as passionate a concern for the future of our country that those promoting the flagship project claimed to be driven by, I had opposed it on the grounds that there was no surplus water in the country for it.

A lot has changed since then. Post-COVID, India will have to deal with a situation where the global umpires sound real and false alarms about catastrophes around the corner. For instance, the UN World Food Programme executive director, David Beasley, has stated that he fears multiple famines of biblical proportions after the pandemic.

As we approach the limits to growth in a new global era, we are clearly not sure of whats coming. This was demonstrated recently in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Witness how we have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of us, scared, not knowing what we are up against, locked up in our personal coops, eyes closed and our heads in the sand, waiting for the danger to go away, our gaze averted from the unprecedented crisis being faced by migrant workers during the lockdown.

As things stand, we have no way of dealing with the uncertainties of the new global era that is upon us be it pandemics, epidemics, global drought, crop failures, storm floods and civil strife caused by crises of mass hunger. Further, being on the perimeter of the global order, without a seat at the high table, India needs to be prepared for any such eventuality in a scenario where dozens of countries are in distress, not much help can be expected from international quarters.

So far we have been busy scooping up the past and shovelling it in front of us as our future while, out there, the global system is reconfiguring itself into a world where we face the risk of becoming increasingly irrelevant. If we want to pull ourselves back from the edge, we will have to radically alter our socio-economic geography during the next decade.

The government is familiar with this concept since its grand project for industrial corridors also intended to transform that geography. What I am proposing, however, is radically different from the grandiose plan shown by international consultants for industrial corridors and smart cities, which they based on the mantra of debt funding and industrialisation, peopled by massive population migrations.

We have not changed our socio-economic geography since the British left; the predatory settlement pattern still drains resources from the hinterland for the elite in and around the metro cities going back to the colonial era. Indias rural base continues to be ignored.

Also read: Centre, State Govts and Pvt Sector Owe Over Rs 5 Lakh Crore in Unpaid Dues to MSME Sector: Gadkari

Our macro-economy needs to be reassembled into a federal cluster of 28 independent and steady state economies. The continuing stranglehold of almost two centuries of colonial governance, which is incapable of addressing the issues of a veritable continent of 28 densely populated states, has to be prised open to make way for income redistribution, universal social welfare and local self- governance.

Post-pandemic, universal welfare is a must

The first big change has to be initiated by the government of India. It has to redefine its responsibilities towards its citizens, extending its role to include universal social welfare for all citizens.

This means reconstituting ourselves into a mandatory welfare state by amending Article 37 concerning the Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Part IV of the Indian constitution, to state that the provisions contained in this part shall be enforceable by the courts.

A worker cleans a platform at the Howrah Junction railway station after India announced a limited re-opening of its giant rail network beginning on Tuesday, after a nearly seven-week lockdown to slow the spreading of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on the outskirts of Kolkata India, May 11, 2020. Photo: Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri

The callousness shown by the state towards its poor since the time of independence, right down to its indifference to the plight of migrant labour in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown, runs contrary to the aspirations of our constitution, which is the widest possible social instrument to overcome deeply embedded inequalities.

Going by current statistics, the number of potential beneficiaries for universal social welfare services would begin with 400 million Indians, the very poor, and be completed when universal welfare coverage has been extended to 1350 million.

Moving towards economic federalism: learning from the EU model

The second big change will come when the current Centre-state relationship gets redefined in a way that enables the 28 states to become federal in the true sense as self-sustaining economic territories in matters of energy, water, food production and waste recycling. Our economic geography of production, transport and communication has to change it has to become distributive rather than being focused towards the Centre.

What is needed is not a diffused national labour market, but state-level labour markets based on district data that register the unemployed. Such data will not only enable an understanding of the hidden force of migration but also help put in place curative measures.

The changes with regard to re-assembling our macroeconomy can be operationalised in many ways. One way is to learn from the European Union (EU). The EU, like India, has component regions with varying levels of governance capabilities, social equity and resource availability.

This task requires issuing new federal instruments that would direct each state to adhere to common standards of decentralised governance and fiscal discipline at much higher levels than is being done now. These proposed instruments would be similar to the ones issued by the EU to candidate states for equal access to facilities, sharing inter-country objectives including migration, transport, energy supply and micro-enterprises, and a commitment to the goal of making state economies into steady-state territories.

Also read: Life After COVID-19: Decommodify Work, Democratise the Workplace

The investments made by Brussels to enable the process of re-federalisation and pre-accession to be put in place during the period of 20072013 amounted to 11.5 billion euros. This was in the form of financial and technical help to build the capacities of the countries throughout the accession period in areas such as public administration reform, rule of law and agriculture.

Similarly, in India, the Centre would have to invest in the process of enabling decentralisation and raising standards of governance and fiscal discipline and preparing the necessary instruments.

By using such instruments, the central government would assist in the overdue reforms of governance through financial and technical help. The funds dispersed under these instruments would build up the capacities of each state throughout the re-federalising process. The instruments are the means by which the central government will support reforms that will enable districts to essay a larger contributory role in the macro national economy.

Centrally distributed funds will need to be directed specifically to build the capacities of each state. The instruments will enable them to embark on a sustainable economic recovery whose base is widely distributed across the various panchayats and districts of each state. Driving distributive recovery will be energy, transport, supply chains, public administration, rule of law, agriculture and rural development.

These instruments will define new shared rules for financial, productive and administrative engagements with the Centre by reversing the centralisation trend and disbursing initiatives and resources deep into the corners of each district.

Looking at the territorial expanse of India and comparing it to various countries through the population lens, it becomes clear that however heroic our rulers imagine themselves to be, they cannot govern the country as if it were their private fiefdom. They may be able to fill stadiums with cheering fans , but they certainly cannot govern it democratically. Hence the significance of re-federalisation.

Informal sector and agriculture hold the key to recovery

Our economy is powered by the 65 million enterprises that employ over 90% of the labour force. Only four million among them are registered and include the so-called organised sector. In the aftermath of the current crisis, it would be a mistake to assume that the organised sector will be able to pull us out. There is ample evidence to state that India has been de-industrialising for some years.

In the post-COVID 19 era that is beginning, our economic recovery will primarily come from the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that are situated across the country. So every state needs to register each and every farm and enterprise first and then ensure that they begin to receive funds to re-start their farms and the businesses that virtually shut down after the lockdown was imposed.

Also read: Centre Opts for Long-Term Agricultural Reforms, Leaving Farmers Atmanirbhar in Crisis

The recovery will come from the farms registered at the panchayat level and the clusters of MSMEs which are located around district and mandi towns across the states. Collectively, these clusters of local-level enterprises would form a network of distributive hubs of the state-level, self-sufficient economy.

The infusion of funds at the district, municipal and panchayat levels in agriculture and micro and small-scale enterprises would not only enable this network of farms and enterprises to grow; it would also engage diverse ethnic and religious communities as productive communities and help them move away from relying on the dwindling sectors of the economy to generate cash incomes.

The distribution of central resources would fan out to agricultural and production enterprises through the third level of local self-governance. The fledgeling micro-level local economies of mandi and district towns are potential hubs for a new distributive network interlinked through customised digital platforms which can service micro-enterprises and farms at the panchayat level.

New tehsil and panchayat-level markets would have to be set up with public funding to enable local producers to market and exchange their produce. Currently, small-scale farmers are not able to sell their marginal surplus produce for cash since buying agents are interested in bulk quantities of grain, vegetables and fruit which they take directly to the district mandis and metro mandis.

People wait in queue to collect food from volunteers during the nationwide lockdown in Kolkata, April 30, 2020. Photo: PTI/Swapan Mahapatra

The role of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would be to take the fiscal deficit to the level necessary to stimulate grassroots demand by pumping liquidity into the small farmer and micro, small and medium enterprise units.

In the beginning, small sector units would be identified as those already paying tax as a way to verify their credentials. The next step would be to initiate liquidity distribution through a cluster of financing institutions to reach out to the small district, tehsil and panchayat-based units by involving insurance companies, banks such as SIDBI and even the corporate sector.

This entire initiative to re-vitalise over 730 districts in the country would need to be co-ordinated by as many new state project offices, each located in the district and holding the list of newly registered farm and productive enterprises in need of funds and technical support.

For instance, the corporate sector can invest in its own supply chains micro and medium-sized who are tied to them for component supply.

The responsibilities of corporations would then change owing to a more direct financial involvement between the corporates sector and their supply chain enterprises that are upstream and downstream of their manufacturing activity.

Apart from the enterprises, over 60% of the workforce remains in the agriculture sector, contributing just 17% to the GDP. Over 90% of our workforce works in the informal sector, in agricultural and product processing activities whose output value is not all included in GDP calculations. Thus the growth data that is computed from personal spending, business investment, government spending and exports, leaves out the substantial contributions made by the unorganised sector.

The image illustrates the differences between a centralised colonial economy and a distributive one. The coloured image represents a typical cluster of district-centred economies interacting with each other on shared platforms.

Activating local self-governance

It is essential to activate the local self-government framework if this architecture of reassembling economic federalism is to work. As part of the new federal instruments issued to the states, the Centre would require all states to activate the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments that were passed in 1992, providing a constitutional framework of local self-government, namely gram panchayats in villages and municipalities in urban areas.

By activating these amendments in a real sense, through funds, the operational base for the new redistributive economy will be established. The third and lowest level of local governance which has been written into the constitution would no longer remain stillborn.

The structure of local self-governance is already in place, but it has been hollowed out. It needs to be activated to ensure that funds are routed to them and the Centres instruments for decentralisation, fiscal discipline and governance come into force in each district. That will, in turn, regulate the municipal and panchayat targets for fund disbursement through the existing banking system.

There can be no better time to embark on this project of decentralised economic governance than the present juncture, considering that in this dire period of tackling the crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essentially the states which are at the frontline.

Romi Khosla was a principal consultant for pre-accession measures to the EU and UNDP in the former Soviet bloc Balkan countries and Cyprus and for urban revitalisation and tourism planning in Central Asia and Tibet.

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In a Post-COVID-19 World, the Only One Way Ahead for India Is Economic Federalism - The Wire

There are a range of opinions. But all agree that it's a tough balance between restarting the economy and keeping the public safe.

Business leaders, public health experts, and your average person on the street have opinions on whether now is the right time to start reopening the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.

Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker is expected to announce details of the initial phase of a gradual reopening of non-essential businesses.

Social worker Michael Santiago of Boston, who dropped by the Framingham post office on Rte. 30 on Friday to mail a package, said now is not the right time to take that step.

We dont know enough about the virus. People are provoking the governor, Santiago said, referring to what he feels are business interests pressuring the governor to get the economy moving again.

Barbara Gray of Framingham, who picked up a cup of coffee at a local Panera Bread restaurant, said, As long as its done in a responsible way and people respect the guidelines, its OK to reopen businesses in phases.

Some local public health officials said they need to see the details of Bakers plan before deciding if its the right move.

Framingham Public Health Director Sam Wong worries that reopening the economy too soon could create a spike of COVID-19 cases.

Wong believes the city is finally on the other side of the COVID-19 surge that has taken 69 lives and resulted in a total of 1,374 residents who tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

However, a double whammy could be on the horizon, because Wong said the COVID-19 decline could drag on for months and coincide with this fall and winters flu season.

Worrisome is the word Wong used to describe a possible public health nightmare - another coronavirus surge that comes simultaneously with flu season.

Wong noted that many lives have been devastated economically by the pandemic, and it's important to find way to address the hardship as soon as possible.

Preview

Friday, Baker gave a preview of Mondays announcement, noting the reopening plan will encourage businesses to allow employees to work at home whenever possible. Some of the states largest employers, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Raytheon, Wayfair, Takeda and MassMutual are committed to work-from-home polices for the foreseeable future, Baker said.

The governor also extended his order that has kept non-essential businesses shut down for two months. The order now expires at midnight Monday, instead of midnight Sunday.

Milford reports 525 confirmed COVID-19 cases through Wednesday.

Jacquelyn Murphy, the towns public health officer, said shes encouraged by daily case counts in Milford that are falling and what appears to be fewer cases at Milford Regional Medical Center. The hospital reported 29 suspected and confirmed cases on Friday.

Murphy isnt completely sold that now is the right time to start reopening the economy.

I guess Im a little skeptical, Murphy said.

She hopes representatives from local boards of health have had a seat at the table on Bakers task force that drafted plans for reopening the economy. Murphy feels that way because cities and towns will be enforcing the measures.

If Bakers plan is based on evidence that now is the right time to start reopening the economy, then Murphy said shes all for trying it, especially if it calls for reverting back to a stay-at-home order if COVID-19 numbers start climbing again.

Business reaction

The topic of reopening the economy is an important one for the roughly 450 businesses that are members of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce, the vast majority being small- and medium-sized businesses and non-profits.

Chamber President Jim Giammarinaro worries that many small businesses dont have the financial resources that some of the membership's larger businesses have to continue weathering the economic storm.

Giammarinaro described several potential economic landmines for small businesses.

One is the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal government emergency loan program that some small businesses didnt fully understand when they accepted the funds. The loans call for a portion that must be paid back, and Giammarinaro worries how these businesses are going to get the cash to start making initial payments on July 1.

Another concern is $600 weekly unemployment checks that are expected to stop coming by the end of July. Giammarinaro is concerned that such a scenario could become a crisis for some workers that can't find a job to fill the income gap.

Some will be in dire straits if they cant get back to work, Giammarinaro said.

Getting back to work is just one piece of the recovery puzzle.

Cities and towns need to put business licensing and permit applications on the fast track, Giammarinaro said.

And, any public health guidelines in Bakers reopening plan will likely be a challenge for resource strapped local public health departments to implement and enforce, according to Giammarinaro.

The result is small businesses that dont know if theyre meeting public health standards that could make them susceptible to costly liabilities.

Everyone is a little gun shy, Giammarinaro said to describe the feelings of small-business owners. They dont want to close because of a public health liability if theyre not doing business in a healthy way.

Good job

Nancy Salvaggi of Natick said Baker has done a good job managing the pandemic as she put some items in her car after shopping in Framingham. She understands its a balancing act to keep people safe while gradually reopening the economy.

Weve come this far. I would rather not go back to the way we were. We need a safe and gradual reopening for sure, Salvaggi said.

As he stood next to his parked car in the parking lot at the Framingham post office, Santiago said even if the economy starts reopening, some will be too scared to go out and spend money.

Santiago acknowledged he falls in that boat because he smokes and has high blood pressure.

We have a state of emergency. Just deal with it, Santiago said. Eventually, the economy will come back.

Henry Schwan is the health reporter for the Daily News. Follow Henry on Twitter @henrymetrowest. He can be reached at hschwan@wickedlocal.com or 508-626-3964.

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Jitters, optimism with Gov. Bakers plan to reopen economy during the coronavirus pandemic - Milford Daily News

Share this idea!

As the economy reopens and we venture out into the world we once knew, it is tempting to try to make up for lost time that time we could have spent traveling, shopping, and restaurant and bar hopping. Perhaps you have already made a list of things you wish you had or places you want to go.

The term revenge pollution refers to theincreased emissions that result from accelerated economic activities after a recession, such as the one resulting from COVID-19. As the economy re-opens, try to be mindful of activities that may contribute to revenge pollution. With oil at historically low prices, many will be tempted to go for a long drive if they can still afford it but with a little effort you can prevent polluting more as the lockdown lifts.

One area of focus should be the use of plastic. The plastics industry pollutes our environment in the places it is made, plastic recycling has reached a critical point, and plastic waste covers our planet. The low cost of oil makes virgin plastic cheaper, which reduces the financial benefits of plastic recycling.

When reusable products are not applicable, compostable foodservice ware can reduce our use of petroleum-based single-use plastics. Bioplastics are made from renewable plant-based materials. Conventional plastics, on the other hand, are made of non-renewable petroleum and natural gas. Comparing compostable bioplastic made from corn to the petroleum-based plastic PET, the manufacturing of the bioplastic produces half of the carbon dioxide as traditional plastic.

Composting provides a natural solution to help prevent climate change.

When organic matter enters a landfill, the anaerobic environment creates methane, a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Recent efforts from NASA to identify where methane was being emitted found that some landfills were super-emitters. If you have space and time, you can create a home composting system.

An even better option is to have access to a commercial composting service. If you dont have access to a service that can process yard waste, food scraps, and compostable products, let your local elected officials know that this is a priority for you.

Another way we could all reduce our environmental impact is by traveling less. Popular destinations have suffered so much from the negative impacts of tourism that overtourism is now a word in the Cambridge English Dictionary to describe the problem. In addition to the impact of crowds of tourists on the destination, a single transatlantic flight is estimated to cause 32 square feet of Arctic ice to melt.

Globally, air travel has decreased by 40 percent since COVID-19 has entered our lives. This means that the 344 million metric tons of carbon emitted from air travel have been eliminated.

But these climate-beneficial gains will be lost if we return to our pre-pandemic behavior.

What can you do? Re-think future major trips. Instead of visiting an exotic place, you could watch a documentary about it. Or visit your loved ones more often via video chat instead of air travel. After all, sometimes the point of travel is not where people are physically going, but what state of mind you are trying to achieve.

Car travel has decreased with stay-at-home orders in many states. Vehicular traffic miles decreased by 70 percent in the last two weeks of March in the United States, according to Streetlight data analyzed by US PIRG. This is the result of working from home and fewer essential trips in general.

A typical automobile emits 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year; even a few weeks without driving can make a difference. Perhaps after the stay-at-home orders lighten, we can continue to decrease our vehicular miles traveled by teleworking and trip-chaining our errands to optimize each mile.

Consider working with your employer to see if you can work more from home or on a flex schedule that reduces your gas use because of stop-and-go rush hour traffic.

The consumer goods we consume have a carbon footprint. Each step of producing these goods from resource extraction to manufacturing, shipping, and disposal takes a toll on the environment. However, amid the pandemic in March 2020, American shopping decreased by 8.7 percent on consumer goods; people are curtailing discretionary consumer spending.

If you have to shop, ordering delivery from a local store is the best way to reduce carbon emissions by at least half per item compared to shopping with online-only retailers. Perhaps we can learn to curtail spending by sharing more and doing without the next necessary object.

Above all, the best idea we can adopt from this pandemic is to listen to scientific experts. Although we can pretend to be medical professionals (and public health officials, virologists, epidemiologists, statisticians, etc.), what we can take away from the pandemic is that we should trust the experts who have been working diligently to protect our best interests.

It is the consensus of scientists that human-made climate change is a threat. Now is the time to listen to climate change scientists, 11,000 of them would like us to take climate change seriously.

Lauren K. Olson is the zero waste manager at World Centric. She holds a masters degree in community sustainability specializing in decision-making about waste, and a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental economics both degrees from Michigan State University.

Feature image byJan Vaek from Pixabay

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How To Avoid 'Revenge Pollution' While Reviving the Economy - Earth911.com

As the impacts of COVID-19 continue to reach communities across the country, significant shifts in federal, state, and local budgets are forcing policymakers to grapple with sharp reductions in revenue and the changing needs of the people they serve. Although the importance of relying on research data and evidence in policymaking has been proved in times of prosperity, it is critical in the face of a global recession. The Results First Initiative was born out of the last major shock to the global economy: the 2008 recession. As states and counties seek to make informed decisions about spending to realize better outcomes during the current economic downturn, the initiative provides a framework for allocating limited resources. Specifically, it highlights tools that states can use to make smarter budget decisions at a time of rapidly declining revenue.

By April 2020, social distancing became the norm, initial jobless claims hit historic levels, students engaged in virtual learning, and the main focus of the U.S. health care system turned to keeping one step ahead of the coronavirus pandemic. In short, the needs of communities across the country shifted dramatically in a short period of time.

What can policymakers do to respond to these changing needs? A key step is to assess the variety and quality of programs that a state funds. This can help ensure thatin the midst of a rapidly changing economycurrently funded programs can still deliver the outcomes any given population requires. The Results First Clearinghouse Databasebrings together information from nine national clearinghouses, providing government officials with an easy way to access and understand evidence that supports public health and other critical social programs. Those charged with making difficult decisions about which programs to expandand which to cutcan use this resource to determine how to maximize the effectiveness of state dollars and ensure that programs reach those in need.

In addition to the clearinghouse database, there are other effective tools that states can use to inform their budget decisions. Two approaches to evidence-basedbudget developmentare:

Examples of the effective use of data to inform budget decisions can be found here.

When policymakers need to make quick and challenging determinations about public spending in a policy environment like that of COVID-19, they should start by assessing the quality of evidence supporting the programs and making data and research an essential tool in the budgeting process. Where available, states can use existing performance data about programs to help inform decisions now and in the future.

Whether legislating through an economic expansion or a recession, policymakers should follow the same practices and principles of evidence-based policymaking. It is critical that states employ data-driven, long-term strategies when assessing programs and creating budgets to make the most of taxpayer-funded programs.

For additional research and analysis related to COVID-19 preparation and responses, please sign up for regular newsletters here.

Sara Dube is a director and Carli Dimino is a senior associate with The Pew Charitable Trusts Results First initiative.

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COVID-19 is a Budget Challenge for StatesBut There Are Solutions - The Pew Charitable Trusts

A friend asked me recently how the economy is running when most people have not been working due to the lockdown across several countries to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Except for the production of a few essential items, the production, sale, and consumption of other goods and services have come to a standstill. Virtually, the entire economy has been stalled. What does this imply for a society?

Traditionally, women have been working at home, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children, and doing other household chores. But, in our modern society, most of the things used in our homes come from outside, produced by others. There is so much division of labour, based on specialisation, that we produce little of what we consume. The farmer may produce the wheat they consume but they have to get manure from outside. So, the earlier self-sufficiency of village life is gone.

This outside represents the market, where we exchange what we produce with what others produce. In a primitive society, this exchange happened in the form of the barter system, and now in the modern society, we use money we earn from producing what we individually produce to exchange for what we need. Money is only a medium of exchange, and it should not be confused with the income that someone earns. Income is earned from work that is done outside our home. A spouse whoworks at home does not get paid, but a maid who comes from outside to do exactly the same work in our houses gets paid and that is counted as income. So, when we pay the maid, we are exchanging our labour for their labour.

Consider Robinson Crusoe, marooned alone on an island, where he would have to produce everything: food, fetching water, shelter, clothing, energy, and so on. Life would be rudimentary. He would not be able to produce a spoon if he does not have a knife to carve a piece of wood, or produce a cooking vessel if he does not have the skill of a potter and energy to bake mud or clay.

But, we are not Robinson Crusoe cast away on an uninhabited island. We live in a society that has a lot of capital of all kinds with which one can potentially produce what all of us need. For this, human labour is required to run machines, as society is not completely robotised.

Against this backdrop, when a lockdown is announced, people cannot go to their places of work, and production halts. Only essentials are allowed to be produced. For instance, those working in the milk processing units, drinking water supply, electricity, among others can go to work. However, other workers are required to isolate themselves at home to meet the objective of lockdowns, like containing the spread of virus in the current scenario. The modern-day production of goods and services is concentrated in some pockets that are widely dispersed geographically. So, the produced goods have to be moved to the consuming centres all over the globe. This requires finance, trade, and transportation. Consequently, no country or a region in a country is self-sufficient. There are global supply chains, so even nations are not self-sufficient. Only a few large economies have relative self-sufficiency. Even large economies, such the United States (US) and the European Union, import a lot of common consumables from the developing world. While some of those imports are consumed (like, clothing and electronics), others (like, machines) are put to use in production units.The smaller economies are even more dependent on imports.

Given such a scenario, when China, the hub of the global manufacturing sector, announced lockdown in late January, supply chains have been affected across the globe. Progressively, as more and more countries came under lockdown, global production has been increasingly affected. These global supply chains can only be revisited once the world recovers from the ongoing pandemic.

Generally, manufacturers hold some raw material in stock so that even if supplies are affected for any reason, they can continue their production. But, maintaining inventories come at a financial cost, since working capital is borrowed from banks, and an interest is paid to banks in return. So, companies try to minimise their inventories. Many businesses now work on the concept of just in time; get inputs every day and produce every day to cut down costs on inventories. Such a business is considered efficient. Due to such business structures, a supply disruption, due to the lockdown, immediately stalls production in the entire supply chain.

For instance, if cotton is unavailable, thread cannot be produced, and because of that cloth production stops. The processing units do not get work. In turn, garment manufacturers and cloth merchants are affected. The transportation industry carrying finished products, the accountants and shopkeepers, and a whole host of workers throughout the chain lose work in a single stroke.

A lockdown does two things. First, workers cannot go to work, and second, the supply of inputs are disrupted, so that production largely stops. So, even though workers and capital both exist, production stops.

Generally, world over, production is carried out in large- and small-scale industrial units. In India, there is also the medium and cottage industry, or the unorganised sector. The large and medium industrial sectors by definition have a lot of capital and machines while the rest have minimal resources. A working capital is needed to buy raw materials and inputs, and to pay workers their salaries. At the start of a business, to buy machinery and to construct factory buildings, among others, loans are taken from banks. The smaller unitsget loans from private lenders, or have to invest their own savings. In a nutshell, businesses work with a lot of debt on which they pay interest.

An interest is paid outof revenue generated from sales. So, if sales stop, repayment of loan or payment of interest becomes difficult, and businesses begin to fail. Such loans from the banks turn into non-performing assets (NPAs). However, if production continues when sales have stopped, more inputs are needed and more unsold products accumulate, so more working capital is required and more interest has to be paid. As a result, losses increase, and companies stop production in a lockdown.

Healthy companies maintain reserves (savings) which they can use for a while, but that is not the case with weak companies or smaller industrial units. Generally, in the cottage industry, savings are used to carry out the production, but when production stops, there is no income flow.So, savings are used for consumption.

A working capital is required to carry out production, or to restart. This comes from banks, which, in turn, get it from their depositors in theform of savings. It is the working capitala form of investmentthat keeps the economy running. Since production is not possible without it, investments are crucial than consumption to keep the economy going.It is known that if investments decline then income declinesand so do consumption and savings.

As workers earn their wages and businessmen their profits from production, both are negatively affected in a situation of economic lockdown. The demand in the economy falls, and even if factories are in a position to produce, they do not carry out production lest inventory builds up. As production capacity becomes idle, more investment does not make sense. As investments decline, there would be another round of reduction in incomes and consumption levels, becoming something like a vicious cycle. This is the story of a near-complete lockdown, only when essentials are allowed to be produced.

Savings are the amount of the income left after consumption. So, if incomes collapse, so do savings. But, in any case, consumption has to continue, so people withdraw their savings and past deposits from the banks and financial institutions. Small businesses use their savings for current consumption. As a result, deposits in the banks decline, and simultaneously, credit demand falls as production and investments are affected. That is why an interest rate reduction by the central banks does not give a boost to the economy, because businesses which are shut do not need credit. Banks park any excess funds with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as is the case currently.

A vast majority of Indians who are working in the unorganised sector and the poor have low incomes and hardly any savings. So, when incomes stop, their consumption drastically falls. They are the ones who are now migrating from the cities to villages where they feel that their families will at least get food. This model of uneven development, which has been forcing people to migrate, has to be re-examined after the pandemic. Similarly, those running small and cottage industrial sectors are bound to exhaust their savings within a short while, and would not be able to restart their businesses when the situation limps back to normal.

On the other hand, organised sector employees, having fixed incomes, will continue to get at least a part of their salaries for some time and would be able to continue their consumption of essentials. But, this would also mean loss of savings for the companies, and they too cannot sustain it for long. The self-employed, elderly, and retired people have no option but to use their savings.

Businesses, which had already been stressed in a slowing Indian economy prior to March 2020, will now face a failure. Among them, those which have been depending a lot on borrowing (highly leveraged) will be the first ones to fail. Many firms in the financial sector are in this category, and can fail. As these firms are all interlinked via credit, so when one fails to return a loan, the next fails too, and the domino effect takes over, as it happened when Lehman Brother Holdings had failed in 2008 in the US. Though the three-month moratorium announced by the government for the payment of interest to banks could help check business failure to an extent for some time, it may not, however, be enough because production and income generation have stopped during the lockdown, and their revival is uncertain. Despite the fact that businesses that have large reserves (savings) could face less trouble, they too will come under strain due to the prolonged lockdown.

Although agriculture, mining, forestry and logging, and fishing could continue, but as incomes fall, demand for their produce would also decline. In such a situation, either they have to reduce production, or their prices would collapse. For agriculture and fishing, the looming danger is that the price of produce could fall at the source, but in consuming centres in urban areas, due to shortages and profiteering, their prices would rise. Therefore, regulation of trade would become crucial in the coming days.

As the lockdown is likely to be recovered in stages, production could recover gradually. However, the demand for non-essential items would remain low as consumer sentiment and capacity utilisation are down. As it would take some time for investments to pick up, employment and incomes could only revive gradually.

Businesses, which have exhausted their working capital, or have failed during the lockdown, would not be able to restart operations immediately. Even if they want to, banks would be wary of lending to such businesses because of the fear of loans turning into NPAs. In fact, the financial health of banks and other financial institutions would also be precarious, owing to the adverse impact of the lockdown.

As the economy is currently running at 25% of its capacity, compared to what it was in February and before, and assuming that this period of economic inactivity lasts for two months and then it recovers slowly to pre-crisis level in a year,India could see 35% and more drop in its gross domestic product (GDP) levels in this financial year. The economy would lose more than Rs 70 lakh crore of production and GDP would come down to Rs 130 lakh crore from Rs 204 lakh crore in 201920. Most of this loss will be that of the small and unorganised sectors of the economy and that is why many of these units would collapse. So, support would be required both for workers and the small businesses and that can only come from the government, the collective. It would have to provide essentials to the people, so that they do not face hunger, and societal disruption is prevented. It is a medical emergency, so massive investment is required in health infrastructure to tackle the disease. All this would require tightening governance which has been notoriously weak in India.

How does the government finance the massive increase in expenditures that would be required to tackle the pandemic? Taxes are collected from the incomes of people and also from production and consumption. But if the economy produces much less and incomes collapse, then tax collections would also fall. Other revenues would also fall as they too depend on economic performance.

Since GDP would be down by 35%, tax collection would fall by much more than this amount, as essentials would come with alow tax rate of zero rate. Currently, whatever production is taking place, it is mostly essentials. As per my calculations, revenues of centre and states could fall by 50% to 8% of the reduced GDP of 202021. So, from Rs 32 lakh crore, it would be down to about Rs 10.4 lakh crore. It may be noted that last year, the tax/GDP ratio was around 16%. This cannot even meet the current levels of expenditures much less the burden of new expenditures due to COVID-19. No wonder the state governments are complaining of shortage of resources and they have to carry much of the burden of taking care of the people.On the other hand, government expenditures have a committed part, like, interest payment which cannot be reduced.More measures such as a curtailment of salaries, defence expenditure, travel, meetings, and so on would be required. Investments could be postponed, and new projects could be shelved to reduce expenditure. But, it would also mean bringing down employment levels further in the economy. If expenditures are not slashedas the fiscal deficit was already at 10% of the old GDPitcould touch 15.5% of the already reduced GDP levels. In fact, even before this crisis emerged, the fiscal deficit was already at 10% of the GDP pointing out at the poor health of the economy. The possible rise in fiscal deficit levels could be attributed to a drastic fall in the revenue (around 17% of the already reduced GDP projections), increased expenditure to sustain at least half of the population (amounting to 14% of the GDP) and increased medical expenditures to deal with the pandemic.

Against such a backdrop, the government has to go in for a survival package by massively bringing down expenditure and providing a basic minimum for the population to survive, and to contain the spread of infection through lockdown.

Thus, even though machines, factories, and offices exist, the economy has stalled, and restarting production would be difficult if the lockdown lasts for a few months. The poor and the unorganised sector producers who have little savings would be the worst sufferers. As the governments resource position is badly stretched, it could only cater to survival. Most of the economic challenges that have come to the fore due to the COVID-19 crisis are a result of an uneven development. Once the pandemic is tackled, there has to be a serious rethink about our development paradigm and how our society should be run.

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COVID-19 Crisis: Understanding the State of Economy during and after the Lockdown - Economic and Political Weekly

Memories of idyllic beaches and vibrant waves may seem far away while we remain at home.To the people in the Asia Pacific, our namesake bears a nod to the Pacific Ocean, whichprovides food, livelihoods, and a sense of identity, especially for coastal communities in the Pacific island States.

Sadly, escalating strains on the marine environment are threatening to drown progress and our way of life.

In less than a century, climate change and unsustainable resource management have degraded ecosystems and diminished biodiversity.

Levels of overfishing have exponentially increased, leaving fish stocks and food systems vulnerable. Marine plastic pollution coursing through the region's rivers have contributed to most of the debris flooding the ocean.

This year's research fromEconomic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap),"Changing Sails: Accelerating Regional Actions for Sustainable Oceans in Asiaand the Pacific", shows that our picture of the ocean is remarkably shallow.

The challenge in tracking the progress on ourocean lies in insufficient oceanic data on health and resources management. Without data, we are swimming in the dark.

Existing oceanic data are available for only two out of ten targets for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Life Below Water, showing that our picture of the ocean is far from complete.

Due to limitations in methodology and national statistical systems, uneven information gaps have persisted across countries.

Insufficient or missing data createssignificant information gaps about ocean acidification, fisheries, research efforts, economic benefits for small island developing states, and least developed countries.

Defeating Covid-19 has been a numbers game and we need a similar commitment to data for the state of our shores.

While there is much we cannot see, images of plastic pollution have become commonplace.

Asia and the Pacific produce nearly half of global plastic by volume. Beating this challenge will hinge upon effective national policies and re-thinking production cycles.

Strong national statistical systems willsupportcountries to monitor trends, devise timely responses, and clear blind spots impeding action.

Close cooperation among countries in the region is also required for transboundary ocean management and linking ocean data. Through the Ocean Accounts Partnership, Escapis working with countries to harmonize ocean data and provide a space for regular dialogue.

Generating complete data on fish stocks, fighting illicit fishing activity, and conserving marine areas must remain a priority. The environmental decline is also affecting dwindling fish stocks.

Our region's position as the world's largest producer of fish has come at the cost of overexploitation. The percentage of stocks fished at unsustainable levels has increased threefold from 10 percent in 1974 to 33 percent in 2015.

We must also work with the shipping community to navigate toward green shipping. As an ocean-based industry, shipping directly affects the health of the marine ecosystem. Enforcing sustainable shipping policies is essential to mitigate maritime pollution.

Unequal shipping connectivity also remains as a challenge in the region. While the most connected shipping economies are in Asia, the small island developing statesof the Pacific experience much lower levels of connectivity, leaving them relatively isolated from the global economy.

Closing the maritime connectivity gap must be placed at the center of regional transport cooperation efforts.

Countries also need to re-thinkproduction cycles to overcome plastic pollution.Keeping the ocean plastic-free will depend on policies that promote a circular economy approach. This strategy minimizes resource use and keeps them in use for as long as possible.

That will require economic incentives and disincentives, coupled with fundamental lifestyle changes. Fortunately, several countries in the region have introduced successful single-use plastic bans.

Escap's Closing the Loop project is reducing the environmental impact of cities in Aseanby addressing plastic waste pollution and leakages into the marine environment.

The magnitude of our ocean and its challenges represent how extensive and collaborative our solutions must be. Hence, translating international agreements and standards into national action is also crucial. We must fully equip countries and all ocean custodians to localize global agreements into tangible results.

Escap is working with member states to implement the International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements on emissions reduction and environmental standards.

While the Covid-19 pandemic has temporarily reduced emissions and pollution on the ocean, this should not be a moment of reprieve. Instead, it is time to take transformative action for the ocean.

In the post-pandemicera, we must use the critical years ahead to steer our collective fleets toward sustainable oceans. With our shared resources and commitment, I am confident we can sail in the right direction.

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the United Nation's under-secretary-general and executive secretary of Escap.

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Healthy Oceans: Keeping Asia and The Pacific Afloat - Jakarta Globe