Photo from Indonesia: Greenpeace activists working with locals to halt drainage by constructing dams on peatlands. This will prevent the peatland from drying out and releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Peat-forming wetlands are an estimated 60% of all the wetlands distributed globally. Do peatlands remain in the "grey zone" seemingly unattractive to the conservation movement? I was reminded of Digging, the poem by Seamus Heaney:...
(Photo from the International Institute for Sustainable Development)
Mahefa Rakotomalala writes at L'express de Madagascar that the alleged land deal with South Korean company Daewoo has been officially rejected by the Malagasy government. The minister of land reform explained in a press release to local newspapers that anyone can request to lease an unlimited amount of land but it has to be approved by the state cabinet (fr).
South Korea has just leased half of all the arable land in Madagascar according to the Financial Times. This has stirred quite a debate in the Malagasy blogosphere about land sovereignty and economic development. It is still unclear whether the land deal has actually been signed by both parties. Meanwhile, bloggers are arguing whether this sort of deal should be considered “neo-colonialism”.
Here is an overview of what is know so far.
Photo via belgianchocolate
Are they going to have to make a Madagascar 3 movie where a lion, zebra, giraffe and hippo work to rescue some crazy lepilemurs (and pygmy tarsiers) not from foosas, but from human destruction?
South Korea’s Daewoo Logistics has signed a 99-year lease entitling them to half of all Madagascar’s arable land. And, they will pay nothing to farm corn and palm oil there.
Autumn… fallen leaves and colorful trees, and a romantic season. Autumn is regarded as a season when you feel lonely, you feel a good appetite, and feel a strong reading desire. And winter is coming. Cold season and white snow. This is the moment that people strongly feel lonely if they’re single. Nobody is next you who can warm you physically and mentally. Every year around this time, netizens share information and opinions on how you can remove the stigma of being ‘single.’
Do you belong to these categories for why you’re still single? A netizen introduces a witty explanation.
A big scandal [En] involving two entertainers’ marriage life, affairs, and legal fighting in Korea this year has brought up whether adultery should be legal or not. An actress was disclosed to have had affairs with other men and she taken to court by her husband and actor for adultery. Long term fighting between them, exposure of their detailed marriage life, and legal fighting have dragged on for a long time. She eventually appealed to the Higher Court that the adultery law breaches the right to pursue mankind’s happiness. On the 30th of October, the Higher Court recognized adultery as constitutional[kr].
Seaweed farms on Bali, photo: Hassan Abdel-Rahman.
Italian biodiesel producers are interested in it; the UK’s Crown Estate has expressed support as well. Now Indonesia is looking to capitalize on its abundant supplies of seaweed and turn it into biodiesel. To do so it’s engaging the help of South Korea, Cleantech reports. While S. Korea has the know-how, it doesn’t have enough seaweed, with the reverse being true of Indonesia....
South Korea's government has agreed to guarantee foreign-currency borrowing by the country's banks to help stabilize financial markets. The announcement doesn’t bring positive views from netizens. The netizens also have different interpretations.
(Photo from Korea Times)
Quote of the day: “Our goal is to make 30 percent of the total population use bicycles as public transportation.” - Oh Gwang-hyun, South Korean official.
After the US government announced removal of North Korea from the black list in October 2008, how do South Koreans think about this decision?
Some netizens see this as a good chance to build up better relations between North and South Korea and expect a further step for reunification.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Technorati
