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Category: Fisheries

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Maritime decarbonisation strategy and calls for evidence

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Written statement to Parliament

    Maritime decarbonisation strategy and calls for evidence

    Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security sets out the government’s vision for the future of the UK’s maritime sector.

    By publishing our new Maritime decarbonisation strategy today, the government has set out plans to encourage and support our maritime sector in using fuels of the future and shipping ‘chargepoints’ to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The maritime decarbonisation strategy sets out the government’s vision for the future of the UK’s maritime sector, by setting new domestic decarbonisation goals for a 30% reduction by 2030 and an 80% reduction by 2040 (both relative to 2008) and outlines our key policies to meet them.

    To support this, we are also publishing 2 supplementary calls for evidence: on Net zero ports and on Smaller vessels – measures for small, sub-400 gross tonnage (GT) vessels and accelerating uptake in targeted subsectors. These calls for evidence will allow us to gather evidence to provide a more holistic understanding of the current state of play of the maritime sector and how to decarbonise the sector moving forward.

    In 2019, the UK domestic maritime sector produced around eight million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, on a fuel lifecycle basis. Decarbonisation of our maritime sector will support this government’s missions: driving the uptake of clean fuels and energy helping to make Britain a clean energy superpower, seizing the green growth opportunities which will help to kickstart economic growth, and realise the co-benefits that reducing emissions can have for health, supporting our health mission, in line with our Plan for Change. It is conservatively estimated that the decarbonisation of the UK maritime sector could support £130 million to £180 million of gross value added (GVA) and around 1,400 to 2,100 jobs in the UK on average in each year between now and 2050. This is in respect to the provision of on-board technologies, fuel storage and engines alone. The investments required on land to support the decarbonisation of the sector, including the production of zero and near-zero GHG emission fuels and energy are also expected to further drive growth in the UK, and deliver energy security.

    This ambitious, but credible and evidence-based maritime decarbonisation strategy is based on a state-of-the-art maritime emissions model, representing a significant step change in our ability to estimate the emissions from the UK maritime sector. Responses from the 2 calls for evidence will also inform the development of the maritime emissions model as we look to increase our understanding of how to decarbonise maritime.

    Maritime decarbonisation strategy

    The maritime decarbonisation strategy outlines this government’s vision for the how maritime sector can decarbonise. The strategy sets new goals for domestic maritime emissions, aiming for zero fuel lifecycle GHG emissions by 2050, with at least a 30% reduction by 2030 and an 80% reduction by 2040, relative to 2008 levels. These interim goals are aligned with the level of highest ambition of the 2023 IMO’s GHG strategy, allowing us to take pragmatic action domestically whilst continuing to push for high ambition internationally.

    These goals highlight our commitment to decarbonising the maritime sector and will provide the industry with the certainty it needs to invest, playing its part in kickstarting economic growth and making Britain a clean energy superpower.

    The Strategy will cover 5 key policies to drive decarbonisation from now to 2050:

    • Fuel regulation. Alongside a fuel standard being developed at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), we will, subject to consultation next year, introduce domestic fuel regulations to drive the uptake of zero and near-zero GHG emission fuels and energy sources.

    • Emissions pricing. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will be expanded to include UK domestic maritime GHG emissions from 2026. At the IMO, we are also continuing to push for emissions pricing through a global shipping levy, introduced from 2027.

    • Ports and emissions at berth. We are considering further action to reduce emissions at berth and are launching a call for evidence to inform this work alongside the maritime decarbonisation strategy.

    • Smaller vessels and targeted subsectors. We need to reduce emissions from the whole fleet over time, including smaller vessels. To build our understanding, we are launching a call for evidence to begin this policy development. We are aware that whilst this will be challenging for some sub sectors (such as fishing vessels), there are others that could move quickly (for example, offshore wind vessels).

    • Energy efficiency. We will support the IMO review of short-term measures to further incentivise energy efficiency and explore domestic energy efficiency measures.

    This strategy continues to build on the innovation and expertise developed through our research and development programme UK SHORE, which, as well as accelerating the commercialisation of the future fuels and technologies necessary, positions the UK as a leader in clean maritime development and drives investment into clean maritime technologies. Supporting this will be the MCA’s new UK maritime innovation hub which will encourage innovation, research and development, and support economic growth by helping innovators bring new technologies to safe commercial use in the sector.

    Net zero ports call for evidence

    This publication will collect evidence to support the government’s consideration of an at-berth emissions requirement in the maritime decarbonisation strategy. It looks at the role of ports in enabling shipping to decarbonise and reduce shipping’s wider environmental impacts. This includes providing new infrastructure and aims to capture evidence on the future electricity demand at ports, recognising this is a shared asset to enable ports, shipping and port tenants to decarbonise and capture new commercial and economic opportunities.

    The publication also looks at the progress ports are making in decarbonising their own operations and how government could potentially galvanise the sector to decarbonise. We focus on whether ports are planning to decarbonise their own operations, their goals and what they’ve included in their strategies, including wider environmental considerations.

    Measures for small, sub-400 GT vessels and accelerating uptake in targeted subsectors call for evidence

    This call evidence will provide government with essential information and data to help decarbonise and reduce the environmental impacts of vessels under 400 gross tonnage. It asks questions on the costs of these vessels, when the new technologies will be ready, what infrastructure will be required and where these vessels are likely to be built. It seeks to identify which subsectors have a clear decarbonisation pathway and may be able to move quickly. This call for evidence represents a balance between ambition and deliverability, recognising that some subsectors such as fishing will need more time, and that this is the start of a conversation with them. This means we will have a stronger evidence base to make informed policy decisions in the future.

    Next steps

    Following the publication of the maritime decarbonisation strategy, and the 2 calls for evidence, we will continue to work with the sector to deliver the domestic decarbonisation goals and to reduce wider environmental impacts. We will collect and analyse the responses from the calls for evidence to inform our next steps and will publish a consultation on future UK fuels regulation. Furthermore, we will continue to champion ambitious action at the IMO to drive the global maritime sector towards zero emissions and deliver the IMO GHG 2023 strategy.

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Linking Indigenous Knowledge with Decision Making

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Alaska Native peoples have been hunting, fishing, and gathering wild resources for as long as people have been in Alaska, says Dillon Patterson ’24 Ph.D., but after the United States took control of Alaska, laws were passed that challenges their access to these resources and traditional lifeways. Patterson, first as a graduate researcher and now an anthropologist for the Alaska Subsistence Program in the United States National Park Service, is collaborating with Indigenous communities to work toward the goal of restoring subsistence access for Alaska’s original residents.

    Patterson embarked on his studies in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Fall of 2020, but he benefited from the unique situation in a way that propelled his dissertation field research. When he saw a posting for a student position with the National Park Service (NPS) in Alaska, it caught his attention. At the time, he had not yet settled on a research topic, but Patterson was interested in the position’s focus on subsistence issues, and since all but one of his classes were online, he thought it was something he could make work. After clearing the idea with his advisor, Department of Anthropology Assistant Professor Elle Ouimet, he applied and was offered the job.

    Patterson says it is not uncommon for anthropology students to travel far for their research, so he seized the opportunity and moved 3,000 miles to Alaska and got started on his project in the Katmai National Park and Preserve, which benefited from the longer-term fieldwork and collaboration he was able to incorporate into his study.

    The History

    Knowing the history of Alaska’s national parks is important to understand the challenges the Indigenous population faces. Patterson says the laws the United States passed after taking control of the territory focused on land settlement and resource rights issues and are primarily aimed at stripping Alaska Native land claims and presenting opportunities for nonrenewable resource development, and as a result, they have greatly limited Indigenous subsistence ways of life.

    The most important law regarding subsistence was passed and signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 called the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), Patterson explains. It created most national park lands in Alaska and nearly doubled the number of national park lands in the U.S., where most of the designated NPS units were also authorized for the continuation of subsistence use.

    “A lot of folks wanted there to be an Alaska Native priority for subsistence, a priority over all other consumptive uses, to ensure Alaska Native subsistence rights were protected,” Patterson says. “Ultimately, the Act didn’t distinguish between Alaska Natives and non-natives and the subsistence priority was given to rural Alaska residents.”

    This presents an issue since much of Alaska’s population of 700,000 lives in cities, with half of the population in Anchorage alone. This means Alaska Natives who live in Anchorage or Juneau are not qualified subsistence users, and that happens a lot, says Patterson, because people move to pursue education or to accept jobs in the city.

    Examples like this demonstrate how rigid bureaucratic constraints can challenge Indigenous ways of life, and Patterson is trying to help address this.

    Learning from Knowledge Holders

    Over the years, Patterson says caribou population numbers have fluctuated dramatically due to climate and human development as well as natural boom and bust cycles characteristic of the species. Patterson’s work focuses primarily on the Mulchatna Caribou Herd, which is one of many large barren ground caribou herds in Alaska and the largest herd in the southwest region of the state. The population peaked in the 1990s at around 200,000 caribou and has reduced in number to around 14,000 today. The hunt was closed in 2019 for all caribou in the Mulchatna Herd range in hopes the population would rebound.

    Dillon Patterson ’24 Ph.D. seized a unique opportunity to work as a graduate researcher for the National Park Service in Alaska for his dissertation research. Here he is posing by the welcome sign for Igiugig, one of the villages where his Indigenous collaborators live. (Contributed photo)

    Patterson’s research started by focusing on a small population of caribou in the Katmai National Preserve that supported two villages, Kokhanok and Igiugig, which are approximately 15 miles north of the northern boundary of the Katmai Preserve.

    The villagers asserted the smaller Katmai Herd is distinct from the Mulchatna Herd. Before the hunt was closed in 2019, the Katmai Herd supported local needs without jeopardizing the Mulchatna Herd’s numbers.

    “When the Mulchatna Herd was healthy and large in number, it didn’t matter if this small population in Katmai was managed as part of the Mulchatna Herd. Now it’s a problem because you’ve closed hunting due to conservation concerns for the Mulchatna Herd, which shouldn’t apply to this small population.”

    Patterson started working with knowledge holders from the villages, where he applied an activist research approach to collaborate and document the vast knowledge from the local and Indigenous populations about the caribou. Since Alaska Native peoples have lived and hunted the region’s animals for millennia, Patterson says that these knowledge holders have a far deeper understanding of the caribou population than the limited research done by Western science thus far and are also the most invested in the survival of the caribou population.

    While gathering supporting evidence to make the case for differentiating the herds, Patterson also learned about the long history of problems with access, including some confusion within the NPS about how to process formal requests for off-road vehicle access for subsistence hunters. By identifying these hurdles, Patterson worked with the communities navigate the bureaucracy and submit a formal request to perhaps get decision-makers to adapt the policy to account for changing circumstances.

     ‘The subsistence way of life will always find a way to persist’

    Hunting caribou requires traveling, sometimes as many as 40 miles into the sprawling 308,000 acres of Katmai Preserve. If the hunt is successful, trekking back with hundreds of pounds of harvest is an arduous task without the right equipment, especially since there are no roads in the area.

    From a preservation perspective, the tundra landscape is easily damaged, and movement across the landscape, especially by motorized vehicles can lead to damage so the subject of whether or not to allow all-terrain vehicle (ATV) access is tricky.

    While some parks and preserves allow access via ATVs like four-wheelers for subsistence purposes, when Katmai was created in 1980 Patterson explains ATV access was not permitted. Snowmachines (also known as snowmobiles) are allowed if there are at least six inches of snow on the ground to prevent damage to the landscape; however, with the changing climate, snow cover is no longer guaranteed in the colder months. Snow comes later, and Patterson says that even in January of this year, there was less than an inch on the ground, and by the end of February, there was no snow on the ground at all, so access is greatly impacted by the climate, and expanding what vehicles are allowed could help, especially, as noted by a local knowledge holder, they haven’t had much winter lately.

    “The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act uses the language that other types of motorized vehicles could only be used for subsistence access where traditionally employed, but it doesn’t define what ‘traditionally employed’ means,” Patterson says. “Historically, the Park Service has interpreted that to mean that there was more than one generation of use prior to 1980, and so the issue of access with four-wheelers has been a frustrating problem for locals, but it’s become more of an issue today.”

    Patterson’s project then took on two parts – one with a focus on access to caribou for subsistence purposes, and the second to document the history of access technology used by the local Indigenous population.

    Patterson wanted to emphasize that people in the region have been adapting and using whatever technology they have available while also using the same trails for thousands of years. For example, people have long used dog sleds in the area and, more recently, reindeer sleds after reindeer herding was introduced by government officials in the 20th century.

    “Over time, the type of technology they use to access different places changed, and typically that change is driven by adaptation to socioeconomic changes and climate changes. The climate has been changing in Alaska for a long time just like the socio cultural and economic situation has been changing dramatically in Alaska for a long time.”

    With all of this in mind, Patterson asks, what is considered “traditional”?

    “If we’re going to use that word about Alaska Native cultures, we need to acknowledge that they’re highly adaptable to these new stressors, and the subsistence way of life will always find a way to persist.”

    “Everything in bureaucracy moves slowly”

    Through the course of his studies and fieldwork, Patterson documented evidence that detailed how successive generations have used ATVs for access to Katmai Preserve prior to 1980. With the knowledge he gathered, he developed presentations and briefing documents for decision-makers. With this information, the park superintendent signed a memorandum acknowledging that history and that it likely met the criteria for what ANILCA calls traditionally employed use of motorized surface transportation, says Patterson.

    “However, the Park Service can’t just make that decision and then all of a sudden, allow all-terrain vehicle use. Everything in bureaucracy moves slowly,” says Patterson.

    This work builds upon work that previous Park Service anthropologists conducted, including oral histories about the use of off-road vehicles in the 1990s, and the process resulting in the signing of a memorandum took a lot of work and patience on behalf of many people. Though changes have not been made yet, it is an important step in the right direction.

    Patterson collaborated with community members from two villages, Igiugig (photographed here) and Kokhanok, which are located about 15 miles north of Katmai. (Contributed photo)

    “Meanwhile, the decision maker for caribou hunting is not the National Park Service; it is the Federal Subsistence Board, but those regulations can change much faster because there’s a bi-annual cycle for hunting and fishing regulatory change.”

    Therefore, this aspect of his project saw a result more quickly. In 2023, the Igiugig village tribal council submitted a proposal to the Federal Subsistence Board to open the caribou hunt for local residents, acknowledging that the smaller herd is separate from the Mulchatna Herd.

    “The first caribou hunt in Katmai in six years is now occurring. Despite the lack of snow, the first caribou was caught in late February and shared throughout the communities. The hunt will go into the end of March.”

    Ouimet adds that Patterson’s work carefully navigating the complexities between federal offices and local communities, has been extremely effective at changing regulation that has been stalled for decades.

    In addition to his successes in aiding in the changing of regulation, Patterson successfully defended his dissertation in the Fall of 2024 and has since transitioned into a permanent role as a Cultural Anthropologist with the Park Service. He views his job as one that links the complex laws and regulations with serving the subsistence needs of the local Indigenous population.

    Patterson appreciates that his position allows him to work more closely with decision-makers than he may otherwise have as an anthropologist, and this has allowed him to gain greater insight throughout the process, including appreciating the pressure they operate under.

    “For example, another park in Alaska right now that authorized off-road vehicles for subsistence use in the 80s was later sued by environmentalist groups for damage done to the landscape by off-road vehicles. I just say that to acknowledge the people who make decisions are under a lot of pressure from all sides, so I think my job is to help them make the best-informed decision.”

    Patterson’s approach also centers on activist methods to gain deeper insights into the context and needs of his Indigenous collaborators, and he says in his day-to-day work, if someone asks why an anthropologist works for the park service, he pushes back,

    “No one questions why a biologist would work for the National Park Service so I feel defensive when people challenge the notion that an anthropologist would be advocating on behalf of local Alaska Native communities. I feel like my job is to, as best I can, understand the local perspective and bring it back to the internal management conversations at the Park Service.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Amid U.S. threats, Canada’s national security plans must include training in non-violent resistance

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Richard Sandbrook, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Toronto

    Canadians are currently learning tough lessons about national security thanks to United States President Donald Trump’s repeated annexation threats.

    It’s clear that American proclamations of support for universal human rights, national sovereignty and a rules-based international order can vanish with a change of leadership. These ideals, though tarnished by some past U.S. actions, have now been replaced by the predatory dictum known as “might makes right.”

    Although it seems unthinkable that Trump will invade Canada, we live in an increasingly unstable world and Canadians need to be prepared for the worst. In the midst of a federal election campaign, party leaders need to present innovative ideas to fight Trump and potential American aggression.



    Read more:
    An American military invasion of Canada? No longer unthinkable, but highly unlikely

    More than military defence

    Unfortunately, the common assumption is that national security depends wholly on military strength and alliances. But the emergency Canada is now facing demands a rethink.

    Of course, Canada would not dispense with its military. It’s needed, especially to defend Canada’s northern frontier. However, Canada cannot match the U.S. in military power, nor would anything be achieved if it broke its commitments to the United Nations’ Non-Proliferation Treaty — a pact designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons — by acquiring nukes.

    Either of these tactics would be suicidal. Canada’s real strength is its unity and institutions.

    Canadians can paralyze military might through civil, non-violent resistance. Familiarity with these techniques could empower Canadian citizens to preserve a vibrant democracy.

    Non-violent resistance can not only a more effective defence, but also much less devastating in terms of lives lost and property destroyed. Responding to an invasion with military force would only mean widespread casualties and the destruction of Canada’s largest cities.

    Canada should therefore aim to subvert the will of the occupying force, not drive it, through armed defence, to fear, hatred and further violence.

    What is civil defence?

    Non-violent resistance involves using a country’s citizens and institutions to deter an invasion, and if that fails, to defeat and drive out the invaders. It has a long history both as a spiritual practice and a strategic weapon.

    Civil defence, however, only emerged as a strategic concept in the 1980s and 1990s. It is a system of deterrence and defence that relies on a united and resolute citizenry employing only non-violent tactics.

    An early American proponent was the Albert Einstein Institution’s Gene Sharp, an American political scientist. Recent advocates from around the world — Srdja Popovic, Erica Chenoworth and Michael Beer — follow in Sharp’s footsteps.

    Civil defence is not merely a theory. There is a long history of improvised civilian resistance to invasions, most recently in Ukraine.

    Ukrainians undertook many inspirational acts of non-violent resistance following the Russian invasion in 2022. They blocked tanks and convoys, berated or cajoled Russian soldiers to undermine their resolve, gave the wrong directions to Russian convoys, refused to co-operate and mounted spontaneous protests in occupied towns. But then the bloody carnage on both sides overwhelmed civilian defence.

    Countries that include Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Germany and Lithuania have institutionalized civil defence at various times. In Canada, civil defence was part of the mandate of Public Safety Canada during the Cold War. The idea then faded, being replaced by emergency management.

    Public Safety Canada protected Canadians from both human-made and natural disasters. The agency, now the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada, should be resuscitated. The toll being exacted by climate disasters is reason enough.

    Making Canada ungovernable

    Non-violent resistance involves determined citizens deterring an aggressor by signalling that the targeted country is united in opposition to a takeover.

    A potential aggressor fears contagion from the democratic ethos of these citizens. If invaded, the civilians defeat the invaders by rendering their society ungovernable by the aggressor.

    When the Warsaw Pact army invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring” in 1968, the commanders soon learned that tanks and heavily armed soldiers were useless against unarmed civilians who refused to comply. The country was unruleable. Soviet troops were also infected with the democratic spirit and had to be rotated out of the country. It took several months and concessions from the Soviet Union before order could be restored.

    The invader cannot consolidate control if citizens and their institutions refuse to comply with its rule. The tactics involve a complete refusal to co-operate with the occupying force along with open defiance.

    That means that governments at all levels in the invaded nation continue to supply only basic services: clean water, electricity and policing, for example. Governments resign and civil servants find ways to subvert every order issued by the invader.

    Crowds fill urban squares in silent or derisory defiance of orders, making it apparent to all — the occupiers, the dictator’s audience back home, less committed citizens and global observers — who are the true purveyors of violence against non-violent people

    Throughout the occupation, citizens and non-governmental organizations focus on subverting the loyalty and morale of the occupying troops and functionaries and rallying international support.

    In Canada’s case, the long history of friendship with Americans would likely mean that the morale of the occupiers would be low. The aim is to encourage defections by soldiers and functionaries, and erode the support base of the dictator. This erosion of support could lead to the overthrow of the leader, or at least to his concoction of a compromise to cover a retreat.

    Attracting international support to Canada’s cause would not be a challenge. Trump has already alienated most of humankind and foreign governments during his first weeks in office.

    Obstacles

    Non-violent resistance is most effective with nation-wide training, organization and leadership. The national government is best equipped to provide the facilities. Training of volunteers could include responding to natural disasters and emergencies, as well as implementing a civil defence strategy.

    Yet partisan divides and apathy make such nationwide training difficult. It would likely be viewed with suspicion by right-wing populist forces in this era of conspiracy theories and misinformation.



    Read more:
    How conspiracy theories polarize society and provoke violence

    Apathy might also be a problem.

    These considerations suggest that top-down, apolitical training in civilian defence may not work. If so, training and organization should be the goal of as many existing civil society associations as possible: churches, synagogues, temples, civil rights groups, unions, Indigenous rights organizations, peace advocates and climate groups, for example.

    The manual authored by Michael Beer, the longtime director of the Nonviolence International non-governmental organization, includes more than 300 tactics. Widespread training and organization can not only deter aggression but ensure countries remain free of tyrants.

    Canada’s leverage

    Amid the ongoing threats against Canadian sovereignty, Canada is an ideal candidate for effective civil defence. Although it might be unlikely Trump will order a military invasion of Canada, a united country capable of non-violent resistance decreases the risk.

    Canada cannot match the U.S. in firepower or economic strength. But it shares with America a language, a history of common struggles, myriad cross-border personal relationships and basic democratic values still considered important by many Americans, if not Trump.

    All of these factors give Canada considerable leverage.

    Richard Sandbrook is Vice-President of Science for Peace, a registered charity.

    – ref. Amid U.S. threats, Canada’s national security plans must include training in non-violent resistance – https://theconversation.com/amid-u-s-threats-canadas-national-security-plans-must-include-training-in-non-violent-resistance-252451

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Multipurpose Primary Cooperative Societies

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 25 MAR 2025 1:39PM by PIB Delhi

    The Government on 15.2.2023, has approved the Plan for strengthening cooperative movement in the country and deepening its reach up to the grassroots. The Plan entails establishment of new multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (M-PACS), Dairy, Fishery Cooperative Societies covering all the Panchayats/ villages in the country over a period of five years, through convergence of various existing GOI schemes, including Dairy Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF), National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD), PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), etc., with the support of National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD), National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) and State Governments.

    As per National Cooperative Database, a total of 12,957 (as on 27.01.2025) new PACS, Dairy and Fishery Cooperative Societies have been registered across the country since the approval of the plan on 15.2.2023. The State-wise status is attached at Annexure-I.

    In order to diversify the business activities of PACS, the Government, in consultation with all stakeholders, including States/ UTs, National Level Federations, State Cooperative Banks (StCBs), District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs), etc., prepared and circulated Model Bye-laws for PACS to all the States/ UTs, which enable them to undertake more than 25 economic activities, including dairy, fishery, floriculture, setting up godowns, procurement of foodgrains, fertilizers, seeds, LPG/CNG/Petrol/Diesel distributorship, short-term & long-term credit, custom hiring centers, Common Service Centers (CSCs), Fair Price Shops (FPS), community irrigation, Business Correspondent activities, etc. So far, 32 States/ UTs have adopted Model Bye-laws or their existing bye-laws are in line with Model Bye-laws.

    So far, 42,080 PACS are functioning as CSC; 36,193 PACS are functioning as PMKSK and 22,311 PACS are operating FPS. State-wise details of the same are enclosed at Annexure-II.

    Annexure-I

    Newly Registered Cooperatives

    State/UT

    PACS

    Dairy

    Fishery

    Total

    (PACS/DCS/FCS)

    Andaman And Nicobar Islands

    1

    1

    7

    9

    Andhra Pradesh

    0

    896

    1

    897

    Arunachal Pradesh

    12

    9

    12

    33

    Assam

    59

    233

    29

    321

    Bihar

    25

    283

    0

    308

    Chhattisgarh

    0

    136

    195

    331

    Goa

    12

    0

    0

    12

    Gujarat

    291

    435

    7

    733

    Haryana

    2

    43

    5

    50

    Himachal Pradesh

    57

    350

    4

    411

    Jammu And Kashmir

    84

    1005

    29

    1118

    Jharkhand

    44

    131

    73

    248

    Karnataka

    128

    453

    17

    598

    Ladakh

    0

    3

    1

    4

    Lakshadweep

    0

    0

    7

    7

    Madhya Pradesh

    16

    443

    154

    613

    Maharashtra

    148

    668

    73

    889

    Manipur

    68

    17

    10

    95

    Meghalaya

    193

    12

    1

    206

    Mizoram

    25

    2

    2

    29

    Nagaland

    12

    0

    2

    14

    Odisha

    1535

    0

    0

    1535

    Puducherry

    2

    2

    3

    7

    Punjab

    0

    80

    0

    80

    Rajasthan

    760

    1232

    3

    1995

    Sikkim

    23

    34

    0

    57

    Tamil Nadu

    21

    478

    21

    520

    Telangana

    0

    15

    67

    82

    Dadra & Nagar Haveli and

    Daman & Diu

    4

    0

    1

    5

    Tripura

    38

    0

    2

    40

    Uttar Pradesh

    94

    1181

    189

    1464

    Uttarakhand

    0

    66

    81

    147

    West Bengal

    13

    86

    0

    99

    Total

    3,667

    8,294

    996

    12,957

    Annexure-II

    S. NO.

    States/UTs

    PACS as PMKSKs

    PACS as CSCs

    PACS as FPS

    1

    Andaman & Nicobar

    Islands

    0

    3

    0

    2

    Andhra Pradesh

    1246

    1866

    70

    3

    Arunachal Pradesh

    0

    8

    23

    4

    Assam

    0

    620

    402

    5

    Bihar

    1483

    3115

    2774

    6

    Chhattisgarh

    2058

    1897

    1180

    7

    DNH &DD

    0

    8

    7

    8

    Goa

    2

    34

    64

    9

    Gujarat

    3328

    1979

    798

    10

    Haryana

    743

    241

    35

    11

    Himachal Pradesh

    763

    797

    1948

    12

    Jammu and Kashmir

    144

    481

    30

    13

    Jharkhand

    363

    1217

    581

    14

    Karnataka

    1797

    1273

    2661

    15

    Kerala

    976

    12

    230

    16

    Ladakh

    0

    7

    0

    17

    Madhya Pradesh

    4517

    3793

    3833

    18

    Maharashtra

    842

    6055

    1559

    19

    Manipur

    39

    77

    1

    20

    Meghalaya

    0

    75

    4

    21

    Mizoram

    0

    14

    0

    22

    Nagaland

    0

    7

    1

    23

    Odisha

    1636

    628

    77

    24

    Puducherry

    6

    27

    1

    25

    Punjab

    1590

    1770

    103

    26

    Rajasthan

    4030

    5096

    1366

    27

    Sikkim

    0

    53

    56

    28

    Tamil Nadu

    3183

    4453

    3949

    29

    Telangana

    679

    536

    24

    30

    Tripura

    7

    155

    84

    31

    Uttar Pradesh

    6,295

    5126

    196

    32

    Uttarakhand

    466

    625

    23

    33

    West Bengal

    0

    32

    231

     

    TOTAL

    36,193

    42,080

    22,311

    This was stated by the Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

    ****

    RK/VV/ASH/RR/PR/PS

    (Release ID: 2114747) Visitor Counter : 72

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: DISEASE SURVEILLANCE

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 25 MAR 2025 12:48PM by PIB Delhi

    For disease surveillance, prevention and control along with efforts for responsible antibiotic use of the Government are as follows: –

    1. Active disease surveillance on diseases such as Avian influenza, PPR, CSF, FMD etc. are taken up by various ICAR Animal Science institutes. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Institute on Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (NIVEDI), Bengaluru provides disease risk forewarnings using Artificial Intelligence and machine learning models (AI &ML) for 15 economically important diseases on monthly basis to every state including displaying on ICAR-NIVEDI’s NADRES V2 portal as well as DAHD portal.
    2. The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying has a network of laboratories which includes diagnostic laboratories in the States, one Central Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (CDDL) at Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly and five Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratories (RDDLs) one each at Bengaluru, Pune, Jalandhar, Kolkata and Guwahati for disease surveillance, early detection and swift response to disease threats.
    3. ICAR has strengthened the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by initiating All India Network Programme on AMR (AINP-AMR) involving 31 centres across different states of the country. Indian Network for Fishery and Animal Antimicrobial Resistance (INFAAR) is conducting AMR surveillance to track trends in food animals and aquaculture to understand AMR risk factors in animals and fisheries to devise control strategies.
    4. Department has formulated the National Action Plan on Anti Microbial Resistance (AMR) in consultation with MoH&FW and other stake holders for judicious use, surveillance and monitoring of antibiotics in animal health sector. MoA&FW is also one of the stakeholder in respect to use of pesticides and antibiotics in agriculture sector keeping in view the One Health Initiative and provisions under NAP-AMR. Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries has issued advisories to all State/UTs for judicious use of antibiotics in treatment of food producing animals, for stopping the use of antibiotics in animal feed and for general awareness.
    5. Under Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP) scheme, 100% central assistance is provided to States/UTs for vaccination against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Brucellosis, Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) and Classical Swine Fever (CSF), Lumpy Skin Disease, Black Quarter, Haemorrhagic Septicaemia etc including disease surveillance, monitoring and capacity building. Vaccination reduces the use of antibiotics, hence reduce the AMR.

    This information was given by Union Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, in a written reply in Lok Sabha on 25th March, 2025.

    *****

    AA

    (Release ID: 2114717) Visitor Counter : 50

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Tree planting at Ireby Green Farm provides a boost for biodiversity, business and communities

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Case study

    Tree planting at Ireby Green Farm provides a boost for biodiversity, business and communities

    Ireby Green Farm used their England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) funding to invest in trees for a more sustainable future.

    Ireby Green Farm facts:

    • site: Ireby Green Farm, Cowan Bridge, Carnforth, Lancashire
    • size: 7 hectares of new woodland
    • type: native broadleaf and non-native conifer
    • species: oak, birch, silver birch, alder, beech, Scots pine, Douglas fir and crab apple
    • date planted: 2022
    • grant: England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO)

    Main objectives:

    • reduce the farm’s reliance on their sheep enterprise
    • provide a reliable income during a time of uncertainty
    • grow their caravan park

    Trees planted on Ireby Green Farm. Copyright Ireby Green Farm

    Ireby Green Farm is a 35 hectare, family-run farm located in the upper Lune Valley. With access to both the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, the farm runs a successful caravan campsite alongside their sheep enterprise of around 150 ewes.

    Despite great success in diversifying their farming operation, the landowner John Welbank was aware that the end of the Basic Payment Scheme would affect his family and business. They began to research other options for diversification and, after exploring funding for woodland creation and organic certification, John decided on tree planting as the next project for the farm.

    Funding a greener future

    In 2022, 7 hectares of native broadleaf woodland with a 20% conifer mix were planted with the help of EWCO. The grant funding included capital items, the cost of planting and supporting the early establishment of the trees, as well as additional contributions including nature recovery, water quality and riparian planting. These stackable payments provide extra support when the design of a new woodland delivers public benefits to nature and the environment. 

    Whilst initially hesitant about the complexity of the scheme, John was pleased to find that the grant was relatively easy to apply for. With the support of EWCO, Ireby Green Farm now proudly boasts 7 hectares of woodland, providing a boost for biodiversity, the business and the local community.

    The benefits of tree planting

    A year after planting, Ireby Green Farm was already seeing the benefits. Neighbours, visitors and the parish council are now making use of permissive footpaths and the environmental boost in the community. The farm has also seen benefits to:

    • biodiversity – kingfishers, hares and other native species are inhabiting the new woodland and surrounding area
    • business – increasing the woodland area has helped to reduce the costs of supporting their sheep enterprise, increasing their gross profit per hectare
    • soil structure – improved structure and nutrient content provided by the tree’s roots and leaf litter from fallen leaves, resulting in better grass coverage and growth, saving on feeding supplements for their sheep
    • flood mitigation – flood mitigation – the trees have helped to reduce nutrient run off, which has meant less inputs into the soil are required

    John is also hoping the planting will successfully offset their carbon, demonstrating the environmental and social credentials of the farm and campsite.

    The tree planting scheme has received additional contributions under EWCO for riparian planting and improving water quality. Copyright Ireby Green Farm

    Managing woodland for long-term success

    Ireby Green Farm has big plans for the woodland; they have planted with timber production in mind to provide another revenue stream for the future of the farm business. After 15-20 years, a portion of softwood can be extracted whilst maintaining the minimum canopy cover required under EWCO. 

    The new woodland also means that John has been able to proceed with plans to expand the caravan park, as the woodland minimises the visual impact from the road. This will increase business for their farm and the local area, providing more capacity for their often-sold-out holiday park.  

    Alongside these benefits, John is pleased that a legacy will be left in the woodland planted. He encourages others to investigate woodland creation as a potential opportunity for their farm.

    John Welbank, Landowner, Ireby Green Farm said:

    Local farmers have had mixed thoughts on planting woodland, but taking a more detailed view of finances and the opportunity trees can bring, is one to be enthusiastic about.

    Top tips

    1. Speak to your Woodland Officer early. Woodland creation can be a confusing process, but starting conversations can be the first step. Woodland Officers are local experts and can help you find useful resources and answer your questions.
    2. Plan a woodland scheme that fits your farm and your objectives. Take time to work out what will work for you as a woodland is a long-term investment.
    3. Invest in tree protection. Using proper tree protection throughout the process can massively reduce replacement and maintenance costs.
    4. Look after your crop. In the same way that you wouldn’t spend £36,000 on a traditional farm crop and then close the gate and walk away, woodland needs to be managed if you want to optimise your outcomes.

    Further information

    For guidance on woodland creation and information on grants and available support, visit: Tree planting and woodland creation: overview.

    Find out how other farmers and landowners are benefitting from woodland creation, visit: Tree planting and woodland creation case studies.

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Ambassador of Tunisia to ASEAN presents Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN

    Source: ASEAN

    JAKARTA, 25 March 2025 – Ambassador Mohamed Trabelsi presented his Letter of Credence as the Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia to ASEAN to Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat today.

    Secretary-General Dr. Kao congratulated Ambassador Mohamed Trabelsi on his assumption of office and looked forward to working closely with him and the Embassy of Tunisia in Jakarta to strengthen ASEAN-Tunisia relations. He encouraged Tunisia to explore opportunities for possible cooperation with ASEAN in areas of mutual interest, including trade and investment, connectivity, energy, agriculture, fisheries, and people-to-people exchanges.  

    Ambassador Mohamed Trabelsi underlined Tunisia’s interest in promoting stronger relations between ASEAN and Tunisia. He further expressed his readiness to work with the ASEAN Secretariat on strengthening the relations, and to explore possible areas of cooperation with ASEAN and the ASEAN Member States.

    Tunisia has accredited its Ambassador to ASEAN since 2015. Ambassador Mohamed Trabelsi is the third Ambassador of Tunisia to ASEAN, succeeding the previous Ambassador who had completed his tenure in July 2023.

    The post Ambassador of Tunisia to ASEAN presents Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Greenpeace Australia Pacific urges Parliament to vote down Albanese’s extinction Bill

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    CANBERRA, 25 MARCH 2025—As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese introduces an ill-conceived bill to give Tasmania’s salmon industry a free pass from environmental oversight, Greenpeace Australia Pacific has urged parliament to vote down the legislation, calling it a death warrant for the endangered Maugean Skate. 

    “With this bill, the Prime Minister has chosen the profits of overseas corporations with unsustainable business models over the survival of the endangered Maugean Skate, of which there are only a few thousand left in the wild,” said Glenn Walker, Head of Nature, Greenpeace Australia Pacific. 

    “Greenpeace Australia Pacific calls on MPs to vote down this pro-extinction bill, which provides a loophole for the polluting salmon farming industry and also sets a dangerous precedent for giving special treatment to other multinational corporations, such as fossil fuels.

    “This pro-extinction bill undermines and contradicts the government’s overnight recommitment to a national environmental protection authority and an overhaul of our nature laws. It risks rendering Labor’s ‘no new extinctions’ pledge worthless. 

    “It should be a source of deep concern that the Maugean Skate has survived in Tasmanian waters since the age of dinosaurs, but may not survive Anthony Albanese and everyone who votes for this ill-considered legislation. We urge all MPs not to be complicit in this death warrant and vote down the bill. 

    “It is still not too late for the PM to course-correct, and for Labor to get on with the job fixing our broken nature laws, establishing an independent Environmental Protection Authority, and ending species extinctions in Australia. 

    “That must start with dropping this terrible bill immediately and focusing instead on solutions to support and transition workers while still allowing industrial activity to be subject to appropriate scrutiny by the Federal Environment Minister, under the EPBC Act. 

    – ENDS-

    For interviews, contact Vai at 0452 290 082 / [email protected] 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Strong relationship with PNG reconfirmed

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape met in Wellington today, reaffirming the enduring partnership between New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. 

    The Prime Ministers discussed opportunities to grow the trade and economic relationship, reaffirmed our close security and defence ties, and exchanged perspectives on current regional issues and challenges.

    “New Zealand deeply values our friendship with Papua New Guinea, a crucial partner in the Pacific,” Mr Luxon says.

    “We look forward to continuing to work alongside Papua New Guinea on issues facing the Pacific region, including climate change and upholding Pacific Islands Forum unity.”

    The Prime Ministers signed a refreshed Statement of Partnership, which sets out a shared vision for the New Zealand – Papua New Guinea bilateral relationship as the countries look to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties in September.

    “Our Statement of Partnership instils a new desire to achieve practical and meaningful outcomes that will contribute to Papua New Guinea through education, public sector support, climate change, increased business, trade and investment and regional security,” Mr Marape says. 

    “It is a two-way arrangement that is strategic, more focused and of mutual benefit particularly in developing stronger ties in agriculture and fisheries. It also increases and structures dialogue to be more frequent at Leaders’, Ministerial and Officials levels.” 

    During the visit, Prime Minister Luxon also announced a NZ$1 million investment in institutional linkages, responding to Papua New Guinea’s aspirations to strengthen its public sector institutions. The fund will be able to support initiatives such as strengthened cooperation between disaster preparedness institutions and exchange of expertise in the governance of state-owned enterprises.

    Prime Minister Marape is accompanied to New Zealand by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Justin Tkatchenko. While in New Zealand, the Papua New Guinea delegation will engage in various business and community events in Wellington, Blenheim, Hamilton and Auckland, before departing New Zealand on 28 March.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: A budget splash to conserve 30% of Australia’s lands will save species – if we choose the right 30%

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Watson, Professor in Conservation Science, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland

    Hans Wismeijer/Shutterstock

    In 2022, Australia and many other nations agreed to protect 30% of their lands and waters by 2030 to arrest the rapid decline in biodiversity.

    Since then, the Albanese government has protected large new areas of ocean, taking the total up to 52% of territorial waters. In tonight’s federal budget, the government is expected to announce A$250 million in funding to protect an additional 30 million hectares of land over the next five years. At present, Australia protects 22% of its lands through its National Reserve System. This would take the total to 30%.

    You might expect conservationists to be ecstatic. But we’re not. Large new areas of desert and arid areas are likely to be protected under this scheme, because these areas have minimal population and are not sought after by farming. But these ecosystems are already well protected.

    We have to come back to the point of the 30 by 30 agreement: protect biodiversity. That means the government has to protect representative samples of all ecosystems – including in areas sought for farming or other human uses.

    This cropped map shows Australia’s protected lands and waters as of 2022. Subantarctic islands are not included.
    Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, CC BY

    Buying land is only a fraction of the task

    For years, Australia’s National Reserve System of national parks, state parks and Indigenous Protected Areas has languished. The last big infusion of funding and political interest came between 2007 and 2010 under a previous Labor government, when Peter Garrett was environment minister. Then, the government expanded the reserve system, grew Indigenous Protected Areas and ensured new reserves would preserve a representative sample of Australia’s ecosystems.

    Since then, conservation efforts have largely not been up to scratch. Funding has stagnated. National parks are riddled with invasive species and other environmental problems.

    On funding grounds alone, the $250m announced by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is welcome. It is, however, just a fraction of what’s needed to properly protect the right areas.

    In 2023, environmental organisations called for a $5 billion fund to buy and protect important habitat – and to pay for maintenance.

    The purchase of land represents perhaps 10% of the overall cost of conservation. If you buy land and do nothing, it can be overrun by invasive species. Australia’s ever-larger number of threatened species are often threatened because of these species, as well as the growing threat of land clearing in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Fire management is another cost.

    Feral pigs and other invasive species place pressure on many ecosystems.
    Russ Jenkins/Shutterstock

    Which lands actually need protection?

    As successive governments have backed away from conservation, non-government organisations such as the Australian Land Conservation Alliance, Bush Heritage Australia and Australian Wildlife Conservancy have stepped up. These organisations are doing fine work in protecting land and doing the necessary on-ground land management to safeguard threatened species and ecosystems, but they do not have access to resources at a government scale.

    So how will this government funding be used? It’s likely we will see further growth in Indigenous Protected Areas – areas managed by Traditional Owners alongside authorities to protect biodiversity.

    These areas are often located where low rainfall often means they are not viable for farming. This means there’s less conflict over what to do with the land. If our government is determined to meet the 30% target as quickly and cheaply as possible, we may well see more arid lands and desert protected.

    When you set a target of 30% protected land by 2030, governments often see the top-line figure and aim for that alone. But the text of the international agreement stresses the need to prioritise “areas of particular importance for biodiversity”.

    Governments have a choice: the easy, less effective way or the hard but effective way. The recent growth in marine protected areas suggests the government is taking the easy path. Even though the science is clear that marine parks bolster fish stocks in and outside the park, they are still controversial among fishers who believe they are being locked out.

    As a result, Australia’s marine park system has made greatest gains where there are very few humans who might protest, such as quadrupling the protected areas around the very remote Heard and McDonald Islands in the sub-Antarctic region. (The government has expanded marine parks at a smaller scale closer to population centres too.)

    This same story may well play out on land.

    What would it look like if our government was willing to do what was necessary? It would involve actively seeking out the ecological communities in clear decline, such as native grasslands, brigalow woodlands and swamps, and buying up remaining habitat.

    The oceans off Heard and McDonald Islands are now better protected – but was this the easy option? Pictured: Heard Island from satellite.
    zelvan/Shutterstock

    Saving here, clearing there

    On the one hand, 22% of Australia’s land and 52% of seas come under some form of protection. But on the other, over the last two decades an area the size of Tasmania has been cleared – largely for livestock farming and mining. Satellite analyses show land clearing is actually increasing in many parts of the country.

    Land clearing places further pressure on threatened species. In fact, most species considered threatened with extinction are largely in this situation because the land they live on has attributes prized by farmers or graziers, such as grass and water.

    Australia’s environment faces real challenges in the next few years. Intensified land clearing, worsening climate change and whiplash drought-flood cycles, to say nothing of ballooning feral populations.

    If we protect the right 30% of Australia, we have a chance to ensure most of our ecosystems have areas protected. But if we protect the wrong 30% and leave the rest open to bulldozers, we will only lock in more extinctions.

    James Watson has received funding from the Australian Research Council, National Environmental Science Program, South Australia’s Department of Environment and Water, Queensland’s Department of Environment, Science and Innovation as well as from Bush Heritage Australia, Queensland Conservation Council, Australian Conservation Foundation, The Wilderness Society and Birdlife Australia. He serves on the scientific committee of BirdLife Australia and has a long-term scientific relationship with Bush Heritage Australia and Wildlife Conservation Society. He serves on the Queensland government’s Land Restoration Fund’s Investment Panel as the Deputy Chair.

    – ref. A budget splash to conserve 30% of Australia’s lands will save species – if we choose the right 30% – https://theconversation.com/a-budget-splash-to-conserve-30-of-australias-lands-will-save-species-if-we-choose-the-right-30-252918

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Science – Marine biosecurity watch at Port Taranaki – NIWA

    Source: NIWA

    A biosecurity survey of the waters of Port Taranaki was recently conducted as part of regular monitoring of a dozen New Zealand ports and marinas deemed high-risk biosecurity areas. The port has been part of MPI’s National Marine High Risk Site Surveillance (NMHRSS) programme since 2009, with marine surveys undertaken each summer and winter.
    The surveillance surveys identify potential seasonal changes in the abundance and distribution of marine non-indigenous species, says NIWA Principal Technician Marine Ecology Louis Olsen, who has led the team surveying Port Taranaki for the last seven years, the only west coast port in the programme. “The main aim of the surveys is to detect five primary target species: Pacific sea star, European shore crab, Aquarium caulerpa (alga), Chinese mitten crab and Asian clam. These species have not yet been detected within our waters but are identified as high-risk to our economy, environment, and societal values, based on how much damage they could cause and their history of invasive traits within other countries.”
    The NMHRSS programme also looks out for specific secondary target pest species that have been detected around New Zealand but with restricted distributions, as well as marine species not previously recorded within our waters. “From our work at other surveillance sites we are familiar with the native and introduced species, but if something different is found, we get it formally identified and notify MPI. Sometimes we get interesting fish coming across the Tasman Sea from Australia.”
    The data that our surveys collect on species not only assists MPI’s marine biosecurity management, but also helps Taranaki Regional Council and other territorial authorities, Māori partners, industry, and the many stakeholders who benefit from a port free from invasive species, he says.
    The survey, which takes three or four days, involves divers, boat skippers, scientists and technicians, with dives, seafloor sampling, shoreline searches, and trapping, including using crab ‘condo’ habitat traps. “The surveys are a significant part of NIWA’s marine biosecurity work. It’s a really important part of the science that we do to ensure our coasts remain safe from invasive species.”
    Once the taxonomic identity of any suspect samples taken are confirmed, MPI can inform Taranaki Regional Council, Māori partners, industry, and the many stakeholders with a vested interest of the survey results. Survey results from across all NMHRSS programme surveys are also uploaded to the open access Marine Biosecurity Porthole ( Home » Marine Biosecurity Porthole ), a collaboration between Biosecurity New Zealand and NIWA to provide greater access to information and data on marine non-indigenous species in New Zealand.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The ICC showed its might by arresting Rodrigo Duterte. Its reputation will take longer to fix

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria, Lecturer in International Law, Curtin University

    Only five days after the arrest warrant against former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was issued, he was apprehended and immediately put on a plane to The Hague to face charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    The prompt action – and the fact he is the first former Asian head of state before the ICC – have been heralded as “a pivotal moment for the court”.

    While this is a rare success story in the court’s tumultuous history, many challenges remain. The successful arrest of one defendant will unfortunately do little to change negative perceptions of the court or remove the many obstacles it faces in prosecuting cases.

    A long history of criticism

    The ICC was conceived as a “court of last resort” in 1998 under the Rome Statute, the treaty that established it. The aim was to try individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression in cases where a state’s domestic courts refuse or are unable to do so.

    Shortly after it began its work in 2002, however, the ICC faced criticism for its perceived focus on Africa.

    In more recent years, it has also been criticised for its limited effectiveness, its perceived hypocrisy, and a lack of support from major powers, such as the US, China and Russia, which are not members.

    The court has long faced a public relations crisis it may never be able to resolve. When it does not investigate a potential case, it is said to be ineffective. And when it does initiate investigations, it is often said to be biased or acting beyond its capabilities.

    Putin and Netanyahu

    Currently, the ICC has 12 ongoing investigations, mostly in Africa and Asia. It has issued 56 arrest warrants, half of which have yet to be executed.

    As the focus of the court is limited to those who bear the greatest responsibility for international crimes, the cases frequently involve high-profile individuals.

    Current arrest warrants, for example, have been issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges of allegedly deporting Ukrainian children to Russia and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.

    These two cases have been among the court’s most controversial. Critics say the ICC lacks jurisdiction because:

    • the alleged crimes did not occur in their own states
    • their states are not parties to the Rome Statute
    • the UN Security Council did not refer these cases to the ICC for investigation.

    Others have accused the court of selective prosecution and bias for pursuing a case against Netanyahu, specifically, instead of prioritising cases in states run by dictators, such as Syria.

    And some complain the court should be focusing on crimes allegedly committed by Western leaders in places like Iraq.

    Indicting leaders of states raises additional legal challenges. International law dictates that heads of state enjoy immunity in other states’ courts – unless this immunity is expressly waived by their own governments.

    The ICC defends its actions as fair. It argues it does have jurisdiction in the cases against Putin and Netanyahu because the alleged crimes took place in Ukraine and Palestine, two states who have explicitly accepted its jurisdiction.

    And Article 27 of the Rome Statute says the ICC can exercise jurisdiction over people with state immunity, although it’s debatable whether this must be first waived for leaders of states not party to the Rome Statute.

    Cooperation remains key

    The ICC is not only constrained by these complex legal questions, but also by the limited cooperation of states around the world.

    It relies on close cooperation with its 125 state parties, among others. But some states have been reluctant or even refused to cooperate with the court in executing the arrest warrants of controversial figures.

    For example, Putin was not arrested when he visited Mongolia, an ICC member, last year, in part, because Mongolia relies heavily on Russian energy. South Africa similarly refused to arrest Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir when he visited in 2015.

    Even when state parties do cooperate, the political fallout can impact the court’s reputation.

    Following Duterte’s arrest last week, a Filipino senator (the sister of the current president) launched an urgent investigation to ensure due process was followed and Duterte’s legal rights were upheld and protected. She acknowledged the arrest has “has deeply divided the nation”.

    The lack of support from the US – arguably, still the world’s most powerful democracy – remains a perennial problem, as well.

    While the US has generally supported the court’s mandate over the years, it has been wary of its jurisdiction over American citizens and those of its allies accused of crimes. Last month, President Donald Trump authorised new sanctions against ICC officials in an attempt to paralyse the international organisation.

    Although 79 states did declare their support for the ICC following the sanctions, the Trump adminstration’s rejection of the court’s jurisdiction, legitimacy and authority has had significant consequences for its operations.

    It remains to be seen how the case against Duterte will play out. Securing a conviction is not assured.

    However, his arrest demonstrates the court can fulfil its mandate and remain a relevant force in the fight against the gravest of crimes. It is also a significant moment for the families of those killed during Duterte’s rule, who have long sought justice for their loved ones.

    Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. The ICC showed its might by arresting Rodrigo Duterte. Its reputation will take longer to fix – https://theconversation.com/the-icc-showed-its-might-by-arresting-rodrigo-duterte-its-reputation-will-take-longer-to-fix-252509

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: Chinese coast guard expels Japanese vessels for unlawfully entering waters of Diaoyu Dao

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    Photo taken on Sept. 14, 2012 shows the Diaoyu Islands. [Photo/Xinhua]
    Between Friday and Monday, the China Coast Guard (CCG) expelled several Japanese fishing vessels that had unlawfully entered China’s territorial waters around Diaoyu Dao, according to a spokesperson for the CCG on Monday.
    In the process, the CCG vessels enforced necessary, lawful management and control measures against the Japanese vessels, and issued warnings to drive them out of the area, CCG spokesperson Liu Dejun said.
    Noting that Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands are China’s inherent territory, Liu urged the Japanese side to immediately cease all illegal activities in these waters.
    The CCG will continue to conduct regular law enforcement activities in the territorial waters of Diaoyu Dao, with the aim of safeguarding China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, Liu said.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to UKHSA’s new Priority Pathogens reference tool

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Scientists comment on the UK Health Security Agency’s new Priority Pathogens reference tool for R&D funders.

    Prof Martin Hibberd, Professor of Emerging Infectious Disease, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), said:

    “I am pleased to see a guidance description for pathogens in a UK context being released, and that it will be up-dated yearly. As mentioned in the report, these lists cannot be comprehensive and different perspectives are likely to lead to different conclusions, but it’s release is likely to lead to more widespread consultations and honing of the findings for next year. While all the pathogen families are important, the three identified as priorities (Covid-19; Nipah virus; and avian influenza) are not surprising and I expect perhaps a more detailed, UK specific, priority list next year.”

     

    Darius Hughes, UK General Manager at Moderna, said:

    “This important work directly supports Moderna’s strategic partnership with the UK Government to strengthen national pandemic preparedness. By aligning our scientific innovation with the UKHSA’s priority pathogen list, we can help accelerate the development of vaccines where they are most urgently needed. This ensures our joint efforts are focused, forward-looking, and capable of responding rapidly to emerging biological threats—ultimately supporting the UK’s ambition to lead in global health security and protect public health through sustained innovation and collaboration.”

     

    Prof Miles Carroll, Professor of Emerging Viruses, Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford, said:

    “This new Priority Pathogen Families R&D Tool from UK Health Security Agency is aligned with similar prioritisation from the UK Vaccines Network and the World Health Organization, but with a UK focus for obvious reasons.

    “The new R&D Tool is consistent with existing evidence, which is helping guide funders, policymakers and scientists on the most urgent research gaps in epidemic and pandemic pathogen threats.  Tools like this are important if we are to develop effective diagnostics, vaccines and treatments to support the UK Biological Security strategy.”

    Prof Robert Read, Professor of Infectious Diseases, University of Southampton, and Editor in Chief, Journal of Infection, said:

    “Lists like this have been made for many years, and they represent an effort to prioritise infections for advisory and funding purposes, ostensibly to align research funding as closely as possible to public health need.  Unfortunately, pathogens emerge or change constantly, and it is difficult to predict big infectious disease problems coming down the line.  For this reason, I think this list is at best pointless, and at worst potentially harmful to the public health.

    “Pointless because the list of viruses is so long that its tricky to name a significant viral pathogen that has not been included.  Potentially harmful because a prescriptive list like this could misdirect funding towards certain infections, and away from problems that need urgently to be solved.  For example, the list of bacteria of concern includes Yersinia pestis (the cause of plague, a massive problem in 14th-18th Century Europe) for which there is now good available treatment and potential vaccine candidates, but does not include Bordetella pertussis (the cause of Whooping Cough) which caused serious problems for the public during 2024 because vaccines remain sub-optimal and antibiotic treatment only works during the early phase.”

    Prof Mark Woolhouse, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, and Director of the Tackling Infections to Benefit Africa, University of Edinburgh, said:

    “A key recommendation of the UK Covid Inquiry’s Interim Report for Module 1 (Preparedness) was that prior to 2020 the UK was overly focussed on the risk of an influenza pandemic.  When Covid arrived, it took too long to adjust our response to a different threat, which was part of the reason we ended up in lockdown.

    “Since the pandemic, there have been many initiatives to better understand the diversity of pandemic threats that the UK and the world may face in the coming years.  The UKHSA’s pathogen prioritization exercise is a welcome contribution to this global effort.

    “Of the highest priority pathogens identified by the UKHSA, no one could argue with the inclusion of coronaviruses and influenza viruses (the latter being members of the Orthomyxoviridae family).

    “The UKHSA are also right to be concerned about another family of viruses, the Paramyxoviridae.  This is a group that includes the measles virus, itself a continuing cause for concern with large outbreaks regularly reported from around the world.

    “A novel measles-like virus would pose a threat far worse than Covid.  Such a virus would have a much higher R number than the original variants of Covid – making it impossible to control by even the strictest lockdown.  It would also be considerably more deadly, and (unlike Covid) it would be a threat to children.  This is the kind of pandemic that public health agencies around the world are most concerned about.

    “That said, there are many potential kinds of novel pandemic threats – so-called Disease X – and the UKHSA report is a timely reminder that we should not put all our eggs in one basket.  The possibility of different kinds of threat – different transmission routes, different types of disease, different populations at risk – means that our response needs to be scalable, adaptable and quick.  Knowledge, information and data collected in the first few weeks of the next pandemic will be crucial to tailoring our response appropriately.  We need the systems to gather that data in place in advance and ready to be activated, possibly at very short notice.”

    ‘Priority pathogen families research and development (R&D) tool: A reference tool to help guide England-based funders of research and development’ was published by the UK Health Security Agency at 00:01 UK time on Tuesday 25 March 2025.

    Declared interests

    Prof Mark Woolhouse: “I am a consultant for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) and a member of the Scottish Committee for Pandemic Preparedness (SCoPP).”

    Prof Martin Hibberd: “I have no conflicts with this topic, but I do work on some of the pathogens listed and have been funded by Industry (most recently J&J) – amongst other government support, to work on them.”

    Prof Miles Carroll: “I consult for PicturaBio diagnostics. I am a member of the WHO R&D BluePrint Pathogen Prioritisation Committee, UKVN, APHA SAB and MRC/UVRI SAB.”

    Darius Hughes: In December 2023, Moderna entered a 10-year strategic partnership with the UK government to establish an mRNA research development and manufacturing facility in the UK. The strategic partnership is managed by the UK Health Security Agency on behalf of the UK government.

    For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Remuera Library to re-open following restoration work

    Source: Auckland Council

    Remuera Library will reopen to the public on 10 April, 2025, following restoration and refurbishment work, making it once again a place for locals to enjoy a good book and connect with friends.

    For the duration of the works, the library’s services were relocated to Somervell Presbyterian Church, 497 Remuera Road and library services will continue to run here until and including 26 March.

    Ōrākei Local Board chair Scott Milne says he’s thrilled that an enhanced Remuera Library will be back up and running.

    “The heritage building has been enhanced with important remedial and strengthening work, for future generations to use and enjoy.

    “Cosmetic upgrades, both inside and out, add to the architectural aesthetic of the building and gives even more reasons for locals to be proud of their library.”

    “Dozens of locals use the Remuera Library every day and I’m delighted that this space many people love and value so much, has been upgraded.”

    “The library is not just about books. It is a social hub for Remuera and an activation point for a range of community and digital services.”

    Somervell Presbyterian Church kindly allowed the library to operate at an alternative location for the duration of the works, with funding support from the Ōrākei Local Board. Many of the library’s regular programmes continued at this site, and events including Diwali and Lunar New Year were held.

    “The library team feel extremely fortunate to have been part of the wider Somervell community where we were warmly welcomed from the start,” says Sue Jackson, Library Manager.

    “We have formed new friendships with church staff and welcomed new families to enjoy our library services.”

    Remuera Library will re-open on 10 April, 2025 following restoration and refurbishment work.

    The building

    Essential repairs, maintenance and enhancement works were completed during the renewal programme. These included fire safety enhancements, emergency lighting upgrades, accessibility enhancements, seismic strengthening to meet legal requirements, roof and exterior repairs and an interior cosmetic refresh including painting and recarpeting.

    Remuera Library, which opened in 1926, is a Category 1 heritage listed building on the Heritage New Zealand Register and is listed on the Auckland Council Schedule of Historic Heritage as a category A building.

    The library was identified as earthquake-prone, with a seismic score of 15% of the New Building Standard (15% NBS). This score indicates that the library’s earthquake safety risk is relatively very high compared to a new building.

    Taryn Crewe, General Manager Parks and Community Facilities says the restoration work carried out on the library is important as it will increase the life-span of the building to ensure this much-loved asset able to be used by Aucklanders for many years to come.

    “Remuera Library is a key building of cultural and historic significance. Restoration, including strengthening work was needed to protect and preserve this well used heritage building.

    “I’m pleased the works have been completed months ahead of time so the locals can use their much-loved library sooner than expected.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Doco – Greenpeace launches documentary exploring freshwater pollution in Canterbury

    Source: Greenpeace

    Greenpeace campaigner Will Appelbe says, “For decades, Canterbury’s lakes, rivers, and drinking water have been heading on a rapid downhill trajectory as a result of industry polluters. But it’s not too late to turn that around. People across Canterbury are fighting back to protect their access to fresh water – and that’s the story we’ve told through this documentary.”
    There will be an advance screening of the documentary at Lumiere Cinemas, Christchurch, at 6pm on Thursday 3rd April. Tickets are free, but there will be limited seats available.
    Appelbe, who is himself a Canterbury resident, says, “We know that no matter where they live or who they vote for, New Zealanders want to be able to go swimming in the local rivers, fishing in the lakes, and to be able to drink the water coming out of their kitchen tap. But these fundamental Kiwi values are being eroded by the ongoing pollution of fresh water by the intensive dairy industry.”
    “Central to NZ’s freshwater crisis is the fact that Waitaha Canterbury has the most polluted water in the country. We are a hot spot for contaminated drinking water, unswimmable rivers, and lakes choked with algal bloom. It shouldn’t be this way. Those who are responsible for protecting the health of water in this region have failed drastically.
    “Environment Canterbury has a responsibility to protect freshwater that’s used to source drinking water. Despite knowing about this issue, nitrate contamination is only getting worse in Canterbury. We’re coming up to local body elections later this year, and we expect safe drinking water to become a major election issue.”
    Greenpeace is also running two town hall events in Canterbury – in Ashburton on the 4th April, and Methven on the 6th April – to provide free drinking water testing for nitrate contamination.
    “We know that elevated levels of nitrate in drinking water have been linked to increased human health risks by a growing body of international science. This includes an increased risk of bowel cancer and pre-term birth, at levels much lower than what the NZ government allows to be present in drinking water.”
    “We provide this free drinking water testing so that everyone – no matter where they live – knows whether the water coming out of their tap is safe to drink. Ultimately, though, this is simply a bandaid over a bullet wound. We need to stop the nitrate pollution at the source – the intensive dairy industry – if we want to have any shot at improving water quality in the Waitaha.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Inner Hauraki Gulf closed to rock lobster fishing

    Source: New Zealand Government

    The inner Hauraki Gulf will be closed for three years to commercial and recreational spiny rock lobster fishing to help rebuild the population, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says.
    “Locals have raised serious concerns about the decline of spiny rock lobster in the inner Hauraki Gulf, and this has been backed up by fishery-independent research. I share these concerns and to help the lobster population recover I’ve decided to stop spiny rock lobster fishing in the inner Gulf,” Mr Jones says. 
    The closure, from 1 April 2025, and other changes are part of Fisheries New Zealand’s biannual sustainability reviews which look at catch limits and management settings for fisheries around Aotearoa.  
    “Restoring this fishery will also help to address an issue I have prioritised – kina barrens. Rock lobster eat kina, which helps keep kina numbers down so they don’t destroy important marine habitat and cause bare areas known as kina barrens.”
    The closure extends south from the Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve to Point Jackson Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula.  
    “I have decided not to increase catch limits for the rest of the Hauraki Gulf rock lobster fishery. Under the current settings the stock is expected to increase, and this will further support the recovery of rock lobster throughout the fishery,” Mr Jones says. 
    “I have also adjusted catch settings for Otago rock lobster, taking a cautious approach to ensure long-term sustainability of this fishery.” 
    Earlier this month, Minister Jones also made changes to catch limits for Pacific bluefin tuna in New Zealand waters.
    “Pacific bluefin tuna, as a migratory species, is managed internationally throughout the Pacific Ocean by the Western Central Pacific Commission (WCPFC), of which New Zealand is a member.
    “These tuna are doing well throughout the Pacific, and we’re seeing more of these fish in our waters. The WCPFC has agreed to increase New Zealand’s catch allocation, and I have changed catch settings to reflect this.”
    “I have increased the total catch limit by 84 tonnes for the remainder of this fishing year to reflect the health of the stock and address concerns from commercial fishers who have been seeing increasing amounts of bycatch of Pacific bluefin tuna when targeting other fish.
    “For the next fishing year, starting 1 October 2025, the total catch limit will be increased a further 6.5 tonnes, which includes increases for customary and recreational allowances.
    “I want to acknowledge everyone who provided feedback on the proposals. The many submissions we received from tangata whenua, recreational and commercial fishers, environmental groups, and the public played an important part in the advice I received from officials, and the decisions I made,” Mr Jones says. 
    More information can be found on Fisheries New Zealand’s website.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Washington Examiner: Tuberville is the Senate champion needed to protect female sports

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville
    WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, the Washington Examiner published a story highlighting Senator Tuberville’s efforts to protect Title IX from the Radical Left’s attempts to erase women’s and girls’ sports.
    Earlier this year, Senator Tuberville reintroduced the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to preserve Title IX protections for female athletes. Unfortunately, every single Senate Democrat voted against the legislation to protect women.  
    Read excerpts from the Washington Examiner piece below or read the full story here.
    Tuberville is the Senate champion needed to protect female sports
    “Not all heroes wear capes. Some of them wear suits to the Senate and fight to protect women’s sports.
    Another day, another girls’ sporting event is dominated by a male athlete who thinks he is female — an occurrence that keeps happening because Democrats don’t want to protect female sports. Instead, they rather genuflect to the activist mob and allow such travesties to keep happening.
    Ada Gallagher is a 16-year-old at McDaniel High School in Oregon who runs on the school’s female track team. Last week, Gallagher dominated the girls’ 200-meter and 400-meter varsity races in the Portland Interscholastic League, reportedly winning one of the races by nearly seven seconds. It was a fantastic performance that would have drawn unanimous praise if not for one pesky detail: Gallagher is allegedly a boy claiming he is now a girl. 
    If the reports are accurate, this shows why the country desperately needs Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. Senators voted along party lines earlier this month, 51-45. The proposed legislation failed to earn the necessary 60 votes to prevent a Democratic filibuster. Tuberville’s bill would have prevented Gallagher from defeating the actual high school girls who ran in the races. 
    How many high school and college-aged girls have to suffer because of the radical, left-wing political agendas of Democrats? Furthermore, what could possibly motivate Democrats, let alone any human being, to go against Tuberville’s bill?
    ‘Democrats have clearly learned nothing from this election,’ Tuberville told me in an exclusive interview earlier this month. ‘The American people decisively rejected Democrats’ anti-women, woke ideology and want us to get back to common sense. But surprise, surprise — the party that spent the past four years saying men can get pregnant apparently still thinks men should compete in women’s sports.’
    Gallagher’s athletic victory over actual high school girls competing in a track race is the kind of thing that happens because of Democrats. Their motives defy logic and common sense. Unfortunately, innocent young girls must suffer because of their radicalism, even though the overwhelming majority of the country is against boys competing against girls in sports. It is the country’s far Left, ideologically fanatical and unhinged, that allows this to keep happening.
    ‘It’s deeply unpopular, out-of-touch, and reveals that Democrats would rather stand up for a few trans people than fight for the rights of 50% of this country,’ Tuberville said.
    Boys are boys, and girls are girls. Males are bigger and stronger than females and enjoy a biological advantage when competing against them in sports. It’s the sole reason female athletic leagues were established. The fact that Democrats are intent on ignoring this reality leads one to conclude that they genuinely do not care about protecting female athletes or ensuring they are provided an opportunity to engage in fair athletic competitions and be protected from the dangers and harm of competing against bigger, larger, and stronger male athletes.
    ‘It’s hard to understand why Democrats are so willing to sacrifice the rights of women at the altar of woke ideology,’ Tuberville said. ‘Democrats claim to care about women, which is why I don’t understand why they don’t want women to have fair competition, equal access to scholarships, and safe locker rooms. It’s not about politics. It’s about right and wrong.’
    Democrats’ resistance to this is beyond puzzling, especially given their insistence on championing the rights of females. At this point, it would have to seem that interest groups are influencing them to promote these out-of-touch ideas while sacrificing the rights of female athletes in high schools and colleges. Tuberville mentioned links between interest groups and the left-wing political agenda to allow boys who pretend to be girls to compete in female sports.
    […]
    ‘One of Democrats’ most frequent talking points is that this bill is ‘hateful,’ Tuberville said. ‘That isn’t true. What is hateful is stripping opportunities away from millions of women in favor of the rights of a few trans people. This bill isn’t about excluding or alienating anyone. It is about protecting the rights and safety of our daughters, granddaughters, and nieces.’
    ‘We’ll keep pushing — this fight isn’t over,’ Tuberville said. ‘Nearly 80% of Americans are on our side. And we’ll continue to put pressure on Democrat senators to do the right thing and stand up for women.’”
    BACKGROUND:
    During President Biden’s administration, more than 900 women lost medals to men competing in women’s sports. The issue of men in girls’ and women’s sports proved to be one of the top concerns of voters during the 2024 Presidential Election. A recent New York Times (NYT) poll found 79% of respondents said men should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports. This is a bipartisan issue—the same recent NYT poll found that 67% of Democrats agree that male athletes shouldn’t be allowed in women’s sports.
    In February, President Trump signed a historic Executive Order banning men from competing in women’s sports. President Trump has spoken about the need to keep men out of women’s sports on multiple occasions.
    Unfortunately, Executive Orders can be reversed. That’s why on Monday, March 3, 2025, the Senate voted on Senator Tuberville’s bill, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which would make President Trump’s Executive Order permanent. 45 Democrats voted to block the bill from proceeding. 
    Earlier this year, Senator Tuberville also introduced a bill to ban men from competing in women’s U.S. Olympic sports, following USA Boxing’s announcement that it would allow men to box against women.
    Senator Tuberville has vowed to continue fighting until women’s rights to compete fairly and safely are protected.
    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Delivers Meals on Wheels of RI’s 21-Millionth Meal

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
    PROVIDENCE, RI – In honor of “March for Meals,” U.S. Senator Jack Reed today joined Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island (MOWRI) to deliver the organization’s 21- millionth meal to a local senior citizen, highlight the critical services the organization provides to homebound Rhode Islanders, and thank volunteers for making a positive difference in their communities.
    MOWRI’s “More than a Meal” model provides clients with safety-assuring wellness checks and an opportunity for socialization. Volunteers get to know the clients they deliver to and become a trusted resource, offering not just nutrition but a sense of connection and support. These regular visits help combat the social isolation many older adults face, providing a valuable lifeline to both physical and emotional well-being.
    Maintaining a robust volunteer base is always a challenge for any service organization, and MOWRI is fortunate to have a dedicated group of some 500 annual volunteers, which is key because demand for its programs continues to grow.
    In 2025, MOWRI is serving approximately 34 percent more daily meals to homebound Rhode Islanders than five years ago. In 2024, the Home-Delivered Meal Program served more than 400,703 meals to 3,158 homebound clients statewide, including on Block Island.
    This morning, Senator Reed met with Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island team members and volunteers before visiting the home of Ms. Patricia Capuano, in Providence.  Meghan Grady, Executive Director of MOWRI; Christina Pitney, Board President of MOWRI and Senior Vice President, Government Programs of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of RI; and other supports joined Senator Reed for today’s visit.
    As a MOWRI Home-Delivered Meal Program client for the past year, Ms. Capuano has described her trusted volunteer delivery drivers as a vital part of her life, emphasizing the importance of both the meals and the personal connection they provide.
    “Meals on Wheels of RI is a critical program run by incredible people and volunteers.  The compassion, hope, and connection that volunteers serve up are just as important as their nutritious, prepared meals to keep older Rhode Islanders aging safely, comfortably, and independently right at home.  At a time when hunger in older populations continue to rise and critical nutrition assistance programs are being threatened, it is clear that MOWRI and its terrific team of volunteers play a critical role in keeping our seniors well-connected and well-fed. Visiting Ms. Capuano and delivering MOWRI’s 21-millionth home-delivered meal was truly the highlight of my day,” said Senator Reed, who today delivered a meal of chicken ziti broccoli casserole, vegetables, and hot cinnamon apples.
    “The delivery of our 21-millionth meal marks a major milestone in our organization’s history, an accomplishment that has been made possible in large part by Senator Reed and the unwavering support of the entire Rhode Island Congressional Delegation,” said Meghan Grady, Executive Director of MOWRI. “Today’s milestone delivery also highlights the promising future ahead as we prioritize food is medicine and expand our programs to deepen our statewide impact. We are grateful for the ongoing support of community champions, donors, and volunteers who have been instrumental to our success.”
    Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island is a critical link in the state’s network of senior nutrition programs, both congregate and home-delivered.  The program’s meals are delivered through 24 meal dispatch sites around the state.  Meals on Wheels of RI largely relies on federal sources of funding to deliver food to homebound seniors in need to help them remain healthy and safe living in their own homes.
    A member of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Reed has been recognized as a Congressional champion of the Meals on Wheels program and has led efforts to secure funding for Older Americans Act (OAA) programs, which assists Meals on Wheels with serving millions of Americans across the nation.
    Founded in 1969, Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island is the only non-profit home-delivered meal program of its kind in the state.  In order to qualify for home-delivered meals, clients must be over the age of 60, homebound, no longer driving, unable to prepare food themselves. About 80 percent of Meals on Wheels clients nationwide are classified as “low-income or extremely-low-income,” according to an internal study by Meals on Wheels America.
    To learn more about volunteering with MOWRI, visit: https://www.rimeals.org/

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: INDIAN NAVY’s MAIDEN INITIATIVES OF INDIAN OCEAN SHIP SAGAR (IOS SAGAR) AND AFRICA INDIA KEY MARITIME ENGAGEMENT (AIKEYME)

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 24 MAR 2025 6:00PM by PIB Delhi

    Over the past ten years, Indian Navy has deepened its partnerships with maritime agencies of Indian Ocean Region (IOR), to enhance maritime security in consonance with the GoI’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR). Indian Navy has been collaborating with navies of IOR countries on several initiatives such as joint naval exercises, coordinated patrols, information sharing, HADR efforts, capacity building and other diplomatic engagements. With SAGAR entering its second decade, and the announcement of Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security Across the Regions (MAHASAGAR) by Hon’ble Prime Minister, during his visit to Mauritius in March 2025, Indian Navy is launching its maiden initiatives of IOS Sagar and AIKEYME, which are aimed at consolidating Indian Navy’s stature as the ‘Preferred Security Partner’ and ‘First Responder’ in Indian Ocean Region.

    IOS Sagar

    Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar, is an initiative towards continued cooperation with IOR nations. One Indian Naval ship (INS Sunayna) is being deployed to the Southwest IOR with a combined crew of India and nine Friendly Foreign Countries (Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka , South Africa). The ship is planned to be deployed for over a month in April 2025, and would be undertaking port calls at Dar-es-Salaam, Nacala, Port Louis, Port Victoria and Male and Joint surveillance of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of Tanzania, Mozambique, Mauritius and Seychelles.

    The personnel from FFCs would undergo a training capsule of two weeks at various naval professional schools at Kochi, including training at Sea. The FFC personnel would be engaged in wholeship activities, watch keeping and other events related to their respective branches/ trade. The participants of IOS Sagar are also planned to witness harbour phase activities of Exercise AIKEYME at Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

    AIKEYME

    India and Africa give immense importance to maritime security and have reiterated their commitment to increase cooperation in tackling maritime security threats such as piracy, illegal activities including trafficking, unregulated and unreported fishing through sharing of information and surveillance. A large scale multilateral maritime engagement exercise with African Countries, titled as ‘Africa India Key Maritime Engagement’ also known as ‘AIKEYME’, which means ‘Unity’ in Sanskrit is an initiative in this direction to enhance interoperability with the navies/ maritime agencies. The maiden edition of the exercise is being co-hosted by Indian Navy and Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Force (TPDF) and would be conducted at/ off Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, and is planned to be inaugurated by Hon’ble RM Shri Rajnath Singh in mid-April 2025. The exercise is planned over six days and includes participation from Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and South Africa in addition to the co-hosts. The Harbour Phase of the exercise would include TableTop and Command Post exercises on Piracy and Information sharing, along with training on Seamanship and Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS). The Sea Phase comprises Seamanship evolutions, Search and Rescue, VBSS, Small Arms firing and Helicopter Operations.

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    VM/SPS                                                                                                        64/25

    (Release ID: 2114491) Visitor Counter : 50

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Canada initiates WTO dispute regarding Chinese duties on agricultural, fishery products

    Source: WTO

    Headline: Canada initiates WTO dispute regarding Chinese duties on agricultural, fishery products

    Canada claims the measures are inconsistent with China’s obligations under various provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and the Dispute Settlement Understanding.
    Further information is available in document WT/DS636/1
    What is a request for consultations?
    The request for consultations formally initiates a dispute in the WTO. Consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and to find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation. After 60 days, if consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel.

    Share

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Unfortunate expression of approval for Albania’s accession to the EU – E-002177/2024(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    The Commission acknowledged that the repeat municipal election took place in Himara on 4 August 2024. Holding transparent, inclusive and credible elections in line with international standards is a key requirement for any country aspiring to join the EU. A number of complaints by representatives of political parties were dealt with by the Albanian complaint mechanisms.

    The Commission also took note that the Electoral College decided to uphold the decision of the Central Election Commission’s Sanctions and Complaints Committee which had dismissed the opposition coalition’s request to invalidate the results of the Himara by-elections and repeat the mayoral by-elections in the municipality.

    The EU will continue to encourage Albanian authorities to address all outstanding recommendations from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe — Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and from the Venice Commission on the electoral process.

    The Commission attaches the highest importance to the respect of rule of law and fundamental rights all throughout the accession process.

    Through the enlargement process and EU-Albania Stabilisation and Association Agreement[1], the Commission follows closely reforms on the rule of law and the strengthening and protection of the fundamental rights in Albania , including minorities, assesses progress and provides policy recommendations in that regard notably through its annual report[2].

    Moreover, as from 2024 Albania also participates in the annual Rule of Law Report[3].

    • [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02009A0428%2802%29-20210901
    • [2] SWD(2024) 690 final , https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/a8eec3f9-b2ec-4cb1-8748-9058854dbc68_en?filename=Albania%20Report%202024.pdf
    • [3] https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/0154dce1-5026-45de-8b37-e3d56eff7925_en?filename=59_1_58088_coun_chap_albania_al.pdf
    Last updated: 24 March 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Latest IAEA Reports Confirm Japan’s ALPS Treated Water Release Continues to Meet International Safety Standards

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

    The discharge of treated water from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) is proceeding in line with international safety standards, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Task Force confirmed today in its third report since the water discharge began in August 2023.

    During its mission to Japan from December 9 to 12, 2024, the Task Force assessed the technical and regulatory aspects of the ALPS-treated water discharge. This included an on-site visit to the FDNPS facility to directly observe the equipment and infrastructure installed by Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the FDNPS for the water discharge. The report also summarised the Task Force’s discussions with the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

    The Task Force report reaffirmed the findings of the IAEA’s comprehensive safety review, stating that its overall conclusions remain consistent with those from its first and second missions conducted after the discharge began. It emphasized that Japan’s NRA has maintained a comprehensive inspection plan, including onsite monitoring to ensure the safety of the water that is discharged. Additionally, the Task Force confirmed that the equipment and facilities are operating in accordance with relevant international safety standards.

    In the IAEA Comprehensive Report on the Safety Review of the ALPS-Treated Water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station that was released in July 2023 prior to the discharge, the IAEA found Japan’s approach to discharging the treated water to be consistent with international safety standards. It also said that the discharges as planned would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment. The IAEA Task Force has carried out eight missions as part of the safety review since the beginning of the IAEA’s multiyear review that began two years before the water discharge.

    Today’s report also reviewed the IAEA’s ongoing independent verification of Japan’s monitoring programs, as well as onsite sampling and analysis conducted by IAEA experts at FDNPS since July 2023, when Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi established an IAEA office at the site. The IAEA’s onsite laboratory has analyzed the first eleven water discharges, confirming that the tritium concentration in each batch of diluted ALPS-treated water remains well below Japan’s operational limit consistent with international safety standards.

    The Task Force noted the importance of the IAEA’s ongoing corroboration activities and the IAEA onsite independent sampling and analyses in providing a comprehensive, transparent and independent verification of the accuracy and reliability of the data reported by TEPCO and the Government of Japan.

    Interlaboratory Comparisons

    The IAEA has also released reports today on two interlaboratory comparisons (ILCs) for determining radionuclides in ALPS-treated water and in marine environmental samples collected from near to FDNPS, part of the Agency’s comprehensive monitoring and assessment efforts.

    ILCs involve multiple laboratories independently analyzing samples, then reporting their results to the IAEA for evaluation to assess their reliability and accuracy.

    One report presents the findings from an ILC based on samples collected during a mission in October 2023 when the IAEA, with experts from third-party laboratories, observed Japan’s collection and pretreatment of samples of seawater, sediment, fish and seaweed from coastal and offshore locations and a fish market close to FDNPS. Laboratories in Canada, China and the Republic of Korea, as well as the IAEA’s laboratories in Austria and Monaco, analysed the samples and reported the results to the IAEA for intercomparison.

    The IAEA report confirms that Japan’s methods for sampling follow the appropriate methodological standards and that Japanese laboratories have reported accurate results that demonstrate a high degree of proficiency. The IAEA notes that these findings provide confidence in Japan’s capability for conducting reliable and high-quality monitoring related to the discharge of ALPS treated water.

    The second ILC report, also released today, corroborates Japan’s source monitoring of ALPS treated water from the eighth batch prior to discharge  in August last year. Water sampled from the tanks was analysed in laboratories in China, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland and the United States, as well as in the IAEA laboratories. Following assessment of the results submitted, the IAEA said the findings provide confidence in TEPCO’s capability for conducting reliable and high-quality source monitoring.

    Corroboration of Internal Exposure Monitoring

    Additionally, the Agency released a report today confirming that TEPCO is accurately monitoring the internal radiation exposure of workers handling ALPS-treated water.

    The report presents the findings from ILCs organized by the IAEA last year, which corroborated results from IAEA, French and Japanese laboratories. The findings highlight that TEPCO has demonstrated both a high level of accuracy in their measurements and strong technical competence. A report focusing on external radiation exposure monitoring was published in November 2024.

    All reports, as well as additional information such as frequently asked questions and a timeline of activities, can be found on the IAEA’s Fukushima Daiichi ALPS Treated Water Discharge webpage.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Minister Rishworth interview on ABC Afternoon Briefing

    Source: Government of Victoria 3

    E&OE TRANSCRIPT

    TOM LOWREY, HOST: Can I take you first to those comments from shadow minister for finance, Jane Hume. What did you make of them and is there room to trim the NDIS further?

    AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: Firstly, I would say Jane Hume has her numbers incorrect. The last year the Liberals were in government there was a 22 per cent growth rate of the NDIS. So, we’ve been working very hard to make this scheme sustainable. We’ve been working with people with disability, getting it back on track. And I have to say Jane Hume is also wrong to say that we are not meeting our targets that we set. National Cabinet set the target of eight per cent growth by 1 July 2026 and this year we had predicted that we would be at a 12 per cent growth rate. Actually, we’re doing better than that. The most recent figures coming out from the NDIA year to date is we are down to 10 per cent. So, we’re working very diligently but importantly we’re working with people with disability. Now, Jane Hume does have to be honest about what she would cut. We’ve been very clear about what our pathway is for reform. She has not been clear about what her cuts would be. Some of the suggestions about where growth should track at would suggest that no new participants could enter the scheme next year if she was to follow some of the comments that she has thrown around. So, this would be deeply concerning if no new participants could enter the scheme in the next financial year. Unfortunately I think Jane Hume hasn’t actually looked back at the record of the Liberal Party when they were in government a 22 per cent growth rate. We have got it down to 10 per cent. We’re on track to reach our eight per cent target. We will keep doing that, but in a way that has equity, fairness and transparency at its heart.

    TOM LOWREY: To be clear, Jane Hume said the first priority has to be hitting that eight per cent target. Are you confident that eight per cent target will be hit by the middle of next year?

    AMANDA RISHWORTH: I am very reassured about the progress that we’ve made. As I said, part of the way to meet that growth target was to reach 12 per cent this financial year. The most recent data has suggested that we would be hitting 10 per cent this year. So, that is significant progress that we’ve been making. But we’ve been making it by going back to the intent of the scheme, not just random cuts to people, but actually going back to the intent of the scheme, which is clearly outlining what are NDIS supports and what are not and working with people, to work within the budget of their plan. These are some of the changes we’ve made and we will continue to make progress. I’m very confident of us meeting that target.

    TOM LOWREY: Yeah, the Grattan Institute had some analysis out, I think earlier this week or last week that suggested that hitting that eight per cent target won’t be easy. But keeping growth below that eight per cent into the future would be particularly challenging. How do you constrain the growth of the NDIS into the future?

    AMANDA RISHWORTH: What we’re doing is making sure that we go back to the original intent of the scheme and that’s reasonable and necessary supports. I mean some of the behaviour that we saw while the previous government was in office that they did let a lot of fraud flourish. So, we have been very much focused on cracking down on fraud and dodgy providers as just one example. But it’s also been being clear about what is a NDIS support and what is not a NDIS support. How do we make sure that we have effective use of budgets and plans so that we have contained intra plan growth and that is making sure that people are getting supports that they need within their plan that they have received. So, we’re doing a lot of work there. That is how we have been able to achieve the reduction from 22 per cent growth under the coalition. That’s where we’re making progress. But we know it’s a challenge. We will continue to work with people with disability to ensure that we get the settings right, not make just gross cuts like it’s that the coalition is planning to do.

    TOM LOWREY: Part of that agreement at National Cabinet that you mentioned earlier was for the states to do more of the heavy lifting, to start to put in those services that perhaps had been in place before the NDIS was introduced that have since been removed. Have you seen any progress on that front? Are the states pulling their weight the way you’d like?

    AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, what was in that agreement was joint funding between the states and territories and the Commonwealth for supports outside the NDIS. I’ve been having very good conversations with my state colleagues and we continue to work and talk about what are some of the gaps, what are the some of these services that they could deliver, what are some of the services that are needed. It’s different in each state and territory. So, that work is progressing, but it is not conditional on the progress that we’ve made. The progress that we’ve made around, for example, what is and isn’t a NDIS support has been done separate to the work being done on foundational support. So, we’ll continue that work with our states and territories. I need to be clear that we offered co-funding with the states and territories and we’ll keep working with them.

    TOM LOWREY: I just want to briefly touch on some figures that came out today. You’ve suggested that withdrawing superannuation for housing could wind up adding a $1.4 billion hit to the age pension down the track. What were the assumptions you made to get there? How did you get to that figure?

    AMANDA RISHWORTH: These were assumptions made by the PBO. It took a pretty conservative case of someone around the age of 40 withdrawing the $50,000 that the Coalition would allow them to do. What we already know from analysis done last week was that would potentially add more than $70,000 to a house price. But what this evidence and the modelling shows is that having a situation where you can withdraw superannuation for housing would mean more people having to rely on the pension in their older age and that would cost the taxpayer approximately $1.4 billion annually. So, this is just bad policy all around. It’s bad for taxpayers, it’s bad for people who want to have a secure retirement and don’t necessarily, after they’ve paid into super, want to rely on a full pension or a part pension. But it’s also bad at pushing up housing prices, making it more out of reach for more Australians to get into the housing market. So, it’s lose, lose.

    TOM LOWREY: Amanda Rishworth, out of Time. Thanks so much for joining me.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: ‘Racism requires ignorance’: How art and culture can help end racial discrimination

    Source: United Nations 2

    By Ana Carmo

    Human Rights

    Despite significant progress over the years, the fight against racism and racial discrimination remains as urgent as ever. 

    “Ignorance allows for racism, but racism requires ignorance. It requires that we don’t know the facts,” says Sarah Lewis, Associate Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University and founder of the Vision & Justice programme there, which connects research, art, and culture to promote equity and justice.

    Ms. Lewis was at the UN Headquarters for an event marking last week’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

    In an interview with UN News’s Ana Carmo, she discussed the crucial intersection of art, culture, and global action to tackle racial discrimination in the face of ongoing challenges.

    The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

    UN News: How can art contribute to both raising awareness of racial discrimination, and inspiring action towards its elimination?

    Sarah Lewis: I grew up not far from the United Nations, just ten blocks away. As a young girl, I became interested in the narratives that define who counts and who belongs. Narratives that condition our behaviour, narratives that allow for the implementation of laws and norms.

    And what I’ve come to study is the work of narratives over the course of centuries through the force of culture. We’re here to celebrate much of the policy work that’s been done through different states, but none of that work is binding and will last without the messages that are sent throughout the built environment, sent through the force of images, sent through the power of monuments.

    One of the thinkers in the United States who first focused on that idea was formerly enslaved abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass, and his speech Pictures in Progress, delivered in 1861 at the start of the American Civil War, offers a blueprint for how we must think about the function of culture for justice.

    He was not fixated on the work of any one artist. He was focused on the perceptual changes that happen in each of us, when we are confronted with an image that makes clear the injustices we didn’t know were happening, and forces action.

    UN News: This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. How do you think societies can really engage with these historical struggles for racial justice, particularly in the context where racial discrimination is still deeply entrenched?

    Sarah Lewis: We are speaking at a moment in which we’ve altered norms around what we teach, what is in our curriculum in states around the world. We are in a moment in which there’s a sense that one can teach slavery, for example, as beneficial, for the skills that [it] offered the enslaved.

    When you ask what nations can do, we must focus on the role of education. Ignorance allows for racism, but racism requires ignorance. It requires that we don’t know the facts. When you come to see how slavery, for example, was, abolished but transformed into various forms of systemic and sustained inequity, you realize that you must act.

    Without the work of education, we can’t cohere, safeguard and implement the norms and new policies and treaties that we advocate for here today.

    UN Photo

    In the past, a hopeful future for South Africa was hindered by apartheid, but overcoming racial injustice paved the way for a society based on equality and shared rights for all.

    UN News: You speak about the power of education and this idea that we need to change the narratives. How can we as societies ensure that the narratives and bias really change?

    Sarah Lewis: If education is important, the related question is, how do we best educate? And we don’t only educate through the work of colleges and universities and curriculums of all kinds, we educate through the narrative messaging in the world all around us.

    What can we do on a personal, daily level, leader or not, is to ask ourselves the questions: what are we seeing and why are we seeing it? What narratives are being conveyed in the society that define who counts and who belongs? And what can we do about it if it needs to be changed?

    We all have this individual, precise role to play in securing a more just world in which we know we all can create.

    UN News: When you were an undergraduate at Harvard, you mentioned that you noticed exactly that, that something was missing and that you had questions about what was not being taught to you. How important is to include the visual representation topic in schools, especially in the United States?

    Sarah Lewis: Silence and erasure cannot stand in states who work to secure justice around the world. I’m fortunate to have gone to extraordinary schools but I found though that much was being left out of what I was being taught, not through any design or any individual culprit, any one professor or another, but through a culture that had defined and decided which narratives mattered more than others.

    I really learned about this through the arts, right through understanding and thinking through what mainstream society tells us we should be focusing on in terms of the images and artists that matter.

    I wrote a book ten years ago on – effectively – failure, on our failure to address these narratives that are being left out. And in many ways, you can see, the idea of justice as society’s reckoning with failure.

    Justice requires humility on the part of all of us to acknowledge how wrong we have been. And it’s that humility that the educator has, that the student has and it’s the posture that we all need to adopt as citizens to acknowledge what we need to put back into the narratives of education today.

    UN News: You speak in your book about the role of the ‘almost failure’ as a near win in our own lives. How can we all see the somewhat progress being made, to achieve the elimination of racial discrimination in societies, and not feel defeated by the failures?

    Sarah Lewis: How many movements for social justice began when we admitted failure? When we admitted that we were wrong? I would argue they all have been born of that realisation. We cannot be defeated. There are examples of men and women who exemplify how we do it.

    I’ll tell you a quick story about one. His name was Charles Black Jr, and we’re here today, in part because of his work in the United States. In the 1930s, he went to a dance party and found himself so fixated by the power of this trumpet player.

    It was Louis Armstrong, and he had never heard of him, but he knew in that moment that because of the genius coming out of this black man, that racial segregation in America, must be wrong – that he was wrong.

    © Unsplash/Joshua J. Cotten

    A mural of the I Am a Man protest that took place in Memphis, Tennessee, during the Civil Rights Movement in the USA.

    It was then that he began walking towards justice, he became one of the lawyers for the ‘Brown v Board of Education’ case that helped outlaw segregation in the United States, and went on to teach every year at Columbia and Yale University, and would hold this ‘Armstrong listening night’ to honor the man who showed him that he was wrong, that society was wrong, and that there was something he could do about it.

    We must find ways to allow ourselves to not let that feeling of failure defeat us, but to continue. There are countless examples I could offer in that vein, but the story of Charles Black Jr. is one that demonstrates the catalytic force of that recognition of that internal dynamic that is the smaller, more private encounter and experience that often leads to the public forms of justice that we celebrate today. 

    Listen to the full interview on SoundCloud:

    Soundcloud

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The peculiar Turkish corruption issue behind Istanbul mayor’s arrest – and how it became a tool of political oppression

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tulin Dzhengiz, Lecturer in Sustainability, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Turkey is in turmoil after Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading opposition figure and potential challenger to Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was arrested on March 19 on charges of corruption.

    More than 1,000 people who protested against the arrest have also been detained as hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in anger at what they say is a major blow against democracy. İmamoğlu, who denies all charges against him, has since been endorsed as the candidate for the 2028 presidential elections for the Republican People’s Party (CHP).

    Central to the allegations of corruption is what is known in Turkey as “naylon faturacılık”. This literally means “nylon invoicing” and refers to the issuing of fake invoices. It doesn’t refer to simple clerical errors or accounting mishaps, but deliberate attempts to fabricate transactions, inflate expenses, or obscure real beneficiaries.

    Technically illegal, the practice is nonetheless widespread in Turkey. It forms part of what many see as the country’s informal economy.

    The informal economy in Turkey spans everything from street vending and informal recycling to complex tax evasion schemes involving registered firms. Naylon faturacılık illustrates how corruption doesn’t always sit outside the system, but often thrives from within it.

    It exposes a blurry boundary between formal and informal economic activity, revealing how some formal businesses manipulate legal frameworks to appear compliant while engaging in illicit practices. In September 2024, Turkey’s Ministry of Finance uncovered 3 billion Turkish Lira (£61 million) worth of fake invoices in an investigation targeting around 4,500 large taxpayers.

    Over the past four years, I’ve interviewed more than 60 business owners, workers, and entrepreneurs across Turkey – from informal micro-enterprises to firms embedded in formal supply chains. One theme surfaced again and again: naylon faturacılık, or fake invoicing.

    People described it not as an exception but as “just part of doing business” in an informal economy. In an economy shaped by patchy enforcement and institutional fragility, this practice has become normalised over the past decade. It’s not legally accepted, but has unfortunately become socially expected.

    Under Turkish law, issuing or using fake invoices is a serious offence, punishable by three to eight years in prison. Yet many of my interviewees, especially those operating in or alongside the informal economy, saw fake invoicing as a necessary way of doing business. They described it as a viable response to rising costs, bureaucratic hurdles and a system that often punishes formality.



    Read more:
    Turkey: a favourable international climate is spurring Erdoğan’s crackdown on democracy

    Opposition leaders, including CHP leader Özgür Özel, argue that İmamoğlu’s arrest is politically motivated – an attempt to discredit their candidate ahead of the presidential election. Özel condemned the operation as a “coup attempt” against Turkey’s democratic future.

    In a press conference, he revealed that most of the people detained alongside İmamoğlu are linked to companies that won public contracts from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) under the control of İmamoğlu. Moreover, some of those arrested, he claimed, are students or relatives with no actual involvement in procurement decisions or public bids.

    The key accusation is that these companies issued fake invoices – billing for work never done, or for services exaggerated or duplicated. Yet Özel contends that no concrete evidence has been presented thus far and much of the government’s case comprises testimony and vague associations from gizli tanık (secret witnesses).

    One such witness reportedly named a communications or media firm that had worked with both İBB and the central government – including on campaigns commissioned by the presidency’s Directorate of Communications that work directly with Erdoğan. When the same activity, individuals or businesses, can be framed as legitimate under one administration and criminal under another, the line between legality and politics becomes dangerously thin.

    While opposition mayors in Turkey face swift legal action against corruption, serious corruption allegations against former Ankara mayor Melih Gökçek, which he denies, involving nearly 46 billion Turkish lira in public losses remain uninvestigated. Gökçek was a member of Erdoğan’s government Justice and Development Party (AK).

    A total of 97 complaints were filed over alleged misconduct during Gökçek’s tenure as mayor of Ankara until 2017, but nothing was done. Critics say this reflects politically selective justice.

    One law for some

    This isn’t just a story about fake invoices. It is about contexts where rules are unevenly enforced, where legal grey zones are abundant and where informality becomes a flexible instrument of control. A practice such as naylon faturacılık tolerated in one political moment can become a liability in another. A company can operate legally while it enjoys good relations with the government – and suddenly find itself under suspicion when that changes.

    In Turkey today, the question is often not whether an act is legal or illegal. It’s more about who is involved and whose power is being threatened. The lines between formal, informal or illegal is not merely economic – it is profoundly political. That’s why the nylon invoicing issue is so revealing. Far from being a fringe practice, it exposes the everyday intersections of power, legitimacy and corruption.

    In a climate of deepening polarisation and eroding institutional trust, many believe that who gets punished for corruption depends less on the act itself and more on which side of the political divide they fall.

    Protests in Turkey callling for ‘rights! law! justice!’

    Turkey’s democracy and justice system are being tested – not only by corruption, but by how selectively corruption is investigated and enforced. In this uncertain moment, the challenge is not only to hold people accountable, but to rebuild trust in institutions and ensure that justice is applied fairly. The protestors’ slogan “hak, hukuk, adalet” (rights, law, justice) carries a deeper warning: power is temporary, but justice must endure.

    As many demonstrators in Turkey are now reminding the Erdoğan government: when the balance shifts, those in power today may find themselves in need of the very fair and independent legal system they are now so determined to undermine.

    Tulin Dzhengiz research on the informal economy received funding from Manchester Metropolitan University.

    – ref. The peculiar Turkish corruption issue behind Istanbul mayor’s arrest – and how it became a tool of political oppression – https://theconversation.com/the-peculiar-turkish-corruption-issue-behind-istanbul-mayors-arrest-and-how-it-became-a-tool-of-political-oppression-252933

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Security National Financial Corporation Mourns the Passing of Esteemed Board Member, Mia Love

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SALT LAKE CITY, March 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Security National is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Mia Love, a valued and respected member of our Board of Directors. Ms. Love passed away following a courageous battle with cancer.

    Mia Love, a former U.S. Congresswoman and distinguished public servant, brought invaluable leadership, insight, and dedication to Security National during her tenure on the board. Her expertise in public policy, governance, and strategic development played a crucial role in advancing our mission and strengthening our commitment to excellence.

    Scott Quist, CEO of Security National, stated: “We are heartbroken by the loss of Mia Love. She was not only a dedicated board member but also a leader of great integrity, wisdom, and compassion. Her impact on our company and the broader community will be felt for years to come.”

    Beyond her remarkable contributions to Security National, Mia Love was a trailblazer in politics and advocacy, championing issues that improved the lives of many. She will be remembered for her unwavering commitment to service, her pioneering spirit, and the legacy she leaves behind.

    Our deepest condolences go out to Ms. Love’s family, friends, and all those who were fortunate to know her.

    If there are any questions, please contact
    Mr. Jeffrey Stephens or Mr. Scott Quist at

    Security National Financial Corporation
    P.O. Box 57250
    Salt Lake City, UT 84157
    Phone (801) 264-1060
    Fax (801) 264-8430

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: There’s a global tug-of-war for Greenland’s resources – but the new government has its own plans

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nicolas Jouan, Senior Defence and Security Analyst, RAND Europe

    Greenland’s parliamentary election was held on March 11 against a backdrop of repeated calls from the Trump administration for America to annex the island. The poll delivered a momentous shift in Greenland’s political landscape as the pro-business Demokraatit (Democrats) emerged as the biggest winners overturning the two left-leaning parties which had formed the previous government.

    Securing nearly 30% of the vote and gaining seven seats for a total of ten in the Inatsisartut (parliament), the party now holds the strongest mandate it has ever had. Close behind was the nationalist Naleraq party, which secured 24.5% of the vote and gained four seats, bringing their total to eight.

    While both parties are united in their rejection of Trump’s ambitions and share a vision of Greenlandic independence, their approaches couldn’t be more different. Demokraatit advocates for a gradual, measured process, prioritising economic development. The party considers that economic self-sufficiency and strengthening domestic infrastructure are key preconditions to achieve independence. Naleraq, on the other hand, is pushing for a rapid break from Denmark. Its line is that Greenland will only be able to unleash its potential, economic and otherwise, once independent.

    Independence has long been the dominant theme of Greenlandic politics. Ever since the territory gained home rule in 1979, most political parties across the spectrum have championed the idea of full independence from the kingdom of Denmark. Even the two major challengers – the Inuit Ataqatigiit, which lost five seats at the election to drop to seven, and the once-dominant Siumut, which lost six and now holds just four seats – are pro-independence.

    But while independence remains a defining issue, the real story of this election is Greenland’s economy. The island is sitting on a treasure trove of rare earth elements, uranium, iron and other minerals critical to global industries. Yet despite decades of interest from foreign investors, strict regulations and environmental concerns have often slowed development.

    With Demokraatit’s rise, that could change. The party is pushing for pro-business policies, including tax incentives, streamlined regulations and reduced state intervention in key industries like mining, fisheries and tourism. If successful, these reforms could transform Greenland into a major player in the global supply chain.

    Despite its electoral gains, Demokraatit faces a challenge in implementing its economic vision. The party’s potential coalition partner, Naleraq, is deeply sceptical of foreign investment, at least when it comes from Denmark and Europe. While open to partnerships with the US, Naleraq is adamant that Greenland must retain full control over its resources, resisting any foreign influence that could compromise national sovereignty.

    This ideological divide could create friction within a potential coalition government. Will Demokraatit’s pro-business agenda be tempered by Naleraq’s nationalistic stance? Or will the promise of economic growth push both parties toward compromise?

    Global powers are watching

    Greenland’s election came at a time when it was already the focus of world attention. Its strategic location and vast resources have attracted growing interest from global superpowers – none more so than the US. Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, a move widely considered unrealistic, but indicative of Washington’s strategic priorities.

    American interest in Greenland isn’t new. The island is home to the Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, since the 1950s as a critical part of North American missile defence and whose Arctic position makes it a key player in both American territorial defence and Nato’s security architecture. Pituffik is the only non-Danish military presence in the territory and is the northernmost American military base.

    But the White House’s rhetoric has taken a more insistent tone, raising questions about whether the US might attempt to exert greater influence over Greenland’s economic and political future. The interest in Greenland seems guided by at least two factors: its strategic position at the centre of the North Atlantic security complex and its economic potential with hard-to-access but abundant resources.

    In both cases, the growing involvement of both Russia and China in the Arctic seem to make the US wary of a potentially independent Greenland getting closer to unfriendly great powers.

    Denmark’s central government is walking a diplomatic tightrope when it comes to responding to the US government’s repeated intentions to annex Greenland. Copenhagen has sought to Europeanise the debate, floating the idea of Greenland joining the European Union. Taking this step would provide welcome economic support to the island but could also clash with Greenland’s scepticism toward European interference.

    Greenland now stands at a crossroads. Domestically, negotiations between Demokraatit and Naleraq will likely shape the trajectory of the island’s economic and independence ambitions. Internationally, major powers – including the US, the EU and possibly even China and Russia – are positioning themselves to engage with Greenland’s untapped potential.

    As the world’s focus on Greenland intensifies, one thing is clear: this Arctic nation is no longer a remote outpost. It is fast becoming a key battleground for economic, political and strategic influence in the North Atlantic.

    Nicolas Jouan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. There’s a global tug-of-war for Greenland’s resources – but the new government has its own plans – https://theconversation.com/theres-a-global-tug-of-war-for-greenlands-resources-but-the-new-government-has-its-own-plans-252396

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Facing annexation threats, should Canadians lament for a nation — like George Grant did in 1963?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By David Edward Tabachnick, Professor of Political Science, Nipissing University

    A decades-old lament for Canada is back on some Canadians’ minds as United States President Donald Trump makes repeated annexation threats.

    Canadian political philosopher George Grant’s Lament for a Nation was published in 1965 — the same year Canada’s iconic Maple Leaf flag was first unfurled on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill — and unexpectedly inspired many Canadians to feel a sudden sense of pride and confidence that their country could and must stand up to its giant imperialistic neighbour to the south.

    Sixty years later, there are calls to “Bring Back Grumpy George” and renew his decades-old warning. There are also attempts to understand Grant’s continued relevance in the 21st century, as well as new volumes on his work.

    Canadian nationalist movement of 70s

    On the face of it, Grant’s slim volume may seem the perfect tonic for what ails Canada today. Consider that William Christian, Grant’s biographer, called its publication “one of the most significant factors in creating the Canadian nationalist movement of the 1970s” while esteemed journalist Charles P.B. Taylor dubbed it “a Bible for younger nationalists.”

    It “is the sun under which a generation of Canadian nationalists warm themselves,” Andrew Potter writes in his introduction to the 40th anniversary edition of Grant’s most famous work, “but it also casts the long dark shadows in which they must operate.”

    One need only wade a little into the volume to see those “the long dark shadows.” The subtitle to Grant’s book says it all: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism. So, far from being a call to arms, Lament for a Nation was, as Grant put it, a “cry out at the death or at the dying of something loved…[to mourn] the end of Canada as a sovereign state.”

    In other words, Lament was never intended to whip Canadians into a nationalist fervour, but to spell out Canada’s unfortunate and inevitable disappearance as a nation.

    ‘Blending into the (U.S.) empire’

    By this logic, the next six decades of failed strategies to diversify the Canadian economy and stillborn plans to grow its military are symptoms of a disease that had already killed the patient; Canada is the zombie nation, an apparently democratic electoral system without real substance. Grant wrote:

    “Canada has ceased to be a nation, but its formal political existence will not end quickly. Our social and economic blending into the empire will continue apace, but political union will probably be delayed. Some international catastrophe or great shift of power might speed up this process.”

    For Grant, Canada’s original death knell was acquiescence to American demands that it accept their nuclear weapons on its soil. While Canada had both the technical ability and practical capacity to build its own bombs after the Second World War, leaders decided against it.

    Jack Mackenzie, first president of Atomic Energy Control Board, explained in a 1953 address: “Canada is the only country in the world with sizeable atomic energy establishments where no bombs are being made, and where all the thinking and planning is focused on peacetime aspects.”

    But in the context of the Cold War, this principled choice was viewed as a sign of weakness by Americans, who worried about Soviet bombers travelling unrestricted over the Arctic.

    Defence crisis

    This worry led to the so-called defence crisis that dominated the federal 1963 election campaign, fought between Conservative Prime Minister Diefenbaker and Liberal Lester B. Pearson.

    A beleaguered Diefenbaker had cancelled the vaunted Avro Arrow program a few years earlier, hesitated to commit the Navy to participate in the blockade of Cuba and then balked at accepting American warheads for the BOMARC interceptor missiles designed to stop those bombers.

    The pugnacious Pearson was once a champion of non-proliferation and had shocked his supporters during his infamous Scarborough speech when he announced his surprising agreement that U.S. nukes had to be deployed on Canadian soil in the name of our “commitments for Canada in continental and collective defence,” including NORAD and NATO.

    For Grant, Diefenbaker’s defeat to Pearson was a stake through the heart of the Canada from which it would never recover. In 1963, the Royal Canadian Air Force delivered a shipment of nuclear warheads to the BOMARC missile site near RCAF Station North Bay, Ont., just up the road from where I write today.

    End of Canadian nationalism?

    A few years before his passing in 1988, Grant made it clear in a 1985 interview with Lawrence (Larry) Schmidt, a theologian and a scholar of Grant’s work, that “people have read a little book I wrote called Lament for a Nation wrongly. I was talking about the end of Canadian nationalism. I was saying that this is over and people read it as if I was making an appeal for Canadian nationalism. I think that is just nonsense. I think they just read it wrongly.”

    Today, Canadian economic well-being and security are no more in Canada’s control then they were in 1965. Trump is merely saying the quiet part out loud in his craven desire to make Canada the 51st state.

    Was Grant wrong?

    But, as it turns out, Grant was wrong. Canada is not the zombie nation. It may have been in a bit of daze for the last while, but Canadians have their elbows up again.



    Read more:
    Why Gordie Howe’s elbows are Canada’s answer to Donald Trump

    Now out of a stupor, Canadians are reviewing the wisdom of purchasing F-35s, buying new radar systems to assert our sovereignty over the Arctic and attempting to drop interprovincial trade barriers.

    Mind you, this is nothing new. In the face of American disapproval, Canada trades with Cuba, claims the Northwest Passage as its internal waters and negotiated a successful Acid Rain Treaty. Canada led the charge to ban the use of land mines and refused to participate in the American missile shield plan.

    Canada didn’t send its young men to die in the jungles of Vietnam and refused to participate in the ill-conceived Iraq War. And it still protects its fresh water and health care.

    New policy for common cause

    Still, rather than merely reacting to American insults and pressures, Canada is long overdue to develop contemporary and responsive policy, the very thing Grant thought would allow Canada to become and stay a sovereign country, at least for a while.

    As writer and historical researcher Mark Wegierski notes, this could unite conservatives and progressives in common cause.

    While Canadians may be divided at times, they need to use this moment of unity to make sure Canada stays alive and kicking.

    David Edward Tabachnick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Facing annexation threats, should Canadians lament for a nation — like George Grant did in 1963? – https://theconversation.com/facing-annexation-threats-should-canadians-lament-for-a-nation-like-george-grant-did-in-1963-252337

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: National monuments have grown and shrunk under US presidents for over a century thanks to one law: The Antiquities Act

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Monica Hubbard, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Administration, Boise State University

    Over 730,000 people visit Colorado National Monument each year. It was established in 1911 under the Antiquities Act. Gordon Leggett, CC BY-SA

    America’s public lands, from its majestic national parks to its vast national forests, are at the heart of the country’s identity.

    They cover more than a quarter of the nation and large parts of the West. Some are crisscrossed by hiking trails and used by hunters and fishermen. Ranchers graze cattle on others. In many areas, the government earns money through oil, gas, timber and mining leases.

    These federally managed public lands have long enjoyed broad bipartisan support, as have moves to turn them into protected national parks and monuments. Research consistently shows that a majority of Americans want their congressional representatives to protect public access to these lands for recreation. One avenue for protection is the creation of national monuments.

    But the status of national monuments can change.

    Presidents have expanded and contracted national monuments, as the U.S. saw with Bears Ears National Monument in Utah over the course of the past three presidencies. The rules for the use and maintenance of various public lands can also change, and that can affect surrounding communities and their economies.

    The U.S. is likely to see changes to public lands again under the second Trump administration. One of the new administration’s early orders was for the Department of Interior to review all national monuments for potential oil and gas drilling and mining. At least two national monuments that President Joe Biden created in California are among the new administration’s targets.

    The avenue for many of these changes is rooted in one century-old law.

    The power and vagary of the Antiquities Act

    The Antiquities Act of 1906, signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt, gave Congress or the president the authority to establish national monuments on federal land as a means of protecting areas for ecological, cultural, historical or scientific purposes.

    From Theodore Roosevelt on, 18 of the 21 presidents have used the Antiquities Act to create, expand or contract national monuments through a presidential proclamation.

    By using the Antiquities Act to create, expand or reduce national monuments, presidents can avoid an environmental impact statement, normally required under the National Environmental Policy Act, which also allows for public input. Supporters argue that forgoing the environmental impact statement helps expedite monument creation and expansion. Critics say bypassing the review means potential impacts of the monument designations can be overlooked.

    The Antiquities Act also offers no clarity on whether a president can reduce the amount of area protected by prior presidents. The act simply states that a president designates “the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” This has led to the shifting of national monument boundaries based on the priorities of each administration.

    The Citadel Ruins are the remains of Anasazi cliff dwellings at Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.
    Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management via Wikimedia Commons

    An example is Bears Ears, an area of Utah that is considered significant to several tribes but also has uranium, gas and oil resources. In 2016, President Barack Obama designated Bears Ears a national monument. In 2017, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation reducing Bears Ears by 80% of its total designated size. The monument’s size and scope shifted a third time when President Joe Biden reestablished Bears Ears to the boundaries designated by Obama.

    In the span of just over five years, the monument was created, reduced, then restored to the original monument designation.

    The uncertainty about the long-term reliability of a designation makes it challenging for federal agencies to manage the land or assure Indigenous communities that the government will protect cultural, historical and ecological heritage.

    Public lands can be economic engines

    National parks and monuments can help fuel local economies.

    A 2017 study by Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research group, found that Western rural counties with more public land have had greater economic growth, including in jobs and personal income, than those with little public land. National monuments can also benefit neighboring counties by increasing population, income and employment opportunities.

    Even small national monuments provide economic benefits for their surrounding communities. Visitors to Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome, N.Y., spent $5.3 million in nearby communities in 2023, according to a National Park Service report.
    National Park Service via Wikimedia Commons

    While many counties adjacent to public lands may be dependent on natural resource extraction, the establishment of a national monument can open up new opportunities by expanding tourism and recreation. For example, four national parks and monuments in southeastern Utah, including Natural Bridges, drew about 2.4 million visitors who spent nearly US$400 million in surrounding communities.

    However, when there is uncertainty over whether public lands will remain protected, communities may be hesitant to invest in that future, not knowing whether it will soon change.

    What Congress and the courts could do

    There are a few ways to increase the certainty around the future of national monuments.

    First, lawsuits could push the courts to determine whether the president has the authority to reduce national monuments. Since the Antiquities Act doesn’t directly address presidential authority to reduce monument size, that’s an open question.

    Advocacy groups sued the government over Trump’s authority to shrink Bears Ears National Monument, but their cases were put on hold after Biden expanded the monument again. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear other cases in 2024 that argued that a president’s authority to declare and expand national monuments should be far more limited under the law.

    Second, Congress could permanently protect designated national monuments through legislation. That would require presidential approval, and the process would likely be slow and cumbersome. Creating White Clouds Wilderness in Idaho, for example, took decades and a public campaign to have it designated a national monument before Congress approved its wilderness designation.

    Third, Congress could take new steps to protect public lands. For example, a bipartisan bill titled Public Lands in Public Hands Act could block privatization of public lands and increase and maintain access for recreation. One of the bill’s lead sponsors is U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican from Montana who served as Interior secretary during the first Trump administration. Whether the bill will pass and gain the president’s approval remains to be seen.

    Public lands have widespread support

    The Antiquities Act has led to the creation of 163 terrestrial and marine monuments and subsequently the protection of land and waters that hold cultural, scientific or historic significance.

    These monuments tend to have broad support. During the first Trump administration, there were over 650,000 public comments on Trump’s review of national monument creation. An analysis found that 98% of the comments expressed broad support for both the creation and expansion of national monuments.

    Gold Butte National Monument covers nearly 300,000 acres of remote and rugged desert landscape in southeastern Nevada and is popular with hikers.
    Bureau of Land Management

    Public lands are more than just physical places. They are spaces where our ideals and values around public land unify us as Americans. They are quintessentially American – and in many ways define and shape the American identity.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. National monuments have grown and shrunk under US presidents for over a century thanks to one law: The Antiquities Act – https://theconversation.com/national-monuments-have-grown-and-shrunk-under-us-presidents-for-over-a-century-thanks-to-one-law-the-antiquities-act-252707

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –